Internal Purchase Protocol

Owned by Georgia Vachon Westerlund
Last updated: 2024-09-18
15 min read

Table of Contents

Related Resources

Important Notes

  • You must get the approval of a sub-team lead before you make any purchase by creating a post in #⁠ops-purchase-reqs. Please ping your lead in your message.

  • When choosing sources of funding, please use the sources that expires first. To verify amount of funds remaining, consult the WARG Financial Ledgers spreadsheet > “EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Funds Ledger” sheet > “Total left (according to raw sheet)” column.

  • Procurement via the university’s financial manager should be used whenever possible

  • All WARG purchases should be delivered to our team bay:

Shipping Address

 

General Purchasing Procedures

You must follow the steps described below when making any purchase for or on behalf of WARG.

Step 1: Approval

Please request and gain the approval of a director or sub-team lead before you make any purchase via Discord by creating a post in #⁠ops-purchase-reqs. For each item, please indicate the following information:

  1. Item link (if available) and quantity

  2. Funding source (WEEF/EngSoc/MEF/Team Funds)

  3. Funding account

  4. Estimated cost

  5. Ping @OPS-Finance and relevant Leads and Directors

Step 2: Purchasing

Purchases can either be made via procurement or reimbursement. Procurement via the university’s financial manager should be used whenever possible. Reimbursement is logistically complex and should only be used when absolutely necessary.

Please see the section below corresponding to your chosen purchasing method.

Step 3: Filling out Ledgers

The WARG Financial Ledgers must be filled out once the order is placed. See specific instructions applicable to WEEF / EngSoc / MEF / Team Funds purchases. Important Notes:

a) Please record one Vendor per row, even if you’re currently making one big purchase from multiple vendors, and you’ll be using the same funding account.

b) Please record purchase cost in CAD.

Step 4: Receiving Items

In your #ops-purchase-reqs thread in Discord, send photos of the received item(s) and indicated where they were stored in the bay.

 

Procurement Procedure

Procurement purchases require the approval of the sub-team lead or director. All WARG purchases should be made via procurement if possible.

Procurement is only applicable for WEEF, MEF and Team Funds, not EngSoc funds

Step 1: Select Items

If possible, please add all items to a cart and copy the cart URL. Please ensure that your URL carries forward all the items in your cart. If your URL opens to an empty cart, please add the items to your cart using an incognito browser or clear your cache and cookies.

If a cart link cannot be created, you must provide a link for each product in your procurement request email. You must also indicate the quantity and price for each product, especially because the price can fluctuate between the time you send the email and the time the purchase is made.

If you have a pro-forma form from the vendor, who quoted the prices and quantities of everything you’ll buy, please send the pro-forma form document instead of a URL link of your cart.

Step 2: Verify Remaining Funds

Verify that the item you are trying to purchase has funding remaining. Please consult WARG Financial Ledgers > EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Funds Ledger > Total left (according to raw sheet).

Always use the oldest possible account that is applicable to your purchase. WEEF funding expires after 2 years from the date it was first provided.

Step 3: Procurement Email

Send an email to uwarg@uwaterloo.ca using the following template:

Subject: "WARG [Subteam] Team Procurement"

Hello,

I hope this email finds you well.

WARG’s [your sub-team] team would like to order:

  • [Product Full Name] / [Size] (if applicable) / Company / [Price] / [Quantitiy] / [URL]

  • [Insert new bullet for each item in order]

The total cost of this order is $[cost] CAD. Please bill to [account name]. Please let us know the purchase’s final cost, as some items may change prices from the time this email is sent to when the purchase is made.

Thank you for your assistance.

Best,

[Your name]

Your email will be validated by the operations team before being forwarded to the SDC’s Financial Manager. Operations will copy your email address on the message so you’ll be notified of a reply.

Subject: "WARG Operations Team Procurement"

Hello,

I hope this email finds you well.

WARG’s electrical team would like to order:

The total cost of this order is $25 CAD. Please bill to “WEEF - EE PCB Components – W22-241”. Please let us know the purchase’s final cost, as some items may change prices from the time this email is sent to when the purchase is made.

Thank you for your assistance.

Best,

Georgia Westerlund

Step 4: Fill out Ledgers

Consult the section corresponding to the funding source used for your purchase:

WEEF: Consult the WEEF Funds section and follow steps 1,3,4 there regarding account selection, filling out the internal ledger, and obtaining the table of allocation.

MEF: Consult the MEF Funds section and follow all the steps there, except filling out the expense claim form (see note below). Since the item(s) haven’t been purchased yet, please enter the estimated purchase cost on the excel sheet as the cost. And, mark the status of your purchase as “Awaiting final cost” under the purchase status column. A WARG representative will update the actual purchase cost on your behalf after the purchase is complete.

Team Funds: Consult the Team Funds section and follow all the steps there. Since the item(s) haven’t been purchased yet, please enter the estimated purchase cost on the excel sheet as the cost. And, mark the status of your purchase as “Awaiting final cost” under the purchase status column. A WARG representative will update the actual purchase cost on your behalf after the purchase is complete.

 

Reimbursement should only be used in the rare cases when procurement is not possible or impractical. Please save your bank statements, documents, shipping address, tracking number, etc. Make sure documents such as bank statements include your name, to verify you are the purchaser.

Using EngSoc funds require the approval of a sub-team lead. If a purchase is being made by a team lead, the approval of another lead or director is required.

  • Claim numbers are auto-generated and unique, so you do not need to edit that field.

