外网天堂

Operating Policy and Procedure

HSC OP: 72.15, Purchasing Card Program

PURPOSE: The purpose of this HSC OP is to provide a purchasing alternative to departments that simplifies the process of ordering goods and services.

REVIEW: This HSC OP will be reviewed on July 1 of each even numbered year (ENY) by the Managing Director of Procurement Services, with recommendations for revisions forwarded to the Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations.

POLICY / PROCEDURE:

1. Overview.

The Purchasing Card Program (Program) utilizes a MasterCard credit card as the purchasing instrument. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts selects a bank through a statewide contract.

The Program enables the user to make purchases directly from vendors without the issuance of a purchase order or Direct Pay. Payment Services will pay the charges on all cards each month and charge the FOP designated by the department for their purchases.

The card is not designed to replace the current 外网天堂 purchasing process. It is a supplement to that process and an additional delegation of purchasing authority by the fund manager. The card may be used for single purchases up to $5,000. The monthly credit limit is established based on the cardholder鈥檚 estimated monthly usage. (See the next page for prohibited purchases.)

There are certain categories of merchants such as hotels, restaurants within a hotel complex that are owned and operated by a hotel chain, rental car agencies, package liquor stores, bars and jewelry stores that are blocked. If you attempt to purchase from an excluded merchant type or exceed the spending limits, the transaction will be rejected when the merchant attempts to process the purchase. Some items may not be purchased with the purchasing card and others are not permitted on State accounts.

Cards are issued to individuals, not departments. Only the person whose name is on the card may use that card unless the cardholder has granted their permission for another person to use it for a specific purchase or event. The credit card receipt and the card should be returned to the cardholder as soon as the transaction is completed. A department that applies for cards in the name of the fund manager is responsible for the proper use of the card. (See 搂 11, last paragraph for specific control methods.) The ultimate responsibility for this card remains with the fund manager or authorized reviewer/approver of the expense report.

Any abuse of the card, such as splitting orders to avoid purchasing rules, inadequate record keeping or not responding to billing inquiries promptly will result in suspension or termination of the card. A cardholder making unauthorized purchases or carelessly using the card may be liable for the total dollar amount of such unauthorized purchases. The cardholder will also be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

The credit card is to be used for 外网天堂 official business only. Personal purchases, other than an error that is immediately corrected, will be considered misappropriation of state funds and will result in discharge, criminal charges, or both. The cardholder must reimburse 外网天堂 immediately for non-business-related expenditures. The reimbursement must be sent to the Purchasing Card Coordinator.

Important: Be Sure You Know Before You Commit - Contact Purchasing prior to incurring an expense if you are unsure whether it is proper. The person incurring the expenditure has the burden of determining whether it is proper prior to making a commitment. Failure to do so results in the cardholder reimbursing the institution for the improper charge processed.

NOTE: No employee, except those in Purchasing or Contracting who have express authority to do so, may sign a letter of intent, agreement, or contract. Therefore, the Procurement Card may not be used to pay for commodities or services for which the vendor requires a signed letter of intent, agreement or contract. If a vendor requires any signed document contact the Contracting Department for processing or the vendor鈥檚 document must be sent to the Purchasing Department as an attachment to a Purchase Order form, regardless of the dollar amount of the purchase.

Before purchasing goods or services over $500 with the purchasing card, Texas Government Code Section 2252.903 requires that the cardholder must verify if a potential vendor is indebted to the State of Texas and identified as being on Warrant Hold Status. Vendor status query may be obtained under 鈥淧opular Links鈥� at the Purchasing Card website or from the Comptroller鈥檚 website at . Cardholders will attach a copy/screenshot of the vendor hold search results to their expense report as verification the vendor was not on hold status at the time of purchase. Vendor status query must be completed up to 7 days before and no later than the day of the purchase.

2. Use of the Purchasing Card.

a. Required Use of the Card.

All permitted purchases of $5,000 or less should be made using the credit card subject to the vendor accepting credit cards. Permitted purchases are all categories of purchases except those listed in the Prohibited Uses section below.

The purchasing card should be identified as the method of payment at the time the order is placed with the vendor. Verify that the vendor processed the transactions within 2-4 days of placing the order. Contacting the vendor with the purchasing card number after receiving the invoice is considered purchasing without the authority and will be reported as such to the appropriate administrator (see HSC OP 72.01, Purchasing Supplies, Equipment and Services). This includes invoices not processed properly by the vendor and all that are past due. These invoices must be processed through TechBuy as a non- compliant order.

When a department can anticipate that purchases of goods and services to a single vendor during a fiscal year will exceed $50,000, the purchasing card should not be used for payment to that vendor without the written approval of the Managing Director - Procurement Services (OP 72.01).

b. Prohibited Uses of the Card.

