VCU Procurement Services

The Auto-Populated Dates enhancement is now available in Emburse Expense. When creating a new expense report, enter your overall travel dates in the Expense Report Header. Emburse will automatically carry those dates over to the applicable expense tiles, including: The auto-populated dates remain editable, allowing you to adjust an individual expense when it does not […]

A Change Request is generally needed when a purchase order no longer reflects the expected price, quantity, funding, scope, or remaining balance. When the change is known in advance Submit a Change Request before the vendor provides additional goods or services when: Cancel or liquidate? For more detail, review Keeping POs Clean: Best Practices in […]

A cooperative contract can be an efficient way to purchase goods or services, but it is not automatically available for every VCU need. Send the contract details to Procurement Services before relying on a cooperative contract. Why cooperative contracts can help Cooperative contracts may provide access to competitively established pricing and negotiated terms while reducing […]

Update: The Auto-Populated Dates enhancement is coming soon to Emburse Expense. This article has been updated to clarify the implementation timeline. Additional information will be shared when the feature is available. Let’s be honest: nobody lists “filing expense reports” as their favorite activity. Manually tracking down receipts and repeatedly entering identical travel dates makes expense […]

When you’re buying from an existing contract, link the contract to your RealSource requisition before you submit it. This matters most for purchases under $10,000, where the requisition typically becomes a purchase order without review by a Procurement Services buyer. If you don’t link the contract, no one else will. Why linking matters Linking connects […]

The right procurement method depends on the total contract value, what VCU is buying, and whether competition or an exception applies. Procurement Services can help identify the appropriate path before a department selects or commits to a vendor. Request for Proposal (RFP) Formal process used when VCU needs to evaluate factors beyond price and may […]

The Controller’s Office is working on updating the fringe rates applicable to fiscal year 2027. The new rates are applicable to transactions incurred on or after Jul 01, 2026.Faculty/Classified Fringe 38.7% (Decrease from 38.8%) Hourly Fringe 7.8% (Increase from 7.4%) Updated Process  Payroll: o   input new rates in Banner; new rates to be automatically applied to […]

RealSource will be unavailable due to a scheduled system update beginning Friday, July 17, at 9:00 PM through Sunday, July 19, at 12:00 PM while Release 26.2 is deployed. This is a minor software release, and only minimal changes are included. Users should plan accordingly and complete any time-sensitive transactions before the scheduled downtime. Thank you for your patience and understanding […]

A new fiscal year marks a fresh start and new opportunities for our campus community. Procurement Services is excited to continue partnering with departments across campus to support your purchasing needs and help make the year ahead a success. Whether you’re planning new projects, launching initiatives, or preparing for what’s next, we’re here to help […]

If a purchase involves a vendor contract, quote, order form, or online terms, contact Procurement Services before you sign or accept. Starting early helps identify the right purchasing path and allows time for any required reviews before the product or service is needed. Contact Procurement Services when: Why timing matters A purchase may require sourcing, […]