Future State
Explore updated role assignments and workflow to see how purchase requisitions flow through the UCIBuy+ system.
For additional information regarding Future State, review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below.
Ad hoc approvals can be added at any step; Roles (except shopper) are requested and approved in KSAMS.
Explore the Responsibilities & Capabilities of Each Role
- Shopping access: create cart for any good/service, any amount.
- Must assign cart to requisitioner or department buyer to submit.
- May have empty “default” fields (e.g., dept. org)
- Automatically assigned to all active employees—activated upon SSO.
- Creates/edits carts, receives assigned carts.
- Understands dept. procurement process.
- Adds accounting info, if known.
- Submits complete purchase requisition into workflow.
- Support materials and in-system help text available.
- Pre go-live: role will be pre-loaded in the system.
- Post go-live: new hires added via KSAMs with DSA approval.
- Optional; role can be left blank.
- Reviews, edits, and approves purchase requisitions.
- Ensures accuracy and compliance.
- Can return or reject requisition.
- Available to those who complete training; required at level 5 org (dept. / unit).
- Financial Approver 1: Validates funding / account. Approves all transactions. Inherited from KFS = fiscal officer or delegate. Edit accounting codes section except for chart and account number.
- Financial Approver 2: Approves ≥$100K; level 5 org; MAABO or finance director. No edits.
- Financial Approver 3: Approves ≥$500K; level 3 org (school / division); asst. dean or AVC. No edits.
- All can return or reject requisition.
- One person can hold multiple roles; cannot be blank
- Reviews restricted commodities or object codes (e.g., capital equipment, data security, specialty chemicals / controlled substances, etc.).
- Work approvals happen in parallel.
- Approves high-value, restricted requisitions.
*When multiple approvers are defined, system routes to all assigned approvers for each step in the workflow. Only one needs to assign and approve it to move it forward.
Workflow shows how a PR moves through UCIBuy+ for checks, reviews, and approvals before becoming a purchase order (PO).
Explore the Key Stages of Workflow
Users build and submit a cart. The system may auto-reject or return carts if errors are detected.
After department buyer approval, applicable purchase requisitions (PRs) may route to the equipment reviewer for further approval. Equipment reviewer reviews capital asset items which is based on proper use of capital object codes. Lease reviewers check for GASB96* and GASB87* compliance. PRs also undergo validation and may require financial approval at various levels depending on dollar amount (≥$100K, ≥$500K).
*GASB 96 and GASB 87 are accounting standards issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). They apply to U.S. state and local governments — including public universities — and change how leases and certain technology subscriptions are reported in financial statements.
Certain purchases require restricted item approval, vendor selection/qualification review, and risk assessment.
Larger or higher-risk purchases are assigned to a central buyer for further validation, with additional approvals as thresholds increase (CPO ≥$250K, Controller ≥$2M, CFO ≥$5M).
Purchase requisitions involving leases are routed for specialized review.
Once all steps are complete, the purchase requisition is verified, and a purchase order is created.
UCIBuy+ ZotPO
ZotPO is a fast-track option in UCIBuy+ for routine catalog orders. It streamlines approvals by bypassing the department buyer, helping departments get low-risk items faster.
Eligibility
- Orders from negotiated catalogs only.
- Unrestricted items.
- Orders under $10,000.
Workflow Highlights
- Bypasses the department buyer for approval.
- Requires account code prior to submission.
- Financial approver 1 can edit accounting codes as needed (cannot change chart or account number). Also has the ability to retrun back to the requisitioner for account updates or disapprove as needed.
- Helps departments place orders quickly without bottlenecks.
- Reduces duplicate work for pre-negotiated catalog items.
ZotPO Opt Out
- Departments may opt out of ZotPO if they prefer department buyer review. Open a Procurement ServiceNow ticket and include the following information:
- Proof from business office manager/director (or equivalent) supporting this decision.
