Goods and Services

Procurement and Travel Services at the George Washington University (GW) offers multiple methods for purchasing goods and services. The method varies depending on the nature and amount of the purchase involved.

What Procurement Method Should I Use?

Equipment

Equipment is defined as an article of nonexpendable, tangible personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost which equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the institution for financial statement purposes. The Fixed Asset Department oversees capitalized assets and establishes the capitalization threshold.

Equipment purchased with sponsored funds must be used in accordance with the grant or contract. It cannot be used for other sponsored projects or for general use. Equipment may only be purchased if it was included in the proposal budget or prior approval has been secured. Any questions regarding equipment allowability should be directed to the assigned pod staff before beginning the procurement process.

To purchase equipment on a sponsored project, follow the guidelines set by Procurement and Travel Services. To determine the appropriate forms and processes for your purchase, reference the procurement methods table on the Procurement website.

Office Supplies, Telecommunications and General Use Office Equipment

General use office supplies, office equipment and telecommunications expenses are generally not allowed as direct charges to a federal sponsored project. Post-award SPAs can assist in determining when this may be allowable. The GW Direct Charging of Administrative Costs Associated with Sponsored Projects and the Identification and Treatment of Unallowable Costs policies can assist principal investigators in budgeting for allowable costs. You may also find the Direct Charging Administrative Costs checklist (DOC) helpful.

All procurements must follow the GW Procurement policy and meet the cost principles requirements.

To learn more about how local telephone and cell phone costs are managed on sponsored projects, please reference the Sponsored Projects Handbook (PDF) along with the GW Telephone/Wireless Communication Usage policy.