Know what qualifies as capital equipment.
Capital equipment must meet all of the following criteria:
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Acquisition cost $5,000 or greater
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Useful life of more than one year
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Individual, stand-alone, moveable, tangible item
Key Points About Capital Equipment
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The capitalization threshold for Stanford-owned equipment is $5,000.
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Software acquisitions <$500,000 are not capitalized – they are expense items.
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Title to equipment vests with either the University or with the project sponsor. Title does not reside personally with faculty or staff.
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Title to gifted or donated equipment vests with Stanford University.
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Accountability for Stanford-owned equipment resides with the Department.
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Accountability for equipment on Sponsored Projects resides with the Principal Investigator (PI).
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The acquiring organization must screen for available items to minimize duplicative acquisitions.
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Responsibility for accurately coding acquisition transactions for equipment and approving funding sources rests with the originator and the approvers.
