Standard requisitions are for individual orders of non-punchout goods and services for $3,000 or more, and for all restricted item purchases for any amount.

A Professional Services Agreement is a contract used to engage a consultant, freelancer, or LLC (Limited Liability Corporation), to provide professional services to the University. These service providers are called independent contractors.

The first step in the process of engaging an independent contractor is to determine whether or not they can be hired using a Professional Services Agreement, nextSource (Brown's partner for temporary staffing needs) or, or needs to be hired through University Human Resources. The Employee vs. Independent Contractor Checklist needs to be completed in order to document that the decision made meets IRS and Department of Labor regulations for the classification. A second level review may be required by University Human Resources. All independent contractors are required to register annually with Rhode Island Department of Labor.

Equipment is defined by Brown University as tangible, non-expendable property having an anticipated useful life of one year or more and having a unit acquisition cost of $5,000 or greater. For additional information, please refer to the University's policies for property management.

Blanket Orders may be used for orders for goods & services for $3,000 or more, set up to cover purchases for a single fiscal year and, the goods or services are ordered intermittently and consistently throughout the fiscal year.

• Blanket Orders are sent to the Supplier so they know the PO number to include on all invoices.
• Brown’s bid threshold requirements also apply to Blanket Orders.
• Remember to include the description "Blanket Order" in the description section of the Requisition along with the applicable dates.
• Provide pricing quotes

Purchase Orders are required for the purchase of goods or services at $3,000 or:

• When the orders require review from another department (see restricted purchases)
• When the purchase will require multiple payments
• When there is a Professional Services Agreements that is for more than $3,000
• When the brown General Services Agreement template is used for payments of $3,000 or less that involve multiple payments (no BCM review required) 
• the purchase of goods where the use of the P-Card is not permitted

Purchase Order Terms and Conditions (PDF)

Learn More About Purchase Orders

These types of services payments can be made using the Supplier Invoice process and do not require a purchase order, including when the amount exceeds $3,000.

• Central Office Payments: Audit and Tax related payments, Payroll Payments, Benefits, Insurance, Treasury Services/Debt/Banking, Investment firms.
• Transfer of funds between Brown University and Affiliated Hospitals/physician practices in support of agreements between the organizations. Agreements are required and must follow the contract review and signature authority policies.
• Utility payments
• Guest Speaker payments using the Guest Speaker Payment form for payments up to $5,000 (For use when the guest speaker does not require a contract.  If a contract is required, a purchase order is required).
• Legal services and settlements and/or use of an outside attorney (requires approval from the Office of General Counsel).
• Real estate transactions initiated by the Real Estate Office
• Payment of Professional Fees/Dues such as:
• Accreditation Fees
• Copyright Clearance Fees
• Membership Fees
• Conference Attendance Fees paid to the sponsoring organization
• Sponsorship/donation from the University
• Use of the General Services Agreement for services under $3,000
• Payments for student prizes
• Payments to nextSource, the University’s temporary staffing partner

The amount of the purchase order requisition will be in US dollars. The US dollar amount needs to be adjusted based on the foreign currency exchange rate at the time the requisition is created a copy of the conversion rate should be included with your requisitions