Procurement Newsletter October 2025
UC Santa Barbara
Procurement NEWS | October 2025
Table of Contents
- Federal Fund Updates
- Vendor Blankets
- IT Related Purchases
- Cloud Services - AWS, Azure, Google Cloud
- Partial Sales Tax
- Amazon Business
- Award End Dates in Gateway POs
- Flexcard Training Resource
- Commodity Codes and Account Enhancements
- Funding available to replace old equipment
- Updates to Office Hours
Federal Fund Updates
Good news from the Federal Register - several dollar thresholds were increased for federal contract funding on October 1st, including:
| a) | Micropurchase - this increased from $10K to $15K. The Form A has been updated accordingly; please use this version moving forward: Updated Form A Document |
| b) | Small Business Subcontracting Plan requirement - the threshold increased to $900K. Federal contracts could be subject to a Small Business Subcontracting Plan requirement under FAR 19.702 whenever the prime contract exceeds $900,000.00. Existing contracts awarded before October 1 will remain under the thresholds that applied at the time of award ($750,000.00 for most contracts) until those contracts end. Departments proposing or managing new awards should plan accordingly by reviewing the materials on the Small Business Subcontracting Plans website and can request a new plan by submitting a “Small Business Subcontracting” ticket in ServiceNow. |
Vendor Blankets
Vendor blankets no longer route to Procurement if they are under $10k unless a relevant Restricted Commodity is selected. This change aligns with the threshold that UC policy BUS-43 allows for departments to purchase without involvement from Procurement. Please be sure to include a full description in the VB form, so the vendor understands what is being requested.
Also, in case you missed it from the last newsletter:
Converted VBs or Contracts cannot be changed in any way (no extension, no addition or reduction in funding, and no change to the CCOA). For any changes, please submit a new VB or Contract Request Form, and then submit a ticket to close the Converted PO so your lien is released.
IT Service Requisitions
For all IT related services, including but not limited to software at all levels, licenses, website creation or updates, cloud storage, credit card processing, registration/application systems, and third party tools integrating with UC systems:
Please ask the person in your department most familiar with the services to complete an IT Data Worksheet.
The Office of Information Security (OIS) will be added to the Gateway workflow as long as the requisition stops in Procurement. OIS's review will take several weeks, and if a contract is needed we will need plenty of time to negotiate with the vendor. It is in your best interest to complete the form very thoroughly, because OIS will use the information provided on this form to decide if a contract with UC's Data Security agreement is necessary. If a contract requires the UC’s Data Security Appendix, OIS then needs several weeks to collect the vendor’s security documents and assess the security risk.
To maximize efficiency, please make sure that you include the completed IT Data worksheet when you submit a requisition for IT related services, with at least 8 weeks lead time.
Cloud Services: AWS, Azure & Google Cloud
If your department needs to purchase cloud services through Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, or Google Cloud, please be sure to use the Form in Gateway called UCSB Cloud Services. This form goes straight to Campus ITS to use our master campus accounts.
For more information on this program, visit the UCSB Campus Cloud Web Page.
For additional information regarding minimum requirements for using Campus Cloud services, please email info@cloud.ucsb.edu.
Partial Sales Tax
If you are using the California partial sales tax exemption for R&D purchases:
In addition to changing the sales tax rate to 3.813% and attaching the Partial Exemption Certificate (CDTFA-230-M), please be sure to use the "Sales Tax Exemption" dropdown on each line item that is subject to sales tax. This will ensure the rate transfers to the invoice, and you don't overpay.
Gateway does not automatically transmit the partial tax rate to OFC *unless* this dropdown is selected:
Award End Dates in Gateway POs
Please take a moment to review your Gateway POs that use a Project CCOA. We are seeing a growing number of invoices falling back to “Draft” status, and this caused by the expired “Award End Date.” When the award end date has passed, the invoice is automatically sent back to “Draft” status and will not process.
Ensure that the Award End Date tied to your Project string is still valid—it must be later than the invoice date. This quick check can prevent unnecessary delays and keep your payment process on track.
For additional assistance, please feel free to join our Gateway Invoicing Q&A Office Hours on Tuesdays from 3:00pm to 3:30pm via Zoom.
Trouble Checking Out on Amazon Business? Here’s What You Need to Know
Since Gateway came back online in July, some Amazon Business users have encountered issues at checkout. In most cases, this happens because Gateway only recognizes netIDs associated with the @ucsb.edu domain. If your primary netID email uses a different domain, such as @umail.ucsb.edu, @chem.ucsb.edu, @bfs.ucsb.edu, or others, Amazon Business will not be able to connect your account correctly, resulting in checkout errors.
