Accessories, Freight, and Equipment Value

Learn when accessories and freight are considered part of the value of inventorial equipment.

Acquisition Cost

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

UCSD Equipment Requirements

Inventorial Equipment has a total acquisition cost of $5,000 or more, and must be tracked in CAMS (Campus Asset Management System). Inventorial equipment funded by a government entity requires contract considerations for inventory control. 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:

• 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.

Line item on purchase order

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.

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

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, see How to Add Accessories to Existing Equipment.