Definition: UCSD now has two types of equipment:

• Inventorial equipment has an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more and must be tracked as property through EAMS (Equipment Asset Management System) and through UCSD’s financial system.
• Non-inventorial equipment has an acquisition cost of $1,500-$4,999 and must be tracked only through the financial system, not through EAMS.

All equipment items are either owned by or in the custody of UCSD, and must meet the following requirements:

• Are non-expendable (can't be used up)
• Stand alone
• Have a normal useful life of one year or more
• Qualify as tangible personal property (can be appraised for value

Firearms, government property, and UCSD vehicles registered with the DMV must be recorded and tracked as inventorial equipment, regardless of cost.

Do not purchase inventorial or non-inventorial equipment using a Department Order or Express Order.

• Orders for items defined as inventorial equipment, must be placed using a High Value Purchase Order to ensure proper recording of the asset value. For information on the High Value Purchase process, please see High Value Purchase Requisition Overview.
• Orders for items defined as non-inventorial equipment may be purchased using the Express Card, or the High Value Purchase process.

Department responsibilities:

• The head of the department and the principal investigator are ultimately responsible for the care, maintenance, financial records, physical inventory, disposal, and control of equipment.
• A department's property administrator takes care of the actual identification and tracking of inventorial equipment within the department. If you are a property administrator, please check What Property Administrators Need to Know.

Equipment management is an important function at UCSD because the university must:

• Report expenditures for equipment to federal, state, and private funding agencies
• Record the inventory value, including depreciation, of equipment located at UCSD
• Make records of equipment transactions available to UCSD's auditing agencies.

Equipment Management System: UCSD has developed EAMS, the Equipment Asset Management System, which tracks inventorial equipment and runs reports electronically.

Policies: The following policies govern UCSD's management of equipment:

• Business and Finance Bulletin 29 (PDF), Management and Control of University Inventorial Equipment
• Business and Finance Bulletin 38, Disposal of Excess Material and Transfer of Federally Funded University-Owned Material
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB) A21, A110

If you have questions about equipment management, check the Equipment Management Main Menu or contact Bessie Douglas, (858) 534-2847, or Steve Ste. Marie, (858) 534-4638.