UR Pcard

Inside this issue

Pcard/Workday Project Update 2

P2P Demo Days, Pcard Snapshot 2

Gift Cards & Participant Payments 3

US Bank Electronic Statements 3

‘Why Can’t I Use My Pcard for That?’ (An A to Z on Allowable & Restricted Categories for Pcard) 4,5

Pcard Tips: Finding Those Missing Transactions Every Month 6

Departments Newly Onboarded to Pcard Program in the last 90 Days—Welcome!

Center for Emerging & Innovative Sciences

Office of Minority Student Affairs

Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics

SMH Supply Chain

Center for Nursing Professional Development

Athletics & Recreation

Pcard Administrator’s Corner A few weeks ago, I celebrated my 10-year service date anniversary as an employee of the University.

Given how rare it tends to be in today’s economic climate for an individual of my generation to remain

within the same organization for so long, the occasion gave me cause to stop and reflect.

How did I get here? And where in the world did ten years go? For

those who may not be aware, my background is in education. I always

thought I’d be a teacher; that’s the proverbial basket I put all the eggs

in, and then…..the world doesn’t end up working the way you figured it

would. With no success finding employment in the schools, I ended

up in the customer service industry for a couple years, and then

invariably managed to find my way to the University.

Not to sound cliché, but an important lesson I learned along the way is

that you never really know how much opportunity you have to grow

until you step outside of your comfort zone. Ten years ago I would

have laughed if you had said I would eventually be managing the

purchasing card program for the largest employer in the region. No pressure whatsoever.

But as I spent more time in customer service-based roles, I realized that I was good at it. And I truly

enjoyed helping people resolve issues and get what they need. In the previous newsletter issue, I

mentioned that I had been reading Stephen Covey’s ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’. One of the

ideas mentioned that started to resonate with me recently is the concept of a personal mission statement.

While it’s certainly not a new concept by any means, I realized this was a way I could keep myself

accountable in maintaining personal growth. So after a lot of reflection, I figured out my mission

statement: A life of service to others is a life well-lived.

A couple years ago, one of my fellow colleagues here in Purchasing retired after just shy of 50 years

employment at the University. I always admired him because he embodied that same spirit of service

and selflessness to others. We named one of our conference rooms after him in his honor after his

retirement. I often joke that it’s my goal to surpass his service date mark and make it fifty years.

There’s quite a ways to go yet.

We all leave some legacy. I’ve decided that mine will be: ‘What can I do for you today that will make

your life better?’

Nathan Hodge

Manager-Pcard Program

SEPTEMBER 2019 QUARTERLY

NEWSLETTER

Pcard Snapshot

Total active cards at end

of FY19: 560

(increase of 43% from

previous year)

Total active departments

at end of FY19: 232

(increase of 54% from

previous year)

Total program spend for

FY19: $12.8 million

(increase of 41% from

previous year)

Total number of Pcard

transactions: 49,467

(increase of 23% from

previous year)

Top 3 Merchant Spend on

Pcard for FY19:

Amazon ($1.2m)

Thorlabs ($240k)

Google ($228k)

Top 3 UR Company Spend

for FY19:

School of Medicine &

Dentistry ($3.7m)

School of Arts & Sciences

($2.3m)

School of Engineering &

Applied Sciences ($1.7m)

2

PCard/Workday Project Update

Changes are coming soon to how you approve/reconcile your

Pcard activity.

In the previous issue of this newsletter, it was mentioned that work had begun on a

project between Accounts Payable, Procurement, and University IT to migrate the

PCard Reconciliation Process away from the bank portal in Access Online and move it

to the Workday platform.

As the University transforms its methods for buying & paying through Procure-to-Pay,

having all purchase/payment methods (requisitions, invoice payments, and PCard)

flow through the same platform in Workday will bring more transparency to

department fiscal activity as well as simplify the experience for end users, not having

to log in to multiple applications to manage financial transactions.

