Accounts Payable (AP)
Department in Financial Services to pay invoices, often against purchase orders.
Archer
Contract repository used in Health Sciences similar to the campus TCM.
BAA (Business Associate Agreement)
A document required when information is shared with a company or person who is not a workforce member of the University of Utah’s HIPAA-covered entity AND the company or person, on behalf of the university, performs or assists in the performance of an activity involving the use or disclosure of protected health information (PHI).
BCC (Business Confidentiality Claim)
A document available to vendors seeking to mark their information as confidential. A copy of the university’s standard business confidentiality claim form may be found here.
Bid
A term for a solicitation process, usually meant for IFBs, but can be synonymous with the general process of getting more than one quote. Can be confusing. Solicitation is a better term to refer to the procurement process.
Budgetary Estimate
Information regarding potential/estimated costs a department may request from vendors while conducting market research. Using this term will help clarify to potential vendors the department is currently in the market research phase of the procurement.
Conflict of Interest (COI)
A financial conflict of interest exists when an individual, or an institution, has financial interests that have the potential to influence, or bias, their responsibilities to the university.
The university COI office website can be found here:
GFA (Granting Financial Authority)
The Granting Financial Authority application is used to maintain who can authorize financial transactions for an Activity or Project. It also captures and maintains all the signatures for authorized individuals.
HECVAT (Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit)
An IT-related document which software vendors must complete for a security and accessibility review of software.
The most current version of the HECVAT is found here:
IC Checklist – (Independent Contractor Checklist)
Checklist for knowing how to proceed when hiring an independent contractor.
More information can be found in this checklist>
IFB (Invitation for Bids)
Formal bid process for purchases exceeding $50,000. The IFB must be publicly posted, generally on a third-party platform called Periscope (formally BidSync). It helps to specifically invite vendors, but since it’s publicly available to all, we are not required to do so.
The award of an IFB is based on a lowest responsible/responsive bid meeting the specifications.
Independent Contractor Agreement (ICA)
An agreement document used by departments to contract with a vendor classified as an independent contractor.
More information can be found in this checklist
Invitation for Bids (IFB)
Formal bid process for purchases exceeding $50,000. The IFB must be publicly posted, generally on a third-party platform called Periscope (formally BidSync). It helps to specifically invite vendors, but since it’s publicly available to all, we are not required to do so.
The award of an IFB is based on a lowest responsible/responsive bid meeting the specifications.
Invoice
A term for a document provided by vendors requesting payment for goods and/or services delivered by vendor. Sometimes vendors will provide an “invoice” up front almost as if it were a quote. This can be confusing.
The invoice should not proceed the procurement process (RFQ/IFB, RFP, etc.).
Master Services Agreement (MSA)
A contract between two or more parties that establishes what terms and conditions will govern all current and future activities and responsibilities. MSAs are useful because they allow the parties to plan for the future while also speeding the ratification of future agreements. MSAs create a contract framework that establishes the foundation for all future actions.
More information is available at this link
Office of General Counsel (OGC)
The legal experts for the University of Utah.
PCard (Purchasing Card)
Department in Financial Services to manage the VISA purchase cards on campus.
Periscope
The third-party platform the Purchasing Department uses to post and upload solicitations, including IFB, RFP, or RFI. Vendors seeking to respond to these solicitations must provide their documents through this platform.
PHI (Protected Health Information)
Any and all software maintaining, processing, or transmitting restricted data.
PO (Purchase Order)
Official document from the university affirming to the vendor the university’s intention to buy and pay for goods and/or services.
The purchase order issuance is traditionally the final step for the Purchasing Department’s involvement in the procurement process.
Pre-solicitation Market Research
Per procedure P3-100E, this involves a department contacting multiple vendors and providing the same limited opportunity to each vendor to respond to any informal market research inquiry.
Procurement Code
State of Utah law specifically relating to the practices and requirements for the purchase and acquisition of goods and/or services by state entities.
The procurement code can be found here
Proforma Invoice
Kind of like a pre-bill or pre-invoice listing out the goods and/or services to be provided and their anticipated cost. Not the same as an invoice – closer to a quote.
Accounts Payable is unable to process a payment against a proforma invoice.
