For more information, email the Contract Office at contractoffice@bates.edu

Business Pricing

Prime Shipping (1 to 2 days)

Tax-Exempt

• If your department does not have a P-Card, the card held at the College Store is the preferred method of payment.  In the College Store use ONLY (online/phone orders)
• It is the responsibility of the purchaser to ensure that the vendor has Bates’ tax-exempt number on file and does not charge sales tax.  Accounting or the Contract Office can provide you with the tax-exempt documentation

• PayPal account available for vendors who require that method of payment.

Purchases can be made from the stores listed below using a J.P. Morgan credit card. The Contract Office will provide the Tax Exempt ID that will be required at the point of checkout.

• Home Depot
• Hobby Lobby
• Lowe’s
• Staples
• Wal-Mart

• The physical card only allows access to the store and isn’t a form of payment. Payment must be made with a Bates credit card or Bates check for tax exemption. Payment with a personal card doesn’t get tax exemption and must be reimbursed through the Finance Office Cashier.

• When requested or required by the vendor
• All purchases that are paid for with College resources must be for goods and services that further the mission and academic programs of the College.
• More information about purchase orders is available on the Accounting department page.
• To request a Purchase Order, please contact us during normal business hours. Email is preferred.  Click below for the required information needed for its creation.

• Vendor Name
• Vendor address and website (if it’s a new vendor)
• Description of item(s) being ordered
• Quote (attached to email request as a PDF) or quote number for reference
• Account(s) to be charged – Fund / Org / Budget Account (common budget accounts: 9150 teaching supplies, 9131 Office supplies, etc…)
• Lead time for delivery, if known
• Delivery address
• Advise if digital copy of PO is needed or just the PO number (note: it is much faster for us to just generate the PO number)

NOTE: Purchase Orders serve a couple of purposes — they encumber funding within the department budget so it isn’t overspent (most useful at year’s end) and it is the college’s way of saying it will pay the vendor. The Purchase Order, itself, is not a payment. When an invoice comes in referencing a purchase order, it must still be coded and signed and sent to the Accounting Office (A/P) to be paid.

Please contact bookstore@bates.edu and include the requested information.

• Preferred vendor for office supplies with negotiated rates.  Request access to the online ordering tool by contacting Kelly Perreault.
  • Online ordering tool
  • On-Campus delivery Monday – Friday

• Preferred vendor for office furniture (New Office, Large Furniture) includes Design, Delivery, Installation and Customer Service follow-up
• Chairs ONLY – ehs@bates.edu – Environmental Health and Safety Coordinator Bates College – Human Resources Department