How to use the Purchasing Card

Click on a link below to review to a specific section:

• Keeping Your Card Secure
• Sales Tax Exemption
• Dollar Limits
• Restricted Items
• Violations Record (a.k.a. Consequences)
• Making a Purchase
• What Documentation is Required?
• What is a POS Code?
• Where Do I ship the Merchandise?
• Using the Internet to Order
• Making Changes
• Returns, Credits, Damaged Goods
• Handling a Dispute
• The Monthly Statement
• Audits

Keeping Your Card Secure

• This is an actual MasterCard. Keep the card secure at all times; it is University property and should be protected.
• Do not give your card or your card number to others to use on your behalf.
• Do not give your card number to a sales rep to “keep on file” for future use.
• You must notify the bank immediately of any suspicious or irregular activity on your card or if your card has been lost or stolen. Notify Purchasing at your earliest convenience.

Sales Tax Exemption

• The University of Utah’s Sales Tax number is 11874443-002-STC and is imprinted on the card. It is the responsibility of the cardholder to ask that sales tax not be charged when making a purchase. If you are charged tax in error, you must request a credit from the supplier as soon as possible.
• There is a “Certificate of Exemption” form which proves the sales tax exemption status of the University. Present this to suppliers as necessary.
• Contact the Purchasing Department should you have questions about our tax exempt status or if a supplier insists on charging you tax.
• Document for your file all instances where the vendor refuses to deduct the tax.

Dollar Purchase Limits

• Single Purchase Limit:
  This is the maximum total amount for each purchase as assigned by your department. Do not split a transaction into smaller amounts to avoid dollar limits in place on your card. Consider using the “Update” form if you find it necessary to request a limit that will better suit your procurement requirements. Don’t know your Single Purchase Limit? Contact Purchasing.
• Monthly Purchase Limit:
  This is the maximum total amount for purchases each month as assigned by your department. Our bank defines a month as the 12th till the 11th. Consider using the “Update” form if you find it necessary to request a limit that will better suit your procurement requirements. Don’t know your Monthly Purchase Limit? Contact Purchasing.

Restricted Items
Your Purchasing Card CANNOT be used to purchase the following items:

• Airline tickets
• Advertisements for Human Resource recruiting (either staff or academic)
• Alcoholic Beverages
• Business Meals
• Cash advances * or cash awards including honorariums
• Construction or remodeling
• Controlled substances: Ethyl Alcohol, DEA items, Gases, Radioactives
• Employee Benefits: entertainment, tuition, gifts
• Fines, late fees, penalties (including parking tickets)
• Gas / Fuel
• Gifts
• Fabricated or Capital Equipment
• Live animals
• Lodging or Housing *; including deposits (University Guest House is allowed)
• New memberships, unless approved by the cognizant dean, director or designee.
• Personal purchases (purchases must be for the official use of the University).
• Special Services: Independent Contractors, performers, consultants, speakers
• Student events, travel, tuition, scholarships or stipends
• Telephone equipment, installation, or service on campus (regular or cellular) unless prior written approval** is obtained from NetCom: 581-4000.
• Travel (any lodging, hotels, motels, restaurants, airline tickets, transportation, etc) *-including any deposits or holds for any of the above (Conference Registrations are allowed)
• Vehicle rental * (State Motor Pool vehicles and self-serve moving trucks are allowed)
• Flowers for employees or their immediate family members (unless for funeral/condolence) All purchases must follow the Expenditure Guidelines issued by the Vice President of Administrative Services.

* Automatically restricted through the bank
** Maintained with the monthly card statement

Violations Record

If a violation occurs based on the rules of the Purchasing Card Program, points will be given according to the “Violations Record“. The cardholder or the Reallocator will be notified by the Purchasing Card staff as to the nature of their violation and their associated points accumulated.

USING THE CARD General Instructions
The cardholder is the only person authorized to make purchases using their card. Do not give the card or card number to anyone else to use in your behalf!

• Follow proper internal procedures specific to your department to obtain authorization to make the purchase.
• Determine whether the purchase is restricted on the Purchasing Card.
• Determine that the price quoted is the best you can obtain. Many items have University or State Contracts available for superb savings. You may contact the Purchasing Department (801)581-7241 or check the State of Utah home page for special pricing contracts available.
• Be certain that the total amount which would include shipping and handling charges will not exceed your single purchase limit on the card. Do not split a transaction into smaller amounts to avoid dollar limits in place on your card.
• Ensure that no sales tax is charged. (Tax Exempt Form)
• Assure that the Expenditure Guidelines have been met.

Documentation Required

Documentation is required for every purchase. Documentation must be kept with the printed monthly statement in which the transaction occurred and kept for seven years. Choices are as follows:

1. An original itemized receipt must be present if available from the supplier. The charge slip only is NOT sufficient. If the original receipt is not available, one or more of the following can be substituted.
2. The invoice
3. A fax order form sent to the supplier. Proof of faxing is highly desirable. When placing an order by fax, do not send the original to the company unless instructed. If instructed to do so, clearly mark the original “Confirmation of order placed by fax”.
4. A Screen Print of the Internet order confirmation.
5. A copy of an order form that has been used for a Mail Order
6. The subscription order form, the conference registration form etc.
7. The packing list

All documentation must include, at a minimum, the following:

1. Vendor
2. Date
3. Brief item description/purpose
4. Total dollar amount.  In case of a rare lost receipt or unavailable documentation, refer to the Missing Receipt Form. Fill it out completely, get an authorized signature then keep it on file with the month’s purchasing card records.

Point of Sale Code (POS code)
A point of sale code is used when placing the order with the vendor. It significantly enhances the purchasing card’s tracking capacity by attaching an arbitrary number to the transaction.

