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How to Create Written Procurement Procedures from Scratch

The requirement for written procurement procedures is part of the Uniform Guidance that many federal grant recipients have been slow to implement.

So if you are wondering how to create the “dreaded” written procurement procedures manual from scratch, don’t worry.

We have created a roadmap for success on this federal grant requirement.

Written Procurement Procedures

Now, you might expect that since the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) required written procurement procedures in the procurement standards for federal funding years ago, everyone would have plenty of time to get their updated procedures written.

Think “out of sight, out of mind” as we all got busy with all the other requirements for federal grants.

However, the time for procrastination of this critical element of sound grant management is long past.

>>This means auditors and funders will be more insistent about seeing your actual written policies for procurement. 

More than ever, your program, procurement, and finance staff must understand your process and include the required elements in your written documentation.

Good documentation will reduce the risk of cost disallowance and keep the grants well-managed.

So, you may be thinking…

What’s the first step if I’ve decided that NOW is the time to update or even create our first written procurement procedures manual?

Or you may be wondering, “What goes into a procurement procedures manual that keeps you in compliance with the Uniform Guidance?” 

This article, will walk you through creating a written procurement procedures manual from scratch for your organization.

I will also cover an easy-to-implement solution to complete your procurement manual in record time!

Get Started: Table of Contents

The place to begin creating your documentation is to outline what things will be in your written Procurement Manual.

A Table of Contents can help you organize the topics you want to cover in your written procurement procedures from beginning to end.

Lay out how you handle your procurement with federal funding from the purchase requisition stage to the end of the procurement.

Also, list the related procurement records retention.

The Table of Contents can include major categories like:

  • Details about Procurement Office
  • Glossary of Terms
  • List of Federal Procurement Rules
  • Description of the Procurement Life Cycle
  • Appendix

Most importantly, the Table of Contents provides a structure for the overall procurement framework with federal funding at your organization.

Section One: Details about the Procurement Office

Moving on to the next step to start on the details in your written Procurement Procedures Manual, describe the Procurement Office.

You may know the Procurement Office as the Purchasing Department, the Strategic Sourcing Office, or the Office of Strategic Procurement.

But no matter what you call it, this is where the bulk of non-salary spending occurs on federal grants with help from other departments such as Sponsored Programs, Legal, and Finance.

Here are some of the things you could include in this section:

  • About the Office
  • The <Office Name>
  • Description of Procurement Office
  • Responsibilities of various personnel
  • Key contacts within the Procurement Office

Finally, a Glossary of Terms is a great thing to add to clarify the unique terminology used in procurement with federal grants.

Let’s admit it, working with federal grants means lots of special terms and jargon.

I also like to include a reminder to employees at the beginning of the document about the importance of ethical behavior when spending taxpayer funds.

When procurement is not done well, it can be the source of large cost disallowances, damaged reputations, and even criminal prosecution.

Section Two: Federal Grants Procurement Rules

The following section is where you would list what regulations you are using to manage your procurements with federal grant funds.

And yes, grants have many compliance regulations from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and individual federal agencies.

For most of us, the primary set of regulations comes from federal grant regulations contained in 2 CFR Part 200, also known as the Uniform Guidance. 

This section should also describe what processes and procedures you must have to support the federal procurement standards requirements.

You would also specify things like:

  • General Procurement Standards in the Uniform Guidance
  • Special Rules for States
  • Standards of Conduct for making procurement decisions that are free from conflicts of interest and non-competitive practices
  • Other Rules like:

The goal of this section is to have a comprehensive list of what procurement rules you must follow as a federal grant recipient.

A well-written procurement policy will also help employees new to grants better understand what is required when you purchase goods and services with federal funding.

Section Three: Procurement Lifecycle

In this section, you will walk through your process of procuring goods and services.

Walk through the process that supports federal awards from the purchase requisition, to the documentation of the history of the procurement and what you do to meet record retention requirements.

You should include the basic steps in the procurement lifecycle, such as the purchase request and authorization.

