All federally funded purchases above the micropurchase thresholds outlined in the section directly above must be supported by either several quotes to support price analysis, or a Sole Source Justification in accordance with the requirements in 24 CFR 84 and 85, and eCFR §200.318-324. Please substantiate your requisition by using the Form A: Source Selection and Price Reasonableness Form. All transactions over $9,999.99 using federal funds will be reviewed by Campus Purchasing. Need help navigating the Form A? Click here for a quick tutorial.
The use of a UCOP Agreement Vendor (https://solutions.sciquest.com/apps/Router/Login?OrgName=UCOP) substantiates price analysis, since most of the UCOP Agreements have been competitively bid (if you don't have the login/password for this website, email calli.price@bfs.ucsb.edu). It's important to note, however, that some UCOP Agreements are categorized as a Price Schedule, such as Agilent, Olympus, and GE Healthcare. These contracts provide the University with price reasonableness justification, but not as a source selection since the agreements were not competitively bid. Only Primary and Co-Primary contracts may be used in lieu of soliciting competition.
The following are examples of how to substantiate Price Reasonableness, together with a discount (discount alone is not justifiable), in order of preference:
- Price competition - comparison of quotes
- UCOP, State, or GSA contract pricing, or comparison with prices under these existing contracts
- Prior price history with the same vendor, same items (include the Gateway PO number and $ amount paid)
- Comparison with current, or recent prices for a similar item(s) with another vendor
- Market research, and/or catalog or established price list (sales to the general public - screen shot ok)
Our ONR (Office of Naval Research) Lead Auditor said the following in order to prove the statement you write on the Form A:
"Just make sure you can back up what they write with listings, price histories, or other data. Back up is the key. An auditor should not have to question anything."