Policies & Procedures Procedure Title The Use of Purchase Cards Procedure Reference Number NTW(F)21-09 Lead Officer Eric Jarvis (Head of Financial Governance) Author Michael Dorner (Financial Guidance Officer) Date Authorised by Domain Committee Not Applicable Date of Issue 12 January 2009 Issue Number 1 REVIEW DATE JANUARY 2010 Committees Consulted Not Applicable
CONTENTS Page No: 1. What is a purchase card? 2 2 When can a Purchase Card be used? 2 3 Card Administrator 3 4 Card Holder Responsibilities 3 5 Action required when a Purchase Card is Used 4 6 Receipt of goods/services 4 7 Action required at the end of each Billing Month 5 8 Spot Checks 6 9 Monitoring of Card Usage 6 10 Fraud and Corruption 6 11 Equality and Diversity 7 Appendices Appendix A Forms Used in the Procedure Ref. Agreement relating to the Issue of a Purchase Card Purchase card transaction log for year.. Purchase Card Advice note Purchase Card Statement Query Log for Month of. Purchase Card Transaction Log for Month of NTW21-09-01 NTW21-09-02 NTW21-09-03 NTW21-09-04 NTW21-09-05 1
1 What is a purchase Card? 1.1 Purchase Cards are Credit Cards obtained by the Trust from a Bank (the Card Provider) for issue to individually named persons for the procurement of goods/services. Purchase cards are currently used within the Supplies and Information Technology Departments. 1.2 The purchase card enables the designated holder to place an order for goods and services with a company via telephone. 2 When can a Purchase Card be used? The conditions shown at 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 currently apply to the use of Purchase Cards and must be strictly adhered to: 2.1 The order must be of an urgent nature where the goods/services cannot be obtained using the normal purchasing arrangements for the following reasons: The goods/services cannot be obtained by the required time using normal purchasing arrangements (NB where goods/services are required urgently, this must be indicated on the requisition) The purchase can only be made via a web-site The patient s choice of goods/service provider cannot be accommodated using normal purchasing arrangements 2.2 The value of the order for the goods/services must not exceed 1,000 (ie each cardholder has a limit of 1,000 in a single transaction). In exceptional circumstances, where it is deemed necessary to make a purchase in excess of 1,000, the cardholder should contact the Card Administrator (ie the Central Processing Manager see Section 3) 2.3 Cardholders within Supplies can purchase goods/services within the following trade categories: Telecommunication Services Catering & Catering Services Cleaning Services and Supplies Training and Educational Medical Supplies and Services Business Clothing and Footwear Mail Order Freight and Storage Professional Services Clubs/Associations/Organisations Statutory bodies Office stationery, equipment and supplies Print & advertising Books & Periodicals Mail and courier services Miscellaneous industrial/commercial supplies Vehicles, servicing and spares Travel 2
Auto rental Hotels and accommodation Restaurants General retail Leisure activities Miscellaneous Cardholders within the Information Technology Department can only purchase Computer Equipment. 2.4 The following should be noted: 2.4.1 If a cardholder is advised that their attempted purchase has been blocked, they should contact the Card Administrator (see Section 3). 2.4.2 Although hotels (and accommodation) is listed as an allowable trade category, the Trust operates a Central Booking System which must be used. 2.4.3 Purchases requiring payment using a foreign currency must not be purchased using a purchase card. Such purchases must be dealt with by the Finance Department who will arrange for payment via the Trust s Bankers. 3 Card Administrator 3.1 The Central Processing Manager is the Trust s Purchase Card Administrator (referred to hereafter as the Card Administrator ) with responsibility for the administrative arrangements relating to applications for new cards, card and transaction limits/scope and the cancellation of cards. Authority for these activities will be from the Director of Finance, Associate Director Finance and Business Support or the Head of Accountancy and Transactional Management. With regard to applications for new cards and the cancellation of existing cards, the Head of Procurement and Supplies /Associate Director IM&T (as appropriate) will E-mail the Card Administrator with the relevant request. The Card Administrator will then prepare the relevant documentation for submission to the Card Provider. 3.2 The Team Leader - Central Processing will fulfil the responsibilities detailed in 3.1 in the absence of the Central Processing Manager. 3.3 The Card Administrator must ensure that adequate insurance arrangements are in place in the event of misuse of the card by the Card Holder and third parties. 4 Card Holder Responsibilities 4.1 When a Card Holder is issued with a purchase card, he/she must sign an agreement, which details his/her responsibilities in terms of use of the card. A copy of the agreement is shown at Appendix A see Form NTW21-09-01. 3