Protected Health Information (PHI)
Any and all software maintaining, processing, or transmitting restricted data.
Purchase Order (PO)
Official document from the university affirming to the vendor the university’s intention to buy and pay for goods and/or services
The purchase order issuance is traditionally the final step for the Purchasing Department’s involvement in the procurement process.
Purchasing Card (PCard)
Department in Financial Services to manage the VISA purchase cards on campus.
Quote
A term for a document provided by vendors itemizing goods and/or services being offered and the associated costs. Can be confused with RFQ process. Generally, in the RFQ process, Purchasing officially asks for a quoted price, and will accept the vendor’s “quote” along with supporting bid documents from the vendor.
Request for Proposals (RFP)
Formal solicitation process in which cost is a factor but not the defining one for goods/services. A committee is formed to review proposals from vendors based on a specified scope of work and then provide scores based on their understanding of how well the vendor’s proposal fits the scope of work. Most often used for professional services and software where subjectivity is needed for the nuances of the good/service.
Request for Quote (RFQ)
Informal bid process for purchases between $10,000 and $50,000. The RFQ is not required to be publicly posted. At least three vendors must be invited by the Purchasing Department to participate, usually through email.
The award of an RFQ is based on a lowest responsible/responsive quote meeting the specifications.
Requisition
Electronic form completed in UShop by department to start purchase process for goods and/or services.
Amount of requisition can range from $.01 to millions of dollars.
RFP (Request for Proposals)
Formal solicitation process for goods and/or services in which cost is a weighted factor, but not the defining criteria. A committee is formed to review proposals from vendors based on a specified scope of work and then provide scores based on their understanding of how well the vendor’s proposal fits the scope of work. Most often used for professional services and software where subjectivity is needed for the nuances of the goods and/or services.
RFQ (Request for Quote)
Informal bid process for purchases between $10,000 and $50,000. The RFQ is not required to be publicly posted. At least three vendors must be invited by the Purchasing Department to participate, usually through email.
The award of an RFQ is based on a lowest responsible/responsive quote meeting the specifications.
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
A document which defines the level of service you expect from a vendor, laying out the metrics by which service is measured, as well as remedies or penalties, should agreed-upon service levels not be achieved. SLAs are a critical component of any technology vendor contract.
More information is available at this link:
Single Source/Sole Source
As the name implies, this is a vendor with goods and/or services with specific requirements only the specified vendor can provide.
Small dollar threshold
The point at which a purchase must go through a procurement review and process by Purchasing.
Current small dollar threshold is $10,000.
Sole Source Request Form
A document for a department to complete and attest to a vendor’s sole source status.
Attestation statement
A statement in which the department must validate the referenced vendor as being the only source of the goods and/or services being requested.
COI Disclosure
A portion of the sole source request form in which the department acknowledges whether or not a conflict of interest (COI) exists with the referenced vendor.
Transitional Costs
Costs associated with transitioning from the use of a product or widget to another similar product or widget.
Single Source
As the name implies, this is a vendor with goods and/or services with specific requirements only the single vendor can provide.
Compatibility
Part of the sole source request form in which the department makes an argument for a product being compatible to something already owned by the university.
Solicitation
The procurement process by which the Purchasing Department informally or formally requests quotes, bids, and proposals from vendors.
TCM (Total Contract Management)
A central repository for all procurement related contracts.
Travel Services
Department in Financial Services to facilitate a variety of university travel arrangements and reimbursements including employee, non-employee, guest/group travel, and more.
UETN
UETN is part of the Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN) which connects all Utah school districts, schools, and higher education institutions to a robust network and quality educational resources. UEN is one of the nation’s premier education networks.
University Regulations
Policies, rules, guidelines associated with the university to govern the various activities of those in connection with it.
The university regulations can be found here: https://regulations.utah.edu/administration/
The procurement policy can be found here: https://regulations.utah.edu/administration/3-100.php
USHE
The Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) is governed by the Utah Board of Higher Education and is comprised of Utah’s eight public colleges and universities and eight technical colleges that are governed by the Utah Board of Higher Education and their institutional Boards of Trustees. The CEO of USHE is the Commissioner of Higher Education.