The deadline to submit requisitions, including any agreements requiring negotiation or review, or for purchases requiring competition before the Christmas break (December 24, 2025 – January 1, 2026) must be submitted by close of business on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.

Completion depends on various factors, including the supplier’s responsiveness and willingness to align with LSU and State of Louisiana contracting requirements. However, please note that submission by the deadline does not guarantee execution. We ask that you expedite submission of your requisitions to give the best chance for timely PO issuance.

LSU must carefully distinguish employees from independent contractors because proper classification protects the university legally, financially, and operationally. Misclassification can lead to IRS penalties, back taxes, wage claims, and violations of Civil Service and labor laws, while also denying individuals the protections employees are entitled to, such as overtime, benefits, leave, and retirement contributions. 

As a state institution, LSU is held to high standards of transparency, and proper classification safeguards the university’s reputation and maintains trust with employees and compliance partners. Departments should coordinate with their HR contact prior to engaging anyone as a contractor and avoid initiating supplier setup or purchase requisitions until contractor eligibility has been confirmed.

LSU is undertaking a multi-year effort to modernize and standardize physical security systems across campus through the Physical Access Control Project and related initiatives. Because this work is being completed in phases, some departments may need to move forward with their own upgrades or installations before their buildings are scheduled in the project timeline. Note: At present this guidance only applies to the LSU A&M campus.

If your department plans to add or replace any security-related technology, including access control equipment (such as card readers, locks, keypads, or related components), surveillance cameras, license plate recognition systems (LPRs), or similar devices, email the Physical Security Office at PSO@lsu.edu for prior authorization before submitting your request in Workday. Include specific details of the purchase such as the make, model, and type of equipment, along with any related wiring or installation work, for review and approval. (Schematics may be helpful)

Procurement will send back requisitions that are submitted without the prior authorization attached. Getting approval first saves time and ensures that department-level work aligns with LSU’s overall security standards and system design.

Coordinating with the Physical Security Office helps maintain consistency, cybersecurity integrity, and compatibility across all LSU security platforms. Centralized oversight also supports future integration with campus-wide systems, improves emergency response capabilities, and ensures the university continues building a cohesive, reliable, and modern security network.

LSU Property Management is offering in-person Asset Custodian training on the main campus for anyone assigned that role and who has not previously received training. Please note that this is a different course than Inventory Training.  We will cover the complete asset life cycle, from acquisition through disposal, and the responsibilities of the Asset Custodian.  While the primary target audience for this session is newly assigned and/or untrained Asset Custodians, other ACs that would like a refresher are welcome to attend.   

Current training times and locations: 

• DEC 03, 2025   1000-1130 AM   0225 Peabody Hall
• DEC 11, 2025   0900-1030 AM   0225 Peabody Hall

For Asset Custodians at LSU Alexandria, LSU Eunice, LSU Shreveport, or non-local LSUAG units, stay tuned for future communications regarding this training.

During Fiscal Year 2026 YTD (7/1/2025 – 10/31/2025)

LSU departments have retained $93,840.66 in their budgets by promptly receiving and paying invoices.

Since being enabled in Workday (5/1/2021 – 10/31/2025)

LSU departments have retained $766,844.36 in their budgets by promptly receiving and paying invoices.

Approximately $319,796.41 was lost by not paying within the prompt payment/early payment discount timeframe.

Best Practice Reminders to Realize Savings

• Encourage your suppliers to submit the invoices directly to LSU Accounts Payable & Travel at aptravel@lsu.edu.
  • When suppliers send invoices to department end users, it drastically reduces the opportunity for the invoice to get reviewed, transferred to Accounts Payable, loaded into Workday and paid within the prompt payment term timeframe. 
• Departments are reminded to review deliveries and approve/process invoices for LSU master contract and Workday B2B catalog suppliers timely.