A preliminary project timeline had been established in June, with design work slated

to occur over the fall, user training to be scheduled in the November-January

timeframe, with go-live shortly thereafter.

As of this writing, the project timeline for Workday PCard has been pushed back until

April 2020 at the earliest due to competing demands for resources supporting

Procure-to-Pay and the Workday Student project. Senior leadership has asked the

project be delayed until all University departments have gone live with

Procure-to-Pay; the final rollouts are scheduled to occur in March 2020.

Project updates will continue to be shared as they become available. Those who

have any questions about how the Pcard process will change are encouraged to

contact the Pcard Administrator.

Procure-to-Pay Demo Days Staff are encouraged to attend an upcoming Procure-to-Pay Demo Days session, to learn

more about the P2P process and how it is transforming the University’s purchase-to-pay

landscape. These sessions have been held on a monthly basis.

Pcard is an integral part of P2P, as departments are encouraged to utilize their Pcards more

frequently for acceptable purchases $2,500 and less.

September & October Sessions:

Medical Center: Wednesday, September 25, 2019 in RM 3-7619 Upper Auditorium

Thursday, October 24, 2019 in RM 3-7619 Upper Auditorium

River Campus: Friday, September 20, 2019 at Larry and Cindy Bloch Alumni &

Advancement Center-Seminar Room (300 E.River Rd)

Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at Larry and Cindy Bloch Alumni &

Advancement Center-Seminar Room (300 E.River Rd)

Register at the UR Procurement website!

https://www.rochester.edu/adminfinance/urprocurement/p2p-demo-days/

Upcoming P2P Rollout Dates (subject to change):

Rollout 2 — 9/23/19 School of Medicine & Dentistry departments (Company 040)

Rollout 3 — 11/18/19 Remaining SMD departments; begin Strong Memorial Hospital &

Medical Faculty Group departments (Company 050, 091)

Rollout 4 — 1/20/20 Continue SMH, MFG departments; begin Health Sciences Division

departments (Company 090)

Rollout 5 — 3/16/20 Remaining SMH, MFG, HSD departments; all other slippage

“The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity.” - Zig Ziglar

For those who may not be aware, the purchase of gift cards via Pcard is limited, per policy, to the reimbursement of research

study subjects for participant payments.

Gift cards can not be purchased via Pcard as gifts/awards for students or employees.

If gift cards are purchased as study participant payments, departments should be aware that per ORPA guidelines, they

cannot be charged directly to a grant during the Pcard reconciliation process. The charge must first be made to an operating

account and then charged to the grant via journal entry when the gift card is actually given to the study participant.

There is also a restriction on what types of research studies are permissible to allow purchase of standard gift cards as

participant payments. Grants under clinical trial studies should only utilize the Bank of America pre-paid payment cards,

which is managed by the Office of Treasury. All grants with no clinical billing risk are not subject to this restriction.

Those who may have questions about this policy are encouraged to contact the Pcard Administrator, or Mike Ritz in the

Office of Research & Project Administration, or Kathy King-Griswold in the Office of Treasury.

The University’s Pcard provider,

U.S.Bank, has announced that they are

promoting sustainable business practices

while supporting economic growth.

As part of this initiative, U.S.Bank will be

migrating all accounts from receiving

paper statements to more

environmentally friendly electronic

statements.

All Pcard accounts will be migrated to

electronic statements on October 1st,

2019

Electronic statements will provide the

following benefits:

Fast — immediate access to

statements

Convenience — logging in is easy.

Users can opt to receive an email

notification when their statement is

available

Secure — requires login & password

to Access Online to view statement,

no paper produced with sensitive

cardholder information

Environmentally Friendly — less

clutter and less impact on the

environment

For more information on how to access

electronic statements following the

migration, please contact the Pcard

Administrator.

If you must remain on paper statements,

you can contact the Pcard Administrator

after the migration to make the switch

back.

