DSO Business Operations Guidelines

1. "No PO, No Pay" Policy

The University Procurement Policy for Purchase Orders mandates that "The procurement of all goods and services must be based on a purchase order issued to the supplier through the eProcurement system prior to the delivery of the goods or commencment of the service. Except when approved in writing by the Director of Procurement, when placing orders using a Purchasing Card, or when paying approved direct expenditures."

In accordance with the University's "No PO, No Pay" policy, any invoices received from a supplier that do not clearly state a valid Purchase Order provided by the University will be rejected and returned to the supplier. The only exceptions to this relate to goods and services listed on the Direct Expenditure list.

Benefits of "No PO, No Pay" policy:

• Ensures that purchases are authorized before goods or services are supplied.
• Enables the University to process invoices efficiently thus ensuring a positive payment profile with suppliers.
• Allows accurate timely reporting, budgeting, and forecasting across the University. 
• Removes potential risk to the University by formally agreeing to the terms of engagement before the supplier/contractor commits to delivery; i.e. have favorable T&Cs with all our purchases. 

2. Small Catering Engagements

Services offered under this umbrella are specifically for Main campus events that are $1,000 in value or less (NO ALCOHOL MAY BE ORDERED OR RECEIVED USING THIS AGREEMENT). A few other points to share or consider:

• Only approved caterers may deliver on campus.
• Please be aware that when you are requesting catering services from one of the approved caterers, you must coordinate with them to ensure details for your event are confirmed and you are responsible for paying invoices ASAP after the event is complete.
• Regardless of funding source (Foundation, State funds, self-generated, etc...) if the catering event is being held on the main campus, you are required to use Aramark or one of these approved Small Catering Engagement caterers.
• If the catering event is $1,000 or more, you must utilize Aramark, unless Aramark provided a written exception to utilize someone else.
• To access the University's list of approved caterers for placing catering orders, you will need to enter your University Credentials.

For more detailed information on this topic visit: Clemson Small Catering Engagements

3. Contract Execution Process

Please see the document(s) related to process, form usage, and guidelines.

The SA Contract Execution Process has been updated for further clarity on process and steps for proper execution to mitigate delays. The original process was created in 2017 for increased efficiencies, compliance, and tracking purposes.

For questions related to this topic, please contact Lisa Bona;

1. Plan, Plan, Plan

Do not wait until the last minute to create a PO to pay a vendor.

• Invoice must be dated after the PO is issued and submitted to SABO for payment
• Clemson has 30 days to pay a vendor for goods/services

2. Must use contracted vendors for promotional items and purchases of anything using the Clemson brand or marks must be approved throgh SA Creative Services PRIOR to purchase.

3. Food receitps must be itemized and a list of individuals must accompany invoices

• If more than 30 individuals, each person does not have to be listed
• Per person cost must follow the in-state meal guidelines.

4. Payment methods are to be used in the following order:

• BuyWays - PO must be issued PRIOR to purchase,
  • Confirm vendor is in system. If not, work with SABO to register vendor.
• Use the SABO Student Org P-Card
  • Ontain invoice and send to SABO for payment
  • Schedule a time to use the P-Card at the SABO office
  • Expenditures must be allowable on the P-Card and must be below $2,500 in total
• Personal Reimbursement
  • Last option to use 
  • Requires signature of purchaser on receipt and advisor
  • Requires purpose of purchase and itemized receipt
  • Gift card purchases will NOT be reimbursed
  • Requests are to be entered within 10 days of purchase and must follow compliance guidelines. 

In partnership with the Student Financial Aid Office and Student Affairs Business Operations, the following guidelines have been created as it relates to gift cards and/or cash incentives. These guidelines have been created to mitigate potential issues with a student's financial aid package; gift cards are considered cash.

Gift cards or cash incentives for student competitions, events, and/or activities that are valued at $25 or less per card and are not distributed to large groups, may be purchased by a student organization or department without prior approval. ALl gift cards must be purchased through BuyWays and the purpose of the gift cards, along with the list of individuals (names and CUIDs) who received the cards, must be uploaded and attached in the BuyWays cart. Failure to do so is considered a financial audit violation and will revoke approval of future purchasing requests. 

