An Independent Contractor subcommittee comprised representatives from each business service center, and the University Tax Office completed its review of the process for identifying independent contractors (ICs) and selecting contracts for services. Based on the subcommittee’s recommendations, we met with the Tax Office and all the BSC directors. As a result of these efforts, the service provider questionnaire has been reformatted to ensure that service providers respond to ownership type and conflict of interest questions. The service provider evaluation worksheet is a new simplified form with only eight questions. Correspondingly, the Contracts for Services page on the Procurement website and Buying Manual have been updated to provide better guidance on the process.
The Buying Manual updates are as follows:
Section 203, Payment by Disbursement Voucher
- For ongoing projects with translators, writers, editors, or indexers, complete the service provider evaluation process and use either the Independent Consultant or Professional Services Agreement, as appropriate, and set up a recurring purchase order.
- Use PaymentWorks to register students as DV payees for taxable prizes or awards. For surprise payments, send the PaymentWorks registration after the prize or award has been presented.
Section 205, Vendor Registration
- For prize and award payments, set up the student as a disbursement voucher vendor, not refund and reimbursement.
Section 302, PCard Prohibited Transactions
- Explained the e-SHOP vendor prohibition to identify when necessary and acceptable to use a pcard for purchases from these select vendors.
- CIT provided clarification regarding Software, Software Licenses, Software as a Service, Cloud Services, and the IT Statement of Need process.
Section 409, Contracts
- The signature authority delegation for transcription and closed captioning contracts was removed as this specific contract is no longer used.
Section 700, Paying for Services – Getting Started
- A new section, Getting Started, was added to define the process steps better.
- "Unique” Contracts for Services are now labeled as “Specific.” Additional information has been added to describe the appropriate use of these simple contracts.
Section 701, Performing the Service Provider Evaluation
- Added information about the option to engage the provider through a temporary employment agency if a service provider evaluation determines the provider should be classified as an employee.
Section 702, Responsibilities Related to Payment for Services
- Added to Unit Responsibilities a reminder that the unit should not sign a vendor’s or service provider’s contract.