3

Reminder: Policy Regarding Gift Cards for Study Participant Payments

US Bank Migrating to Fully Electronic Statements

Did You Know?

You can request an

increase in your monthly

Pcard credit limit. If you

find you are running close

to your monthly limit or

have charges regularly

declined, having some

wiggle room with your

monthly limit can keep

you from having to issue

check requests or use a

personal card.

To request an increase on

your card’s monthly limit,

written authorization

from the department

financial administrator or

department chair should

be sent to the PCard

Administrator.

(An email is sufficient for

audit requirements)

4

Why Can’t I Use My Pcard for That? (An A-Z on Allowable & Restricted Categories on Pcard)

One of the most frequent questions I am asked on a daily basis is whether a certain purchase is

acceptable on the Pcard. This practice is highly encouraged, because it shows that a

department is stopping to consider the pros & cons of the different procurement methods

available to them.

The Pcard is a highly valuable tool, allowing for timeliness of ordering, elimination of paper

processes, and greater flexibility. But it cannot, and should not, be used for everything.

Factors to Consider When Using your Pcard:

Risk

One of the primary reasons a category may be restricted from use on the Pcard is because the

purchase may present a high financial or physical risk to the organization. One of the drawbacks

of using Pcard is that standard credit card activity is not protected by the University’s Terms &

Conditions, where a traditional purchase order is. If the purchase presents a high degree of risk to

the University, the Pcard is not the recommended method of purchase (see next page for

examples).

SOLO Suppliers

Purchases from SOLO suppliers (i.e. Staples, Fisher Scientific, VWR, etc), while not necessarily an

excluded category, are not recommended to be purchased on the Pcard, as the current SOLO

structure of ordering from the direct supplier website, and the future state of ordering from these

suppliers through the P2P Marketplace allows us to capture contracted pricing and reportable line

item detail. Not all suppliers pass along line-level detail to the bank via credit card, so contract

pricing cannot necessarily be verified when that method is utilized.

Business Purpose

All purchases made on the Pcard must have an official business purpose, meaning the purchase

must support, either directly or indirectly, departmental operations or strategic goals. Purchases of

a personal nature should not be made on the Pcard.

Real-life examples:

1. Department wants to purchase lunch for their residency students on a weekly basis.

Is this a valid business purchase? Yes. Food/beverage for business meals (excluding alcohol) is

acceptable on Pcard.

2. A faculty member has to renew a professional membership. Is this a valid business

purchase? Yes. Even if the membership may be in their name, if it is being utilized exclusively in

support of their work, and therefore University goals, then it is acceptable.

3. A department administrator wants to purchase flowers using their Pcard for their

admin assistant who had a family member pass away. Is this a valid business purpose? No.

Flowers for a business event would be acceptable, but this situation would constitute a purchase of

a personal nature.

Green Light Categories: Common Acceptable Uses for Pcard

Food & Beverage (onsite UR business functions; excluding alcohol)

Professional training, Conference Registration Fees (excluding travel/transportation & lodging)

Subscriptions, Reprints, Publication charges

Books & Media (excluding textbooks)

One-time repairs

Lab/Research supplies

Deposits (i.e. venue reservation)

General supplies or materials (non-medical) under $2500

Red Light Categories: Do Not Use your Pcard

Capital Equipment (i.e. with a useful life of greater than 12 months and unit cost greater than $1,000 —

- request a Purchase Order)

Medical/patient care supplies (high risk category —- request a Purchase Order)

Controlled substances/pharmaceuticals, medications (refer to SMH Pharmacy)

Travel & related purchases (airline tickets, transportation, lodging —- utilize F2 Request for Advanced

Travel Tickets for airline tickets, all other travel expenses utilize University AMEX Travel Card)

Computers (moderate risk category —- refer to UR Tech Store)

Alcoholic beverages (utilize check request or personal credit card where appropriate)

Textbooks (refer to UR bookstore at Barnes & Noble)