Any exception must have prior written approval from Purchasing and filed with all other documentation regarding the purchasing card transaction.

Prohibited Purchases

鈥� Auto Renewals of any kind
鈥� Awards and Prizes (see HSC OP 72.03)
鈥� Chemicals and other potentially hazardous materials, radioactive materials, biological toxins, potentially hazardous infectious agents, controlled substances included in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), 21 USC, Chapter 12 and 21 CFR Part 1300 鈥� end, as well as chemical precursors and chemical laboratory apparatus as referenced in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and as identified in the Texas Health and Safety Code, Sections 481.0621(b) and 481.002(51) and (53).
鈥� Consulting, Medical Services, Personal or Professional Services
鈥� Controlled Assets (shipping and handling included in the total): At any cost: hand guns, rifles, machine guns, shotguns; With a cost between $500 and $4,999.99:
鈥�鈥�鈥�鈥�Cameras - Portable
鈥�鈥�鈥�鈥�Computers 鈥� Desktop and Laptop
鈥�鈥�鈥�鈥�Data Projectors
鈥�鈥�鈥�鈥�Smartphones, Tablets/iPads & Other Handheld Devices
鈥�鈥�鈥�鈥�Sound Systems and Other Audio Equipment
鈥�鈥�鈥�鈥�TVs, Video Players/Recorders
鈥� Donations, Contributions & Sponsorships (see HSC OP 72.03)
鈥� E-Bay Purchases
鈥� Lease or Rental of Space
鈥� Medical License other than for the State of Texas
鈥�鈥�鈥�鈥�Notary Applications
鈥� Payments to Patient/Study Participants
鈥� Supplies (Medical, Pharmaceuticals, and Office) require use of the Institutional Supply Contract unless a deviation approval has been received from Purchasing)
鈥� Temporary Personnel
鈥� Travel Related Purchases i.e. airline ticket, hotel and rental car reservations, restaurant services within a hotel complex, and internet services, etc.
鈥� Uniforms (includes lab coats)

Prohibited Purchases on State and Federal Funds
(Funds 10XXXX, 11XXXX, 12XXXX, 21XXXX and 22XXXX)

鈥� Alcoholic Beverages
鈥� Flowers
鈥� Food and Entertainment Expenditures
鈥� Membership Dues
鈥� Promotional Items

c. Additional Requirements on Certain Purchases

Booth Rental 鈥� Booth Rentals are permitted using local funds provided is submitted and pre- approved through the Minor Purchasing Contract/Agreement Submission for Signature application. The signed document must be submitted with the rental receipt with the monthly expense report.

Flowers - Flower purchases are permitted using local funds for official 外网天堂 functions or for employees and their immediate family members in the cases of illness or death. See OP 72.03 (pg. 8, 3a) for details. Purchases of flowers must be processed with the purchasing card. Documentation of the recipient and their relationship to the employee is required. Only allowed substitution (processed in TechBuy using the 外网天堂 Direct Pay Form) is a donation to a charitable organization (OP 72.03 (pg. 5, 2d)).

Food to Cook/Serve - It is the sole responsibility of all departments, student organizations, staff and students to make all arrangements for food and drink services. It is the responsibility of the sponsoring party to ensure all food safety guidelines are followed (see OP 61.07, Attachments A and B).

If the food is to be prepared by someone other than a caterer (self-prepared) the responsible party must undergo training or show knowledge of food safety guidelines. 外网天堂 Safety Services will meet with the food preparer prior to the event to determine the food preparer knowledge of food safety guidelines. Department personnel should have at least one person with a Food Handler Card or have taken Basic Food Safety Education according to the TxDSHS requirements, and that person must be involved in the oversight of the cooking to ensure food safety guidelines are followed.

Goods and Services from Foreign Vendors 鈥� All foreign purchases for goods and services must be reviewed before completing the order and making payment. Contact the Program Coordinator.

Gifts 鈥� See OP 72.03 (pg. 2, 2c) for procedural details regarding gifts. Purchase of retirement gifts are allowed on the purchasing card. Gift cards are strictly prohibited on the purchasing card and immediate reimbursement to the institution will be required.

IT Purchases Including Software and Software Licenses 鈥� All IT purchases including software and software licenses must be approved by IT. Evidence of approval must be submitted with the expense documentation.

Memberships 鈥� All memberships must be on the Professional Membership List of approved organizations. This list may be found at . This verification must be obtained at the time of purchase. A screen print from the website of the approved organization must accompany the documentation for membership payment. Payment on State FOPs must be processed In TechBuy using the Direct Pay Form. See HSC OP 72.03 (pg. 6, k).

