Purchasing

Purchasers are responsible for spending Harvard resources with sound business judgment. Purchasers must spend according to budget or other approved funds, and must comply with Harvard policies and any sponsored or donor restrictions. In addition, purchasers are responsible for providing complete support documentation to the preparer with sufficient time for processing, review and approval. 

Please see Christine Benoit for any purchase requests.   If you are in need of office supplies – Christine has a stockpile in her office (P-350) and can order more for next day delivery if needed.  If you manage projects that require a lot of purchasing – you may be given access/training to the Harvard purchasing system or receive a Purchasing Card (credit card).

Effective 1/1/2021, Harvard University has implemented an updated procurement policyexternal link. The policy applies to all who make purchases on behalf of the University and includes B2P, Corporate Card, PCard and purchases made with personal funds for reimbursement. This policy satisfies the requirements of Uniform Guidance (UG) for federal purchases.

 

Requirements for ALL PURCHASES

All individuals conducting purchasing activities on behalf of Harvard University must avoid conflicts of interest in their purchasing decisions. If an individual believes that they may have a conflict of interest, they must promptly and fully disclose the conflict. More conflict of interst information (pdf).

Do not use Harvard University systems or funds or tax exemption for personal purchases or use Harvard-negotiated agreements for personal benefit. More information on interal controlsexternal link.

The University, as a nonprofit educational institution, is exempt from sales and use tax in Massachusetts and in many other states. If the purchaser fails to use Harvard’s tax exempt status where allowed, the taxes may not be charged to a federal award. More information on tax exemption (requires Harvard Key)external link

Other best practices for purchasing (note these are REQUIREMENTS for federal purchases):

 

Requirements for purchases using FEDERAL FUNDING

Purchases with federal funds require documentation to justify the choice of vendor and to show we are using federal dollars prudently.  Purchases above $50K require a Vendor Justificaiton Form (VJF) (pdf) by the PI to justify the purchase source.  

thresholds

Vendors

Harvard has negotiated rates with many suppliers (requires Harvard Key)external link, see Christine Benoit for a full list.   The vendors with preferred pricing that we typically use are:

  • WB Mason - office supplies
  • Dell/Apple - computers
  • CDW - computer products
  • B&H Photo - audio visual
  • DigiKey/Newark - electronics
  • McMaster Carr/Cambridge Valve and Fitting/MSC - fabrication materials
  • Airgas - scientific gas
  • ThorLabs/VWR/ThermoFisher/Sigma Aldrich - lab supplies and chemicals
  • VWR also has a stockroom on campus (pdf)

Amazon

Amazon is usually discouraged, especially if the purchase is outside the Amazon LLC store. That said, the ease of use in finding items with no added financial impact tends to make business sense and so we have established an Amazon Business Account.   Christine is the manager of the account and places all the orders after making sure items are not available with a preferred vendor.  

FedEx

Harvard has discounted pricing for shipping of items either from or TO campus. See Christine for the account information or if you need to have a label created.  FedEx also provides printing and delivery for those emergency poster needs at a conference. Instructions for how to order print online can be found in this document (pdf).  

Large Dollar Purchases

Purchase requests that are $50,000 + require additonal review from central administration so please add in at least 4 extra days for internal review before the purchase order can be issued.   When you are at the point of negotiating terms for the purchase, please contact Christine so that the terms and conditions can be reviewed.   Please review these best practices for purchasing (requires Harvard Key) external link(like making sure the equipment will fit in the elevator) before making a big purchase.

Sales Tax Exemption

Harvard University is exempt from sales tax in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and several other states.  Information and FAQs about sales tax exemption (requires Harvard Key)external link are on the Harvard Procurement website as is a list of when to use which form (requires Harvard Key)external link.  Individuals who use a personal payment mechanism (for example, their own cash or a personal credit card) to make a purchase on behalf of the University CANNOT use the University’s sales or meals tax exemption. For Harvard’s sales tax exemption to be valid, Harvard must make the entire purchase directly. 

IOP Page Charges

The Astrophysical Journal is run by the AAS who has a particular approach to publication charges that counts different kinds of “digital quanta,” which are the components that make up each article, e.g. words, figures, tables. Word quanta is counted as 1 quantum per 350 words. More information about AAS publication charges and digital quanta can be found on the AAS website at https://journals.aas.org/article-charges-and-copyright/external link.

It is possible for authors to create a figure set of similar figures at a reduced publication cost. Creating a figure set at a reduced cost is described in the author guides on the AAS website at https://journals.aas.org/graphics-guide/#figure_setsexternal link. The main difference with a figure set is that only one figure is included in the PDF version of the article and the remaining figures are only available in the HTML version of the article.