All purchases must benefit the project(s) to which they are charged, and must be allowable, allocable, and necessary under the project's sponsor guidelines. All payment requests are reviewed by the Sponsored Programs Operations (SPO) staff to insure the requested materials or services are consistent with the project budget, comply with Research Foundation purchasing policy, and conform to any applicable sponsor or federal regulations.
Principal Investigators (PIs) are encouraged to review the award balance prior to submitting e-forms to the RF Accounts Payable/Purchasing Department. Award balances, as well as detailed vendor payment and employee payroll data, can be reviewed by accessing the RF Report Center PI Dashboard. (Note: an RF issued login ID is required.) Be sure to review the available balance in the resource group (budget category) level when verifying the availability of funds, and be careful to make sure the budget category selected on the purchasing e-forms matches the budget breakdown sent when the award was established. If there are any questions about whether or not an expense is allowable, we encourage you to contact the Grants Management Department prior to incurring the cost.
The purchase order process is to be used when ordering goods and services.
- To order goods and services for a project go to the Bengal Buy page.
- Begin an order with choosing Non-Catalog item.
SPO Accounts Payable/Purchasing staff will generate a purchase order (PO). Unless special mailing instructions are requested, a copy of the purchase order will be emailed or faxed to the vendor.
Requirements for payment
When items on your order have been received you must “Create a Receiver” on the PO in Bengal Buy.
*Attach any documentation (example: packing slip, invoice, etc.).
You can create a partial receiver for items shipped on different days.
The Direct Payment process is to be used to pay orders that have already been received and have an invoice for payment. A formal purchase order is not needed and payment can be made directly to the vendor.
- Go to the Bengal Buy page.
- Fill out a “Special Request” form and attach the invoice for payment (only one invoice allowed per form).
- You will receive notifications within Bengal Buy and/or receive emails regarding your payment.
- You can check the status of your payment by the “search” box and search any vendor, requisition, purchase order, or invoice number or by logging on to the RF Report Center PI Dashboard.