About the policy

What needs to be done

1. Determine where to purchase goods or services

Staff must check if the goods or services they require are available via:

• EdBuy
• the list for mandated contracts (staff only)
• department contracts (refer to Our contract arrangements [staff only]).

If the goods or services are available through contract arrangements, staff must purchase from contracted suppliers and, if under $10 000, pay with their purchasing card (PCard) where possible.

If the required goods or services are not available through EdBuy or via a contract, for purchases under $10,000, staff should first try to buy them using their PCard, otherwise:

• if it is a one-off purchase, staff should create a SAP purchase order using a free text shopping cart
• if it is a recurring purchase, staff should create a SAP limit purchase order using a limit item shopping cart.

2. Purchase goods and services

The purchasing process must comply with the Procurement policy (staff only) and Purchasing and procurement procedures (staff only):

• EdBuy or contract, refer to Purchasing and procurement procedures > 2.3 Purchase the goods or services (staff only)
• Purchase from other sources, refer to Purchasing and procurement procedures > 3. Procure goods, services and works from another supplier (staff only)
• Engage a consultant or a major supplier, refer to Purchasing and procurement procedures > 3.4 Engaging professional services, including consultants and major suppliers (staff only).

3. Pay with purchasing cards (PCard)

Purchasing cards (PCards) are credit cards and the preferred payment method for purchasing goods and services up to $10,000. They support the cash flow of small and medium businesses by allowing immediate payment.

Where possible, staff should use their PCards to purchase goods and services up to $10,000.

All card holders must follow the Purchasing cards (PCard) procedures (staff only) when applying for and using PCards.

For more information on how to use PCards, refer to Purchasing cards (PCard) procedures (linked above).

4. Pay with a SAP purchase order

Staff should use a SAP purchase order to facilitate a payment when they cannot use any other payment methods.

Staff must follow the steps below when creating a purchase order in SAP (as outlined in Figure 2). For more details and quick reference guides, refer to Purchase orders in SAP (staff only). The purchaser:

1. requests one or more quotes, where required in accordance with the procurement policy
2. applies for the supplier to be created as vendor in SAP (as needed), refer to Create a new supplier – QRG (staff only)
3. creates a shopping cart to raise a purchase order – once the shopping cart is approved, a purchase order is automatically sent to the supplier
4. after the supplier provides an invoice, creates confirmation in SAP and the supplier is paid.

4.1 Pay suppliers

Staff must set up vendors to be paid by electronic funds transfer when using a purchase order.

In compliance with TPG 24-01 Management of NSW Government Payments (PDF 487 KB), NSW agencies must transition all payments to digital and contactless payment channels to eliminate handling cash, cheques and money orders. This includes payments:

• to citizens, businesses or suppliers for the provision of services, refunds or rebates
• between government departments.

4.2 Change payment terms

All supplier records are created based on the standard payment terms of 30 calendar days, which begins from the date a correctly rendered invoice is received.

To vary the standard terms, staff can modify a supplier master data record, but they will need documentation and line manager approval. Refer to Change supplier master data – QRG (staff only) for detailed steps on how to make this change.

For small businesses, changes to payment terms will occur within 2 to 6 weeks of registering their business on the NSW Government’s buy NSW Supplier Hub > Log in or sign up. This aligns with the NSW Faster Payment Terms policy.

Payment terms longer than 30 calendar days from the invoice date are permitted only where the nature of the goods and services or the structure of the purchases make it impractical to require payment within 30 calendar days.

4.3 Handle supplier invoices

Suppliers must send all invoices directly to EDConnect Accounts Payable. Refer to Getting paid on time for detailed steps.

EDConnect Accounts Payable will:

• ensure all invoices contain a valid purchase order number
• will return invoices without a purchase order number to the supplier as these are non-compliant.

Suppliers can register on buy NSW Supplier Hub > Log in or sign up and submit e-invoices for faster payment and greater invoice status visibility.

Record-keeping requirements

Financial records must be retained for a minimum of 7 years after the transactions they pertain to have concluded.

For further information, refer to State Records NSW information under Financial Management > Accounting 7.1.0.

Supporting tools, resources and related information

Policy contact