eVA

WHAT IS EVA?

eVA is the Commonwealth of Virginia's electronic vendor registration and purchasing system that provides a standardized, transparent source of public procurement information. The University does not purchase goods and services directly through eVA, but is required to send purchase data to eVA. All transactions, including the University's, incur fees to support the maintenance of the system.

The University has the ability to send virtually all non-exempt purchases to eVA, thereby dramatically reducing our potential eVA transaction fees and eliminating most eVA non-compliance fees. This in turn, will make it possible to meet the eVA-usage metrics required by restructuring legislation. In order to utilize these new capabilities, the University must change the way that we purchase some goods and services.

 

Commonly Confused eVA Expenditure Types

List of eVA Exclusions

 

eVA RESTRICTIONS ON PURCHASING METHODS

Below is a summary of how eVA is used for various purchasing methods. See the appropriate procedural documents for each purchasing method for detailed information on usage. For a more general reference, the Goods and Services Procurement Guide for an overview of commodities, eVA exclusions, and required expenditure types.

TRAVEL & EXPENSE CARD (T&E CARD)
  • All normal card restrictions still apply.
  • Non-restricted over-the-counter (OTC) purchases and purchases of eVA-Exempt goods and services are allowed on the card.
PAYMENT VOUCHER
  • Only eVA-Exempt goods or services, or purchases from eVA-Excluded vendors will be allowed on a Payment Voucher.
  • All other restrictions on Payment Voucher usage still apply.
MARKETPLACE ORDERS
  • At least 75% of all non-eVA-Excluded University spend must not only be in the Marketplace, but must also be to eVA-Registered vendor ordering locations (sites).
  • All catalog orders will automatically go to eVA-registered vendor sites.

EXCEPTIONS

Exceptions to the above rules should be rare but may be made when the purchase is truly essential to the mission of the department and there is no other feasible method of obtaining the commodity.

  • Departments must maintain thorough documentation of any such purchases as to justification and will be audited promptly after the appearance of the purchases in the system.
  • Non-excluded purchases on the T&E Card or Payment Voucher (even when allowed) will be considered non-compliant transactions and will incur the full 2% eVA fee, with no cap.
  • More importantly, they will jeopardize the University’s ability to meet restructuring metrics.

  • UVA and eVA are two totally separate entities, even though there are a lot of the same letters in their names. UVA does not charge the eVA fee, or receive it; in fact, we have to pay an eVA fee, too!
Using eVA Registered Vendors

Look at the vendors with whom you historically do the most business, with Department Purchase Orders, T&E Cards, AND Payment Vouchers. Start with most heavily used and work your way down the list. Consider whether you could switch to a catalog vendor for these purchases. If you can, your work is done. Otherwise:

Once the vendor is confirmed as registered at UVA, determine whether the vendor has any eVA-Registered ordering locations (sites)

  • Consider whether you could as easily order from another location that is eVA-Registered.
  • If you find that you need to continue with the same location, you will need to contact the vendor and guide them through registering each of the additional locations you want to use in eVA. This can take a while and you will need to stick with it.
If the vendor does not show up on this search or shows up with an eVA Status of "Not eVA Registered", the vendor either has no location registered in eVA or is not registered at UVA. You may want to double-check in Oracle to see if the vendor is registered at UVA.
  • Contact the vendor and make every effort to persuade them to register with UVA and/or eVA. You can refer them to the Vendor Information section of our website, where they can find all the information they need.
    • Make sure that they register ALL the ordering locations that you use with both UVA and eVA.
    • Remind them that eVA requires a separate DUNS number for each ordering location. It will be best to get them all at once.
    • Keep in mind that obtaining a free DUNS number can take a vendor over a month, so they will need to start early, and you will need to follow up over a long period of time to see this to its proper conclusion.
    • Emphasize the positive by reminding them that they can now select UVA fax or email delivery of PO's at any location and encourage them to do so - it’s a cost-saving method of order delivery.
    • It may help to do a quick "Purchase Order Summary" on your vendor in Oracle so that you can point out how many other departments you see using them, who will also have the same needs. You may also wish to contact some of those folks to coordinate your efforts.
Tips for Eliminating Vendor Confusion

It helps vendors understand about eVA and the eVA fee to know:

  • It helps them understand about eVA registration to know:
  • Registering with eVA is not registering with UVA, or vice versa. They do need to register both places.

  • There is no charge for registering with UVA or with eVA (eVA discontinued their signup fee.)
  • eVA Registration instructions are at https://eva.virginia.gov/register-now.html  They need to register in eVA all the ordering sites where they want to receive orders from UVA - it is not enough just to register their main site if there are others.
  • UVA Order Delivery will not be based on the vendor’s eVA Order Delivery Methods.
  • Vendors can receive orders electronically from UVA by requesting it on any of our UVA vendor forms without designating "Electronic" Order Delivery at eVA.
  • eVA will require a separate DUNS number for each ordering location. Vendors can get a free DUNS numbers within 24-72 hours at https://www.dnb.com/duns.html or by calling 1-866-705-5711. They should make it known that they need this number in order to do business with the Commonwealth of Virginia. This requirement is imposed by the state, by legislation, and not by UVA or Procurement Services.