If an individual purchases a gift card(s) personally and submits a personal reimbursement, the request should be denied by the department head as this method is considered a procurement violation. Should the request be received by a SABO Fiscal Analyst, the individual seeking reimbursement, the individual's supervisor and the department head, will be contacted in writing of the violation.

• Gift cards or cash incentives for student operations, events, and/or activities that are valued at greater than $25 per card and are not distributed to large groups, must be approved prior to purchase regardless of funding source or purchaser classification (student organization/department). A request to purchase should be sent to SABO; Ame petiss and cc: Lisa Bona using the Gift Card/Cash Incentive Form. After pre-approval, the purchaser will be notified to proceed with purchase. All gift cards must be purchased through BuyWays and the approval document along with the list of individuals (names and CUIDS) who received the cards, must be uploaded and attached in BuyWays. The list will be provided to Financial Aid by SABO.
• Gift cards are not to be used as a method of payment for work or volunteer hours in a program, experience, activity, or event. 

A MarketPlace Store is required to be used for anything being sold.

• PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, etc. is NOT allowed.
• Contact SABO - Must allow at least 1 week prior to go-live date to get set up.
• Any branded item must be preapproved by Student Affairs prior to purchase and is required to be purchased through a licensed vendor.

Items for Resale

If using State funds, sales tax is not paid on the intial purchase of the item(s).

• The Student Affairs Business Office should be contacted to assist in providing the correct documentation to the vendor.

When item(s) are sold, sales tax is then paid on the GROSS sale of item(s).

• An inventory sheet is required for audit purposes.
  • The inventory sheet must include: 
    • Number of shirts for sale
    • Price of each shirt
    • Number of comps (if any)
    • Number sold
  • The number of unsold shirts should be left in your inventory.
  • A copy of the inventory sheet is to remain with the unsold shirts.
  • You do not pay taxes on the unsold shirts until you sell or comp them.

Note: when they are sold, you are required to then pay the tax on the GROSS sales. Sales tax is to be paid on comps based on the initial purchase of the shirt.

Item(s) NOT for Resale

Sales tax is to be paid to the vendor at the time of purchase.

Things to Remember

• All sales tax information is to be reported to Susan Eller by the 5th of each month.
• Submission is to include a copy of the inventory sheet for audit purposes.
• Should you have any questions regarding sales tax, please do not hesitate to contact Susan Eller or Lisa Bona.

For more details, please refer to the University policy; E-Commerce/Marketplace Policy.

• Primary contact if there is a desire to establish a new Foundation account or fundraising initiative: Lisa Bona.

Sponsorship

Somone giving to get something in return

All sponsorship needs and requests must go through the Division of Student Afairs. 

• Primary Contact for Sponsorship Questions/Approvals: Kryssa Cooper. 

Clemson University aims to be intentional with the distribution of large-scale surveys as a method to assess and analyze effectiveness, attitudes, behaviors, learning, and satisfaction. The Division of Student Affairs supports the Office for Institutional Assessment in its charge of coordinating large-scale surveys to increase the quality of data collected and reduce over-surveying students, faculty, and staff.

By having a strategic, intentional approach, we achieve the following outcomes:

• Collaborate to create quality protocols, enhance communication, and maximize impact.
• Decrease the number of large-scale surveys resulting in fewer "asks" of students
• Increase response rates, which legitimizes data collection and resources allocated

If someone is intending to survey for any of the following reasons or is a student or member of CUSG or GSG, contact the Director of Assessment to begin the approval process.

• Have a significant sample size or seek to collect data from a population of an underrepresented group, as determined by the focus of the study
• Generate or lead to generalizable findings - Clemson University's IRB defines "contributing to generalizable knowledge" if the outcomes will be generalized for other organizations, programs or services, designed to draw conclusions, inform policy, or support future funding of proposals
• Generate data to be shared in publications or conference presentations
• Are conducted by external groups or person(s); however, scuh external surveys may be subject to additional requirements and conditions 

All student organizations are required to follow university branding guidelines when using university trademarks, logos, and official colors.

Student organizations should complete this form for approval; Student Organization Use of Marks Request Form

For more details regarding university branding; refer to University Marketing and Communications. 

Primary Contact: Lisa Bona,

Grants-in-Aid/Gift Cards/Promotional Items: Lisa Bona,

Fiscal Analyst (Payments): Susan Eller,

Sponsorships (External): Kryssa Cooper,

Branding: Tina LeMay,