COVID-19 Updates

Please see our dedicated page for the current status of Procurement Services and Supply Chain Updates.

Please review UC’s Commitment to Worker Health and Safety during the COVID-19 Pandemic. We appreciate your partnership and value the wellbeing of our entire community.

Small and Diverse Business Program

It is the policy of the University of California, consistent with State and Federal Law, to optimize opportunities for business contracting with small and diverse business enterprises, and to give all responsive, responsible vendors a fair and equal opportunity to compete for campus business. The UC Office of the President also contracts on behalf of the campuses with suppliers via a competitive bidding process for large bucket commodities like office supplies, lab products and equipment, temporary labor, and computer equipment. Learn more about system wide bid opportunities.

Learn more about our Small and Diverse Business Program.

Delegation of Authority

Curious if the contract, quote, or proposal you received is signed by someone at the University with signature authority? View a list of individuals authorized to sign contracts on behalf of UCSB and the Regents.

Doing Business with the University

Registering as a Supplier with UC Santa Barbara

Suppliers interested in conducting business on our campus must solicit individual departments with which they are interested in doing business. We are a decentralized campus; Procurement requires departments send purchase requests prior to setting up suppliers our e-Procurement system. We are available for questions at purchasing@bfs.ucsb.edu, but cannot guarantee business or connect vendors with individuals.

Visiting and Parking on Campus

UCSB Procurement, as well as many academic departments, is open for business from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with the exception of legal and University holidays.

We are closed for lunch from 12-1pm. Please contact us to make an appointment via e-mail: purchasing@bfs.ucsb.edu.

Procurement Location and Parking Map

Vendors may park in specially designated loading/unloading zones and docks for 20 minutes or less. No parking is allowed at any time on walkways, sidewalks, bike paths, red curbs, orange stalls, expired meters, or in University Circle Plaza. Questions about these regulations can be addressed to the Transportation and Parking Services Office at 893-5388.

A vendor parking permit may be issued to vendors who park on campus to provide repair or maintenance service to UCSB departments on a regular basis. University affiliated personnel (faculty, staff or students) and University Center outdoor vendors are not eligible to purchase vendor permits. Vendor permits are valid in "S," "S/C," designated service areas, restricted areas, and loading zones. Vendors must purchase and display a UCSB Vendor Parking Permit when parked on campus or in campus managed facilities. Please visit UCSB Transportation and Parking Services for additional parking information.

Invoicing

For Purchase Orders:
The UCSB Purchase Order Number (which looks like GW0000xxxxx) must appear on the invoice. Incomplete invoices result in payment delays, so it is in your best interest to comply with these instructions. Invoices should be sent to: invoicesonly@bfs.ucsb.edu - note, this is a repository only. Questions about payment status can be sent to gatewayhelp@bfs.ucsb.edu

For Construction, Subawards, and Dining or UCEN Invoices:
Payment for these invoices are *not* handled through the email address above. Please send those invoices to your University point of contact.

Sales Tax at the UC

UCSB is at the 7.75% sales tax rate, and is not exempt from state sales or use tax except for property purchased using federal funds where title to that property (or ultimately, the fabrication of property) vests with the Federal Government. By policy, UCSB generally requires the Seller to pay all contributions, taxes and premiums payable under federal, state and local laws measured upon the payroll of employees engaged in the performance of work under a contract, and all applicable sales, use, excise, transportation, privilege, occupational and other taxes applicable to materials and supplies furnished or work performed.

Fair Work/Fair Wage

If the Services your company provides will be performed at a UC Location, your company will be required to pay its employees performing the Services no less than the UC Fair Wage ($15/hour).

For services over $100k per year, UCSB will work with your company to conduct a UC Fair Wage/Fair Work audit verification. Such audit verification must be performed by a registered public accounting firm*, or your internal audit department who must report to an independent board. Since most local suppliers likely do *not* have an internal audit department meeting this description, it's highly likely your company will need to use a registered public accounting firm*.

*You can determine if your public accounting firm is registered here: https://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/consumers/lookup.shtml 

SCAMS - Fraudulent Purchase Orders

We want to alert you to a nationwide fraud scam that is targeting suppliers at colleges across the country. Please take precautions so that you are not a victim of this scam. The fraud scam involves purchase orders and requests for product quotations that purport to originate from the University but are in fact fraudulent. According to multiple schools, the emails request quotes for specific merchandise. Later, a purchase order is emailed to the business that bears resemblance to an authentic University purchase order. The purchase order instructs delivery to an address not affiliated with the University. After shipping the merchandise, the business never receives payment and is unable to retrieve the mailed products.

If an order is received by email, please alert your staff to hover over the address to see if it was sent from a legitimate email address that contains an ending of “@ucsb.edu” or “@bfs.ucsb.edu”. If the email contains other domains, misspellings, or dashes (example @ucsb-bfs.ed.com) it is likely the email did not originate from a valid campus procurement agent.

View the list of authorized UCSB procurement agents.

In addition, please confirm the address for any suspicious or large dollar orders, with the ordering department. Most orders for UCSB should be delivered to official UCSB addresses. If you are not sure whether an order is a valid University purchase order or quote, please contact Procurement Services at purchasing@bfs.ucsb.edu for verification. Procurement Services at UCSB appreciates the very important role our suppliers play in providing goods and services to our faculty and staff in support of their academic and research endeavors.

If your company is contacted by someone you believe is attempting to fraudulently solicit your goods or services, please file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center: www.ic3.gov. Submissions to this site are monitored by the appropriate Federal Agencies for on-line scams. If your company has shipped an order based on a fraudulent PO issued under the UCSB name and are facing a financial loss, please also contact your local law enforcement agency.

 

Hyperlink icon  Useful Links

Map of location on campus

For current UC bids:

https://smart.gep.com/publicRFx/ucal?oloc=215#/

Fair Work/Fair Wage Audits:
Verify your accounting firm is registered here:

https://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/consumers/lookup.shtml