Property Management Policy & Procedure Manual
Section 200: Equipment Acquisition
Effective: 03/01/1979
Revised: 09/14/2018
Individual departments may purchase equipment using state, sponsored, affiliated foundation pass-through, or auxiliary funds. Regardless of the source of funds, all purchases must be made in accordance with applicable federal and state law and Oregon State University (OSU) policies.
Equipment acquisitions may be made by purchase, loan, gift, transfer, trade, or fabrication. The equipment may be new or used. The acquisition cost must be equal to or greater than (=>) $5,000 per unit/item to be established as capitalized equipment. All other movable equipment of a lesser amount will be accounted for as minor equipment.
Allowable acquisition costs include any costs related to the obtainment and installation of the equipment such as the purchase price, shipping, and installation fees. Also, all costs related to the importation of equipment from foreign countries (such as entry fee, broker's fee, cartage fee, custom's bond, import service fee and custom duty fees) are allowable as part of the acquisition cost.
Unallowable costs include extended maintenance, warranties, training, and vehicle registration/license fees.
Software in the purchase of equipment which is separately itemized on a vendor invoice is not capitalized. This cost is expensed as 20202 "software."
When determining the best method to acquire equipment, the following considerations should be made:
See PRO 210 Fabrication for guidance on what constitutes a fabricated or assembled piece of capitalized equipment and specific approval procedures.
OSU may acquire ownership of equipment in several ways including, but not limited to, the following:
OSU may acquire the use of equipment, though not ownership, by receiving the following: