Department and Business Administration

CU Marketplace is the department's preferred platform and can accommodate a wide variety of purchases. Always check if the requested goods or services are available on the Marketplace before using other vendors. Per University policy, we cannot approve orders from “Big Box” vendors (Target, Home Depot, Walmart, etc.). If you are using a non-preferred vendor, please make sure it accepts US credit card payments before submitting your request.

Ordering from Amazon.com:

• While Amazon orders are not prohibited, the Department has experienced an increase in delayed orders and unexpected cancellations. Please note that the Department is not responsible for these issues.
• If an Amazon order does not allow the purchase to be tax exempt, you will be asked to resubmit the order using a different vendor

The office cannot process orders without proof of authorization from your PI. For best practices, keep your PI/account holder cc'ed on all correspondence throughout the purchasing process. Alternatively, you can provide documents that demonstrate authorization, such as an email where the has PI approved a purchase and also designated which account or chartstring the expense should be charged to.

Note: if you are making a purchase using funds or project IDs from other departments, you must submit your purchase requests through those departments, which may have different procedures and expectations regarding purchases.

P-Card and CU Purchase Orders

P-Card purchase orders can be placed immediately and apply to most orders under $2,500, not including maintenance contracts or on-site labor (additional restrictions apply per the CU P-Card Policy). Please do not split or stagger orders to stay under the $2500 threshold. All maintenance contracts, onsite work, and orders over $2,500 CU require CU Purchase forms and additional time for processing. 

CU Central Purchasing, which assists departments in identifying supplier opportunities and strategies, will process purchase orders from University Preferred Vendors (Fisher Scientific, Dell, Tech Air, and VWR) within 2 days, excluding contracts and agreements. For all other vendors, the process can take up to 6 weeks.

Read more about University purchasing policies and forms here.

Shipping

Unless placing an urgent or time-sensitive order, please select the least expensive shipping option. 

All items for the Physics Department should be shipped to the following address:

[Your name or Research Group] 
Columbia Physics Department 
707 Pupin Hall 
538 W 120th St New York 
NY 10027 USA

*Chemical Orders: As a safety precaution, please amend "707 Pupin Hall" to "Chemical Receiving, 200 Pupin Hall" for all chemical orders.

Mailroom

The Physics Department mailroom is located in Pupin 702. When packages arrive, office staff will fill out a receiving and pick-up log located in the blue mailroom binder (see sample page below). They will then email you that a package is available for pick-up. If you do not have a key, please ask one of the staff to assist you in opening the mailroom.

Once you find your item(s), sign the appropriate entry in the log to notify us that it's been picked up. Finally, make sure to forward an image file or PDF of the package slip to Tina Phounsavath ([email protected]).

1. Check the ARC Vendor ID Lookup to see if the vendor you've chosen is already associated with Columbia. If they are not, the vendor will need to be added to PaymentWorks. You will need to provide a W-9 form and billing contact information. The timeline for processing a new vendor can be 1-2 weeks, depending on the responsiveness of the vendor. The New Vendor Questionnaire requires five days to respond.
2. Fill out a Physics Department Order Request Form. Failure to provide required information may result in delays or additional paperwork.
3. You must provide a detailed purchase justification that can be understood by third parties. For example, "equipment for lab" is insufficient, whereas "Replacement threaded Polaris posts, which are compatible with the current Polaris low-distortion mirror mount used in Professor X's lab" explains what the expense is, who it's for, and why it's necessary.  
   Additionally, you must include the appropriate account or chartstring information, as well as your PI's signature and/or a document proving your PI has approved the purchase.
4. If ordering from CU Marketplace, please refer to our CU Marketplace Purchasing Guide (PDF). Otherwise, please email required documents to Tina Phounsavath ([email protected]), Financial Coordinator

Before initiating the above purchasing instructions, you must complete the following:

Goods and Services Purchases up to $9,999: Require one quote/proposal

Goods and Services Purchases between $10,0000 to $249,999: Require three written quotes obtained from qualified sources

• Proprietary Purchases: goods and services that are only provided by one vendor are considered proprietary and do not require competitive bids. For these purchases, please fill out a Sole Source Justification Form and review the Competitive Procurement policy to ensure your purchase meets the proprietary requirements
• Competitive Quotes: required for non-proprietary orders greater than $10,000 (with the exception of onsite maintenance and UWPA vendors). If the lowest bid is not accepted, a Sole Source Justification Form must be provided.