Sales Tax (University is tax exempt —- if a supplier charges you sales tax on your Pcard order, follow up

with the Pcard Administrator to obtain a copy of the Sales Tax Exempt Form)

Furniture (refer to UR preferred suppliers: Sedgwick & Workplace Interiors)

E-Bay purchases (high risk supplier)

Most purchased services (high risk category —- request a Purchase order —- category is very broad/

generic, so some specific examples are listed below)

- Consulting; Independent Contractors; Services purchased from an individual

- Utilities; Construction; Cleaning/Janitorial services, Legal/HR/Financial Services

- Any purchase requiring the execution of a signed contract agreeing to a supplier’s

Terms & Conditions (as opposed to a standard supplier quote or invoice)

(Continued from Page 4)

5

Other Policy Restrictions

Split Transactions

Real-life example: A department receives an invoice for $4,000 from a supplier for a single order. The

department authorizes the vendor to make two separate charges of $2,000 against the Pcard to pay the invoice.

This is considered a violation of policy, as the single-purchase limit of $2,500 was circumvented.

How should I proceed if presented with this issue?

Request a purchase order or issue a check request, depending on the order, or see table on right

(Exceptions to the Rule)

Card Sharing/Delegation of Use

Real-life example: Faculty member ‘A’ owns a Pcard. ‘A’ delegates their lab staff/technicians to make

purchases for their research using the Pcard.

Real-life example: Staff member ‘B’ owns a Pcard. Staff member ‘C’ does not. ‘C’ asks to borrow the

Pcard from ‘B’ to make a purchase.

Both of these situations are violations of policy. Only the individuals who name is on the card is authorized to

use it. Delegating use of the Pcard to other staff members increases the risk of fraudulent purchases. If the

card ever became compromised by an external source, the University loses its liability protections if the card in

question was utilized by multiple people other than the named cardholder.

How should I proceed if presented with this issue?

The named cardholder should be the individual initiating all card purchases. If that is not practical for the

department, they should follow up with the Pcard Administrator regarding how to proceed.

Exceptions to the Rule

Department cardholders may

request a one-time exception

to any of these categories if a

given purchase is unique or

unable to be processed via

the preferred method.

Requests should be made to

the Pcard Administrator in

writing (email), and should

include the cardholder,

department financial

approver, and department

head (optional). All relevant

information pertaining to the

purchase (email

communications, price

quotes, etc) should be

included.

Approval of the request will

be at the discretion of the

Pcard Administrator. The

following criteria will be

reviewed before a

determination is made:

- Level of risk (financial or

physical) posed to the University

- Confer with appropriate

purchasing manager regarding

any potential contract conflicts of

interest

- Alternatives to using the

Pcard

It happens every month. You think you have reconciled all of your Pcard

transactions without an issue and come to find that one or two purchases end up

sneaking under the radar and posting the last day of the cycle, and they inevitably get

missed and end up charging to your default account codes in error.

How do you prevent this? Making the assumption that your activity has otherwise

all been properly reconciled, when you log into Access Online and navigate to

‘Transaction Management’, the default setting under ‘Billing Cycle Close Date’ will say

‘Open’. In most cases, nothing will be there right after the cycle closes, because no new

activity will have posted yet. If you change it to the cycle date that has just closed, you

will see all the transactions that posted within that month, including anything that

happened to post right up against the deadline. (see screenshots below)

As long as you are still within

the couple of days after cycle

close where you can still make

reconciliation changes, then

you should be able to close out

the remaining transactions.

If you are beyond that 2-3 day

window, then the transactions

will be locked and only able to

be modified via journal entry.

Pcard Tip: Finding Those Missing Transactions Every Month

6

6

On average, about 270 transactions (or 6% of all system Pcard activity) are not fully reconciled during a given month

Roughly 75% of these instances are transactions posting the final day of the cycle

All cardholders should be checking their activity in Access Online at least once per week if they are using their card regularly