MICRO-PURCHASES: Micro-purchase means an acquisition of products or services where the aggregate amount does not exceed $3,500.
COMPETITION: Purchases within the micro-purchase threshold can be awarded without soliciting competitive price quotations if the price is reasonable.
PURCHASES: To the extent practicable, purchases must be distributed equitably among qualified suppliers with reasonable prices.
This distribution of purchases among qualified suppliers can happen in one of two ways; at the time of the purchase or over several purchasing events. For example a school procuring apples may purchase them either:
- from various suppliers at the same time (the total of the purchases cannot exceed $3,500), or
- choose one supplier for the purchase of the apples and another supplier the next time apples need to be purchased (each of the purchases cannot exceed $3,500).
REASONABLE PRICE: Ways to verify the reasonableness of a price is to compare previous purchases, have personal knowledge of the item being purchased, or compare to similar items being purchased.
RECORDS: Records still need to be kept for all purchases regardless of the procurement method used, including micro-purchases.
Federal regulatory definition for a micro-purchase (2 CFR §200.67)
Micro-purchase means a purchase of supplies or services using simplified acquisition procedures, the aggregate amount of which does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold. Micro-purchase procedures comprise a subset of a non-federal entity's small purchase procedures. The non-federal entity uses such procedures in order to expedite the completion of its lowest-dollar small purchase transactions and minimize the associated administrative burden and cost. The micro-purchase threshold is set by the Federal Acquisition Regulation at 48 CFR Subpart 2.1 (Definitions). It is $3,500 except as otherwise discussed in Subpart 2.1 of that regulation, but this threshold is periodically adjusted for inflation.
Federal regulation for a micro-purchase (2 CFR §200.320(a))
Procurement by micro-purchase is the acquisition of supplies or services, the aggregate dollar amount of which does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold (§200.67 Micro-purchase). To the extent practicable, the non-federal entity must distribute micro-purchases equitably among qualified suppliers. Micro-purchases may be awarded without soliciting competitive quotations if the non-federal entity considers the price to be reasonable.