POS codes are especially useful if using the same vendor often, or part of the order becomes backordered. The number appears with the transaction each time a shipment is made against the original order.

• Place the order with the vendor
• Give the customer service rep. an arbitrary number that you make up that will be unique to the transaction. Do not use a date or cardholder name or initials as this information is already included in the transaction.
• POS code will be attached to the transaction and will show on Purchasing Card Reallocation making it easier to match the invoice with the purchase.

Shipping or Pick-up Instructions
Give the complete delivery instructions as follows if you are not picking up the goods.

• Have goods shipped directly to your campus address whenever possible.
• A person may pick up the goods in person if preferred. The goods can be picked up by either the person who placed the order or by anyone designated. If someone other than the cardholder picks up the goods, that person should sign for the goods as “received by xxx name xxx”.
• The cardholder is responsible to inspect the goods upon arrival. Retain all packaging until you are certain you will keep the goods.
• If shipping to the University Receiving Department (1795 E South Campus Dr. Room 251 Salt Lake City, UT 84112), use a complete attention line.

Using the Internet

• Cardholders must follow any guidelines set within their department for Web purchases.
• Purchasing recommends that if a purchase is made over the Internet, it is with a company that you have used traditional procurement methods in the past.
• If supplying your card number via the Web be sure it is encrypted in an acceptable manner. If you are not comfortable giving your number over the Internet, some companies leave the option of placing your order on the Web and following up with a card number via telephone.
• As with other purchases, the cardholder is ultimately responsible for purchases made with their card and is therefore responsible for determining whether a Web site is the most appropriate method to use to make a given purchase.

Making Changes

• If you need to make changes on the dollar limits, name, address, phone, or account numbers, use the “Update” form.
• Upon termination of employment, the card must immediately be surrendered to the cardholder’s supervisor and then destroyed by cutting the card into small pieces. Purchasing must be notified immediately so the card may be canceled with the bank, so email pcard@purchasing.utah.edu or by contact an authorized person in the Purchasing Department. If the termination is due to employee fraud, under certain circumstances insurance coverage is available. Timeliness of reporting is imperative in this situation so contact Purchasing immediately.

Returns, Credits, Damaged Goods

If goods purchased with a Purchasing Card need to be returned, the cardholder should work directly with the supplier.

• Obtain a “Return Authorization Number” from the supplier if required.
• There may be a restocking fee assessed by the supplier. This may possibly be a negotiable fee.
• Limited assistance is available from the University Stores and Receiving department for packaging goods to return, call (801)581-5813.
• Make sure the credit appears on your card for the return.

Handling Disputes

• If you have been charged erroneously for any transaction, you should initiate the process described in this section.
• Items that appear on the monthly Purchasing Card statement may be disputed with the Bank within 30 days after the Purchasing Card Reallocation statement’s closing date.

NOTE: Before submitting a “dispute” to the bank, you should try contacting the vendor directly. Most vendors would prefer to resolve the problem themselves and are willing to provide credits. If a charge is not recognized by the cardholder and the vendor is not willing to resolve the problem, the cardholder should submit a “dispute” form to the bank promptly through the bank’s PaymentNet system. If you prefer not to use PaymentNet, contact the Purchasing Card Program at 581-7241 and we will help you dispute the transaction.

• Problem Resolution
  JPMorgan Chase will issue a credit on disputed items within about 48 hours. The bank will then take up to 90 days to review the questioned item and determine if it is valid. They will advise you of their action or direct you further.

Monthly Statement

Every month you or your Reallocator will receive a monthly statement. You will need to review your charges and sign the statement. Your signature indicates that you have read the statement and approve of the charges or have taken appropriate action to correct errors. Your Principal Investigator (PI) or authorized alternate’s signature is also required.

There must be supporting documentation for each and every transaction appearing on the monthly statement.

All charges are electronically posted to the reallocation program called “Purchasing Card Reallocation”.

1. Default Chartfield
   This is the chartfield and account that you have chosen to be identified with your card. Any charge not reallocated will automatically go into this number at the end of the month.
2. Transaction Date
   The date that the vendor submitted the charge to their bank.
3. Posting Date
   The date the charge posted to our bank. It is also the date that the charge will post to the University’s accounting system.
4. Reallocation Account
   This shows if the charge was reallocated to another account besides the default account.
5. Merchant Purchase Number
   A 23-digit number used as a reference number by the bank and the merchant who took the order. This number is required when filing a dispute with the bank. This number also appears on the transaction detail page in the Reallocation system.
6. Cardholder Signature / Approval Signature
   You are expected to review and sign your statements monthly. Once you have reviewed the statement, the PI (Responsible Person) for the default account or other “authorized signer” must also sign the statement. Signing indicates review and approval. Authorized approving signer is defined as: 1) the PI (responsible person) on the default account OR 2) If the PI is not accessible, another individual who is a supervisor of the cardholder and who is an authorized signer (as defined by the signature card on file) on the default account. If the cardholder is also the PI on the default chartfield of their card, the cardholder must obtain their supervisor’s signature on the second approval line of the monthly statements.

Audits

The Purchasing Department will require your records to be available to an auditor on at least a yearly basis. The auditor will make an appointment with the Reallocator about 1-3 weeks in advance of the actual appointment. Most audits occur at the Reallocator’s location. This auditing process is required and monitored by the University’s Internal Audit department and also the State of Utah Auditor’s Office.

When the auditor arrives, the Reallocator will be asked to present each cardholder’s signed monthly statement with the receipts/documentation attached. The records will be audited for compliance in all areas of procedures surrounding the card. Any problems found in the audit are subject to the details prescribed in the Violations Record.