Official Functions, Business Meetings, and Entertainment - See HSC OP 72.16 for procedural details regarding official functions, business meetings, and entertainment when using the departmental purchasing card for these expenditures.

Ownership of Items Purchased with Institutional Funds 鈥� All purchases of equipment or supplies made with institutional funds remains the property of 外网天堂. See OP 72.03 for details.

Texas State Agencies (including TTUS/TTU/外网天堂-EP) - Contact the PCard program administrator prior to use. Provide business purpose and funding source to program administrator.

Third Party Vendors (PayPal, Square, Etc.) 鈥� All purchases require an itemized receipt to be submitted.

3. Obtaining a Purchasing Card.

The administrative contact for the Purchasing Card Program is the Program Coordinator. The purchasing card application form and cardholder agreement are available at . Upon receipt of the completed forms, the Program Coordinator will process the request and submit it to Citibank. The process normally takes about two weeks. The card must be activated prior to its first use. Activation instructions accompany each new card. Cardholder training is required prior to the issuance of the purchasing card. The applicant must complete the 鈥淧urchasing Card Training鈥� module and the Training Questionnaire at.

An employee who does not have a purchasing card but uses the card to purchase items for the department or maintains the records of a cardholder must also view the module and complete the questionnaire.

4. Record Keeping.

a. The purchasing card program represents an extension of institutional purchasing authority to each cardholder. The desired result of this extension of authority is time savings for the user and the elimination of numerous paper documents. The benefits of the program are accompanied by a greater responsibility to keep good records that support the purchases made when using the card.

Order Referencing Number

In order to expedite deliveries and help in forwarding invoices to the correct departments, the shipping address for the delivery of an item should contain 鈥淪TOP 鈥� for Lubbock deliveries and ROOM # for all other campus locations. Request that the vendor enter on the invoice the following reference number as the PO: 鈥淐CSTOP Last Name鈥�. CC means credit card payment. STOP is the mail stop of the department (or enter RM for room number) requesting the items. The last name is the cardholder鈥檚 name.

Required Documentation

The cardholder must retain all original credit card slips, sales receipts/invoices, packing slips, or any other information related to the purchase. Documentation for registrations must include the order form detailing the charges of the conference. Documentation for membership dues must include the enrollment form or renewal notification/invoice. Supporting documentation should be submitted as part of the expense report in Chrome River.

Missing Receipts

If credit card receipts/invoices are missing, the cardholder must attempt to get a copy of the original documentation. If unsuccessful, the three TIMELY attempts must be documented with the required information on the Missing Receipts Form found at . This form must be signed by the fund manager. If the cardholder is also the fund manager, the cardholder鈥檚 supervisor or department administrator (if applicable) must sign. Use of this form should be the exception and not the rule. Continuous abuse involving this practice may result in the cancellation of the card.

Sales Tax

State of Texas sales tax charged by a vendor must be corrected immediately by the cardholder by obtaining a credit from the vendor or personally reimbursing 外网天堂. The Tax Exemption Certification form can be found at . Continuous abuse involving this practice may result in the cancellation of the card.

Review and Reconciliation

Purchases made with the credit card will be subject to post-payment review by Payment Services, 外网天堂 Audit Services, and/or the Comptroller鈥檚, State and Federal Auditor's office.

An Expense Report detailing all purchases must be submitted in Chrome River every week. The charges listed on the report should be compared with the supporting documentation validating the accuracy of the charge by the vendor and posted by the bank. These charges should also be reconciled monthly to the detailed transactions obtained with Cognos Reports verifying that it posted to the appropriate Banner FOAP.

The fund manager or authorized reviewer/approver responsible for the card should review the reconciliation and selected documentation weekly. The Expense Report must be approved by the cardholder and fund manager. This approval is testifying that the purchase was a valid business expense and that the cost was reasonable. It also verifies that the charge appropriately processed to the correct Banner FOAP.

Due Dates

Approved Expense Reports are to be submitted in Chrome River fourteen (14) business days after they have posted to the cardholders dashboard. If reports are not received by the last business day of the month, and/or required documentation missing, the card will be suspended.

Retention of Records

All documents should be retained for the current fiscal year plus the three (3) previous fiscal years. The file retention period for cards issued for use with grants or contracts with terms greater than one year is the current fiscal year plus the term of the grant or contract plus three years. The file retention period also applies to the procurement card records of terminated employees. Failure to keep complete and accurate records and retain them for the full retention period is a serious breach of the record keeping system.

