Saint Francis University PNC BANK PNC PURCHASING CARD Policy and Procedures October 2014
Table of Contents Introduction General Guidelines..Page 4-6 - Card Issuance - Purchase, Allocation and Statement Workflow - Account Maintenance - Card Usage - Preferred Vendors vs. Vendors Not Accepting Visa - Limitations and Restrictions - Gift Cards - Lost or Stolen Cards Purchases.....Page 6-7 - Unauthorized Purchases - Travel and Entertainment - Misuse of the Purchasing Card Reconcilement and Payment...Page 7-9 - Receipt Retention - Reconcilement of Purchases - Disputed or Fraudulent Charges Sales and Use Tax.. Page 9
Introduction The purpose of the P-card Program is to streamline and simplify the requisitioning, purchasing and payment process for small dollar transactions. The program is designed to shorten the approval process and reduce the paperwork of procurement procedures such as purchase orders, check requests and expense reimbursements. The goal of the program is to: - Reduce the cost of processing small dollar purchases/purchasing orders - Receive faster delivery of required merchandise - Simplify the payment process - Increase the Visa rebate amount earned by the University This reference guide will provide you with the particulars of the program, including general guidelines, reconcilement and record keeping procedures, and customer service information. It is important to read the following information carefully, as you will be responsible for adhering to the university-established policy and procedures. If you have any additional questions, please contact your supervisor or Saint Francis University Business Office and Purchasing Office: For p-card issues, website access and unauthorized purchase issues please contact the Purchasing Department: Name Email Phone Bill Agosta, P-Card Administrator Mary Ann Hoover, P-Card Assistant Administrator Bill - wagosta@francis.edu Mary Ann - mhoover@francis.edu x3035 For statement, receipt and documentation submissions please contact the Business Office: Name Email Phone Madeline Grecek mgrecek@francis.edu x3260
General Guidelines Card Issuance: As a cardholder, you will be asked to sign a cardholder agreement form. By signing the agreement form, you have agreed to adhere to the guidelines established in this document. Most importantly, you are the only person entitled to use the card and the card is not to be used for personal use. As each card is linked to a specific expense account number and individual employee, the card cannot be transferred from one employee to another. Upon receipt of your P-card, you will need to activate the account by calling the toll-free number printed on the card. For verification purposes, you will be asked to provide an activation code which is the last four digits of your social security number. Although the card will be issued in your name, your personal credit history will not affect your ability to obtain a card. Saint Francis University is responsible for payment of all purchases. Purchase, Allocation and Statement Workflow: 1. The cardholder makes a purchase. 2. The cardholder retains a detailed receipt of the purchase. 3. Receipts must include the date, detailed information (especially for meal purchases) regarding the item purchased and the transaction amount. 4. All travel and entertainment purchases must include business purpose and people present. 5. The cardholder can log onto the Intellilink site and assign the proper department accounting code to the transaction 24 hours/7 days a week. 6. The cardholder must also upload and link the corresponding receipt to each charge (A video showing how to upload receipts to the Intellilink website is located at http://info.francis.edu/business-office-forms-and-policies/) 7. The allocations are then submitted to the cardholder s supervisor for review and approval. 8. The cardholder s supervisor will receive an email notification that the charges are ready for review and approval. The supervisor will log in and review the charges and linked/uploaded receipts. (A video showing how the cardholder supervisor can approve the charges on the Intellilink website is located at http://info.francis.edu/business-office-formsand-policies/) 9. If the charges and receipts are in compliance with this policy the supervisor will approve the statement and charges. If the charges and receipts are not in compliance with this policy the supervisor can add a comment to the section and return the statement to the cardholder which will generate an email notification to the cardholder that an update or correction is requested. 10. Cardholders are responsible for ensuring that they make any corrections necessary and resubmit the statement to the supervisor within 48 hours. 11. All statements and receipts must be finalized on the Intellilink site before the 25 th of each month. Account Maintenance: If there s a need to change any information regarding your account, such as the spending limit or expense accounting code, please contact the Purchasing Department at x3035. 4
Card Usage: The P-card can be used at any merchant that accepts Visa, except as Saint Francis University otherwise directs. It may be used for in-store purchases as well as online, phone, fax or mail orders. When using the card with merchants, please emphasize that an invoice should not be sent to the University as this may result in a duplicate payment. You must keep a detailed receipt for every transaction to include with your monthly reconciliation. For online, phone, fax and mail orders, please instruct the merchant to send a receipt only. Again, this receipt must be retained for your records. It is very important that you keep credit card purchases separate from invoices that need to be paid through the Accounts Payable Department. Limitations and Restrictions: The Purchasing Department has assigned a credit limit to your card. Every cardholder has a transactional daily and monthly dollar limit assigned to his/her account. As limitations vary by cardholder, please discuss the limit with your supervisor and the Purchasing Department if you feel the limit needs to be adjusted. Any limit adjustment will require approval by both the Purchasing