Freight and qualifying accessories are included in the acquisition cost of equipment even though they aren't usually considered equipment.

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.

Freight costs are automatically added to the value of an equipment item when:

• Freight is included as a line item on a UCSD purchase order.

You must add freight costs to the value of an equipment item when:

• Your department has a separate freight bill that references a specific UCSD purchase order for equipment.
• You pay freight costs that are not included on the purchase order for the equipment item. In this case, please see How to Add Freight to Existing Equipment and How to Process Freight and Commercial Transportation Bills.

You must add the cost of an accessory to the value of an equipment item when:

• The accessory permanently increases the value of the existing equipment.
• The accessory permanently increases the useful life of the existing equipment.
• You meet the accessory threshold of $5,000 or more.
  Note: Parts or components valued at less than $5,000 are not included in the value of equipment and should be expensed as non-capital items.

To add an accessory, please see How to Add Accessories to Existing Equipment.

Questions? Contact Bessie Douglas, (858) 534-2847, or Steve Ste. Marie, (858) 534-4638.