1. How would having a Procurement Card benefit our department?
2. How do I go about receiving a Procurement Card?
3. Can multiple cards be issued in the same individual’s name?
4. Who is our credit card provider?
5. What does the mandated training session offer?
7. What are the card cancellation procedures?
8. Where should I store the card for safekeeping?
9. How do I change my default account?
10. Are there default single and monthly transaction limits on the card?
11. What items or services can be processed on the Procurement Card?
12. Can travel related expenses be processed on the Procurement Card?
13. What do I do if a transaction is declined?
14. How do I go about requesting that my monthly or single transaction limit be raised?
15. Can food be bought on the P-Card?
16. What if I get charged Sales Tax on my transaction?
17. What are the penalties for violation of P-Card policy?
Required Purchase Documentation:
18. Do I need to have a receipt or an invoice to document all purchases that I make?
19. What do I do if I have lost my original receipt?
20. What do I do if a transaction appears on my statement that I do not believe is mine?
21. Who keeps the paperwork and what paperwork should be sent in?
22. What is the Visa Information Management? Do I need access to it?
23. Is there a separate training session or will my P-Card training suffice?
24. What if I have trouble with my VIM password?
25. What is a P-Card review and how often will it be held?
26. What will be looked at during the review?
27. Who do I contact for questions/information on the P-Card?
Card Issuance/Responsibility: <TOP>
1. How would having a Procurement Card benefit our department? <TOP>
The purpose of the Missouri State University Procurement Card Program is to establish a more efficient, cost effective method of purchasing and paying for small-dollar transactions within established usage limits. The Procurement Card can be used for commodity purchases in-store, or via mail, telephone, facsimile or Internet. This program is designed to improve efficiency and convenience for our customers, reduce the number of purchase orders and checks issued, minimize invoice payment processing time and improve the purchasing procedures for low-dollar transactions.
2. How do I go about receiving a Procurement Card? <TOP>
Kindly view the section on ‘Obtaining a Card’ on details on applying for a P-Card.
3. Can multiple cards be issued in the same individual’s name? <TOP>
P-Card policy has been changed to disallow issuance of multiple cards to the same individuals unless specially requested to and approved by the Office of Procurement services. All P-Card transactions can be allocated to different University budgets in the VIS system, defeating the purpose of having multiple cards tied to different budget numbers.
4. Who is our credit card provider? <TOP>
The Procurement Card Program utilizes a Visa credit card as the purchasing instrument. The credit card is issued by UMB Bank through a contract established by the State of Missouri, Division of Purchasing and Materials Management.
5. What does the mandated training session offer? <TOP>
The training session outlines all guidelines as mentioned in the P-Card manual including allowable and unallowable expenses, limits on the P-Card, sales tax issues, compliance information, contacts, etc.
Note: The P-Card training session is only for first time users.
6. Am I personally held responsible for the use or potential misuse of the Procurement Card if I am the cardholder? <TOP>
No, you are not personally liable to expenses on the P-Card. We do not even require your complete SSN, only the last 4 for security purposes with the bank.
7. What are the card cancellation procedures? <TOP>
If your Procurement Card is lost or stolen, immediately notify each of the following:
♦ UMB Bank Security at 1-800-821-5184.
♦ Your Department Procurement Card Coordinator.
♦ The Procurement Card Coordinator in the Office of Procurement Services.
Immediate notification of a lost or stolen Procurement Card will prevent you from being held personally responsible for the payment of unauthorized purchases.
To cancel a card, you should cut the card in half and forward it to your Department Procurement Card Coordinator. Your Department Procurement Card Coordinator will forward the canceled card with a completed Procurement Cardholder Account Action Request Form to the Procurement Card Coordinator in the Office of Procurement Services. Card usage will be monitored and card privileges may be rescinded if card violations occur. The Office of Procurement Services will notify and consult with the appropriate University administrator prior to rescinding card privileges or canceling a card; however, the Office of Procurement Services reserves the right to cancel your card at any time if deemed necessary as a result of improper card usage as outlined herein.
If an individual transfers to another department within the University, the P-Card will need to be closed and if the new department would like for a P-Card, will need to apply for one again.
