Contracts Step-by-Step

Type of Contract (if these don't make sense, reach out and let's discuss!)	Processing time from receipt of ALL required documentation through Contracts Survey
UT template (no changes, no special handling)	Signed by University within 10 business days
UT template, with changes (no special handling)	Signed by University within 10-12 business days
Vendor Contract (no special handling)	Signed by University within 15 business days
Special Handling Contracts
Affiliation agreement (UT template, no changes)	10—15 business days
Affiliation agreement (not on UT template)	3-5 weeks
UT template agreements over $1 million	3-5 weeks (require President signature)
Non-UT template agreements over $1 million	4-7 weeks (require President signature)
Software, with governing master agreement in place	10-15 business days
Software, no governing master agreement	3-5 week minimum
Foreign Agreements (non-governmental entity; on UT template with no changes)	10-15 business days
Foreign Agreements (non-governmental entity, non-UT template)	1 month minimum
Foreign Agreements (governmental entity)	Up to 6 months (require Board approval)
Agreements over $5 million	Up to 6 months (require Board approval)

If your PI's contract needs seem complex, atypical, or the process seems overwhelming, reach out to the Business Contracts Office. They will work with you to make sure you are on the right path. If you experience delays in hearing back from them, let the CoLA RSO team know asap.

Steps for Preparing Contract Request

At the heart of contracts is a purchasing request. There can be overlap between UT's Business Contract Office and the Purchasing Office. Establishing the characteristics of purchasing needs helps determine the path for obtaining goods and services.

• It's pretty standard that a certain amount of negotiation takes place between PIs/researchers and potential partners/vendors as they determine the need for goods and services - such as initial contact, establishing mutual interests, exchanging cost estimates and discussing methods of acquisition.
   
• All of these things are fine, though when it becomes clearer that a contract may be needed (as opposed to a transactional exchange such as a purchase order), seek input from your UT Contracts POC or the Business Contracts Office (BCO). Only officially authorized signers of the university can obligate the university to contractual arrangements, regardless of the type of funds being used to secure goods and services.
   

If an unauthorized individual signs a contract, that may create individual liability for the unauthorized signer. An unauthorized contract would be unenforceable for the university - but it could be enforceable for the individual. Avoid this potential headache by following the process!

Establish Basic Facts

1. Identify department/unit approver to be included in your contracts survey as reviewer/signer
    
2. Identify Contract Manager, often a Dept Mgr or Grant Admin, responsible for oversight of executed contract
   (If Contract Manager is someone other than you, bring them into the contracts process early)
    
3. Determine key elements of contract:
   Receiver of goods/services (receiving agency)
   Provider of goods/services (performing agency)
   Which ever is UT's role, use: The University of Texas at Austin
   Vendor/agency location
   Type of goods/services
   Description, detail and specific deliverables of goods/services
   Cost(s) of goods/services
   Date range of goods/services to be provided
   Dates and details of measurable delivery points
   Dates of payment(s), end-of-contract or in deliverable-related tiers
   Any other relevant details worth including in contract language
    
4. Determine which template will be used - Prospective Contractor or UT template
   UT templates (unedited by other parties) move through the review process faster and are strongly recommended. Ask the prospective contract partner if a UT template can be used - even if they have already supplied their own template, for the sake of timely execution. 
   
   If an external agreement template is being used FOR GOODS and/or SERVICES being received by UT from OUTSIDE of UT (and PAID FOR BY UT), the UT Addendum is required to be included with that agreement, no exceptions. The UT Addendum consists of terms and conditions that are mandatory and specific to UT as a state institution. If the prospective contractor insists on using their own template, IMMEDIATELY provide them with the UT Addendum in advance to determine if they can accept without changes or if they require any edits. If the prospective contractor cannot accept the UT Addendum as part of the executed contract, the university will not be able to move forward with a contract. 
   
   Note: Typically, when UT is providing the goods/service and/or receiving funds from an outside entity, the UT Addendum doesn't apply. The addendum dictates, among other things, terms of payment for funds leaving the university.
   
   The UT-approved service agreements linked below contain helpful directives to assist with which sections to keep, and which to discard, depending on specific contract needs. If you need help with this, reach out to your contract rep or the Business Contracts Office.  
   
   Service Agreement, Short: For Low-Risk Contracts Less Than $50,000
   Service Agreement, Individual: Standard Contract for Individual Contractor (Sole Proprietor, not a Business)
   Service Agreement, Business: Standard Contract for Business Contractor (Corporation, LLC, Limited Partners)
   
   The BCO maintains an extensive list of approved Agreement Templates. Each template links to an information page that contains a brief statement about the template's appropriate use. Again, if you are not sure which template to use, reach out to BCO and they'll help you determine the right one for your needs.
   
   If an external agreement template is being used, the UT Addendum is required to be included with that agreement. The UT addendum includes the terms and conditions specific to The University of Texas at Austin as a state institution of Texas. The UT Contracts POC should provide the addendum to the vendor in advance to determine if vendor can accept without changes or requires edits. 
    
5. Once appropriate template is selected, fill it out completely and send to the prospective contracting partner (with UT Addendum, if applicable). Make sure you identify that any edits to the UT agreement or UT Addendum need to show tracked changes in the documents so that proposed changes can be reviewed.
    
