Purchasing
Purchasing Limits and Rules by Dollar Amount
$0 to $9,999
$10,000 to $29,999
Level 1 Limit
If the purchase is made from a small business as defined by RCW 39.26.010(22); or from a certified veteran-owned business, the limit is $40,000, and is defined as Level 2.
Purchases at this level require a search for a DES Master Contract, WIHPE, or purchasing cooperative. Please contact the Purchasing Manager for assistance with this.
When the ultimate aggregate cost to the department for a service or the purchase of a product over a 12 month period will exceed the direct buy limit, contact Purchasing for guidance. Split orders still cannot exceed the direct buy limit for any 12 month calendar year. Some exceptions may apply to the purchase of certain items and by order method.
These new limits are in effect until March 2025.
WWCC College Purchasing Policy [link]
$30,000 to $99,999
Informal Competition (Level 2)
BEFORE a department begins to talk about pricing and contracts with any vendors, it’s important that you bring the Purchasing Manager into the process. The Purchasing Manager will work with departments to issue a Request for Quote (RFQ) to qualified suppliers. If the RFQ is not advertised via Washington Electronic Business Solutions (WEBS), the RFQ process must include at least one minority and one woman-owned business certified by the State Office of Minority and Woman Business Enterprise (OMWBE) in the solicitation process. (RCW 28B.10.029(c)(iii)
No final decisions on vendors/products should be made until this step has been completed.
WWCC College Purchasing Policy [link]
Over $100,000
Formal Competition (Level 3)
BEFORE a department begins to talk about pricing and contracts with any vendors, it’s important that you bring the Purchasing Manager into the process.
WWCC’s Purchasing Manager will issue a formal, written Request for Proposal (RFP)and advertise via Washington Electronic Business Solutions (WEBS). A formal receipt process is required.
No final decisions on vendors/products should be made until this step has been completed.
WWCC College Purchasing Policy [link]
Ways to Purchase
- PCard: Small dollar and one-time purchases.
- Quick Invoice: Small dollar services with invoices and annual payments on existing contracts.
- Blanket Purchase Orders: Goods or services that are reoccurring, vary in amount, with multiple payments, and where the order may change over time. (These items must go through Receiving in ctcLink to be processed). Direct buy limits apply.
- Sole Source: A sole source purchase means that only one supplier (source), to the best of the requester’s knowledge and belief, based upon thorough research, (i.e. conducting a market survey), is capable of delivering the required product or service. This method is not to be used to avoid competition and must involve the Purchasing Manager from the start. Sole Source REQUIRES approval by the Department of Enterprise Services ahead of time and can add several weeks to the purchasing process.
- Competitive Solicitation: Requires involvement of the College Purchasing Manager. Allow 2-4 weeks time for the Request for Quote/Bid/Proposal to make it through the review and bidding process.
Supplier Diversity
WWCC Purchasing is committed to ensuring that minority-owned, women-owned, small, disadvantaged, HUB Zone, veteran-owned and service-disabled-veteran owned businesses have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in purchasing and contracting at Walla Walla Community College.
Purchasing with a PCard
If your supervisor has determined a PCard should be assigned to you, the Supervisor/Budget Manager will complete and submit the online request form. The form will auto-route through the approval process, first to the Vice President or Executive Director of the Division/Area, then to the Budget Director for final approval.
Once an employee is approved for a PCard, the Procurement Card Administrator will contact the new cardholder for necessary credit card application information and request the card from the card vendor. Before receiving a PCard, employees are required to complete the following:
1. Procurement card holders are required by the State of Washington to complete Department of Enterprise Services (DES) PCard Training.
a. Registration information for the required training will be provided by the Procurement Card Administrator.
2. The Procurement Card Administrator will schedule a meeting (the meeting may be held in-person or via Zoom/Teams) with the employee to review procurement procedures and local policies.
Once the required steps above have been verified as complete, the new card holder can pick up their PCard from the Procurement Card Administrator. PCards will not be released until all required steps are complete.
The Budget Manager is responsible for ensuring that procurement card purchases are fully reconciled each month by the 10th day for all staged transactions of the previous month.
1. To be considered fully reconciled, the following steps must be completed:
a. The Reconciler must reconcile all available transactions to the verified stage; and
b. The Budget Manager must review the transactions and set them to approved status.
2. The recommended best practice is to reconcile all available transactions weekly in order to avoid a large number of transactions to process at the end of each month.
Business Services reserves the right to revoke a PCard at any time if it is determined that the PCard holder is in violation of use or if the card holder, reconciler, or budget manager is not meeting the monthly reconciliation requirements. Please see the WWCC PCard Purchasing Policy and Procedure for full details.
For questions or concerns, contact:
PCard Administrator
Ryan Mason
[email protected]
509.527.4208