Purchasing and Reimbursements

• Restricted P-Card Purchases – Purchasing Cards can be used for the following items when corresponding requirements are met and appropriate funding is available.
• Prohibited P-Card Purchases – Purchasing Cards may not be used for the following items.

Policy regarding membership costs in professional organizations: Employee memberships in professional organizations are allowable when the memberships benefit system business purposes and/or the employee’s job-related activities. Dues can be purchased through P-Card as long as the following conditions are met:

1. Membership dues require a business justification regardless of the fund.
2. Membership dues should only be paid on a yearly basis; otherwise, an exception is required for more than one year.
3. Membership dues are allowable from state, institutional support, gift and endowment income, service plan and self-supporting funds; however, the business purpose must directly benefit the University/Department.
4. Membership cannot be allocated to research grants.

Restricted T-Card Purchases: Travel Cards may be used for the following items if appropriate funding is available and the purchase conforms to university policies.

Prohibited T-Card Purchases: Administrative controls and/or legal requirements place limitations on the use of the Travel Card.

T-Card Form: Required for TEM system to reconcile charges made on faculty T-Cards (form best viewed with Adobe Reader or Internet Explorer)

Maximum allowable expenditures for business meals depend upon the attendees, the type of event, and in some cases, the starting time or length of the event. For further details to see if your event qualifies as an allowable business meal, please follow this link.

For maximum allowable expenditure limits for students & guests, please follow this link. The meal maximums do not include allowable expenditures for tax, tips, alcohol, and fees related to the service of alcohol.

* The system is exempt from Illinois state sales tax and has reciprocal agreements with some other states thereby make sure exemption is applied before purchase. *

Alcoholic Beverages during Business Meal Policy: If alcohol will be purchased during a business meal, please ask to separate this billed receipt from the food expense receipt since Department Gift funds will be the only fund allowed to cover the alcohol expense. If you are requesting to use this gift account for alcohol, Department Head written approval is required before the purchase.

Information Security Compliance Form: Required to gain access to TEM system before reimbursement can be requested. Please submit by emailing completed form to bioepay@uic.edu.

Reimbursement Form: Required to use TEM system to get reimbursed (form best viewed with Adobe Reader or Internet Explorer)

1.  Create requisition in iBuy: https://www.obfs.uillinois.edu/iBuy/
   or view training tutorials: https://www.obfs.uillinois.edu/training/materials/iBuy/
2.  Submit only ONE VENDOR PER REQUISITION, build cart, click ‘Summary’, then ‘Place Order’.
3.  Navigate to ‘My Pending Requisitions’ from drop down menu by your name at top. Copy/paste requisition number into email SUBJECT LINE, email it to your PI asking to forward email with fund name to bioepay@uic.edu.

NOTE: If a vendor* is not found in iBuy, email bioepay@uic.edu. Some vendors only accept credit cards; please contact your PI to place the order. Requisitions will be processed within 1 business day of PI providing fund. Any requisition pending longer than 5 business days without PI approval will be returned or rejected.

*AMAZON is not in iBuy. Please consult your PI to place order, or email bioepay@uic.edu for information.

1. Confirm how an item will ship: UPS, FEDEX, or freight. If freight, confirm shipping location with bioepay@uic.edu.
2. Log into iBuy: https://www.obfs.uillinois.edu/iBuy/ and go to ‘Non-Catalog Form’ toward middle top of homepage.
3. Enter supplier name and confirm vendor info/address/phone matches on quote or website.
4. For quotes: copy/paste item description and catalog number; enter quantity and individual item price; enter (1) for packaging and (49500)  for commodity code. Attach quote to ‘External Notes & Attachments’. Select  ‘Add and go to Cart’ if finished or ‘Add to Cart’ to add another item.
5. For non-catalog item: copy/paste item description and catalog number from vendor’s website; enter quantity and individual item price; enter (1) for packaging and (49500)  for commodity code. Select  ‘Add and go to Cart’ if finished or ‘Add to Cart’ to add another item.
6. Complete rest of your requisition, make sure shipping address is correct, review ‘Summary’ tab, and click ‘Place Order’.

As the shopper, you will receive notifications such as order confirmation and tracking numbers directly from the vendor.

If you receive any invoices, payment requests, or issue related messages, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you forward it to bioepay@uic.edu.

Check with the vendor directly if you do not receive order confirmation or tracking number from the vendor within 1-2 days and/or do not receive your product within 5-10 business days.

1. You are responsible for tracking your shipment. iBuy vendors will email tracking information to you and staff will make the best effort to notify you and/or your PI when order is delivered to our East or West main office. However, there may be times when we are unable to do so; so please remember you are responsible for tracking your shipment.
2. Default delivery address for any order is Bioe East or West main offices, located in SEO or CSN.
3.  Large items shipped via freight will be delivered to a warehouse, then redelivered to lab. Email bioepay@uic.edu before you order, for freight shipping arrangements.
4. Update your default iBuy shipping address following guideline below, before you submit your requisition. Be sure to save for future orders:

Department: Bioe/PI last name/Your name
Phone: 312-996-2335
Attn: Bioe/PI last name/Your name
Location: Praxair Account number  OR  Bioe/PI last name/Your name

1. Initiate return or exchange with vendor by requesting approval or RMA number.
2. Forward approval or RMA number email to bioepay@uic.edu.
3. Bring item with original box to Bioe East or West office.
4. You can cancel backorder items by communicating with vendor, but be sure to have confirmation in email and forward it to bioepay@uic.edu so we can update the PO, or else you risk your fund getting charged for it later.

• What is iBuy? – Think of iBuy as a payment method, just like a credit card.
• Why are there vendor website links in iBuy? – Website links you see on the homepage are called ‘PunchOut’ websites, which are dedicated websites created by the vendor for iBuy, with discounted prices already showing.
• Why do some vendors have websites in iBuy and others don’t? – The few vendors that have PunchOuts have university contracts with discounts.
• How do I search for products in iBuy? – If a vendor has a PunchOut, go to it and search for your product. If they do not, go directly to the vendor website, find the product, then use non-catalog instructions above to make the purchase.
  • For example, McMaster.com is a vendor available in iBuy, but they do not have a PunchOut. Go to their website, copy/paste description/catalog#/price into iBuy, and submit your requisition.

Email the Bioengineering Purchasing Team with any questions: bioepay@uic.edu

Please note: Reimbursements are not allowed. All project supplies must be ordered through the department. The budget is for project supplies ONLY and food/meals are prohibited.

Submit your orders by emailing links/quantities, carts, or wishlists (directly from vendor websites) to bioepay@uic.edu. Do not send screenshots or pictures. Include your group name and number in the subject line of your email. The amount of your order will automatically be deducted from your group budget. Plan ahead and order early, supplies will be delivered via the most economical shipping option, which often is the slowest.

Please note that the department can only use approved vendors listed below, available in the university purchasing system (iBuy) or via our Amazon Business account.

Approved vendors:

• Amazon
• Adafruit (electronic supplies)
• CDWG (computer supplies)
• Cole-Parmer (lab supplies)
• Fisher Scientific (lab supplies)
• Global Industrial (industrial supplies)
• Grainger (industrial supplies)
• McMaster-Carr (industrial supplies)
• Mouser (electronic supplies)
• Office Depot (office supplies)
• RobotShop (robotics supplies)
• Sigma-Aldrich (lab supplies)
• Sparkfun (electronic supplies)
• VWR (lab supplies)