Acquisition Options

Direct Vendor Purchases

You may purchase directly from the vendor for procurements less than $10,000. Payment should be made in accordance with Accounting Office guidelines.

However, if vendor issued contract, the contract must be submitted to purchasing for review and approval.

Submit a requisition to Purchasing. (Required if purchase is $10,000 or over, exceptions listed below).

Office Depot Purchases

You may purchase from Office Depot, Illinois State's designated office supplies vendor, through an office supplies contract. Orders to Office Max may not exceed the $10,000 threshold.

Amazon Business Prime

The University now has a single Amazon Business Prime account for the entirety of campus.  If you have completed the account setup with the launch of this program you can access your account through the following link:  Centralized ISU Amazon Business Prime.  For those that need to set up or transfer their account, contact Rebecca Grider by email at  rmcarls1@ilstu.edu. If you intend to make purchases over $1,000, please provide your budget officer's information, as those purchases will need their approval.

Please keep in mind the following when buying from Amazon:

• Orders over $1,000 and under $10,000 need your budget officer's (or delegates) approval through the Amazon website.
• Software cannot by purchased without Purchasing's review/approval
• Furniture cannot be purchased
• Orders $10,000 and over are prohibited
• Stringing smaller purchases together to stay under the $1,000 or $10,000 threshold is prohibited
• The default shipping address for all Amazon orders is Central Receiving. To reduce confusion and expedite receipt of your order, please enter a contact name and your department in step 3 (pictured below) when checking out. 

• • This field has a character limit of 50
  • Student workers should not be listed here

University Department Purchases

You may purchase from another University department at any dollar amount. Pay by invoice-voucher or electronic voucher.

Agreements for Services: Individual Contracts

Agreements for Services can be used for contractual services with individuals. (This does not include temporary help or internal consultants — they must be hired through Human Resources). Agreements for $10,000 or over must be attached to a requisition and submitted to Purchasing for processing. Agreements must be in place and fully executed (including signature from Purchasing if $10,000 or more) before work is begun.

Conflict of Interest & Current/Former Employees as Independent Contractors 

Prior to engaging the services of a current or former employee as an independent contractor, the department(s) contracting for services must assess the relationship with the individual providing such services to ensure that they are properly classified as an independent contractor. Resources to assist in making the appropriate determination may be located on the University Payroll Office Employee Determination website .

It is highly unlikely that a current or former employee of the University, regardless of the department or source of funds, will be classified as an independent contractor. Even if employed in another unrelated area of the University, the additional duties will most likely be considered a second employment assignment, or a continuation of employment if recently terminated.

Generally, services performed by a current or former employee is considered employment, unless it can be demonstrated the individual

• is not performing services similar, in nature, to the services performed as a current/former employee;
• provides a service outside of the University’s usual course of business or services that are not typically performed by a university employee;
• is free from University control or direction when providing services; and
• is engaged in an independently established profession or business (offers similar services to the general public on a consistent basis);

Current Procedures

As part of the assessment process, the department(s) contracting for the services to the University need to obtain the Dean/Director’s approval from both the contracting department and the employing or formerly employing department. These approvals are now part of a Kuali workflow process (link provided below). Once the appropriate approvals have been received, the Director of Purchasing must sign the agreement regardless of dollar amount.

Given the characterization of a person as an independent contractor or as employee has important tax and non‐tax consequences to both the University and the individual, the Office of the Vice President of Finance and Planning or its designee, University Comptroller’s Office, reserves the right to reclassify the designations as deemed appropriate.

Current/Former employees contracting for services as independent contractors who are

• a current Illinois State University employee;
• a former Illinois State University employee within the last three years of services being performed;
• a State of Illinois employee; or
• a former State of Illinois employee within the last three years of service

are required to submit a conflict of interest at https://illinoisstate.kualibuild.com/app/builder/app/63e6a7a53981ce38d843f285/run . Any questions regarding completion of the form can be sent to the Purchasing Department via email at ISUPurchasing@ilstu.edu.

Important Note: Failure to obtain an approved conflict of interest review prior to services beginning or an agreement being signed is a violation of University policy; resulting in reporting of the violation and needing approval from the President to pay the individual.

 

Departmental Credit Cards

Departmental credit cards are available for purchases less than $10,000. Click here for additional information on the Departmental Credit Card program.

Travel Arrangement Purchases

Travel Vouchers should be used to reimburse Illinois State employees for travel expenses, after travel has occurred. The original hard copy should be retained by the department. 

Air travel arrangements should be made through the University's designated travel agency.

Questions can be submitted to TravelServices@ilstu.edu or call (309) 438-5696.

Professional and Artistic Services

Professional and Artistic service contracts $10,000 and over must be requisitioned through Purchasing. If $20,000 or over, additional state required procedures must be completed BEFORE services are performed.

Invoice and Electronic Voucher Reimbursement

Invoice-vouchers or electronic vouchers may be submitted to reimburse an Illinois State employee for approved purchases. The merchandise must be for University use, and must be registered with Property Control if it is equipment. The University will not reimburse for sales tax.

Cooperative (IPHEC) Purchases

Purchases over $20,000 made through an IPHEC (Illinois Public Higher Education Cooperative) award do not require the usual multiple quote process, as they have already been competitively solicited and awarded through a state-approved process. Purchases made using an IPHEC award still require a requisition if above $10,000. See the IPHEC awards page to learn more about the offerings available and contact Purchasing for more information regarding the use of these awards. Click HERE for a list of IPHEC awarded vendors and their contact information.

Task Chairs

As of March 21, 2024, task chairs purchased from an IPHEC awarded vendor (as well as Humanscale task chairs) have been granted blanket Facilities Planning approval. Click HERE for a list of IPHEC awarded vendors and their contact information. Refer to the chart below to determine the requirements when purchasing a task chair.

IPHEC/Non-IPHEC	Value	Facilities review needed?	Requisition required?	Additional review required?
Non-IPHEC*	Under $500 including shipping and labor	Yes - email fpcffereview@ilstu.edu	No**	No
	$500+ including shipping and labor	Yes - email fpcffereview@ilstu.edu	Only if purchase total is $10,000+**	Yes - email ISUPurchasing@ilstu.edu before completing purchase
IPHEC	Any	No - Blanket approval	Yes	No

*Humanscale follows all Non-IPHEC requirements except the facilities review requirement.
**Furniture is a prohibited purchase on P-Cards.