Equipment Acquisitions

The University assumes title to equipment that is acquired through purchase, constructed using University funds, or received as a donation or transfer. Equipment excluded from property requirements are inventory items purchased by storeroom activities for resale and items purchased with funds explicitly restricted to procurement of materials for parties external to the University. See the DTag/OTag/PTag Processing Flow (PDF).

Depending on how equipment is acquired, different rules apply:

Purchased equipment

The receipt of equipment that has been acquired by purchase or by capital lease is reported as part of the purchasing process. The University Property Accounting and Reporting (UPAR) office records additions to movable equipment inventory based on information generated through the invoice payment process and information from FABweb entered by units that acquire the equipment.

If the equipment is coded incorrectly, not to an equipment Account code, it will miss the Fixed Assets module entirely.

  • Capital Development Board equipment - The University maintains custody for movable equipment purchased with Capital Development Board funds. All Capital Development Board equipment is subject to the same regulations, procedures, and responsibilities as other state-owned property.
  • Revenue bond funds property - Equipment that is acquired from revenue bond funds is subject to the same regulations, procedures, and responsibilities as other University-owned property.

"Found" equipment

When equipment with a current estimated fair market value of $500 or more is located in a unit's facilities, and it has no University identification tag of any kind and cannot be identified in Banner Fixed Asset, it must be added to Banner Fixed Asset as a "found" item. This is accomplished by reporting it (with necessary attributes such as organization code, location code, description, estimated fair market value) to UPAR using FABweb.

Gifts of equipment

Gifts of equipment or other movable property are reported by the unit to UPAR using FABweb after acceptance and acknowledgement procedures have been followed (see Section 11, Gifts and Endowments of the Business and Financial Policies and Procedures manual).

Equipment constructed by the University (Fabricated equipment)

Usually expenditures for materials, supplies, and fixtures purchased for use in constructing a piece of equipment are initially recorded separately as fabricated equipment in process. When the construction of the equipment is completed and the equipment is placed in use, units must report its completion to the OBFS, UPAR using FABweb for addition to Banner Fixed Asset. When plant craftsmen construct the equipment as part of a stores or service operation, it is recorded essentially the same as equipment issued from storerooms.

Equipment issued from storerooms

The University accounts for additions to equipment inventories from storeroom purchases as part of the stores/service voucher process. The procedures are essentially the same as for purchased equipment.

Equipment transferred from University surplus

There are campus specific procedures for transferring equipment from the campus warehouse facility to your department. See Fixed Assets 104: Equipment Loans and Other Transfers for more details.

Transfer from state surplus

Equipment obtained from the State Surplus Warehouse or directly from another State of Illinois agency must be promptly reported to UPAR, and attributes (for example, source fund code, organization code, location code, description, estimated fair market value) required for entry into Banner Fixed Asset must be provided. Only items with an estimated fair market value of $500 or more at time of receipt will be added to Banner Fixed Asset. Work closely with University Property Accounting and Reporting to begin the process for these non-cash additions.

Transfer of equipment within the University

An interdepartmental transfer is required when a piece of equipment is transferred from one University department to another department permanently, and not just loaned on a temporary basis. Transfer of custodianship and transfer approval occurs through FABweb.  See Performing Transfers in FABweb FA103 FABweb Transfers and Disposals Lesson 1 (PDF) for more information.

Transfer to the University with researcher

Equipment that accompanies a researcher for use at the University must be promptly reported to the UPAR for addition to Banner Fixed Asset.  Documentation that the researcher's former institution transferred title to the equipment must be provided, along with attributes required for entry into Banner Fixed Asset. The successor University unit to which the researcher subsequently is assigned must inform the researcher before acceptance of the equipment that, unless the research sponsor has mandated otherwise, the equipment becomes property of the University of Illinois/State of Illinois upon transfer. Equipment items with an estimated fair market value of $500 or more at time of receipt must be entered into FABweb as a non-cash addition with the correct Title-To code.  Work closely with UPAR to begin the process for these non-cash additions. Equipment for which the title will not pass to the University must be added to Banner Fixed Asset as titled to the federal government or other entity (See Title transfer from sponsor section below).

Title transfer from sponsor

In some instances, a piece of equipment is acquired by and held by the University, but the title to the equipment belongs to a sponsor. For example, equipment bought with certain sponsored project funds (grants, contracts, gifts, or federal appropriations) is owned by the sponsoring agency but is used in research at the University of Illinois.  See Title Transfer From Sponsor section of the FA104 Equipment Loans and Other Transfers Training (PDF) for more information.

Loaned equipment

Any equipment received on loan from outside the University should be recorded in Banner Fixed Asset as a non-cash addition with the correct Title-To code.

 

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Last Updated: January 31, 2011