- Clarify if the opt out is for org level 3 or 5 and provide corresponding org level numbers.
Color Coding in the Graphic
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White – Standard approval steps
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Green – Financial or vendor approval steps
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Blue – Error correction or system validation steps
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Outlined (dark blue) – Expanded process steps
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Green highlight – New steps in UCIBuy+ (Jaggaer)
FAQs
Shoppers can build carts but must assign them to someone else to submit. Requisitioners can create and submit requisitions into workflow; the role is assigned as needed (can be left blank) and does not require training though user guides exist. Department buyers review and approve requisitions, have authority for certain low-value purchases, and must complete training before gaining role access. Department buyers can also create the requisition if the role of requisitioner isn't assigned for a given org.
See the below table for additional information.
| Role | Can build cart? | Can be assigned a cart? | Can submit cart? (turn to PR) | Can approve PRs? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopper* | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | Must manually assign cart to someone with requisitioner or dept. buyer role. |
| Requisitioner | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | Configured to both receive and submit carts; PR approvals typically routed to dept. buyer. |
| Dept. Buyer | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | Can handle full end-to-end process: receive, edit, submit, and approve. |
*Additional Notes
- Assignment List Behavior:
The system currently allows shoppers to assign a cart to anyone with requisitioner or dept. buyer roles. The list is not filtered, so departments must provide clear guidance or job aids showing who to assign to. - Must Pick One:
Shoppers must select a single person to assign the cart to — there’s no group assignment or automatic routing.
Shoppers need to be told who their department buyer is. Units should share this information during onboarding and keep it up to date when there are staffing changes.
Yes. Instructions will be provided ahead of go-live.
Yes, in some cases. Departments may assign more than one role to a person, but separation of duties must always be maintained. No one can have complete control over a financial transaction, and individuals cannot approve their own transactions (see BUS-10, Section C-2, pg. 3).
- Allowed: A requisitioner may also be a department buyer; shoppers may also be requisitioners (all UCPath employees are shoppers by default); department buyers may also serve as shoppers and requisitioners; one person may hold both financial approver 1 and financial approver 2 roles.
- Not allowed: A department buyer cannot also be a financial approver on the same transaction, due to separation of duties1 requirements. An individual may hold both roles; however, they may not perform both functions for a single transaction.
1Separation of Duties: No single individual shall have complete control over all processing functions for any financial transaction. No single individual is authorized to approve their own transaction; all transactions must be approved by someone other than the individual initiating the transaction. (Section C-2; pg. 3: BUS-10: Principles of Accountability with Respect to Financial Transactions)
Role Combination for a Single Transaction
| Role Combination | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Requisitioner + Department Buyer + Financial Approver (all different people) | ✅ Yes |
| Department Buyer + Financial Approver (all different people) | ✅ Yes |
| Requisitioner + Department Buyer (same person as requisitioner) + Financial Approver (different person) | ✅ Yes |
| Requisitioner (same person as financial approver) + Department Buyer (different person) + Financial Approver (same person as requisitioner) | ✅ Yes |
| Department Buyer + Financial Approver (same person) | ❌ No |
Before go-live, roles will be assigned and populated based on the information units provided in the role assignment worksheet. After go-live, all roles except for shopper will be requested and approved via KSAMS.
Yes. UCIBuy+ includes a notification feature similar to the action list in KFS. Users will receive notifications in their action list (as well as email notifications) when they need to review or approve documents, and they can also receive updates on the status of transactions throughout the purchasing process. Note that fiscal officers/financial approvers will have two action lists: they will approve purchase requisitions in UCIBuy+ and KFS docs (e.g., GEC, TEM, etc.) will be approved in KFS.
UCIBuy+ will look and feel a little different from the current system, with an updated layout and navigation to make it easier to search for items and manage requisitions. Your existing favorites, shopping carts, and custom settings will carry over where possible, though some setup may need to be recreated. Enhanced guided buying features will be available to provide "just in time" information to system users.