Department and the cardholder s supervisor. The P-card Program also allows for merchant category blocking. If a particular merchant category is blocked (e.g., jewelry stores), and you attempt to use your card at such a merchant, your purchase will be declined. Management has made an effort to ensure that the vendors/suppliers used during the normal course of business are not restricted. Depending on the result of your inquiry, you may want to discuss the issue further with the Purchasing Department. The Program Administrators are empowered to modify the restrictions on your use of the card. All requests for changes in limitations and restrictions must be made through your supervisor and the Purchasing Department. Gift Cards: If a gift card is purchased, detailed information regarding the business purpose and name of recipient must be listed within the narrative detail field of the transaction allocation on the Intellilink site. All gift card purchases must be approved by the cardholder s supervisor and/or vice president. Further, for internal gift card recipients (students) a completed and signed form acknowledging receipt of the gift card by the recipient must be uploaded and linked to the transaction with the receipt for the gift card. The gift card acknowledgement form can be found on the my.francis Business Office webpage under forms or by clicking on the link above. Gift cards should not be purchased more than 15 days before needed. Cardholders are not permitted to purchase a large amount of gift cards in advance for possible future needs. The cards should be purchased on an as needed basis only. Gift cards cannot be issued to any Saint Francis University employee for any reason as per Internal Revenue Service policy. More information regarding this policy can be found by clicking here: IRS Fringe Benefits. Lost or Stolen Cards: You are responsible for the security of your card and any purchases made on your account. If you believe you have lost your card or that it has been stolen, immediately report this information to PNC Bank Business Purchasing Service Center at 1-800-685-4039 available 24 5
hours a day/7 days a week. Immediately after reporting to the PNC, you must inform the Purchasing Department. It is extremely important to act promptly in the event of a lost or stolen card to avoid University liability for fraudulent transactions. As with a personal charge card, you will no longer be able to use the account number after notifying the bank. A new card will be issued within five to ten business days. A new pin number will be issued within two weeks. Unauthorized Purchases Items for personal use Capital goods or IT related items (Computers, Computer equipment, Phones and/or accessories, or any depreciable goods Leased equipment Payment for honorariums, contractors, wages, or stipends Flowers (with the exception of the President s Office) Cash advances Beer and Liquor Distributors As with any purchase the card is not to be used for any product, service or with any merchant considered to be inappropriate for University funds. Misuse of the Purchasing Card The following examples will be considered misuse of the Purchasing Card: Purchases made for the sole benefit of the cardholder Assignment or transfer of an individual s card to an unauthorized person Use of an individual s card by a suspended or terminated employee Lack of proper and timely reconciliation of an individual cardholder account Sanctions will be imposed on a cardholder on a case by case review of the misuse of the purchasing card. The Purchasing Card Administrator will work with the cardholder and department administrator/supervisor to initiate sanctions where misuse of the card has occurred. The cardholder will be notified of the specific misuse via University email sent from the Purchasing Card Administrator. The cardholder s supervisor and department head will be copied on this email. If misuse continues the cardholder may be asked to return the card and discontinue use. Misuse of the card can jeopardize the cardholder s employment at the University. Cases of fraud could result in employment termination and/or prosecution. Failure to comply with the above guidelines for authorized purchases under the P-card Program may result in disciplinary action, cancellation of your card privileges, and possible termination of employment. 6
Travel and Entertainment The P-card is intended to assist you with payment for airfare, hotels, and out-of-pocket expenses during business travel. The P-card, when used for travel, must be used in accordance with the University travel and expense policy already established. The P-card should be used for all possible University related travel and entertainment expenses. Employees should not use their personal finances to pay for travel and entertainment expenses unless certain special circumstances prohibit the employee from utilizing their P- card. Reconcilement and Payment The Business Office is responsible for paying the program invoice(s) each month. You are not responsible for payment under your account. At the end of a statement period, you will be notified via email that it is time to review your card statement and allocate the transactions for that period. You will access the PNC Expense Reporting tool via Visa IntelliLink Spend Management website to review your statement. The statement will reflect the transaction date, posting date, supplier/merchant name and the total amount of the purchase. You have the ability to reconcile your account at any time. A cardholder may also delegate account access to another designated card holder within their department if they are unable to access the system during the time that allocations must be processed. Please contact the Purchasing Department to request account delegation. As a cardholder you are responsible for the following: Retaining and uploading all receipts for items purchased on the P-card Link the uploaded receipt(s) to the corresponding transactions on the Intellilink website (A video showing how to upload receipts to the Intellilink website is located at http://info.francis.edu/business-office-forms-and-policies/) If you are a supervisor of a cardholder you are also responsible for logging into the Intellilink system and reviewing the charges and linked receipts to ensure compliance. After reviewing the charges you should either approve the transactions or add comments and return the statement to the cardholder to make the necessary corrections and adjustments. Receipt Retention: It is a requirement of the program that you keep all detailed receipts for goods and services purchased on file within your department along with a printed monthly statement listing the charges. These statements/receipts should be kept and filed by fiscal year for auditing purposes. The files must be kept for a three year period. If a receipt is missing, a detailed description must be included in the narrative details field on the site. Please note that if receipts are not submitted 7
