Contact: msepay@uw.edu
As of March 2022, MSE transitioned its purchasing and reimbursement from Purchase Path to webforms (links below). Guides and processes are below. For additional training, contact the administrator.
ALERT FOR SUMMER 2022: Beginning June 15, Roberts Hall 302 will be closed and unable to receive package deliveries while our main office is being renovated. If you are planning to ship to the main office, please use Roberts Hall 130 for the delivery address. Roberts Hall 130 will be staffed 9am - 2pm, Monday-Friday for you to pick up your parcels.
Table of Contents
What Budget/Cost Center to Charge
Orders above the direct buy limit
What Budget/Cost Center to Charge
Any type of purchase or reimbursement will require a budget number/cost center to process. Consult the chart below for the person to contact.
- Faculty advisors will assign research budget numbers to graduate students and undergraduate advisees working in their labs under their direction and may submit a purchase request under the faculty’s delegated authority.
- Graduate students with AMP funding and undergraduate students with SRP funding ought to consult their faculty advisor.
- Teaching assistants, working with the faculty and the technician in charge of each lab, will obtain supplies for use in specific courses. They may submit under the MSE Department’s delegated authority. These orders will be approved by MSE Staff and the administrator.
Certain PI/faculty advisors require preapproval if the purchase is above a certain dollar threshold. If your PI/faculty advisor requires it, obtain via email and attach to an Ariba order:
Group/Lab |
Faculty/Approver |
Preapproved Limit |
MSE Department |
Monica Cohn |
No Limit |
Arola |
Dwayne Arola |
No Limit |
Barnard |
Arthur Barnard |
TBA |
Brush |
Lucien Brush |
No Limit |
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Ting Cao |
No Limit |
De Yoreo |
James De Yoreo |
No Limit |
Flinn |
Brian Flinn |
No Limit |
Hinds |
Bruce Hinds |
No Limit |
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No Limit |
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No Limit |
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Devin MacKenzie |
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No Limit |
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No Limit |
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Up to $100 |
On-Campus purchasing
On-campus sources include printing services, electrical engineering stores, physics and the chemistry stores, and Ariba.
You should be able to place orders for printing, chem stores, etc., using the UW budget number. If you receive an invoice, email it to msepay@uw.edu with a note about the lab and budget number the expense is charged to.
A note about Amazon
MSE has an Amazon Business account. If a lab needs to make a purchase from Amazon, please first confirm that Ariba does not offer a comparable item. The UW has buying power with Ariba vendors, and in many cases free and overnight shipping is available. If the item is only available through Amazon, please use the Purchasing (aka Procard) order request and staff will purchase on your behalf.
Ariba Resources
- Ariba vendors
- How to place a Catalog order, PDF and eLearning
- How to place a non-catalog order, PDF and eLearning versions.
- Ariba issues: the most common issue people encounter is browser. We currently recommend Firefox.
Process
- The purchaser (a delegated authority/authorized personnel) enters the order into Ariba.
- Give it a meaningful title such as "Budget#_Vendor_Lab/Group_Name" or "AMP (SRP) YourName_Vendor."
- If your PI/faculty advisor requires preapproval, attach the email preapproval to Ariba.
- Make sure you enter the delivery address and contact in the appropriate Ariba field. If you choose to have the package delivered to 302 Roberts Hall, use your name as the contact so that the MSE Staff knows to contact you that the package has arrived.
- Grant manager/MSE Staff receives an email from Ariba. They click on the “open” link in the email to enter Ariba. They approve in Ariba.
- PI/Administrator receives an email from Ariba. They click on the “open” link in the email to enter Ariba. They approve in Ariba.
- Purchaser receives the item, whether at the main office or the lab. If it comes to the main office, staff will email the purchaser that it has arrived.
- Per Washington State law, every order must be accompanied by a detailed/itemized receipt and proof of delivery (packing slip). Please submit packing slips within 10 business days of package delivery:
- If the Purchaser/PI picks up the item from the main office, they need to sign/date the packing slip and leave it in the packing slip box.
- If the package is sent to a lab, the receiver signs/dates the packing slip and adds it to the Google Dropbox OR drops the hard copy off in the main office.
External vendors
Or, Purchase Request (non-Ariba, aka Procard)
This process and webform covers both the purchase of physical goods and payment for services.
Purchasing Physical Goods
You should check the on-campus sources before ordering from off-campus vendors. If the item is not available through an Ariba supplier, submit all non-Ariba (ProCard) purchases through the webform. It will route for approvals before the order is placed.
