Purchasing Capital Equipment in WolfMart
WolfMart requisitions include a field called the Equipment/Fabricated Asset Indicator (“the Indicator”). It helps identify purchases involving capital equipment. When the voucher is approved and the Indicator is Yes, it flows into WolfieONE for review by the Office of the Controller for appropriate tracking, accounting, and reporting. Note: This happens after the voucher approval and does not add any approval steps in WolfMart or otherwise slow down your order.
For most purchases, users will not be required to update this field. You only need to take action when you know your purchase involves capital equipment or when WolfMart requires a selection at checkout.
| Value | Meaning |
| Yes | The purchase is for capital equipment, a fabricated asset, or an addition/improvement to existing equipment. The approved voucher will flow to WolfieONE for fixed asset review by the Office of the Controller. |
| No | The purchase is not for capital equipment, a fabricated asset, or an addition/improvement to existing equipment. |
| Undetermined | Leave as the default when no checkout rule applies and the purchase is not capital equipment, a fabricated asset, or an addition/improvement to existing equipment. No action is needed. |
When a Selection is Required (Checkout/Validation Rules)
| Account Source | Scenario(s) | Indicator Requirements |
| State | Requisition with a total order amount of $10,000 or more | Must select YES or NO before submitting |
| Research |
|
The Indicator must be YES or the expenditure category must be correct |
If one of the scenarios above applies and the Indicator has not been updated, you will receive a validation message at checkout and will not be able to submit the requisition. For State requisitions, being prompted to update the Indicator does not automatically mean the purchase should be marked Yes. See Resolving a Checkout Validation Message below for more information.
State Fabricated Assets Under $10,000: Although the checkout rules will not force a selection for State purchases under $10,000, you should still select Yes for purchases that are part of a fabricated asset. See What is Capital Equipment? for more details.
Which Indicator Value Should I Select?
Capital equipment is tangible property that has a useful life of more than one year, and under SUNY and RF policy, generally costs $10,000 or more per item, including certain other costs like shipping and installation.
Yes - When the purchase is:
- A piece of equipment that costs $10,000 or more (even if the cost is split across multiple lines), including costs required to obtain the asset and place it into use,
- A component/piece of a fabricated asset, even if the individual component is less than $10,000, or
- An addition or improvement to existing equipment that costs $10,000 or more and extends its useful life or capacity.
No – For all other purchases, such as:
- Supplies
- Services
- Routine repairs and maintenance
- Separate line items that total $10,000 or more but do not meet the definition of capital equipment
For mor edetails and information, please see What is Capital Equipment?
Examples
| You Are Buying... | Indicator Selection | Why |
| A $9,500 projector with $1,000 in shipping and installation costs for a total cost of $10,500 | Yes | Equipment and costs to place it in service exceed $10,000 |
| A $4,000 part for research equipment that your lab is building, where the completed equipment is expected to cost $10,000 or more | Yes | The part is a piece/component of a fabricated assed. For fabricated assets, the threshold applies to the expected total cost of the completed equiptment, not each individual part. |
| $25,000 of furniture, where all individual pieces are under $10,000, on a State requisition | No | Even though you will be prompted to update the Indicator, no single item meets the threshold and the pieces are not being assembled into one fabricated asset. |
| A $3,000 laptop and associated accessories | No | Does not meet the threshold (although Property Control or your Department may be asked to track this separately). |
| $12,000 of supplies for your department's office | No | Supplies are generally consumable items used in operations and usually for not have a useful life of more than one year. |
Resolving a Checkout Validation Message
A validation message means the Equipment/Fabricated Asset Indicator needs to be reviewed before the requisition can be submitted. The message may mean that the Indicator needs to be updated or that the current Indicator selection does not match the RF expenditure category selection.
To resolve this, take the following steps:
- Read the Message: The message at checkout will provide details if the Indicator needs to be updated, or if the current selection does not match the RF expenditure category selection.
- Review the Purchase: Determine if the purchase involves capital equipment, a fabricated asset, or an addition/improvement to existing equipment. See What is Capital Equipment? for more information.
- Update the Indicator:
- State: Update the Indicator to Yes or No.
- Research: Update the Indicator or correct the Exp Major-RF or Exp Minor-RF selections so the coding and Indicator are aligned.
- Submit the Requisition: Attempt to submit the requisition. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the Controller before submitting.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have questions about equipment or how to use the Equipment/Fabricated Asset Indicator, please contact the Office of the Controller.
- Sharice Detiege, Assistant Director, Capital Asset, Grant & Cost Accounting
- Adam Hadley, Associate Controller
fixed_assets_inquiries@stonybrook.edu
Related Recourses