Suppliers Offering Prompt/Early Payment Discounts

Departments are reminded that the following LSU master contract and Workday B2B catalog suppliers offer prompt payment terms and early payment discounts:

• Airgas (1% 10, Net 30)
• Avantor delivered by VWR (3% 30, Net 30)
• Cintas (2% 15, Net 30)
• Fisher Scientific (2% 10, Net 30)
• Forty Nine Degrees (2% 10, Net 30)
• Genuine Parts Co. dba NAPA Auto (1% 10, Net 30)
• Grainger (2% 10, Net 30)
• ODP Business Solutions (1% 15, Net 30)
• Staples Business (1% 10, Net 30)
• Steelcase via Frost Barber of LA (2% 10, Net 30)
• Thomas Scientific (1% 10, Net 30)

LSU Sales Representatives

LSU specific sales representatives are listed on the LSU Procurement – Master Contracts webpage to help streamline any questions, concerns, quoting, or invoicing issues. LSU Procurement maintains updated contact information (sales representative name, phone number, and email address) as we are made aware of changes to the account representation. Calling a supplier’s general 1-800 number for assistance rather than the LSU assigned sales representative may lead to additional delays as those representatives are not as familiar with the LSU contract.

Ordering

If an LSU Master Contract has a Workday punch-out (B2B) catalog, the Workday B2B catalog should be used as the primary method to place orders through the contract. Some exceptions may be needed for manual purchase orders (i.e., quotes that cannot be processed in the B2B catalog or orders requiring installation with statements of work) or when the B2B catalogs are turned off for fiscal year end.

While LSU Procurement manages the University’s Amazon Business Prime account from an organizational and cost savings perspective (cost of Prime memberships), it is not considered an LSU Master Contract. Amazon Business should be used as a secondary option after reviewing LSU Master Contracts and LSU term contracts (if applicable).

LSU Procurement has started conducting pricing comparisons between LSU Master Contract suppliers (specifically Workday B2B Catalogs) and Amazon Business products. This analysis will be used when determining restrictions on the Amazon Business account to ensure the university is best overall value between product cost savings and contract incentives.

If you have any special notes or information that you would like to appear on a purchase order prior to issuance, add this information to the Memo field on the requisition line item in the Goods/Services sections. This will ensure the information generates onto the purchase order that will be sent to the supplier.  

Examples of special notes/information include: 

• Ship items Attention to Mike the Tiger
• Prior to delivery, call Mike the Tiger to arrange for delivery to occur at specified time/date.
• Quote number

• MillerKnoll (formerly Herman Miller & Knoll)
  • New catalog/user interface scheduled to launch in December
    • Any quotes obtained before December will need to be re-quoted for access in the new MillerKnoll platform.
• Genuine Parts Company dba NAPA Auto
  • New catalog/user interface scheduled to launch January 2026
• HD Supply (formerly Home Depot Pro Institutional)
  • New catalog/user interface scheduled to launch January 2026

*Note: All dates subject to change pending final integration & catalog testing between the Supplier and LSU/Workday systems.

An item tag field has been added at the line-item level in Workday on Requisitions and Purchase Orders tied to Workday punch-out (B2B) catalog orders. This functionality is similar to the item identifiers (recently added) and will help provide a greater level of detail and better reporting for university spend. Item tags for Hazardous, Controlled, and Radioactive are currently enabled in Workday for applicable products, and tags for additional item classifications will be enabled as this data is provided by university suppliers.

Similar to item identifiers, the item tags are passed into Workday from the supplier as part of the punch-out process for punch-out (B2B) catalog orders. Also like the item identifiers, if the supplier does not pass this information, the tags will not appear, and this will not impact the checkout process. This functionality does not impact or apply to non-B2B catalog orders.

We’ve also created a new report in Workday “Find Purchase Orders with Item Identifiers.” 

This report enables you to view line-level purchase order information including item identifiers & item tags. Allows the user to search by PO Dates, Driving Worktags, Spend Categories, Cost Center Hierarchies, Supplier Contracts, Buyers, Requesters, or Commodity Code. Prompts to exclude B2B catalog or non-catalog orders. Report output details include Company, Requisition, RQ Type, Purchase Order, PO Type, PO Status, Line Number, Line Description, Supplier Item Identifier (Part Number), Manufacturer Name, MFG Part Number, Supplier provided UNSPSC Code, Chemical Abstract Service Code (CAS), Item Tags (i.e., Hazardous, Controlled, and Radioactive), Commodity Code, Spend Category, Line Quantity, Line Unit Cost, and Cost Center.

