Property and Equipment
Managing property and equipment purchased with University funds is a shared responsibility among Principal Investigators (PIs), Department Administrators, OCG and other central offices.
OCG supports PIs and Department Administrators by ensuring:
- Property and equipment purchases are reasonable, allowable, allocable, and essential for the project’s success.
- Property management during the project complies with University and sponsor requirements.
- Disposition requests and closeout reports are submitted to the sponsor on time.
Property and Equipment: Classification and Definitions
Property includes all items acquired on a sponsored award, such as supplies, materials, capital and non-capital equipment, computers, and electronic devices.
Government-titled property encompasses all assets, tangible or intangible, owned or leased by the government. The University must follow specific mandated requirements for managing this property. Additional guidance to manage government property is found atGovernment Property.
University Property refers to property owned by the ºÚÁÏÉçÇøÍø. Any property acquired with Federal or University funds is considered University property unless the title belongs to the sponsor or Government.
Capital Equipment is a tangible, durable, non-expendable item that:
- Meets the University’s capitalization rules.
- Is functionally complete for its intended purpose.Ìý
Types of Capital Equipment
- Standalone Equipment: A commercially available, non-expendable item exempt from indirect costs per University capitalization rules.
- Fabrication: A one-of-a-kind piece of equipment created by transforming materials, supplies, and hardware for a specific research need.
- All components must be essential to the function of the fabrication.
- Costs may include materials, freight, construction, installation, training, or assembly labor.
- Materials used for testing or construction but are not integrated into the final unit (e.g. fuels, gasses, compressed air) are considered supplies and not capitalizable fabrication costs.
- For projects involving fabrications or modifications to an existing fabrication, complete the required forms available on .
Non-Capital Property or Equipment includes non-consumable tangible items that do not meet the capitalization threshold.
- Items that are not classified as capital or non-capital equipment are considered supplies.
- Most supplies are consumable and are used during the project’s duration.
- Computers and electronic devices costing less than $5,000 are considered non-consumable supplies (or non-capital property).
- Devices costing $5,000 or moreÌýare classified as capital equipment.
Tangible property that isn't capital equipment or noncapital property. Most supplies are consumable and used up during a sponsored project.
Non-Consumable supplies include: Computers and Electronic Devices if they cost less than $5000.
- Computers and electronics are capital equipment if they cost more than $5000.
Includes all items, regardless of cost, that require special control and accountability.
Reasons for special control:
- Unusual rates of loss, theft, or misuse
- National security or export control considerations
Examples:
- Information technology equipment with memory capability.
- Cameras
- Communications equipment
- Other electronic and computing devices
Sponsored Project Property Control Manual
The Sponsored Projects Property Control Manual outlines ºÚÁÏÉçÇøÍø’s policies, processes and procedures for managing property acquired on sponsored awards. It includes guidance on:
- Acquiring, maintaining, reporting, inventorying, and disposing of property.
- Specific controls for managing Government property, which are evaluated annually by the Office of Naval Research for compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
Additional Property definitions used in research administration can be found in Section 1.3Ìý
Property Account Code Guidance
Reference the Property Account Code Guidancefor recommended account codes when charging Capital Equipment, Non-Capital Equipment, Supplies and MaterialsÌýto sponsored awards.
Additional Campus Resources
- Campus Controller’s Office Debt and Asset Management: Capital construction, equipment ($5,000+), debt, inventory, cash, petty cash and change funds.
- : Forms for fabrication requests, interdepartmental transfers, off-campus property, and lost property.
- : Furniture, surplus property disposal, moving/hauling, and property sales/auctions.
- : Procurement of property and services in accordance with University policies.
Email the OCG Compliance Team atÌýOCGProperty@colorado.edu