4.2 When not in use, a purchase card must be kept in a lockable facility within the department. In addition, it is imperative that all card numbers are known only by those with the relevant authority. 4.3 A purchase card must only be used by the designated Card Holder. Under no circumstances can it be used by any other officer. 5 Action required when a Purchase Card is used 5.1 Where goods/services are to be purchased using a purchase card, then the goods/services will be ordered from the relevant company via telephone, internet, email or post (as appropriate) from the relevant company. 5.2 The officer placing the order must then perform the following actions: 5.2.1 Make entry in Purchase Card Transaction Log The Card Holder will enter details of the purchase on a spreadsheet formatted for this purpose. The spreadsheet is known as the Purchase Card Transaction Log for Year. Form NTW21-09-02 shown at Appendix A is a representation of the information to be entered on the spreadsheet. All fields must be entered. Each Card Holder will maintain a Purchase Card Transaction Log of all purchases made in a financial year. A new Log must be commenced at the start of a new financial year. The Log must be set up so that it can only be amended by the relevant Card Holder but can be viewed by other members of staff. 5.2.2 Complete Purchase Card Advice Note 6 Receipt of goods/services A Purchase Card Advice Note (see Appendix A Form NTW21-09-03) containing necessary information/instructions must be prepared and sent by e-mail or fax to the requisitioner. NB Where the Advice Note is being sent by e-mail, it is not necessary to sign the Completed By field. The Advice Note must be set up so that it can only be amended by the relevant Card Holder but can be viewed by other members of staff. Upon notification (via the Purchase Card Advice Note) that the goods/services have been ordered, the requisitioner must subsequently perform the following tasks: Notify the relevant Card Holder (detailed at the foot of the Purchase Card Advice Note) via E-mail if the goods/services are not delivered within 10 working days The Card Holder will then follow this up with the relevant company and ensure that the goods/services are delivered Notify the relevant Card Holder (detailed at the foot of the Purchase Card Advice Note) via E-mail of any discrepancy between the goods/services ordered and those received. This must be done within 24 hours of delivery. 4
The Card Holder will address the issue with the relevant company and in appropriate cases will arrange with the company for a refund to be made which will be shown on the next Statement (depending upon the timing). 7 Action required at the end of each Billing Month At the end of each billing month, the Card Administrator will receive Statements from the Card Provider relating to each Purchase Card. The Card Administrator will then photocopy the statements and send the relevant photocopied statement to the relevant Card Holder. (NB The Card Administrator will retain the original copies of the Statements (see 1 st para of 7 ) for the statutory time required for payment records). The following actions must then be performed: Action by the Card Holder 7.1 The Card Holder must carry out the following checks: each transaction on the Statement has been recorded during the month on the Purchase Card Transaction Log. the transaction value is the same on the Statement and the Purchase Card Transaction Log Where a transaction fails either of the two checks in the previous paragraph, details of the difference must be recorded on a Purchase Card Statement Query Log for Month of. (see Appendix A Form NTW21-09-04) (* please see note below). The outcome of each query recorded must be established by the Card Holder. The Query Log must be set up so that it can only be amended by the relevant Card Holder but can be viewed by other members of staff. 7.2 Having reconciled the Statement, the Card Holder must then copy the transactions applicable to the Statement from the Purchase Card Transaction Log to a new spreadsheet which will be known as the Purchase Card Transaction Log for Month of... Form NTW21-09-05 shown at Appendix A is a representation of the information to be entered on the spreadsheet relating to the billing month. All fields must be entered. The Transaction Log for the month must be set up so that it can only be amended by the relevant Card Holder but can be viewed by other members of staff. 7.3 The Card Holder must then send (via E-mail) the Transaction Log for the month and the Query Log (if appropriate) to the Head of Procurement and Supplies or his/her designated officer/the designated IM&T Manager (as appropriate). NB Subsequent references to the Head of Procurement and Supplies will imply or his/her designated officer. Action by the Head of Procurement and Supplies/designated IM&T Manager 7.4 Upon receipt of the Transaction Log for the month and the Query Log (if appropriate), the Head of Procurement and Supplies/the designated IM&T Manager will then: 5
