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CHM Purchasing - Business Purpose Guide
How to write a business purpose
What is a business purpose?
The business purpose, which is defined as one that supports or advances the goals, objectives and mission of the University, adequately describes the expense as a necessary, reasonable, and appropriate business expense for the University.
Whhyyy do I have to do this?
- To protect you from getting stuck with undue expenses or penalties.
- To help CHM keep our credit card and remain compliant with UW rules*, grant terms, and IRB protocols.
- *WHY ALL THE UW RULES? This guy. tldr: UW-Housing had a significant embezzlement case, which caused campus to scrutinize and make changes to purchasing processes.
- Also, it's just good practice: thinking through the purchase proactively helps us to be mindful of our spending.
Pro tips:
Length
For most purchases, a sentence or two should be fine if you include the right info. (consider the “who, what, where, when and why”)
If you are purchasing outside of ShopUW+/UW vendors, you might need to include more to demonstrate why items available were not adequate.
What to include
Be specific!
- Name the specific project(s)/study(ies).
- Describe the specific objective/task this item is needed for.
- Explain why this specific item is essential to this objective/task.
- Consider these questions....
- What am I trying to accomplish, and why is this item needed for this goal/function?
- How would I explain this to someone who has no idea what I/we do?
- How would this look to an auditor or the general public?
Additional questions? Email chm_purchasing@chm.wisc.edu