Goods and Services Purchases of $250,000 or more: Require multiple written formalized public bids through either a sealed bid or competitive proposal process (depending on the goods or services being procured) solicited from qualified sources

Please note that all quotes must be valid for at least 15 days. Certificates of Insurance (COI) are required for any work that is conducted onsite. A copy of the COI must be submitted prior to commencing any work and cannot expire within 3 months of the request.

Learn more about the competitive procurement process here.

Find the appropriate procurement forms and documents here.

• Certificate of Insurance Sample Form
• Order Request Form for CU Marketplace
• Fabricated Equipment Profile Application
• Laser Registration Form
• Scope of Work Template
• Services Compliance Checklist
• Sole/Single Source Justification Form
• W-8 BEN Form and W-8-BEN-E form
• W-9 Form 

For CAL purchases, please contact Nathan Schweer ([email protected]), Director of Academic Administration and Finance, Astrophysics Lab

For Nevis purchases, please contact Amy Garwood ([email protected]), Director, Finance & Administration, Nevis Laboratories 

Popular neighborhood vendors include:

• Dado's Pizza & Taproom
• V&T Pizzeria
• LaSalle Dumpling Room
• Wu + Nussbaum
• Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (orders must be placed from the catering menu, not the restaurant menu)
• Dig Inn ($25 delivery fee)
• Shake Shack
• Morton Williams catering
• Westside Market

Please note that if you're ordering from restaurants which rely solely on third-party platforms such as GrubHub, DoorDash, etc., for delivery, you will need to place the order directly and get reimbursed.

Larger department or community-wide events (e.g., holiday parties, Open Houses) require additional support. If you are interested in planning such events, please reach out to Ashley Delphia to discuss options.

Meals

• List each meal per line item, and indicate which meal it is (breakfast, lunch or dinner)
  • Do not group meals together as one line item. Please separate each meal type per expense line
• Limits (before tax and tip): Breakfast: $25, Lunch: $35, Dinner: $75. Tips/gratuity cannot exceed 20%
• If fewer than ten people attended the meal, please list their full names. If more than ten people attended, please list the number of attendees only
• Expenses for business meals involving external parties should not exceed $100 per person, excluding tax or tip. Such events include fundraising, recruitment, or speaking engagements that are hosted and paid for by a University employee and attended by business colleagues, donors, students, or prospective employees, which result in a business benefit to the University
• Provide itemized receipt for all meals, along with proof of payment

Travel

• Always take the cheapest flight/train/car/hotel possible, no first or business class
• Flight/hotel dates must correspond to conference or event dates, no extended stays (note: meals and purchases that were obtained on non-related dates cannot be reimbursed)
• Please request itemized hotel receipts upon check-out
• Always check with your PI before booking travel expenses. If a travel expense is being charged to a government grant, please make sure to book it through a U.S. airline
• Hotel limits: $350/night in the U.S., $400/night in international locations

Use of Vehicles

Domestic Car Rentals

Always try to rent Hertz and do not purchase the insurance. Columbia University has their own rate with Hertz and insurance is covered. Insurance will be reimbursed for all other rental vendors.

International Car Rentals

When renting in an international location from any car rental company, including Hertz, Loss Damage Waiver and Liability insurance must be purchased.

Personal Vehicle Use

Instead of a car rental, you may want to use a personal vehicle. Reimbursement rates are based on total miles traveled. The personal vehicle mileage rate for travel is $.700/miles for travel on or after January 1, 2025 and $.725/miles for travel on or after January 1, 2026

• Provide an online printed map indicating the total mileage between your home and conference/trip destination
• Place the total number of miles on the first page of the reimbursement in the “Personal Vehicle Mileage” section
• Write the total amount as a new expense number with the business purpose, “Personal Vehicle Mileage”

Note: gas is not reimbursable for Car Rentals or Personal Vehicle Use.

Non-Reimbursable Expenses

Please review the University's list of non-reimbursable expenses before submitting your request.

Foreign Currency Conversion

Expense Reports can only be submitted in US dollars. Receipts of foreign currency must be accompanied by a translation of text and their conversions. For the conversion, you can find the appropriate rates by using www.oanda.com. Please print and submit the conversion rates for the travel dates used. You can either print and use the conversion rate for each expense date, or take the conversion rate average of the first date and the last date of the trip and use that number for all expenses within this date range. Please use the “Avg_Rate” or “Daily_Rate” tab on the Reimbursement Form accordingly.

Missing Receipts

Receipts must be provided for all air, rail, lodging, and car rental expenses. Receipts are also required for all other expenses over $50. If you are missing a receipt, you will need to receive Financial Approval and provide a payee justification.

For any other questions or concerns regarding travel reimbursement, please contact Peggy Huang ([email protected]), Department Business Officer.

To request Open House reimbursement, please click here.