When selecting UNSPSC commodity codes for vehicles, equipment, or other rentals, please make sure to use the dedicated rental services code for the item(s) being rented. There is likely a code dedicated to the rental service of the item, which is more appropriate than the code for the good itself. 

For example, if a line item on your requisition is for a rental car, the appropriate code to use would be “78111808 - Vehicle Rental.” Though there is a separate code for the car itself (25101503 - Automobiles or Cars), the more appropriate code to use would be for the vehicle rental since the car is not being purchased, just rented. This helps to most accurately classify rental spend for university reporting purposes.

For additional information (including a job aid with commonly used UNSPSC commodity codes), please visit the Workday Resources – Procurement & Suppliers “UNSPSC Commodity Codes” located at the bottom of the newsletter.

Change Orders are initiated to modify information on an issued non-catalog purchase order. It is important to track the approval and re-issuance of the purchase order to ensure related transactions such as receipts and invoices can be paid. Note: Change Orders are not permitted on Punch-out (B2B) Catalog orders.

To view the Change Order Status/Process History

1. Search for the PO by number (i.e. PO-0000123456)
2. Check the PO Status
   1. Approved - If the PO is in approved status, the PO has been approved by the buyer but receipts and invoices cannot be processed due to other administrative tasks that must occur first. Change Orders cannot be initiated at this time.
   2. Issued - If the PO is in issued status, the PO has been approved and ready for use.
   3. Change Order In Progress - If the PO is change order in progress status, a PO Change Order has been initiated and is routing for review and approval. Once approved, the buyer must issue the PO to return it to issued status to continue use.
3. Scroll down and select the Version History tab.
   1. Fully Approved - If a change order is fully approved, it will appear on the left side under Prior Versions.
   2. In Progress - If a change order was submitted and is not fully approved, the Pending Changes section will list the status In Progress.
4. Select the magnifying glass next to the pending change, see the specific Change Order and its details.
5. Once on the View Change Order screen, scroll down to select the Process History tab to view pending approvers and comments related to the transaction process. If multiple approvers, select the number in the All Persons column to see who can approve the transaction to move forward.

Departments are not permitted to edit or cancel the change order once the business process has started. If changes are needed or the change order is no longer needed, contact the buyer directly to request cancellation of the Change Order. A new Change Order can be resubmitted once additional information is obtained.

• When a competitive solicitation has been issued and is out for bid, departments/end users cannot communicate with suppliers.  When this occurs, the integrity of the competitive bid process is jeopardized.  If a supplier contacts a department/end user while the solicitation is out for bid, do not respond or communicate with the supplier.  Instead, forward the correspondence to the appropriate buyer administering the solicitation.  The buyer will then communicate with the department/user, as needed, to address supplier inquiries/comments/clarification points.
• Requests to change/update supplier payment methods (ex: from check to ACH or vice versa), the supplier should submit the request to Accounts Payable & Travel (APT) at aptravel@lsu.edu. The APT Team will review the request and advise the supplier of the appropriate next steps OR submit a supplier change to update the payment method if able to proceed.
• Departments should use the “Find Suppliers by Tax ID” report in Workday to verify that the proposed supplier exists and that their information matches any bid, invoice, or quote before submitting a requisition for non-competitive purchases to Procurement. This step ensures the purchase is issued to the correct supplier record, reducing delays in fulfillment and payment. If a PO is issued to an incorrect supplier record, the supplier may need to re-enroll with the correct information, requiring Procurement to execute an Assignment of Contract. This would result in the department submitting a new requisition and Procurement issuing a replacement PO just to facilitate payment by APT.

Procurement offers training sessions twice each semester for faculty, staff, and students who are involved in initiating or approving procurement transactions. These sessions are open to all system employees, not just those pursuing purchase agent delegation.

Mark your calendars…training sessions will be posted soon!

Whether you're new to procurement or just need a refresher, we welcome participants from all system campuses. Come learn, ask questions, and feel more confident navigating procurement processes!

If you are interested in additional training not currently offered, please email LSU Procurement at purchase@lsu.edu.