8. Where should I store the card for safekeeping? <TOP>
It is the responsibility of the cardholder to be sure that the P-Card and the credit card information are safe and secure at all times. There is not set policy on P-Card storage but it is recommended that the card not be carried on person at all times but instead be stored in a safe location at the office. Especially when travelling on University business, P-Card cannot be used (see unallowable expenses), unless authorized and therefore it would be best left locally.
9. How do I change my default account? <TOP>
Kindly fill out the Account Action Request Form and send it in to the Procurement Card Coordinator.
Purchasing Guidelines: <TOP>
10. Are there default single and monthly transaction limits on the card? <TOP>
The default limits on the P-Card are $3,000 for a single transaction and $5,000 for a monthly billing cycle. Each department head may set lower limits for the individual transaction limit and/or the billing cycle limit for each cardholder based on the limit needed for the cardholder to perform their official job duties. Higher billing cycle limits may be approved in some instances.
11. What items or services can be processed on the Procurement Card? <TOP>
See ‘allowable and unallowable expenses’.
12. Can travel related expenses be processed on the Procurement Card? <TOP>
The only travel item allowed on the P-Card is domestic travel. Any other travel expense is strictly not allowed. See ‘allowable and unallowable expenses’ for further details.
13. What do I do if a transaction is declined? <TOP>
Contact the Procurement Card Coordinator. Keep in mind the default single, monthly and merchant restrictions which may cause the declined authorization.
14. How do I go about requesting that my monthly or single transaction limit be raised? <TOP>
A request for an exception to increase the limits will need to be made by the budgetary authority in the form of an email sent to the Procurement Card Coordinator. All exceptions require approval from the Director of Procurement Services. Advance notification of an exception is preferred.
After approval has been received, a memo outlining the exception will be sent to the cardholder. Kindly print and maintain a copy of this memo with the original sales receipt.
15. Can food be bought on the P-Card? <TOP>
There has been a change in the policy for food purchases on the P-Card. For the new guidelines, see ‘Food Purchases’.
16. What if I get charged Sales Tax on my transaction? <TOP>
Missouri State University is exempt from paying Missouri sales or use tax pursuant to Section 144.030.2(20), RSMo. You are responsible for ensuring sales and use tax is not included in each charge. If sales and use tax is included, then you must work with the vendor to correct the purchase amount. If sales tax is charged, you must supply written justification explaining why the charging of sales tax was approved by you at the time of the purchase. Any sales tax charged in error must be entered in the transaction log as a separate log entry. When the sales tax is corrected, a negative entry should be recorded in the log showing that the sales tax adjustment has been corrected. The cardholder will be required to reimburse the University for any such sales tax charged that is not reimbursed by the vendor.
17. What are the penalties for violation of P-Card policy? <TOP>
Cardholder Penalties
When policy violations by a particular cardholder are identified during review of the monthly transactions, the following process shall be followed, per the discretion of the Director of Procurement Services:
- If a single abuse occurs by a particular Cardholder, a warning may be issued by notifying Director, Procurement Services, Department Procurement Card Coordinator and Budgetary Authority.
- In the second instance of abuse, the procurement card may be suspended for at least one (1) billing cycle.
- If problems continue after the card is reinstated, the card may be canceled or suspended up to one (1) year.
- Procurement Services can impose the same penalties stated above if problems are found during department reviews. If warnings are issued by Procurement Services, the Director, Procurement Services, Department Procurement Card Coordinator and Budgetary Authority will be notified if the card is either temporarily or permanently suspended.
- The Department Coordinator has the responsibility to notify the Procurement Card Coordinator of any policy violations.
- The Budgetary Authority can request a card to be closed or suspend the card for a longer period.
Department Penalties
Procurement Services may impose penalties for any of the following occurrences:
- If transactions are not reviewed in the Visa Information Source System and signed statements and logs are not provided to Procurement Services by the 15th of each month.
- Repeated Cardholder abuse and/or department abuse.
- Improper Documentation.
When penalties are imposed the following process will occur:
- At the first instance, a warning will be issued to the Department Coordinator, Budgetary Authority, Dean, or Department Head and the problem referred to Internal Auditing if it warranted by the degree of severity.
- If not corrected after a second review, the budgetary authority, Dean, or Department Head will be contacted and cards for the entire department may be suspended for at least one (1) billing cycle.
