TARLETON STATE UNIVERSITY PROCUREMENT CARD USER S GUIDE 02/05/15 Support Services
Overview The purpose of the Procurement card program is to establish a more efficient, cost-effective method of purchasing and paying for small dollar transactions as well as high-volume, repetitive purchases. The program was designed as an alternative to the traditional purchasing process for supplies and services. If used to its potential, the program will result in a significant reduction in the volume of purchase orders and related documentation including invoices and checks. In addition, corresponding work processes associated with ordering and check writing will be eliminated. The procurement card can be used with any supplier that accepts MasterCard as a form of payment. The Cardholder User s Guide provides the general guidelines for the procurement card. Please read it carefully. Your signature on the Cardholder Agreement shows that you understand the intent of the program and agree to follow the established guidelines. The following important points should be reviewed before using the Procurement Card: Your Procurement card is issued in your name. All purchases made on the Procurement card must be authorized by you. You are responsible for the security of the Procurement card and the transactions made with it. You can use the Procurement card at any vendor or service provider that accepts MasterCard. It may be used for in-store purchases, mail, telephone, online or fax orders. Orders over $500.00 cannot be placed with any vendor that is on hold with the State Comptroller s Office. You may use the Procurement card to purchase supplies and services less than $5,000.00 per single transaction. You must reconcile the statement online Citibank to ensure all charges are accurate. Statement reallocation and expense report must be turned into Support Services by the 15 th of the month. The Procurement card is not intended to avoid or bypass appropriate purchasing or payment procedures. This program compliments the existing processes available. The Procurement card is not for personal use. 1
PROCUREMENT CARD CONTROLS Credit Limits All Procurement cards have monthly cardholder spending limits set by department spending habits. Cardholders can request, via email, an increase of their monthly limit. Cardholders should not attempt to make a purchase greater than this limit. Transaction Limits All Procurement cards have a single transaction limit of less than $5,000.00. A transaction includes the purchase price, freight, plus any additional fees. Cardholders should not attempt to make a purchase greater than the single transaction limit or split purchases to stay under this amount. Restricted Vendors The Procurement card program has restricted use with certain types of suppliers and merchants. If you present your Procurement card for payment to one of these vendors, the authorization request will be declined. Vendors on Tax Hold The Procurement card cannot be used to purchase goods or services over $500.00 from vendors that are on tax hold with the State of Texas Comptroller s Office. The cardholder must check either in FAMIS, screens 103 or 204 or on the Comptroller s web site http://cpafmprd.cpa.state.tx.us/tpis/search.html to ensure that the vendor is not delinquent in either Franchise Tax or Sales Tax. A vendor must be in good standing for both taxes before the purchase can be made. 2
MAINTAINING YOUR PROCUREMENT CARD Procurement Card Expense Report The expense report is intended to provide an additional method for expenditure tracking while using the Procurement Card. Log-in to Citibank s website: https://www.globalmanagement.citidirect.com after making a charge and perform the reallocation process for that particular purchase. Below are the required fields for the reallocation process: Expense Description: Description of item(s) you are reallocating Dept/Sub-Dept: Already prepopulated for your primary department code but can be changed by using the drop-down arrow Accounting Code: Already populated for your local default account code but can be changed by using the drop-down arrow. The accounting code is dependent upon the Dept/Sub-Dept specified. Object Code: Use the drop-down to select the appropriate code. Invoice #: This is the approval code, validation code, transaction code, invoice number or the unique identifier for the receipt Reconciler: Initials of person who reconciled the transaction. Always obtain a receipt when using the Procurement Card. It is every cardholder s responsibility to ensure there is a detailed receipt for each purchase. If there is not a clear description of the item(s) being purchased, you must write that information on the receipt. The receipts are turned in with the Expense Report at the end of each billing cycle by the 15 th of each month. 3
The following types of purchases need additional information. That information can be given either by an Explanation of Expense Form included with your receipt(s), or the information can be added to the description box while doing your allocations. Food local funding only Postage Stamps Delivery Couriers UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. (You must utilize Central Receiving for this service if during normal business hours) Clothing promotional type items including t-shirts, caps, etc. and uniforms, shoes local funding only Other non-routine type purchases such as gifts, flowers, floral arrangements, award items or any other type purchase that might be misconstrued as a personal type item local funding only Registration fees For these purchases, you must state the 5 W s (who, what, when, where, and why the purchase was made) in your description or in attached documentation. You can run your expense report two days after the end of the statement cycle, usually around the 5 th of each month. Citibank will not send paper statements. Each cardholder must perform the reallocation process for each purchase listed. Print the Expense Report, attach original receipts and any additional documentation pertinent to the purchase, and forward for approval. Additional approvals may be needed in accordance with the university s Entertainment Policy. Sales Tax Tarleton State University is exempt from Texas state sales tax. The vendor should be notified of the tax exemption prior to making the purchase. If tax is charged, it is the cardholder s responsibility to contact the vendor and have a credit issued for the tax. Remember to request a copy of the receipt showing the tax credit. Thee Sales Tax Exemption Certification Form is posted on our website. 4