on a reoccurring basis a card may be temporarily or permanently cancelled at any time by the Program Administrator. For orders placed via phone, fax or mail, or online, you must request a receipt, detailing merchandise price, sales/use tax (there should be no tax charged as Saint Francis University is tax an exempt organization), freight, etc., be included with the goods mailed/shipped. (Note: a merchant should not reject this request, as it is a Visa policy). It is extremely important to request and retain purchase receipts, as this is the only original documentation that shows whether sales tax has been paid. Since standard reimbursement policies require retention of receipts or other proof of purchase, record keeping is not an extraordinary requirement. As card records will be audited, it is essential to adhere to the above record keeping guidelines. Reconcilement of Purchases: It is your responsibility as the cardholder upon receipt of your statement to check it to ensure all of the transactions posted are legitimate transactions made by yourself. You must then upload line item detailed point of sale receipts or delivery invoices to the Intellilink site. Saint Francis University understands that errors occur and that it is possible to inadvertently charge something on the wrong credit card but personal charges frequently charged to your University issued p- card will not be allowed and can result in termination of your card privileges. Once your statement has been submitted, an email will be issued to your supervisor for his/her approval. All receipts must be uploaded into PNC through the upload portal within 7 days. Failure to reconcile your card within the allotted timeframe may result in the deactivation of your card. A cardholder may also delegate account access to another card holder if they are aware that they will be unable to access the system during the time that allocations must occur. Account delegation should be made to a designated person within the department such as an Administrative Assistant or Supervisor. Account access should not be delegated to an employee outside of the cardholder s department. Please contact the Purchasing Department to request account delegation. Each department will be responsible for maintaining original copies of signed monthly statements and the reconciling receipts for each cardholder/month. At any time the department may be asked to provide this documentation for auditing or other purposes. In the event that a cardholder s employment is terminated, it is the responsibility of the cardholder s supervisor to ensure that all of the cardholder s transactions are allocated on the Intellilink site. Disputed or Fraudulent Charges: If there is a discrepancy between your receipts and your statement, it is imperative that the issue is addressed immediately. Depending on the type of discrepancy, you will need to contact the merchant or complete the online dispute form to resolve the disputed transaction. Please contact the Purchasing Department to obtain a Dispute Form. 8
If you believe the merchant has charged you incorrectly or there is an outstanding quality or service issue, you must first contact the merchant and try to resolve the error or problem. If you are able to resolve the matter directly with the merchant, and the error involved an overcharge, a credit adjustment should be requested and will appear on your next statement. Note: The item should be highlighted on your record log as a reminder to verify that correct credit has been received. If the merchant disagrees that an adjustment is necessary, you will complete the online dispute form. The details of the disputed transaction will be entered online and followed up on by PNC Bank. PNC Bank must receive any charge dispute within 60 days of the transaction date. Failure to comply with the P-Card Card guidelines may result in cancellation of your card privileges. While pending resolution, PNC Bank will credit your card account for the amount of the disputed transaction. Although PNC Bank acts as the arbitrator in any dispute, you should never assume that a dispute will be resolved in your favor. If the dispute is not resolved to your satisfaction, and you believe the merchant has unfairly treated you, please notify your supervisor with the relevant details. If the merchant is one of our preferred vendors, our purchasing department may take further action. Any fraudulent charge (i.e., a charge appearing which was not authorized by you) must be reported immediately to the Purchasing Department. Prompt reporting of any such charge will help to prevent the University from being held responsible. The cardholder must allocate all fraudulent charges to a GL department number on Intellilink within 72 hours of notifying the Purchasing Department of the charges occurring. Sales and Use Tax Since Saint Francis University is a tax exempt organization your purchases are usually taxexempt. You will be required and are responsible for providing merchants with the necessary forms for non-taxable goods or services. Questions regarding this policy and any other questions concerning tax issues should be addressed to the Business Office. Saint Francis University s tax exemption number is printed at the top of your p-card. Please notify all vendors of Saint Francis University s tax exemption status. 9