Paying for Services
If you need to hire an independent contractor or consultant to provide services, use the form and process below to submit an invoice for payment. It is illegal for you to pay for services and request reimbursement.
Process
- Purchaser (a delegated authority/authorized personnel) submits purchase order form.
- Make sure you enter the delivery address and contact in the appropriate Ariba field. If you choose to have the package delivered to 302 Roberts Hall, use your name as the contact so that the MSE Staff knows to contact you that the package has arrived.
- It routes to the "Approver's Email."
- If the purchaser is a researcher/grad student, then they should enter the email address for their PI/faculty.
- It routes to the PI/faculty who approves and forwards to the grant manager/administrator, as appropriate. If your GM is out, forward to the administrator.
- The GM/administrator approves and forwards to MSE Staff at msepay@uw.edu to place the order.
- If the purchaser is the PI/faculty, enter the administrator's email address. The administrator will approve as the second layer of required approvals for non-Ariba purchases. The administrator will send to msepay@uw.edu for staff to place the order.
- If the purchaser is a researcher/grad student, then they should enter the email address for their PI/faculty.
- MSE Staff places the order.
- Staff emails the purchaser that it has been ordered and reminds them of the packing slip process.
- Purchaser receives the item, whether at the main office or the lab. If it comes to the main office, staff will email the purchaser that it has arrived.
- Per Washington State law, every order must be accompanied by a detailed/itemized receipt and proof of delivery (packing slip). Please submit packing slips within 10 business days of package delivery:
- If the Purchaser/PI picks up the item from the main office, they need to sign/date the packing slip and leave it in the packing slip box.
- If the package is sent to a lab, the receiver signs/dates the packing slip and adds it to the Google Dropbox OR drops the hard copy off in the main office.
Orders above the direct buy limit
All orders over $10,000 go to bid unless there is a justification for a specific vendor. Please work directly with MSE Staff, either your grants manager or submit the purchase request form above. Also note that you cannot sign any contracts. However, you may submit a contract through the purchase request form above and MSE Staff will handle it.
Purchase Reimbursements
The last resort is to purchase and be reimbursed through the webform. Note that this applies only to the purchase of physical goods. The UW cannot reimburse UW employees and students who paid independent contractors/consultants for services. Instead use the Purchase Request form above and MSE Staff will pay on your behalf.
Purchase Reimbursement Process for non-faculty:
- Certain PIs require preapproval for purchase reimbursements over a set amount. Consult the chart and obtain email approval if necessary.
- Purchaser submits purchase reimbursement with receipts and packing slips (and preapproval if required for your group) within 10 business days after receiving their purchase.
- MSE Staff enters reimbursement into Ariba and attaches the documents.
- GM receives an email from Ariba. They click on the “open” link in the email to enter Ariba. They approve in Ariba.
- PI receives an email from Ariba. They click on the “open” link in the email to enter Ariba. The PI approves in Ariba.
- Purchaser approves in Ariba.
- The purchaser should not approve in Ariba if they suspect this is a duplicate or they received reimbursement through another source. If you suspect MSE has already reimbursed you and you receive a notice from Ariba to approve a duplicate reimbursement, you should deny the reimbursement in Ariba with a note that this may be a duplicate.
- Purchaser receives the reimbursement.
For reimbursements to faculty, the administrator will be added to the approval flow.
Submit a purchase reimbursement request
Travel Reimbursement
Please read our Travel Policy prior to booking or reimbursing travel.
Submit your receipts and preapproval through the webform.
Travel Reimbursement Process for non-faculty:
- Traveler emails PI for preapproval.
- PI approves via email.
- Traveler purchases travel.
- Traveler submits reimbursement request online with preapproval email and receipts attached within 30 days of trip completion.
- MSE Staff enters reimbursement into Ariba and attaches the receipts and PI’s preapproval.
- GM/Staff receives an email from Ariba. They click on the “open” link in the email to enter Ariba. They approve in Ariba.
- PI/Administrator (for MSE department budgets)receives an email from Ariba. They click on the “open” link in the email to enter Ariba. They approve in Ariba.
- Traveler approves in Ariba.
- The traveler should not approve in Ariba if they suspect this is a duplicate or they received reimbursement through another source. If you suspect MSE has already reimbursed you and you receive a notice from Ariba to approve a duplicate reimbursement, you should deny the reimbursement in Ariba with a note that this may be a duplicate.
- Traveler receives the reimbursement.
For faculty, the sole difference is that they disregard steps one and two and attach the chair's preapproval for travel in step three.