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Purchasing Equipments & SuppliesDot
 
Supplies vs. Equipment

The DePaul University internal budget line items include a category for Equipment (Code 525G) and for Supplies (code 549G). The difference between the two is principally one of acquisition value and estimated length of usability.

For the purposes of coding expenditures, preliminary budgeting, or category revisions, the Principal Investigator should determine if the item(s) to be purchased or budgeted are to be considered supplies or equipment.

According to the Office of Management and Budget Uniform Administrative Requirements (Circular A-110) Equipment is defined as:

Tangible nonexpendable personal property… having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit.

Supplies are defined as:

All personal property excluding equipment

Therefore, the Principal Investigator should ensure that certain items to be procured or budgeted are identified properly. Examples are below:

Purchase Items Type
7 Laptops. Total bill $14,000 Supplies (unit cost is <$5000)
1 Tuttnauer 3870 AutoClave $11,250 Equipment (cost >$5000)

DePaul University Policies on Fixed Asset (Equipment) Management can be found here.

 


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