Dean's Office Purchasing

Dean's Office Purchasing

Create a Purchase Request

All Dean's Office purchase and reimbursement requests must be submitted into the Procurement Portal to initiate the purchasing and reimbursement process.

Required Information

A BruinBuy PO needs to be established before services are rendered or goods are delivered. Otherwise, the transaction will be considered a violation of policy and deemed an unauthorized purchase. Requests for services or goods that have already taken place (or do not provide sufficient lead time, see below) will be returned to you until an after-the-fact form (ATF) is completed and approved by the Dean's Office CAO, Controller Team, and CFO. This will cause delays and your order will still potentially be denied by UCLA Business Financial Solutions. Use this link to learn how to avoid unauthorized purchases.

For more information on the ATF process, use this link.

If a Sole Source is required, the Sole Source Request Form must be included with the initial purchase request. If an IT Risk Assessment is required, the Risk Assessment Questionnaire must be included with the initial purchase request. If your request is greater than $10,000 but less than $250,000 and the vendor is not designated a Small Business, a Small Business Waiver must be included with your initial purchase request.

Please use the Ask DO Finance link to the left to request a drop-in session if you have additional questions or concerns regarding required documents and policy. One of our team members will connect with you to provide additional support.

Timelines

Update: With the transition to BruinBuy Plus and the current volume of orders at UCLA Business & Financial Solutions, please submit your procurement portal requests 30 days in advance of when the requested goods or services are needed.  
Additional time up to 3-5 months should be considered if Vendor Onboarding, Sole Source, IT Risk Assessment, or Small Business First Waiver is required: 

  • Vendor Onboarding - New vendors are onboarded in BruinBuy Plus via a third party invitation. Submit your request in the procurement portal and the Dean's Office Finance team will initiate the process to have this invitation sent out. Successful onboarding is dependent on vendor's accuracy and response times. Please share this how-to guide with vendors who might need additional guidance.
  • Sole Source - For purchases valued $100,000 or more where there is only one vendor capable of providing an item or service and competitive sourcing cannot be sought.
  • Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) - TPRM is needed whenever a purchase involves: software or SaaS subscriptions, cloud storage or data-sharing solutions, websites or online platforms, AI tools, mobile applications, technology equipment that connects to UCLA networks, and vendors handling student, employee, patient, research, or financial data.
    • A good rule of thumb is: If the vendor touches UCLA data or UCLA technology systems, the requesting unit must initiate the TPRM. Please plan ahead, UCLA advises that the full TPRM process can take up to nine weeks, depending on the complexity of the review, vendor responsiveness, contract negotiations, and risk assessment requirements. See additional instructions here.
  • Small Business Waiver - For all non-construction and non-federally funded purchases between ≥$10,000 and ≤$250,000 annually (excluding tax but including shipping) that cannot be procured via an existing strategically sourced agreement, must be awarded to a certified Small Business (SB) or Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE), wherever practicable.
Olive View-Specific Purchasing Guidance

Purchasing at Olive View–UCLA Medical Center

Most purchasing policies and procedures for Olive View units follow the Dean’s Office purchasing guidelines. However, Olive View has site-specific submission and approval requirements outlined below.

How to Submit a Purchase Request (Olive View)
All supplies and services requests for Olive View must be submitted using the Olive View Supply & Service Request (SSR) form and routed through Olive View Medical Administration. Use this form to initiate purchasing requests:

MS 303 Supplies or Service Request

Completed forms (with required documentation) should be signed by the Department Head and submitted to Shiree Ballentine with all required documentation at sballentine@mednet.ucla.edu

Key Differences for Olive View Purchases
•    Do not submit Olive View purchase requests through the Dean’s Office Procurement Portal.
•    Olive View uses site-specific request forms and routing instead of the Dean’s Office portal process. 
•    Department Head approval is required before submission for all Olive View purchase requests.
•    All purchase requests must be approved before any services or goods are procured.
•    Competitive bids are required for requests over $500 (attach vendor quotes to the SSR).
•    Technology, software, and subscriptions may require additional review; allow extra lead time and consult Medical Administration if unsure.
•    Olive View must follow all UCLA policy requirements. Business purpose, documentation, and advance planning expectations remain the same.
 

How-To Guides for Frequent Purchase Types

Amazon Purchases

There are two options for requesting Amazon purchases:

  1. Request Purchase through the Procurement Portal - See step-by-step instructions here. Once the order has been placed, expect 1-5 day shipping depending on the item and whether Prime 2-day shipping applies.
  2. Request Reimbursement - Place the order through your personal account and request reimbursement through the Procurement Portal. Reimbursement requests must include a business justification. If the purchase was for an event, include the event name and date.
Business Cards

UCLA business cards must be designed using our approved vendor, Castle Press, and submitted to the Procurement Portal. To start drafting your business cards, follow our business card how-to guide.

