Additional
Types of Purchase Orders
The Contract Section of the Department of General
Services negotiates annual State contracts and Price Schedules with
various vendors. Certain supplies and equipment (e.g., chemicals,
drugs, hardware, office machines, athletic supplies, etc.) are on
these contracts. Copies of State Contracts and Price Schedules are
available online at the DGS
web site. They are a convenient source for general interest
items, the prices are highly competitive and purchases do not have
to be bid.
When requesting supplies from a State Contract
or Price Schedule, make sure to include the Contract schedule number
on your requisition. Please call our office at x62232 if you have
any questions concerning this type of purchase.
An Annual Agreement (AA), is used when a contractor
promises to perform some kind of service for a department for a
period of one year, at a specific cost to the department. Annual
Agreements shall be generated at the beginning of each fiscal year.
These agreements are generally very simple and straightforward and
don’t require a lot of backup information.
A Service Order Agreement is used when a contractor
promises to perform some kind of service for a department at a specific
cost.
Services costing under $50,000 can be single sourced
or bid at the Buyer's discretion. Services costing over $50,000
must be formally bid (Exceptions to this rule can be found under
"Single Source Purchases").
A Standard Agreement (SA) and an Interagency Agreement
(IA) are similar to an annual agreement. The one difference between
the standard and annual agreement is the complexity of the contract.
SA’s and IA’s have terms and conditions that pertain
to the specific service being purchased. There is often documentation
that must be incorporated into the SA and IA. Departments should
be sure that all documentation is included when submitting a contract
requisition.
A Multi-Year Agreement is used when a contractor
promises to perform some kind of service at a specific cost to the
department, over a period of several years. These contracts are
prorated to the University Fiscal Year and are generally setup with
one annual payment per fiscal year for the life of the contract.
This type of contract has several benefits to departments: A lock
on the cost of the service for the term of the contract; less paper
work; and lower administrative costs for the individual department,
C&PS and Accounts Payable.
Request for contracts often deal with fabrication,
repair or construction. This is considered a pubic works contract.
The development of this type of contract usually
entails additional information that must be submitted in addition
to the information supplied on the requisition. This might include
requirements for prevailing wages, fair employment practices, general
construction provisions, nondiscrimination requirements, bonding
requirements or insurance requirements (insurance is required anytime
a contractor performs an activity on campus). C&PS is responsible
for including these requirements in bid package.
Our department issues Invitations for Bid based
upon the specifications provided by the department. It is imperative
that the specifications are detailed and complete, and yet not overly
restrictive.
The University is required by law to advertise
for it needs in the California State Contracts Register for services
of $5,000 or more. This advertising takes time, so it is imperative
that your requisition, with complete specifications, be received
in Contract & Procurement at least eight (8) weeks before the
required bid opening date.
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