6. Based on the amount of the proposed contract and other factors, determine which additional forms and steps are needed, regarding vendor selection, quotes, bids, the Exclusive Acquisition Justification form (instructions & examples are here), if applicable - and contracts that require special handling. Figure out which of these additional steps and forms need to be processed in advance of the contract request so you'll have them ready when you go to submit the request. FYI, it will be obvious if you've left something out once you get to the online contract request form, as it steps you through everything you might need.
   
   Prepare the Business Contract Review Checklist (BCRC) to accompany the contract request. This form will need to be signed by the Authorized Contracts Manager (Unit POC or CoLA Central POC) -and THEN attached to the contract request you submit.

 

Click on the Step-by-Step Procedure below for more information about what will be required to submit the contract request to CoLA central processing or to BCO.

Streamlined Contract Processing

Below are all the steps included in the online Business Contracts Qualtrics Survey (the request form) that is used to gather information and supporting documentation for processing contract requests. These steps have been brought here to provide a clear understanding of all that is required to complete this form, and to cut down on missed details that could delay processing.

Note: When you step through the actual process, you'll notice it contains multiple references for emailing documents to the Business Contracts Office (BCO) directly at vpcfo.contracts@austin.utexas.edu --Please DO NOT email any documentation to that email address. --The Business Contracts Office is currently managing the transition between the previous manual process and the streamlined process. Some groups on campus are still using the manual process, so the old steps remain published on the BCO website. CoLA uses the streamlined process via the Contracts+ interface in UT Market. Requests submitted any other way will not be honored/processed.

FORM LINK: CoLA Business Contracts Qualtrics Survey

REQUIRED INFORMATION

• Recommendation: Read through the steps, note the required and/or necessary documents you'll need to attach to the interactive form, prepare the documents, obtain any required signatures for them (not on the agreement itself, as that requires review and approval before authorized parties sign), and have them ready when you step through the submission process. 
   

1. Department Name - In cases of overlap, one unit must retain responsiblity
    
2. Department Contact & email address (this should be the contract manager)
    
3. Vendor Name (contract partner)
    
4. Explanation for contract (as opposed to purchase order)
   Select ALL that apply:
    --agreement spans across fiscal years
    --foreign vendor or contractor (no U.S. tax ID)
    --videographers
    --vendor or contractor is requiring signature
    --revenue generating agreements
    --zero dollar agreements, MOUs
    --software, Software as a Service (SaaS), technology
    --vendor or contractor requires university to agree to certain terms & conditions
    --speech will be recorded at a non-virtual event (speaker agreements only)
    --merchandise will be sold at the event (speaker agreements only)
    
5. Type of request: New, Amendment or Termination
    
6. Attach Completed Business Contract Review Checklist (BCRC)
   This form is a separate process, used to identify the designated Contract Manager (who signs at bottom of page 1 if different from the person who is submitting)
   Contract Manager is responsible for managing the contract upon execution, including compliance oversight and is typically a grant admin or dept mgr.
   Dept/Unit Approver: If your dept/unit has a designated approver for contracts, you'll want to route the form to them via DocuSign to get their sigature before moving forward with the contract request
   Certificate of Completion is a document that comes with the DocuSigned BCRC form
   --Must be kept on file by Contract Manager
    
7. Confirm Type of Agreement Template: UT BCO template? Or vendor's own agreement template?
    
8. Attach Agreement Template (already vetted by prospective contract partner)
    
9. If using an external template, attach additional document: UT Addendum - Terms & Conditions (T&C)
   (for hotels specifically: Hotel Addendum T&C - UT-based AT&T Conference Center is exempt)
    
10. Indicate whether vendor/contractor agrees to Addendum T&C or REQUIRES EDITS
     
11. If proposed agreement is for an individual, attach EICCC form
    Employee/Independent Contractor Classification Checklist - to see required details, view inactive form here
    Online EICCC form is interactive: input, download, save, then upload into Contracts survey
     
12. If proposed contract exceeds $15,000 in total contract costs, and no competitive bids were sought, attach completed Exclusive Acquisition Justification form
    (check out the EAJ Instructions and Samples to determine if other type of EAJ is more appropriate)
     
13. If proposed contract totals $100,000 or more, you are required to obtain Provost approval in advance, by emailing contract details directly to them. Upon receipt of Provost approval, attach to survey during this step.
     
14. The last 5 fields in the survey are upload options for supporting documentation, such as CVs, annexes or addendums, if applicable. Each field accepts only one document, so if any documentation has multiple pages, be sure to join them into a single document prior to uploading. 
     
15. Upon reaching this point, the next forward arrow button will result in submission of the form to CoLA Finance. The confirmation page contains a list of process timelines arranged depending on the type of contract being submitted. See below:

    'Thank you for submitting the CoLA Business Contracts Survey!'
    For questions & rush requests, email Amber Tucker, CC Zeinab Al Zuhairi as backup POC
    
    (NOTE: To utilize Office of Research oversight, email form confirmation to LA Research
    PIs & Units w/special circumstances, requested to include RSO oversight,
    email form confirmation to Awards Mgmt)

16. Once the Business Contracts Survey is submitted, it is uploaded into Contracts+ in UT Market, and then routes to the Business Contracts Office (BCO) for review. BCO will then create the actual contract send to all signers for execution (or request additional negotiation as needed).
    
    Upon full execution of contract (all parties have signed), BCO will notify the contract manager on the UT side.
    Timing and payment of invoices and other required details will be the responsibility of the contract manager.

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