Software Purchase Process Reminder

As we begin the new calendar year, we wanted to communicate again, the process that must be followed before purchasing software. Most software vendors require the customer accept certain terms and conditions in order to use the software. As a public institution in the State of Ohio, Ohio University is required to abide by certain terms and conditions in accordance with Ohio law. As a result, before any purchase of software is made, the purchaser must first seek approval of the software from the Office of Information Technology (OIT) as well as receive approval for the terms and conditions of the software by Purchasing Contracts.

Generally, all software purchases should be made through BobcatBUY on a Service Agreement Form. BobcatBUY workflow will route this to the correct departments to review prior to a purchase order being issued.

In some cases, software vendors may only accept payment via a credit card. If that is the case, you must first complete the software purchasing process (seek approval from OIT AND get approval of the terms and conditions of software usage from Purchasing Contracts) and have an approved exception granted by Finance to purchase on a pcard. You can complete this process by submitting a customer ticket to Finance Customer Care prior to making the purchase and attaching a copy of the terms and conditions provided by the software vendor.  The ticket will be reviewed by OIT to approve the use case and allow Purchasing to review and negotiate terms.  Once both departments have approved, the ticket will be routed to the Purchasing Card team to receive a policy exception.  This exception must be attached to your Concur expense report to document the exception. 

Purchasing software on a purchasing card prior to receiving an exception will result in a policy violation and may be subject to reimbursement to the University by the cardholder. 

Questions? Contact Finance Customer Care at financecustomercare@ohio.edu.