Starting Your Purchase

Low-Value Purchase Authorization & Transactions

The authority to purchase common goods and services from Suppliers up to $10,000.00 per transaction has been granted by UC Berkeley's Chief Procurement Officer to departments.

Common goods and services are goods, materials, supplies, and services that are readily obtainable through conventional commercial retail channels. Examples include consumer electronics, consumable goods, photocopying, printing, or other services that are available to the general public that does not require a contract.

Employees are able to create purchase requests (requisitions) for goods or services in BearBUY or by using a Procurement Card. Catalog orders under $5,000 and non-catalog orders under $1,000 that are filled out correctly will be auto-approved the same day. Support for non-catalog orders and service requests less than $10,000 that have a quote that does not require a signature or does not contain any legal terms of service/terms and conditions are provided by Berkeley Regional Services. Support for high-value purchases, signed contracts, and "special considerations" (outlined below) is provided by Supply Chain Management (SCM).

Transactions shall not be artificially divided to falsely create multiple small purchase orders (PO) or procurement card charges under the low-value purchase authorization limit. Improper use of "splitting" POs or procurement card transactions by an employee may be grounds for disciplinary action and may result in the cancellation of the individual's procurement card.

High-Value Purchases, Signed Contracts, & Special Considerations

Most BearBUY requisitions over $10,000 will automatically route to an SCM Buyer to review. If the transaction is less than $10,000, use the "Buyer Intervention" button in BearBUY when submitting a shopping cart if the purchase involves these Special Considerations:

Supplier contracts of any value binding UC Berkeley to legal terms and conditions (e.g. limitation of liability, limited warranties, indemnification clauses, liquidated damages, intellectual property rights, data rights, copyright, arbitration requirements, etc.) and/or requires an authorized university signature

Higher-risk services and public-facing goods that could cause harm to the university or persons at the university

Charter buses/aircraft/watercraft (non-contracted/non-approved companies)

Regulated goods (e.g. explosives, controlled substances(link is external), ammunition)

The University of California or "Cal" Brand Protection concerns(link is external)

Complex services performed on-campus by the Supplier (e.g. installation, maintenance services, temporary staffing, performers, Covered Services)

Services that may displace UC employees(link is external)

Services or activities that involve third-party supervision of youths/minors (link is external)

Public-facing websites, software, or online content platforms that require Disability Access & Compliance review (link is external)

Supplier contracts involving any protected, confidential, or otherwise sensitive data (e.g. PHI, PII, FERPA, credit card data, GDPR, Institutional Information)

Complex hardware, integration services, software, systems, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and other cloud services(link is external)

Professional Services (e.g. medical, legal, accounting, architectural, engineering services)

Export Controls

Depending on the funding source of the purchase, there may be competitive bid requirements. Typically, competitive bids are required when a federally-funded purchase exceeds $10,000 or when non-federally funded purchases exceed $100,000 per transaction.

Low-Value Purchase Authorization & Transactions

High-Value Purchases, Signed Contracts, & Special Considerations

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University of California, Berkeley

Starting Your Purchase

Low-Value Purchase Authorization & Transactions

Proof It with Procurement: Contracting and Purchasing Authority

High-Value Purchases, Signed Contracts, & Special Considerations