How to Fix It:
To resolve this issue, you’ll need to update your netID profile to use @ucsb.edu as your primary email address. We’ve created a step-by-step Resource Guide to walk you through the process.
If you follow these steps and still experience issues accessing or checking out through Amazon Business, please contact our Amazon Business Account Executive, Nicole Stone, for assistance at nrfleet@amazon.com.
Flexcard Training Resources
The Office of Financial Training has published two new Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) and a comprehensive FAQ section for the FlexCard program. These resources are available now on the Financial Training Website.
Quick Reference Guides
Streamlined guides to help you navigate key FlexCard processes:
- How to Match a FlexCard Authorization PO to a FlexCard Invoice while Allocating
- How to Use the Flexcard Authorization Form for Purchases Made in Gateway via the Flexcard
- FlexCard FAQ: Answers to common questions, organized in one convenient location.
We encourage you to review these materials and share feedback on additional topics you'd like to see covered in future training resources.
Commodity Codes and Account Enhancements in Gateway
We’re excited to share an important update to Gateway: select Commodity Codes have been modified to automatically default to a Supplies Account, particularly those that could otherwise be associated with Inventorial Equipment.
To ensure accurate financial reporting and compliance, we ask that campus users carefully review and select the Commodity Code and Account that best reflect the goods and/or services being purchased.
Please continue to follow the steps outlined below to review and update the Commodity Code and Account fields during the requisition process, as needed.
1. In the line items, click the pen to edit and select the Commodity Code and save your selection.
2. Then, go back to the little pen again and select the correct Account, and save it once more. The Expenditure Type will update automatically after these steps.
Funding available to replace old energy-inefficient equipment, including ULT Freezers
The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) is currently offering a $4,000 rebate to labs that are willing to recycle their 10-year-old+ ULT freezer to buy a new ENERGY STAR® model. An additional $2,500 rebate is available for FY 2025/2026 from Fisher Scientific for new ENERGY STAR® ULT Freezers. You can receive a total rebate of up to $6,500 ($4,000 TGIF and $2,500 from Fisher Scientific), while funds last.
It has been estimated that UC Santa Barbara could see annual savings between 67% and 79% in a payback period between 6-13 years if all of UC Santa Barbara’s oldest ULT freezers were replaced with ENERGY STAR® units. Consolidating freezer space and eliminating the use of old freezers offers huge financial and environmental savings. Replacing old freezers also reduces the risk of failure and the loss of samples.
Funding is also available for WaterSense and ENERGY STAR® equipment. For more information on the rebate program and other important considerations when selecting a new unit, visit:
- sustainability.ucsb.edu/tgif-equipment-rebate-program
- bfs.ucsb.edu/procurement/sustainable-procurement/your-lab
Increase the life and energy efficiency of your existing freezers by following these best practices:
| • | Defrost and clean refrigerator/freezer coils: Establishing a preventative maintenance schedule can extend the lives of your ULTs as well as increase their efficiency! Investigations at the National Institutes of Health have indicated that for every year of a ULT freezer's life, its energy consumption increases by 3%. |
| • | Maintain an inventory of samples: By maintaining an inventory and discarding unneeded samples, you will save space and reduce the need for more units. |
| • | Clean external coils and filters: Dirty coils and filters increase energy consumption by preventing effective airflow. |
| • | Maintain door seals: A tight seal is important to keep warm air out of the unit; it increases energy efficiency and performance. |
If you have questions about the rebate program, please contact Jewel Persad at jewelpersad@ucsb.edu.
Office Hours
| Gateway & Procurement | Gateway Invoicing Q&A |
|---|---|
| All Hands Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9am -10am: Zoom Link | Tuesdays 3:00pm - 3:30pm Zoom link |
| Equipment Management | FlexCard |
|---|---|
| Wednesdays 10:00am - 11:00am Zoom link | Tuesdays 2:00pm - 3:00pm, and Thursdays 10:00am - 11:00am Zoom link |
Please use the Helpdesk for targeted topics:
Submit requests and track inquiries directly through our online portal.
UCSB Procurement Processing Times
Standard turnaround times for purchase orders and contracts are available here:
bfs.ucsb.edu/procurement/processing-times
Where is my order?
After pulling up your requisition, locate the "What's Next" section on the right side. The current status will appear in a green checkmark. You can also use the Comment tab to get in touch with the person assigned the requisition.