Inventorial Equipment (Non-FAB)

Last Updated: December 19, 2025 1:27:56 PM PST

Learn what costs are considered part of the value of inventorial equipment.

UCSD Equipment Requirements

Inventorial Equipment are all items meeting the following criteria and must be tracked in both CAMS (UC San Diego's Campus Asset Management System) and OFC FA (Oracle Financial Cloud - Fixed Assets, UC San Diego's financial information system). For a complete listing of definitions for all items the University is required to track, please see the BFB-BUS-29: Management and Control of University Equipment and the property terms of each applicable award.

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

Qualify as long-term tangible personal property with an acquisition cost of $5,000 or greater.
Are non-expendable (can't be used up)
Stand alone
Have a normal useful life of one year or more

After "government property" input certain "theft-sensitive" items, firearms, government property, and UCSD vehicles registered with the DMV must be recorded and tracked as inventorial equipment, regardless of cost.

Acquisition Cost

The acquisition value is the cost of the equipment (main asset) plus any allowable capitalizable costs (insert chart).

Equipment Expenditure Types

Non-Inventorial Equipment and unrelated purchases should be charged to the appropriate expense account. Please refer to the Oracle Expenditure Type List using the link provided.

Purchasing Equipment

Non-Inventorial Equipment and unrelated purchases should be charged to the appropriate expense account. Please refer to the Oracle Expenditure Type List using the link provided.

Purchasing Equipment Table
Expenditure Type	Details	Expenditure Category	OFC Account Code
163001 - CIP - Equip Fab Materials and Labor	CIP- Equip Fabrication Materials and Labor	UCSD Equipment	163001
163001 - CIP - Fabrication Components and Supplies	CIP Fabrication Components and Supplies	UCSD Equipment	163001
163001 - SIO IDG Fabrication Costs	SIO IDG Fabrication Costs-no IDC	UCSD Equipment	163001
163001 - SIO LDL Fabrication Costs	SIO LDL Fabrication Costs-no IDC	UCSD Equipment	163001
163001 - SIO MPL Fabrication Costs	SIO MPL Fabrication Costs-no IDC	UCSD Equipment	163001
163001 - SIO MSDC Fabrication Costs	SIO MSDC Fabrication Costs-no IDC	UCSD Equipment	163001
163003 - Inventorial Equipment	Capital Exp - Inventorial Equipment	UCSD Equipment	163003

It is important that you use the correct account code. The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) requires universities to depreciate all of their assets. You must accurately code purchases so UC San Diego stays in compliance with GASB regulations.

Line items on purchase order

Should be broken out appropriately, separating inventorial equipment from non-inventorial equipment.

When to add freight costs

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.

When to add accessory costs to an existing asset

What is an accessory? An accessory, when considered an upgrade or betterment, is an add-on component or feature that enhances the functionality, performance, or value of the original asset beyond its original condition (GAAP ASC 360). 

The following criteria must be met in order for the cost of the accessory to be capitalized:

The accessory permanently increases the value of the existing equipment.
The accessory permanently extends the useful life of the existing equipment.
The cost of the accessory meets or exceeds the $5,000 threshold.
At the time of requisition, you must include the UCID number of the asset that will receive the upgrade or betterment. 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, see How to Add Accessories to Existing Equipment.