Requisitions and Purchase Orders

This information serves as a guideline for the creation of requisitions and purchase orders pertaining to all CSUSM Corporation Business Operations. For Campus Programs and Sponsored Projects, these guidelines are applicable after the Project Agreement Form has been setup and approved.

Requisition Basics

• What is a Requisition?

  A requisition is a request for goods or services, with necessary documentation and approvals, for use by your department. CSUSM Corporation uses requisitions to create purchase orders. Requisitions are required to create purchase orders and are done online through the Common Financial System (CFS). 

• How is a requisition different from a Purchase Order?

  A requisition begins the process to create a purchase order. A purchase order is an official contract that indicates prices, quantities, and terms & conditions to spend funds within the CSUSM Corporation guidelines or award guidelines. 

• Do I need to submit a requisition in order to have a PO created?

  Requisitions are required when requesting services and products to be purchased from SMURS accounts. Requisitions are submitted completely online through the Common Financial System (CFS). This site can be accessed with campus login information at http://my.csusm.edu. Once a requisition is properly submitted, it is received and reviewed by CSUSM Corporation. CSUSM Corporation will check the requisition for proper approving authority. Once complete, the requisition will be turned into a Purchase Order.

Creating Requisitions

• What do I need before starting a Requisition?

  You will need to have the following information in order to successfully submit a requisition.

  • Supplier number of the Vendor you will be using
  • Chartfield string for charges
  • Total cost - Are items taxable or non-taxable?
  • Due Date - when services should be completed/ items received/contract expires
  • Supporting/Backup Documentation - see below for specifics
  • Comments for Requisition Header - see below for details and samples

• What is the process to submit a requisition?

  Requisitions are submitted completely online through the Common Financial System (CFS). This site can be accessed with campus login information at http://my.csusm.edu.

  To submit a requisition in CFS, please review a step-by-step procedure or video tutorial. Once a requisition is properly submitted, it is received and reviewed by CSUSM Corporation. CSUSM Corporation will check the requisition for proper approving authority. Once complete, the requisition will be turned into a Purchase Order.

• What documentation is needed for a requisition?

  •  All Requisitions
    •  Payee Data Record 204 - The supplier must be set up in peoplesoft, if they are a new supplier. This can be accomplished with having them fill out and emailing a Payee Data Record to Barbara Sainz at bsainz@csusm.edu prior to submitting a requisition.
  • Independent Contractor Requisitions
    • Independent Contractor Packet
  • Products or Service Requisitions
    • Quote from Vendor and/or multiple quotes if purchase is $10,000 or more. 
      • 2 informal quotes for purchases $10,000-$49,999
      • 3 formal quotes for purchases $50,000-$149,999
    • Sole Source form for purchases of $10,000 or more when no informal or formal quotes are obtained.  These must be approved by the CSUSM Corporation Executive Director.
    • RFP or RFQ for purchases of $150,000 or more
    • Service Agreement (if applicable)
    • Insurance Certificates and proper endorsements if applicable. If you do not know if these are required, email jtemnick@csusm.edu for assistance. 
  • Reimbursed Time 
    • Completed Reimbursed Time Form

• What information should be listed in the Header comments of a requisition?

  • Due Date (when services will be completed, when products will be received, or when contract expires)
  • Description of Services: What is the vendor going to do for us? What services are they providing, or what products are they shipping/delivering?
  • Deliverables: What specific pieces will prove the job has been done to our requirements? Reports, technical data, end product. 
  • Schedule: Start Date and End Date. This can be modified down the line but we need an idea of the time span to receive the items, or complete the services.
  • Milestone Dates: If applicable, these usually are tied to either when deliverables are due or when payments will be made.
  • Department/Campus Main Contact: If anyone has questions about what’s going on with this service/product, who should they call/email?
  • Cost: Is this cost hourly or flat rate? Is it a set number, or “not to exceed $”? Will it be paid in one lump sum or across multiple payments (i.e. monthly)? Make sure to note how much of this is Tax and Service Charges/Shipping, those get accounted for differently.

  Click here to view and copy SAMPLE comments

• Who Approves the Requisitions?

  • All Requisitions
    • Fiscal Authority
    • CSUSM Corporation (OSP for 85xxx projects and Business Services for 81xxx and 86xxx projects)
  • Independent Contractor Requisitions
    • CSUSM Corporation HR

Once the Req/PO has been created

• What are the next steps once submitted?

  Once it has been submitted...

  1. OSP requisitions will be reviewed by the relevant SPA for appropriate documentation and approvals.
  2. Campus Program requisitions will be reviewd by CSUSM Corporation Business Operations Specialist for appropriate documentation and approvals, then submitted to Executive Director for final approval.
  3. CSUSM Corporation Business Operations Specialist will convert the requisition to a purchase oOrder.
  4. Completed purchase order will be emailed to the vendor and the requestor, as well as the OSP SPA if applicable.

• How do I print a Requisition once submitted?

  How to Print a Requisition

• How do I print a PO once created?

  How to Reprint a PO 

• How do I see what charges have been made against the PO?

  To see what charges have been made against the PO, check the PO Life Cycle Report

• How do I pay an invoice against a PO?

  • Send invoices to apcorp@csusm.edu 
  • Include:
    • Proper fiscal authority approval signature
    • Indication of the PO number.
  • For Final invoices on the PO:
    • Indicate on the invoice to “Close PO” or “Final Payment on PO” so that Accounts Payable will know to complete the purchase order.
    • If a final payment is not indicated, the PO may remain open unnecessarily. 

• How do I change/amend a PO once it has been created?

   A purchase order amendment is an intended change request to an existing purchase order. 

  Changes on Purchase Orders, including the closure or cancellation of a PO, can be requested by completing a Purchase Order Amendment Form (Select: AX-CSUSM_Corporation-PO_Amendment)*. This should then be submitted to corp@csusm.edu.

  * all eSignature forms have changed to Adobe Sign