  • Gas reimbursement should be placed in the "Travel" category, Others are for all other expenses.

  • There needs to be a signature on the claimant section.

  • The bank statement needs to show your name, date, and last 4 digits of your card. If your bank statement isn’t ready yet, you can show a screenshot from your account showing the transaction (as long as the transaction is completed and not still in “pending” status).

  • Receipts provided need to show the date of purchase and match the last 4 digits of the credit card.

  • Everything needs to be combined into a single PDF file. You can use: https://combinepdf.com/

  • If you are attaching an e-statement as proof of purchase, please blur out the unrelated transactions.

Step 1: Verify Remaining Funds

Verify that the account you are trying to purchase from has funds remaining. Please consult the WARG Financial Ledgers > EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Funds Ledger > Total left (according to raw sheet).

Always use the oldest possible account that is applicable to your purchase. EngSoc funding expires after 1 year from the date it was first provided.

Step 2: Make Purchase

Please save the following information when you make your purchase:

a) The invoice or order confirmation showing the supplier name and date of purchase, etc.

b) Shipping confirmation or packing slip if the invoice does not show that the item has shipped.

Step 3: Expense Claim Form

EngSoc: https://www.engsoc.uwaterloo.ca/EngSocSponsorshipClaimForm.pdf

WEEF / Team Funds: https://uwaterloo.ca/finance/expenses

Fill out the appropriate expense claim form by completing any cell with an “X,” fill out the reason for the request, and fill out the expense. Put the claim form, invoice/order confirmation, and credit card statement into a single pdf, then add the doc share link on the claim form.

If you are reimbursing from WEEF funds, you must also include a screenshot of WARG's current table of allocations. For example:

Captionless Image

Step 3: Fill out Ledgers

Fill in the “EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Raw” or “Team Funds Raw” page of the excel spreadsheet, up until you finish filling out the “Purchase Authorizer Name” part.

Step 4: Email Claim Form

Using your university email address, send your sponsorship claim form and receipt to uwarg@uwaterloo.ca using the following template:

Subject: "EngSoc Reimbursement for [account used]"

Hello,

I am submitting a claim for WARG's EngSoc [account number, name of item] reimbursement. I have attached the required documentation.

I, [your name], certify that all expenditures in this claim adhere to the University's policies, were incurred by me for University purposes, and have not been/will not be reimbursed from another source.

Thank you for your assistance.

Best,

[Your name]

Operations will then forward the email to the SDC’s Financial Manager vpfinance@engsoc.uwaterloo.ca for you. We will copy your email address on the message so you’ll be notified of a reply.

Subject: "EngSoc Reimbursement for EngSoc - Carbon Fibre and Airframe - Winter 2023"

Hello,

I am submitting a claim for WARG's EngSoc - Carbon Fibre and Airframe - Winter 2023 reimbursement. I have attached the required documentation.

I, Georgia Westerlund, certify that all expenditures in this claim adhere to the University's policies, were incurred by me for University purposes, and have not been/will not be reimbursed from another source.

Thank you for your assistance.

Best,

Georgia Westerlund

MEF Funds Reimbursement

MEF funding has a lot of associated paperwork. Using it for large purchases through procurement offloads the paperwork from you as the individual and allows the engineering department to handle it.

Step 1: Verify Remaining Funds

Verify that the item you are trying to purchase has MEF funding remaining. Please consult the WARG Financial Ledgers spreadsheet > EngSoc, MEF & WEEF Funds Ledger > Total left (according to raw sheet).

Step 2: Make Purchase

MEF purchases must be made by a team member and reimbursed from WARG’s Team Funds. MEF then reimburses WARG Team funds at the end of a one-year period.

Step 3: Fill out Ledgers

Fill in the “EngSoc, MEF & WEEF” Raw page of that excel spreadsheet, up until you finish filling out the “Purchase Authorizer Name” part. Please request a reimbursement from Team Funds, provide an expense claim form package, and in the expense claim form’s “Destination/ Reason for Request” section, put down MEF full account name and its proposal number, along with “Team Funds”. For example: “MEF F23 #1239-20-0031” and “Team Funds.”

Since WARG will be reimbursing you immediately using Team Funds, please fill out the “Team Funds Raw” page of that excel spreadsheet for the MEF purchase, up until to the “Purchaser’s First Name” part. Fill out the expense claim form (for undergraduate students), and put the expense claim form + invoice/order confirmation + shipping confirmation/packing slip + credit card statement/screenshot showing purchase into one single pdf, then add the pdf share link on that page.

Step 4: Email Claim Form

Use the template provided above to write and send your claim form to uwarg@uwaterloo.ca.

Frequency Asked Questions

Here are two different sample letters for use when expenses are being claimed outside of the 120 day period (See attached).  Please note that you just write and submit your letter as part of the expense claim package – the associated finance will take care of getting it signed by the Dean.

The university doesn’t provide any donation receipts for tax purposes to sponsorship funding.  If a company or individual chooses to donate they can get a tax receipt, but their contribution cannot be publicly acknowledged i.e. you can’t put their name or logo on your website, in presentation, on your project, etc.  Think of it this way… you only get one benefit from your contribution to a team: as a sponsor your benefit is public recognition, and as a donor your benefit is a tax receipt.

Second, if the company decides to donate instead of sponsor, the university can only provide a standard donation receipt that lists our not-for-profit business number. 

Amazon-specific instruction and photo credits go to Sarah R. Feeney