Buying Goods and Services

To purchase goods or services, create a BearBuy requisition and purchase order (PO) prior to making the purchase. POs help ensure authorization, financial controls, and policy compliance. Purchasing of goods or services without using a pre-approved PO is considered unauthorized per University of California policy.

When creating a requisition in BearBuy and a supplier appears with a red stop sign next to its name, this means the supplier is not currently accepting POs. To make a purchase through the supplier, you should either:

After the supplier is set up, Supply Chain Management (SCM) will update their profile to remove the stop sign so you can create a BearBuy requisition for PO.

Using the Payment Request Form

A reminder that the Payment Request Form (PRF) can no longer be used for suppliers who will not accept a purchase order (PO). Invoices submitted using the PRF for goods and services will not be accepted and will be returned to the department.

The PRF can only be used for the following types of payments:

  • Cell Phone/Phone Lines
  • Donations/Contributions
  • Government Fees/Visas
  • Guest Lodging
  • Honoraria
  • Journal Publications
  • Memberships
  • Postage/Small Package Courier
  • Refunds
  • Registration Fees
  • Student Summer Programs
  • Subscriptions
  • Utilities

 For one-time purchases of low-risk goods and services under $5,000 from a supplier, you may use a procurement card (P-Card), if you have one. Visit SCM's P-Card web pages for more information.