An After-the-fact (ATF) purchase occurs when a department orders or receives goods or services prior to a purchase order being issued. An ATF is an unapproved obligation to purchase goods or services.

The After-the-Fact Purchase Order (PO) should include a justification of purchase with an action plan outlining how this action will be avoided in the future.

In order to ensure accurate invoice history and to avoid the possibility of duplicate payments, it is best practice to submit one After-the-Fact PO per invoice.

Once all requisitions workflow approvals are completed, After-the-Fact purchase orders including the attached invoice are routed to the Accounts Payable team for payment processing. ATF purchase orders are not sent to suppliers

For more information on Preferred Purchasing Methods, click here.

To access BuySite, click here.

1.  Click the tile named Create After-the-Fact PO

2.  Type vendor’s name in the text box next to Enter Suppliers

Note: If the supplier is not available in BuySite, please submit a request in the Shared Services Portal via the Vendor Set-up or Modify to have the vendor added. 

3.  Type the invoice number found on the invoice in the text box next to Supplier Inv#
4. Use the calendar widget to add the Invoice Date and invoice Due Date
5.  Under Description type the description of the purchase
6. Under Unit Price should equal the total amount due on the invoice and a Quantity of 1

7. Click Add Attachments to add the invoice

Note: Only one invoice can be submitted per After-the-Fact PO.  If you require to submit multiple invoices, this must be completed as separate transactions and will require the user to submit multiple carts.

1. 1. Click Select Files…

2. 2. Double click the file you wish to be attached

3. 3. Click Save Changes

Since the After-the-Fact PO is not the University’s preferred purchasing method, the form will require an explanation of why the preferred purchasing method was not used and what action will be taken to avoid this issue in the future.

8. Use the text box type an Explanation for the After-the-Fact PO to explain why the goods or services were purchased without the preferred purchase order method
9. In the text box How did you determine the price(s) was/were reasonable? Explain how price reasonableness was determined
   1. For more information on price reasonableness determination methods, click the link above the text box description  

10. Use the text box to type - What actions will be taken to avoid future unauthorized procurement actions?
    1. Click here to learn about the University’s preferred purchasing methods

11. At the top of the page, select Add and go to Cart from the Available Actions dropdown, and then click Go.

To learn about how to submit and order review the job aid BuySite – Submitting a Cart.

Note: Once all requisitions workflow approvals are completed, After-the-Fact purchase orders including the attached invoice are routed to the Accounts Payable team for payment processing. ATF purchase orders are not sent to suppliers