review the Transaction Log to ensure that the use of the Purchase Card is in line with the conditions detailed at 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 and discuss (if necessary) any problems/issues with the Card Holder. review the Query Log to ensure that all queries have fully resolved and discuss (if necessary) any problems/issues with the Card Holder. All problems/issues discussed with the Card Holder (and the outcome of those discussions) should be documented by the Head of Procurement and Supplies /the designated IM&T Manager. 7.5 The Head of Procurement and Supplies/the designated IT Manager must then send (via E-mail) the Transaction Log and the Query Log (if appropriate) to the Card Administrator (NB must be received by the Card Administrator by 22 nd of month). Action by Card Administrator 7.6 Upon receipt, of the Transaction Log and the Query Log (if appropriate), the Card Administrator will: 8 Spot Checks reconcile Transaction Log and Statement to the amount debited to the Trust s Bank Account. The Card Administrator must sign and date the Statement to witness the reconciliation. input the relevant information into Oracle General Ledger. Card Holders will perform monthly spot checks on departments to ensure the receipt of goods, particularly those of higher values. A record will be maintained in Supplies/IT Departments of the checks carried out and the results of those checks. This record is to be available for Audit checks. 9 Monitoring of Card Usage 9.1 Monitoring of Card Usage must be performed quarterly by the Card Administrator. The usage of each card must be examined so that trends are identified and unusual variations are investigated and explained. fraudulent or inappropriate transactions are detected. 9.2 The Card Administrator will maintain a Monitoring Log which will provide evidence that the monitoring process has been carried out and will also detail the findings. 10 Fraud and Corruption In accordance with the Fraud and Corruption Policy and Response Plan, all suspected cases of fraud and corruption should be reported immediately to the Trust s Local Counter Fraud Specialist or to the Director of Finance. 6
11 Equality and Diversity 11.1 If a version of this procedure or an individual form used in the procedure is required in a larger font-size, please contact the Author (see front sheet) to request. If any part or all of this procedure is required in a language other than English, please contact the Author to discuss your requirement. 11.2 This procedure has been assessed with regard to its relevance to equality and diversity. As a result of this assessment, no negative impacts were identified for any of the legislatively recognised equality strands, viz. Sex [including marital status and gender re-assignment] Race [including colour, nationality, national origin, ethnic origin] Disability. Sexual Orientation Religion & Belief Age 7
APPENDIX A FORMS USED IN THE PROCEDURE
NORTHUMBERLAND, TYNE AND WEAR NHS TRUST AGREEMENT RELATING TO THE ISSUE OF A PURCHASE CARD I acknowledge receipt of a Purchase card in the name of...with the following number... I understand that that the card must only be used by me for the purpose of purchasing goods and services on behalf of the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust and any contravention of this may render me liable for disciplinary, prosecution and civil recovery proceedings. I also understand that the documentation in use relating to Purchase Cards will be used for the purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation of fraud. Signed Printed Name Department Name Department Address Date NTW21-09-01/01
Cardholder Name. NORTHUMBERLAND TYNE & WEAR NHS TRUST PURCHASE CARD TRANSACTION LOG FOR YEAR.. Date Req. Number Supplier Short Description of Goods/Services Cost Centre Subjective Code Net VAT Total GRAND TOTALS NTW21-09-02/01
NORTHUMBERLAND TYNE & WEAR NHS TRUST PURCHASE CARD ADVICE NOTE Date Requisition No.. Location No... Requestor. Cost Centre.. Location Name. Delivery Location The goods/services requisitioned below have been ordered using a Trust Purchase Card and shall be delivered to the above location with a Supplier Advice Note which must be retained for audit purposes. If the goods/services are not delivered within 5 working days please contact the undersigned. Any discrepancy between the goods/services ordered and received must be reported to the Supplies Department contact below within 24 hours of delivery. Catalogue No. Short Description Qty Ordered Unit Price Total Price Completed By.. (Signature) Printed Name.. Contact Telephone No.. Fax No.. Email Address... NTW21-09-03/01
Cardholder Name NORTHUMBERLAND TYNE & WEAR NHS TRUST PURCHASE CARD STATEMENT QUERY LOG FOR MONTH OF Date Req. Number Supplier Short Description of Goods/Services Total Value Nature of Query Outcome NTW21-09-04/01
Cardholder Name. NORTHUMBERLAND TYNE & WEAR NHS TRUST PURCHASE CARD TRANSACTION LOG FOR MONTH OF.. Date Req. Number Supplier Short Description of Goods/Services Cost Centre Subjective Code Net VAT Total GRAND TOTALS FOR MONTH NTW21-09-05/01