 Guidelines |
 Legal Authority & Policy |
 Process & Procedures |
Guidelines
- Procurement Process
- Requisition Checklist & Bid Limits - updated 6-12-2025
- Exceptions to Quotes/Bidding
Legal Authority & Policy
The Purchasing Department ensures that requested goods and services are allowable under the established:
- California Constitution Codes
- Standards of Public Purchasing Practice
- District Board Policies
- BP 6330
- BP 6340
- District Adm. Procedures
- AP 6350
- AP 6360
- AP 6365
- AP 6370
- AP 6380 (Vendors - Including Food Truck Vendors)
Purchasing Processes/Procedures
- Amazon Purchases
- Commonly Used Acronyms
- Facilities Involved Procurement (Furniture, Equipment, Install, Repair, Maintenance)
- Deliveries (Freight and Large Orders)
- Hospitality Expenditures
- Ink and Toner Purchases
- International Vendors
- IT Purchases
- Marketing & Publication Purchases
- Memberships
- Office Depot (Office Supplies)
- Piggybacks and Cooperative Agreements
- Placing Orders Without Authorization
- Procurement Process
- Procurement & Virtual Cards
- Requisition Timeline
- Returns/Order Issues
- Sales Tax Information
- Single & Sole Source Purchases
- Standing (Open) Purchase Orders
- Urgent Request Processing
- Justification for selecting an international vendor
- Vendor must provide a current year W-9 or W-8; this is to be uploaded to your REQ
- Vendor must accept credit card for payment; Use Virtual Mastercard as your vendor and note the actual vendor name in the document text
- Vendor must provide clear and fair shipping and return policies; this is to be uploaded to your REQ
- Overall customer reviews of vendor must be positive; this is to be uploaded to your REQ
- Vendor must provide email and phone # for contact information; this is to be included in the document text
Please contact purchasing@avc.edu should you have any questions.
The timeline form Requisition > Approvals > Purchase Order is ~2-3 weeks, with receipt of completed supporting documentation via Onbase.
See the Procurement Process page for additional details.
Returns/Order Issues
Customarily, items may usually be returned within 30 days after receipt if the items are still in their original unopened packages. Please note: vendors do have different return policies and some may charge restocking fees. Do not send return goods through the interoffice mail and do not bring them to the Business Services Area without permission from the Purchasing Department. Under no circumstances should a return be made without contacting Purchasing prior to the return. Vendors may require a Return Material Authorization (RMA) in order to have a valid return, which can be obtained through Purchasing. Not following this process will delay credits and/or replacements.
The return process is as follows:
- Call Purchasing at extension 6310 or email purchasing@avc.edu to arrange a method of return.
- Purchasing will advise on steps regarding contacting the vendor for return authorization and process.
- Warehouse staff will then be notified to pick up the items to be returned as applicable if authorization was given by the vendor.
- Accounts Payable staff will be notified in regards invoices and credits.
Any issues with your order are to be reported to the Purchasing Department immediately, so that the vendor can be contacted and the issue resolved. The process is as follows:
- Call Purchasing at extension 6310 or email purchasing@avc.edu to report the issue. Include the PO #, details of the issues, and your preference for a resolution (return, exchange, substitution, etc.)
- Purchasing will contact the vendor for options to get the issue resolved.
Single/Sole Source Purchases
Contact purchasing@avc.edu for guidelines on Single & Sole Source Purchases.