Procurement Card Training

What is a Procurement Card

“A credit card that may be used by University Employees to make business related purchases for specific goods and services of less than $500 per transaction, which will be billed directly to a specific University account.”

Use and Benefits

Efficient purchasing tool for non e-shop items and items that do not require a purchase order.

Vendor receives payment quickly. Use it for appropriate business

purchases only.

Prohibited Procurement Card Transactions Live Vertebrae

Animal Architectural and

Engineering Services Audit Services Capital Assets Cash Advances Conflict of Interest,

Vendor Cornell Unallowable

Goods/ Services

Deposits/ Partial Payments

Gift Certificates Insurance Investment Services Legal Services Personal Expenses Pest Control Radioactive

Materials

What is an Acceptable Receipt

A written/electronic acknowledgement from a vendor that provides at least the following information:

Date of purchase Vendor Name Description of Item(s) Quantity Unit Price Total Cost

Always Add missing information to the receipt. Add detailed business purpose. Add account number.

A packing slip that includes the above criteria.

What is an Acceptable Receipt

(continued)

Third party billing companies such as Pay Pal or Web order may not include detailed information on the receipt, if not add a copy of the web page that identifies the item purchased.

Lost Receipt / Missing Packing Slip, E-mail Pcard coordinator or dept. contact for more information.

What is an Acceptable Receipt

(continued)

Receipts should be forwarded to Pcard coordinator or department contact as soon as you make a purchase.

An email will be automatically sent to your mail box after it has been in your coordinator’s queue for 10 days with the subject “your p-card status” as a reminder that the receipt is at the BSC for processing and has not yet been received yet.

(if a receipt is not received, an automated e-mail will be sent to

you by Cornell credit card programs support with “Your P-Card Status” as the subject line).

What is an acceptable Business Purpose

Business Purpose: Describes the expenditure and ties it,

where necessary, to the source of funds being used (see business purpose guidelines).

Business Purpose Guidelines (example)These guidelines are designed to provide assistance to the community when documenting the business purpose on a transaction with Cornell funds. This includes all transactions and all fund types at the University.

Unacceptable Acceptable Notes

     Lab Supplies Reagents for USDA fungus project  Notebook Lab notebook to record results of NOAA

rainfall studyAdditional description may be needed where item would normally be unallowable or indirect

750ml Jack Daniels Alcohol for administration to mice as part of NIH-funded fetal alcohol study

Towels for Lab Paper towels to preserve samples for NSF project

Membership Membership for American Microbiology Society to allow presentation of NIH-funded results

Memberships are normally indirect. Can only be charged directly in accordance with policy 3.18

Lunch Lunch for Professor Li of MIT, assisting on DOE grant

Meals generally limited to travel status; a detailed meal receipt is required for every business meal

Honorarium Speaker fee for NSF-funded conference per attached letter

Use object code 6731

Travel to Japan Travel to Japan to attend Nanotechnology Symposium in support of NSF facility

 

Ship Materials Shipment of soil samples to NAL lab for analysis for the NSF Passive Phloem Loading grant

Routine postage is an indirect (F&A) expense. Shipping of laboratory materials, especially where express shipments are required, may be charged directly where allocable and properly documented.

Business Purpose Examples

5/15/2013j. Silber

Business Purpose Guidelines (continued) Failure to Document Business Purpose

Lack of documented business purpose of travel and other business expenses is a compliance concern that arises regularly.

The university receives, from a variety of sources, funds that carry with them fiduciary responsibilities. These responsibilities require that funds only be used for ordinary, reasonable, and necessary business-related expenses incurred in furtherance of a specific project or the university's missions. When university community members fail to provide supporting documentation evidencing business purpose of expenses, as required for internal and external reviewers, it can result in inappropriate charges going undetected. Evidence of lack of documented business purpose or failure to detect inappropriate charges could lead to fines, penalties, and a loss of the public trust which could have a serious impact on future funding.

Pcard – General Issues

Lending/Sharing Pcard: Keep your pcard confidential; lending or

sharing the your card is not allowed. (i.e. purchase for lab items should only be done by Pcard

holder)

Splitting Transactions: Never “split” the cost of one single item

into multiple payments in order to circumvent the per transaction limit of the pcard.

Pcard – General Issues (continued)

Business Meals: You can use your Pcard for business meals,

but not while on over night travel status (receipt must have itemized details including alcohol).

Conference Registrations: You must turn in the receipt at the time of

registration, do not hold the receipt until your return from your trip.

Pcard – General Issues (continued)

Sales Tax: Most merchants accept the Pcard as

sufficient evidence as exemption, but some require additional documentation.

If vendor insists on tax, pay tax. If a purchase is made on an External

Organization account (EO) tax must be paid.

Phone Orders: If you place an order by phone please confirm

with the Vendor that the "Bill To" address is the same as the "Ship To" address.

Pcard – General Issues (continued)

Monthly Statements: Review for accuracy, file the

statement in a secure location or shred the statement.

Fraud charges, contact department coordinator/Pcard coordinator then contact US bank (see next slide).

Pcard Forms/Additional

Information Pcard Invoice Attachment Form

(optional) Pcard lost or stolen information Business Expense Policy (http://www.dfa.cornell.edu/procurement/buying/buyingmanual/procurementcard.cfm)

Pcard Charge Dispute Form (http://www.dfa.cornell.edu/cms/procurement/upload/ChargeDisputeUSBank.pdf).

Pcard Business Meal Detail Form (http://www.dfa.cornell.edu/cms/procurement/upload/cu_pur_pcard_mealdetail.pdf).

Additional purchasing options/informationhttps://gateway.procurement.cornell.edu/

Cornell UniversityPcard Packing Slip/Invoice Attachment Form

Fasten Invoice Here Card Holder _____________________

Date ___________________________

Vendor _________________________

Amount $________________________

Account to be charged _____________

________________________________

Business Purpose (what was purchase, why, where, and when. (Included event or section name):

________________________________

________________________________

________________________________

________________________________

Please return immediately to your Department Contact or Pcard Coordinator

SAMPLE

What to do if your credit cards are lost or stolen

If a credit card (personal card or procurement card) is lost or stolen, it is important to take action immediately to prevent unauthorized use of your card. Please report your card lost/stolen by following the guidelines outline below. If you have any questions, contact:

Department ContactProcurement Card CoordinatorKathy Sheils, Procurement Card Administrator: (607) 255-4548Natasha Aumick, Procurement Card Assistant: (607) 255-5039

University Procurement Cards If your card is lost or stolen, contact U.S. Bank Immediately. This will ensure that a stop is placed on the lost/stolen credit card and that a new card will be issued to you: 

• Cardholders within the United States will call U.S. Bank’s toll free customer service line at 1-800-344-5696 (open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week).

 • Cardholders outside the United States will call U.S. Bank’s toll free customer service line at 701-

461-2010 (open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week).

   

Note: Your Procurement Card is NOT a personal liability and its loss or theft should NOT be reported to any of the credit bureaus.