Finance Division
How To Buy / Pay
The following table summarizes purchasing methods for various routine purchases at Clemson. This matrix applies for all State and Grant Funds (Funds 10-23); for other Fund sources, please review the Disbursement Grid. When purchasing with other Fund sources, Direct Payment Vouchers are the preferred method, followed by personal reimbursement when absolutely necessary.
In the table below, when both buyWays PO and P-card are
indicated, refer to this Decision Tree to decide specifically which method should
be used in a particular instance.
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
| Commodity/Payee |
Vendor Registration Required |
Check Fee Applies | Exempt from Net 30 Payment Terms | buyWays PO | P-card | Direct Pay via buyWays | Reimbursement |
| Academic Speakers |
Y | N | Y | X | |||
| Accreditation fees and Academic Testing Services | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Advertisements (newspapers, magazines, journals, radio, tv, etc.) | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Airline Tickets | N/A | N/A | N/A | X | X | ||
| Architects & Engineers | Y | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Audio - Visual | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Books | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Break Room Appliances for Faculty & Staff | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Building Maintenance - Campus Buildings | Y | Y | N | Contact Facilities | |||
| Bus, Charter Services | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Business Cards / Stationery | N/A | N/A | N/A | X | |||
| Commodity/Payee |
Vendor Registration Required |
Check Fee Applies | Exempt from Net 30 Payment Terms | buyWays PO | P-card | Direct Pay via buyWays | Reimbursement |
| Car Rental |
Y | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Carpet / Flooring | Y | Y | N | X | |||
| Clemson University Student Organizations | Y | N | Y | X | |||
| Coffee Service for Campus Offices (if primarily for outsider use) | Y | Y | N | X | X | X | |
| Construction Services & Building Alterations | Y | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Consulting Services | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Copiers & Multi-Functional Devices | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | X |
|
| Copyrights/Royalties | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Conference/Meeting Registration | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | X | X |
| Conference Facilities | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Damage Payments |
Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Commodity/Payee |
Vendor Registration Required |
Check Fee Applies | Exempt from Net 30 Payment Terms | buyWays PO | P-card | Direct Pay via buyWays | Reimbursement |
| Employee Search Services |
Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| EMS Refunds | N | N | Y | X | |||
| Entertainment (Speakers, lecturers, musicians, performing artists) | Y | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Equipment (Non-Inventorial) | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Equipment (Inventorial) | Y | Y | N | X | |||
| Equipment Maintenance & Repair | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Equipment Rental | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| External Auditors | Y | Y | N | Contact Office of Internal Audit | |||
| Fellowships | Y | N | Y | X | |||
| Furniture | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Gases | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Goods & Supplies, Basic Purchases | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Commodity/Payee |
Vendor Registration Required |
Check Fee Applies | Exempt from Net 30 Payment Terms | buyWays PO | P-card | Direct Pay via buyWays | Reimbursement |
| Hardware - Computer | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Hazardous Materials | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Honoraria | Y | N | Y | X | |||
| Independent Contractors | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Insurance | Y | N | Y | Contact Clemson University Risk Management | |||
| Internal Payments to other Clemson entities (Bursar, Madren Center, etc…) | N | N | Y | X | |||
| Janitorial Supplies | Y | Y | N | X | X |
||
| Juror Payments | N | N | Y | X | |||
| Laboratory Supplies and Equipment (for buyWays punch-out and hosted catalog suppliers) |
Y | Y | N | X | |||
| Laboratory Supplies and Equipment | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Legal Services | Y | Y | N | Contact Clemson University General Counsel | |||
| Library Materials | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Licenses & Fees for Computer Programs | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Lodging: Student Travel | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Lodging: Visiting Speakers (room only) | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Commodity/Payee |
Vendor Registration Required |
Check Fee Applies | Exempt from Net 30 Payment Terms | buyWays PO | P-card | Direct Pay via buyWays | Reimbursement |
| Meals - official guests, visitors, students, or job candidates, per state limits | N/A | N/A | N/A | X | |||
| Medical Services (when the service is purchased from a licensed hospital or an individual) | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Medical Services (temp service provider or independent lab testing) | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Medical Supplies | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Memberships of Employees to Organizations if Benefits the Univ and Univ Membership is Unavailable | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | X | |
| Moving Expenses | N/A | N/A | N/A | X | |||
| Office Supplies | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Paper | Y | Y | N | X | |||
| Performances, Performers, Artists (Speakers, lecturers, musicians, performing artists) | Y | N | Y | X | |||
| Personal/Professional Services | Y | Y | N | X | |||
| Pest Control | Y | Y | N | X | |||
| Plant Industry - Refunds to Individuals | N | N | Y | X | |||
| Plaques, certificates of achievements, similar recognition events - Employees (<$50) | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | X | |
| Postage | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Printing Services | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | X | |
| Promotional Items | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Referees / Officials | N | N | Y | X | |||
| Registration Fees | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Reimbursement to Employee | N/A | N/A | N/A | X | |||
| Rental or Lease of Personal or Real Property | Y | Y | N | X | |||
| Repairs - Equipment | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Research Study Participants | Y | N | Y | X |
|||
| Commodity/Payee |
Vendor Registration Required |
Check Fee Applies | Exempt from Net 30 Payment Terms | buyWays PO | P-card | Direct Pay via buyWays | Reimbursement |
| Security Services including Security Guards & Alarms | Y | Y | N | X | |||
| Service Charges for Past Due Invoices | Y | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Shipping -FedEx - UPS - Express | N/A | N/A | N/A | X | |||
| Software | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| SC State Treasurer | N | N | Y | X | |||
| Sponsored Programs Sub-Contracts | Y | N | Y | X | |||
| Stationery / Business Cards | N/A | N/A | N/A | X | |||
| Storage Unit | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Subscriptions | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Telephone | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | X | |
| Temporary Staff | Y (if non P-card) | Y | N | X | X | ||
| Train Ticket | N/A | N/A | N/A | X | X | ||
| Training & Course Tuition | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | X | |
| Travel - Employee - Reimbursement only except for airfare | N/A | N/A | N/A | X | |||
| Travel - Student - Reimbursement | N/A | N/A | N/A | X | |||
| Travel - Student - Pay Vendors Directly | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Utilities | Y (if non P-card) | N | Y | X | X | ||
| Vehicles | Y | Y | N | X | |||
| *Any Payment Requiring an Attachment | Y | N | N | X | X | ||
| Commodity/Payee |
Vendor Registration Required |
Check Fee Applies | Exempt from Net 30 Payment Terms | buyWays PO | P-card | Direct Pay via buyWays | Reimbursement |