Equipment that is non-expendable, tangible personal property having a useful life of two years or more and a per unit acquisition cost of $5,000 or greater. The cost to be capitalized includes the purchase price and those costs necessary to place the equipment in service (i.e. freight/transportation and setup costs such as installation and testing). Repairs, maintenance parts or components, warranty costs, maintenance contracts or annual software licensing fees are not considered capital equipment and will be expensed. All equipment purchased with federal funds or sponsor funds, $5,000 or more, requires approval of SPA.
This equipment meets all of the criteria for an item classified in the Equipment object code 711, but is purchased by means of scheduled installment payments for a specific amount of money over a specific period of time. Installment purchases of equipment will be capitalized in account code 713 if it meets the capitalization threshold and when the substance of the vendor agreement effectively gives the University ownership of the equipment being leased.
Equipment that is built or assembled from component parts by a Principal Investigator (PI) and/or other sponsored project personnel, an internal shop, or an external shop. If the fabricated equipment components meet the criteria for capital equipment, it should be assigned to account code 714.
An already capitalized equipment item that is rebuilt or enhanced and the value and/or useful life is extended. If the cost of the enhancement or modification is $2000 or greater and cannot operate independently, the purchase should be assigned to 715.
Single item equipment purchases acquired with Sponsored funds regardless of the cost or useful life and the title/ownership vests with the Sponsor. Equipment purchased with grant or contract funds with title to Sponsor.