Cardholder Responsibility SECURITY OF THE PROCUREMENT CARD The cardholder is responsible for the security of the card. This card should be treated with the same level of care as the cardholder would use with his/her own personal charge cards. Guard the Procurement card account number carefully. It should not be posted in a work area or left in a conspicuous place. It should be kept in a secure location. Employee Termination The Procurement card must be destroyed or returned to Support Services upon transfer to another department or termination of employment. Lost or Stolen Cards If a Procurement card is lost or stolen, immediately contact Citibank Customer Service at 1-800-248-4553. Prompt action can reduce Tarleton s liability of fraudulent activity. Failure to report potential fraudulent activity can result in disciplinary action against cardholder. PROCUREMENT CARD ACTIVATION The cardholder must call the number referenced on the card to activate the Procurement card before using it. Upon receipt of the card, the cardholder should sign the back of the Procurement card and always keep the card in a secure place. The personal identification code for use with Citibank is the last four digits of the cardholder s UIN. MAKING THE PURCHASE Cardholders should promote and encourage positive interactions with suppliers. Honesty and courtesy are essential ingredients in all aspects of a buyer/supplier relationship. All cardholders should follow these guidelines below when using the Procurement Card: 1. Determine if the transaction is an acceptable use of the card, and if it is within the cardholder s spending limit: 5
Items that cannot be secured using the procurement card without approval: Advertising Computers Computer Software Travel Faculty/Staff/Students Fuel Personal items/purchases Artwork Guns Flowers for sick employees or for employee/employee family funeral Controlled items (inventoriable) 2. Identify the supplier, check the supplier s tax status, call, fax or visit the supplier to place your order. 3. If order is to be delivered to Tarleton, ask the vendor to use the following format for the shipping label: PC- (last 4 digits of credit card number) Tarleton State University 201 St. Felix Street Stephenville, TX 76401 4. Inform the vendor of tax exemption. If going through a checkout stand, inform the clerk before they start ringing up the items (highly important at Wal-Mart) 5. Confirm pricing and freight 6. Request that a hard copy of the pricing and freight be faxed to the cardholder and/or included in the shipment of supplies. 7. If the supplier requests a purchase order number, use PC and the last 4 digits of the credit card number. 6
RECEIVING SUPPLIES AND SERVICES A copy of the charge slip, sales receipt or any other information related to the purchase must be kept and attached to the Expense Report. An invoice with no amount due is the best documentation since it itemizes the purchases. A vendor s entry system usually prints an automatic invoice with the processed order. Instruct the vendor not to send the invoice to the Accounts Payable Department but directly to the individual cardholder making the purchase (this will prevent duplicate payments to vendors). If a purchase is made via mail or telephone, ask the vendor to e-mail the receipt. We do not encourage receipts being included with the shipments since often the paperwork is discarded with the box. The receipt is the only original documentation showing if tax was charged on the purchase. If charged tax, it is the cardholder s responsibility to have the tax credited on the purchase. RETURNS, CREDITS AND DISPUTED CHARGES Should a problem arise with a purchased item, service, or charge, every attempt should be made to first resolve the issue directly with the vendor. Review of future statements is vital to ensure the account is properly credited for returns, credits and disputed charges. The returned credited or disputed item should be noted on the Expense Report. Returns: If a cardholder needs to return an item, contact the supplier and obtain instructions for return. Fill out a shipping request and take to Central Receiving to be shipped out. Note that some suppliers may charge a restocking or handling fee for returns. Payment for items being returned should be charged to a local account number on your expense report. Credits can only be applied to local accounts. Credits: If the supplier accepts an item as a return, a credit for this item should appear on the following month s statement. All credits should be indicated on the expense report and credited to the local account the original purchase was allocated to. Disputed Charges: If a cardholder finds a discrepancy on a monthly statement, the cardholder should contact the supplier and attempt to resolve the problem directly. All disputed items should be indicated on the expense report. If a cardholder cannot resolve a disputed item directly with the vendor, the cardholder should contact Citibank s Customer Service. Citibank will require information pertaining to the purchase and attempts at resolution that only the cardholder will know. They will send a form that needs to be filled out before they can take steps to contact the vendor. At that time the account may be given a provisional credit until receipt of adequate documentation from the vendor. If the documentation appears to be in order, the transaction will be re-posted to the 7
account and the dispute considered closed. If the charge is suspected to be fraudulent, the card will be immediately blocked, continue to have a provisional credit (if given) and an investigation of the charge will continue. A new card will then be re-issued to the cardholder if appropriate. If the charge appears legitimate, the transaction will then post to the new account. INFRACTION POLICY Cards are subject to suspension if the Expense Report is received after the 15 th of the month. If the 15 th falls on a weekend, the reports are due on the following Monday. These are due the same time each month, so plan accordingly for signature approvals. Your card will be suspended if your expense report is late and will not be reinstated until your expense report is received. Cards are subject to permanent cancellation for failure to follow the purchasing guidelines. 8