- After a third review, cards may be canceled up to one (1) year.
Required Purchase Documentation: <TOP>
18. Do I need to have a receipt or an invoice to document all purchases that I make? <TOP>
All purchases made on the Procurement Card, as well as all other purchasing tools used at the University, require documentation identifying the purchase. The documentation must identify the vendor, dollar amount, description of purchase, and the date of the purchase. Packing slips alone will not suffice. For online orders placed, print off the confirmation receipt.
19. What do I do if I have lost my original receipt? <TOP>
All attempts should be taken to contact the vendor to request a duplicate. As a last resort, fill in and maintain the ‘Missing Receipt Form’ on file.
20. What do I do if a transaction appears on my statement that I do not believe is mine? <TOP>
After making sure that the transaction is not yours, contact your Department coordinator and your Procurement Card Coordinator. You will be asked to check with the vendor to find out more information on the transaction and if a credit will be issued. In case the vendor is not willing to issue a credit, you will be requested to complete a Cardholder Dispute Form and fax it to UMB bank and a copy to Procurement Services at (417) 836-6583.
The bank can work on disputed transactions only within 60 days of the actual transaction, so you must act fast.
21. Who keeps the paperwork and what paperwork should be sent in? <TOP>
All original receipts will be maintained at the department level. Do not send in original sales receipts at anytime. Per policy, all P-Card documentation will have to be maintained for 5 years.
Every month the Department Coordinator will send in signed cardholder statements and cardholder transaction logs. If there are transactions allocated to Grant accounts, copies of all receipts will need to be sent in as well. (Grant paperwork to be sent in on green paper).
Visa Information Management (VIM) <TOP>
22. What is the Visa Information Management? Do I need access to it? <TOP>
Visa Information Management (VIM) is a software program provided by UMB Bank and Visa which has reporting capabilities for the Program Administrator, as well as the ability for individual cardholders or department coordinators to print their statements and assign accounting codes to their transactions. This software is accessible via the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Transactions appear in VIS one day after they post to your account.
Only Department Procurement Card Coordinators, who need to view, allocate and approve transactions and then print off statements require access. Normally it is only one person within a department, with some departments having a backup coordinator as well.
23. Is there a separate training session or will my P-Card training suffice? <TOP>
Yes, there is a separate Department Coordinator training session which is a hands-on training with step by step functions within VIM. Kindly sign up for the ‘Department Coordinator & VIS Training session’.
24. What if I have trouble with my VIM password? <TOP>
Kindly email the Procurement Card Coordinator, he will reset the password for you.
P-Card Departmental Review: <TOP>
25. What is a P-Card review and how often will it be held? <TOP>
The objectives of the P-Card Review are to review P-Cardholders transactions/activities and verify that they are in compliance with the Procurement Card Manual for University Departments.
P-Card Reviews began in June 2008 with an estimate that university departments will have documents reviewed every two to five years. The departments with the highest amount of cardholders and transactions will be reviewed probably more than others compared with departments with just a couple of P-Cards. If problems are found with compliance issues, a follow-up review will be scheduled.
26. What will be looked at during the review? <TOP>
The review consists of verifying that original documents (cardholder statements, cardholder transaction logs and sales receipts, etc.) are on file in the department, the monthly transaction log total is verified to the monthly VISA statement and required signatures are showed on the copy kept in the file for each cardholder.
After the scheduled P-Card review, a memo is sent to the department record keeper noting the exceptions and findings for process improvements for each cardholder or department as a whole. If there are missing documents, the record keeper is asked if they can locate the receipts in 10 days. If taxes have been charged on a P-Card purchase, the record keeper is asked to obtain a credit from the vendor for the amount of the tax charged. If signatures are missing from the transaction log or VISA statement, the record keeper is required to have the proper authorities to sign off on the forms.
A final document is issued to the reviewed department with a Summary Review Report letter and P-Card Review Summary Report listing whether the department was in full compliance with P-Card requirements or listing any findings or problems that could not be resolved during this review, such as P-Card purchases at the MSU Bookstore, payments for hotel rooms, meals over the daily limit, or purchases over the daily or monthly limit.
Contacts: <TOP>
27. Who do I contact for questions/information on the P-Card? <TOP>
Click on 'Contact Us'.