IT Purchasing Guidance

Please note IT purchases (e.g. software, hardware or subscription services) intended to be funded from money held in the department (e.g. research grant funds, research incentive funds, department allowances, studentship funds etc) must be purchased in accordance with the university purchasing processes. 

In almost all case such purchases, including through research funding, remain the property of the university. As such items must be returned prior to leaving the department, or the department agree to transfer the item to you after receiving a fair market price payment for the item. In very rare cases a personal fellowship may mean the item moves with the individual. Such exceptions must be confirmed by the Research Grants Manager and that confirmation electronically shared with the IT Team for the IT asset records.

In almost all cases the purchasing process is thus 

1. a requisition (i.e. request to purchase) is raised through the university purchasing system (by the IT team on your behalf),
2. the requisition is checked, processed and approved as appropriate by the department finance team,
3. and then the system transmits the order direct to the supplier,
4. the item is delivered to the IT Team,
5. if it is a physical asset it is marked as received by the IT Team, has an asset sticker added and is recorded in the IT asset register,
6. and the invoice is received by the Finance Team and directly charged to the relevant source funds held in the department. 

You should thus, in the first instance, seek guidance and input from the IT Team before any purchase is progressed (either by liaising with the Director of IT & Physical Resources, the Head of IT, or opening a ticket via email to @email). 

The above aims to ensure only permitted/eligible purchases are made, that they are made from the university's preferred suppliers, and with value for money taken into account.

In rare cases an item (e.g. a software subscription) may really only function and be possible to manage properly if it is purchased direct by the individual. If the IT Team identify that to be the case after discussion with you then they will advise you on how to proceed and seek approval from the finance team, or will facilitate that for/with you, for you to then progress to a direct purchase and subsequent expense claim.

Should an IT purchase be made without following this process then it is likely the first time the Finance or IT Team will be aware of it is if/when you try to submit an expense claim. At that point your claim will be challenged by the Finance Team. If the expense is not eligible your claim may be rejected in full. If your purchase has obtained a worse price than the university process would have secured, or there are some other issues such as tax implications, then you may only receive a partial reimbursement. Furthermore repeated failure to follow the purchasing process outlined above is likely to result in expense claims being rejected on the grounds of repeated failure to follow the necessary university process.

The IT Team's role in this purchasing process is largely as an adviser and facilitator, and not as an approver of what is or is not possible to purchase, that remains a finance responsibility. There may though be IT security, management or connectivity matters to consider that could mean it is not possible for you to use the device, service or software in the way you envisage and such matters are the responsibility of the IT Team.

For some purchases there may also be building consideration that must be taken into account prior to purchase if the desire is to use the device in the department, e.g. electrical consumption, space, safety, heat or noise issues. Such matters are the responsibility of the Director of IT & Physical Resources.

In short, seek guidance before making a purchase as it will reduce the chances of problems and disappointment in the medium term!