5. Post-payment Review.

Spot checks are performed on a daily basis. A download of all transactions that processed at the bank for the previous day or weekend are reviewed. The purpose of the procedure is to review purchases that may be a result of split transactions, 鈥渃redit card theft of a cardholder鈥檚 number鈥�, personal purchases by a cardholder, purchases processed to prohibited vendors, etc. Purchases not documented or without business purposes will be considered personal and the Cardholder must reimburse 外网天堂. E-mails are sent to cardholders to verify valid transactions and request additional documentation or information. E-mails may not be sent to a designated person that the cardholder requests. Response is expected in a timely manner.

If after three requests for additional documentation or information no action is taken by the department who holds the card, the card will be suspended until all documentation or information is provided and reviewed.

Reviews will be performed on a weekly basis for each month ending cycle. The objective of the review is to determine compliance with the purchasing and record keeping requirements set out in the operating policies. All documentation is reviewed and can include the visual inspection of a specific purchase. The review process is outlined at .

Follow-up with a cardholder鈥檚 supervisor may be necessary if there is no major improvement after numerous reviews. A written response stating that the employee was counseled on his/her performance will be obtained from the supervisor with the notification that closure of the card is the next step.

The Purchasing Department will perform at a minimum semi-annual review of all transactions sorted by vendors and cardholders. This will help identify purchases that must follow the required bid procedures. As stated in the Purchasing Manual, 搂 PURCHASING METHODS AND PROCESSING GUIDELINES, Page 1 鈥淟arge purchases may not be divided into smaller lot purchases in order to avoid bidding requirements. If needs can be anticipated (same items are purchased multiple times throughout the year) the annual expenditure estimate would govern the required bid procedures.鈥� A request for additional information from the Purchasing Department to a cardholder must be answered within 10 working days. Failure to respond to this request could result in revocation of the purchasing card.

6. Billing and Payment.

Payment Services is billed monthly by Citibank for all charges made by 外网天堂 cardholders. Cardholders or their designated allocation user will have the opportunity to allocate charges daily in Chrome River. The allocated FOP will be charged when the report is approved in Chrome River.

On the rare occasion that changes are needed after the charges have been applied to the Banner FOAP, a cost transfer must be completed and approved through the Financial Transaction System (FiTS).

7. Questions or Problems with the Purchasing Program Card.

a. Customer Service: Citibank is the current issuing bank. Their customer service representatives are available 24 hours a day, and seven days a week at 1-800-248-4553.

b. Lost or Stolen Purchasing Card: A cardholder must notify Citibank at 1-800-248-4553 immediately of a loss, theft or unauthorized use of a Purchasing Card. Representatives of Citibank are available 24 hours a day, and seven days a week. The cardholder must also notify the fund manager/department administrator and the Purchasing Card Coordinator immediately.

c. Disputing a Transaction: Citibank鈥檚 procedures for disputing a charge that is not recognized by the cardholder, or the charge appears to be incorrect can be found in the Citi PCard System User Guide at .

8. Purchasing Card Cancellation.

When canceling a purchasing card, the fund manager or cardholder should call the Program Coordinator immediately. The card (cut in half) must be returned to the Purchasing Card Coordinator. It is essential to cancel a card immediately and do a final review when an employee leaves 外网天堂 voluntarily, transfers to another department or is terminated.

When a cardholder terminates employment or transfers to another department of HSC, the fund manager or supervisor has the specific obligation to reclaim the purchasing card. The Purchasing Card Coordinator must be called so that the card can be cancelled immediately. The record keeping remains the same and the reconciliation must be completed. The cut card should be returned with the transaction documentation to the Purchasing Card Coordinator so that a final review can be performed.

9. Coverage for Fraud /Employee Abuse

The statewide contract 946-M1 Payment Card Services states in 搂 4.5 that the State of Texas 鈥渨ill have no liability for transactions that occur after notification of a card being lost or stolen鈥�. It is expedient that the cardholder notify the bank immediately if a card is lost or stolen.

Citibank Company Liability Waiver Insurance for 鈥渆mployee misuse鈥� is up to $25,000 per cardholder per year. Unauthorized charges billed up to 75 days preceding the discovery date of the misuse are covered.

If a cardholder uses his or her card as a 鈥渄epartmental card鈥�, there must be strong internal departmental procedures regarding the use of the card in this manner. The card must be in the hands of the cardholder or secured in a safe location with a 鈥渟ign-in鈥� log for the users of the card. The card should be returned with the receipt immediately after the purchase to the cardholder or the identified secured location.

10. Program Coordinator.

Celeste Ramirez
Payment Services STOP 6283
Telephone: (806) 743-3565
E-mail: Pcard@ttuhsc.edu