Catering

Due to the requirement for additional exception approval for policy violations, we are requiring units to submit their catering/food order requests at least 3 weeks in advance of the event to provide sufficient lead team for BruinBuy orders to be processed.

Catering requests that do not meet this lead time requirement will not be processed and the unit will have to use AYS Catering as an alternative.

Effective Immediately: UCLA is implementing cost-saving measures in response to current financial challenges and anticipated reductions in government funding. As part of these efforts, all departments – including the Dean’s Office – are required to significantly reduce discretionary spending, particularly in the areas of travel, entertainment, and employee meals. In accordance with BUS-79 Expenditures for Business Meetings, Entertainment, and Other Occasions, the University will not pay for or reimburse costs for meals involving only UCLA employees unless the business purpose cannot be accomplished during working hours.

 

Gift Cards

The process for purchasing gift cards will depend on whether the recipient is a UCLA employee:

  1. Employee Recognition Request Form for UCLA employees - Download and complete the Employee Recognition Request Form, and upload the completed form into the Procurement Portal . Please be sure to include an Excel file of  recipient names, UIDS, and amount received with your submission.
  2. Gift Card Request Form for non-UCLA employees - Download and complete the Gift Card Request Form, and upload the completed form into the Procurement Portal . 

Effective Immediately: UCLA is implementing cost-saving measures in response to current financial challenges and anticipated reductions in government funding. As part of these efforts, all departments – including the Dean’s Office – are required to significantly reduce discretionary spending, particularly in the areas of travel, entertainment, and employee meals. The Dean's Office will not be processing employee recognition gift card requests.

Technology (Hardware & Software) Purchases

All transactions that involve technology, including web applications, all software subscriptions/licenses, mobile apps, website design/development, wearable technology and kiosks require a Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) assessment. To prevent additional delays, please ensure the TPRM Triage Form is submitted and the request is approved by TPRM before submitting into the Procurement Portal for purchase.

Please note the following:

  • Orders requiring TPRM approval will be sent back to the unit for completion if approval is not included in the original submission.
  • Not all requests will be approved by TPRM. Dean's Office Finance cannot override the decision.
  • Purchases made through ASUCLA do not require TPRM approval.
Honorarium

Requirements for requesting honorarium will vary based on whether the recipient is a UCLA employee or non-employee.
In addition, honorariums must be paid to an individual (not a company) and cannot be a negotiated agreement for an amount for a service (i.e., professional services requiring contract review).

  1. For UCLA Employees - Contact your department Human Resources office for payment request, including the recipient's name, UID, purpose of payment, criteria for selection, amount to be paid (gross or net of taxes), and FAU.
  2. For non-UCLA Employees - Follow our how-to guide on requesting honorarium payment to get started. Honorarium requests should be submitted to the Purchasing team at least 6 weeks in advance of the desired check disbursement date.
Office Depot Purchases

Use this link to find the catalog items available for purchase. Once you have selected your catalog items, submit your order request through the Procurement Portal. Find detailed instructions here, including Office Depot business website information.

Parking Permits

There are 3 types of parking. Select the type of parking that applies to you to download a request form and how-to guide:

  1. Courtesy Parking - On event date, visitors pick up passes from the main kiosk
  2. Event Parking - On event date, visitors name the event to the parking attendant at the kiosk.
  3. Parking Recharge - Purchase Requestors pick up the parking passes at the Transportation Office and distribute to visitors prior to the event date.
Sponsorships & Contributions

The Dean, Vice Deans, or faculty with discretionary funding may sponsor or contribute to an event, organization, or program. Requesting sponsorship or contribution requires the requestor to complete a Transmittal Letter, UCLA Sponsorship Form, and possibly obtain logo authorization and an attendees list. Follow our detailed instructions on how to submit a request for sponsorship.

Sponsorship requests should be submitted to the Purchasing team at least 4 weeks in advance of the desired payment date.

Temporary Staffing

Vaya Workforce Solutions is UCLA Health’s centralized vendor management system used to strategically source vendors, provide reporting and utilization analytics, and develop streamlined vendor management processes. To submit a request for temporary staffing, please complete this form and submit into our Procurement Portal for processing.

  1. If another staffing agency is required, please contact Mike Tran for additional assistance.
Websites for Purchase Requestors
Helpful Forms