An internal customer is defined as a unit within the university's financial structure. Rates for goods and services provided to internal customers (also known as Internal Sales Activities or ISAs) must be at cost (i.e. must not exceed cost), including a 60-day expense reserve allowance. Internal customers are easily identifiable because they use speedtypes or CU procurement cards for payment. They include other campuses, but they specifically exclude students and payments made using a fund 80 (agency funds) speedtype.
ISAs are operated essentially as self-funded business units. Their business activity consists of interdepartmental sales and may also include inventory for resale and occasional sales to the general public. ISAs must follow the appropriate internal controls for cash, inventory, and accounts receivable as prescribed in the respective chapters of "The Guide", and must operate in compliance with government regulations.
Because sales to internal customers can include charges to federal contracts and grants, they are subject to both departmental and central oversight. All units engaging in internal sales activity must charge rates in accordance with appropriate federal costing and accounting standards. Units with no external sales and less than $10,000 in annual internal revenues are not required to submit a rate sheet, but they are still required to comply with the standards.