Also, look at how to:

Here are some examples of each of those areas:

Pre-Procurement Process

  • How do you request the purchase of goods or services for your grant?
  • When does the purchase need to be authorized by another person?
  • Who is the appropriate person for authorization of spending?
  • Does there need to be a budget review of the request before to the purchase?
  • Does someone need to review the purchase request to ensure the costs are allowable to charge the federal award?

Spending Grant Funds

Spending grant funds for goods and services is where the rubber meets the road for procurement processes. (And procedures can get overlooked in a rush to spend the grant funds!) 

You should include your procedures and processes for the following:

  • Ensuring purchases are reasonable and necessary to support the work of the federal award
  • Reviewing contractors to make sure they are responsible and not suspended or debarred from federal spending
  • Taking affirmative steps for small business, minority, and women-owned firms to participate in the upcoming solicitations
  • Reviewing procurement methods and determining the appropriate levels of documentation and competition for the procurements
  • Establishing the appropriate contract type to use
  • Disclosing conflicts of interest as appropriate

If you have these policies in other documents, then you would reference those documents in this section rather than duplicate all the policies and procedures.

Contract Administration

This next section on managing grant awards covers “the rest of the story” during procurement with federal funding.

For example:

  • When would bonding be required?
  • Do you identify situations requiring prior approval from the federal awarding agency?
  • How do you ensure that you aren’t calling a subaward relationship a procurement contract?
  • Are you avoiding prohibited contract types and non-competitive practices?
  • What special considerations are needed when using consultants?

And the list goes on and on…

Step back and think of all the frequently asked questions (FAQ) by program staff during the period of performance for your grants.

Then put guidance in the manual for the most FAQ about purchasing goods and services for your federal grants.

Closing Out Procurement Transactions

This next part lays out how the procurement is closed out.

Here are a few examples:

  • What happens once the goods or services have been delivered or received?
  • What records do you need to retain?
  • How long do you need to keep the documentation for the procurement history?
  • What special requirements are needed to document approval of noncompetitive procurements like approved sole source justifications forms?

You may also want to add an index to make it easy for people to find the relevant parts of your Procurement Manual as well.

 Section Four: Appendices

An appendix is the “catch-all” place for other things relevant to the procurement for your federal award that doesn’t “logically” fit in a different section.

It is a great place to add examples of forms, guides, and checklists.

Here are a few things we like to see in the federal Procurement Manual:

  • Sample-Purchase Requisition Form
  • Sample-Signatory Authorization Form
  • Sample-Sole Source Justification Form
  • Sample-Purchase Order Form
  • Sample-Bid Solicitation Form
  • Sample-Solicitation Evaluation Form
  • Sample-Receiving Document
  • Sample-Services Agreement
  • Sample-Subaward Agreement
  • Procurement Records Checklist
  • Contractors vs. Subawardees Guide
  • Contractor Evaluation Form
  • Selected Items of Cost Details
  • Examples of Funder Prior-Approval Circumstances

What do you think?

Has this article made the creation of your manual go smoother?

Want quicker results?

If you want a faster way to get your manual created, check out our Editable Procurement Manual Template.

We’ve put together all the key elements of written procurement procedures in this easy-to-implement Word document.

If you don’t want to start from scratch and need results fast, this could be a great solution for you!

>Check out the Editable Procurement Manual Template.

Prefer to D-I-Y Your Federal Grants Management?

Check out our step-by-step guides on creating your own federal award documentation with our three articles:

We’ve included everything we’d put in my federal grant documentation if we were starting to reinvent the wheel from scratch. 🙂

Ready to Deepen Your Understanding of Federal Funding?

Would you like to be a better grant writer or manager?

Deepen your understanding of procurement and the single audit for federal grants?

We have another grant training seminar coming soon.

Click here to get all the details!

Hope to see you there!

Rachel Werner

 

 

 

 

Rachel Werner, MPA, GPC, PMP

MyFedTrainer Principal, Compliance Champion

 

Federal grant management templates