2.7 Procurement Card

Administrative Responsibility:   Procard Coordinator, reporting to the Associate Vice President for Business Services

PURPOSE

The Wayne State University Procurement Card (Procard) is a credit card used solely for small dollar transactions of valid university-related purchases for goods and services. It cannot be used for travel and entertainment, nor for the purchase of commodities, services, or expenses prohibited by University policies or for items listed as unauthorized in APPM Policy 2.7.1. Use of the Procard is intended for single transactions for up to $3,000.

SCOPE

A Procard may be issued to any full-time employee who resides in the United States or Canada and who obtains the appropriate approval from the department chair/director and either the president, vice president, associate/assistant vice president of the division,  or the dean as applicable for the schools, colleges, and divisions; and also the business affairs officer for the assigned S/C/D. Persons who do not reside in the United States or Canada, non-university personnel, and non-full-time employees, including but not limited to temporary employees, students, graduate students, guests, or independent contractors, are not eligible for a University procurement card.

DEFINITIONS

The following definitions apply to these terms as they are used in this policy:

Authorized Application Approvers

President, vice president or associate/assistant vice president and deans, as applicable, and business affairs officer

Bank

US Bank

Blocked Merchant

A merchant who primarily provides goods and services prohibited for purchase via the Procard.

FOAPAL

Account structure in the University's Financial Management System (Banner) (Fund Organization Account Program Activity Location).

Merchant

 

Businesses that provide goods or services and accept payment via the Procard.

Procard

 

A University issued Credit Card, which has the ability to be restricted by transaction amount, monthly dollar amount, and by merchant category code (type of merchant).

Small Dollar Purchase

Any single Procard transaction that is less than $3,000.

Procard Transaction Management System (PTMS)

An online system accessed through the WSU Academica / Canvas Portal.  This is located under the Employee Resources Document Management Services section.

"Splitting" a Transaction

More than one transaction to the same merchant to circumvent the $3,000 limit per transaction.

Transaction

 

A single purchase from a merchant is charged directly to the Procard and does not exceed the $3,000 limit.

Unauthorized Purchase

Goods or services that should not be purchased with a Procard. See APPM Policy 2.7.1 for a list of specific unauthorized purchases, the APPM on Expense Guidelines 1.3.1, and anything deemed to be inappropriate under University policy.

POLICY

The Procard is intended to simplify and decentralize the procurement process for low-dollar transactions and should eliminate or reduce the need for petty cash funds.  Procard may be used at merchants who accept MasterCard credit cards and where the purchases are within the stated guidelines. However, the university has authorized the bank to block certain merchant categories, such as airlines, restaurants, jewelry stores, etc. All cardholders are urged to advise merchants at the point/time of sale that the university is a tax-exempt institution.  Utilization of the Procard should also expedite the delivery of goods/services and reduce payment processing time and expense.

Definitions of certain relevant terms appearing in italics used throughout this policy are summarized in Section E.

PROCEDURE

    1. The Procard can only be used for university purchases.  No personal purchases may be made with a University Procard.
    1. The applicant must complete the New Cardholder Account Application form and obtain all required approval signatures before a request is processed.
    1. In order to obtain a Procard, the applicant must attend a mandatory classroom training and/or take the online Procard Applicant Course available in Canvas and complete the online Procard Applicant Test.  Applicants must successfully pass the required test prior to card issuance. Cardholders whose cards are terminated for recurring policy violations will be required to repeat mandatory training or take the online Procard Applicant Course prior to approval for issuance of a new Procard.    In addition, the Business Affairs Officer must approve the re-issuance of the Procard.
    1. The applicant is required to sign a Cardholder Agreement found within the New Cardholder Account Application, in order to receive the card. '
    1. The Procurement Card Office (Procard Office) must receive the New Cardholder Account Application form within 90 calendar days of the applicant's attendance at the mandatory training and/or completion of the online Procard Applicant Test.  If the Application form is not received within the 90-day period, the applicant must repeat the training.
    1. The applicant is required to sign the Authorization for Release of Credit Card Receipts form before receipt of the card.
    1. The cardholder must keep the card number confidential.  The person named on the card is the only person authorized to use the card. The card is not transferable.
    1. Lending or sharing the card or the card number is strictly prohibited. The cardholder (name reflected on the card) is ultimately responsible for all charges applied to the card.
    1. The cardholder must obtain detailed receipts for purchases from the merchant at the point/time of purchase. All receipts must be uploaded to the Procard Transaction Management System, where they will be retained electronically for a period of seven (7) years. 
    1. To access the Procard Transaction Management System, the cardholder should log into the campus Academica application and navigate to Employee Resources Document Management Procard Transaction Management System.   
  1. Select vendors offer Level 3 itemized information.  In such cases, the Procard Transaction Management System will create an automatic receipt based on detailed purchase information.  If the automatically generated receipt information is accurate and receives approval from the cardholder, coordinator, and business affairs officer, it will be considered a valid copy of a receipt.  An additional description may also be included in the "comments" field to validate the transaction's university purpose further. 
  2. In such cases where the Level 3 receipt is unavailable, inaccurate, or insufficient, a copy of the original receipt should be scanned and uploaded.  Coordinators and/or business affairs officers reserve the right to request an original scanned receipt for any transaction prior to approval.
    1. If a cardholder's Procard is not used for more than a twelve (12) month period, the card may be canceled by the Procard Office.  Cardholders will be notified in such instances. In addition, new or replacement cards not activated for more than a three (3) month period may be canceled by the Procard Office.  Cardholders will also be notified in such instances.
    1. Each unit/department must have appropriately trained Procard coordinators to monitor all procurement card purchases.  Each cardholder must be assigned to a coordinator.  A cardholder cannot be his/her own coordinator.
    1. The coordinator must review and approve all cardholder-submitted activity electronically through the Procard Transaction Management system on a monthly basis.
    1. Cards Issued on a Sponsored Program Account (Grant/Contract)

•  Cardholders are responsible for ensuring that purchases meet grant agency requirements. Charges must be reasonable, necessary, and appropriate to the specific grant. If there are ambiguities, questions, or concerns, the cardholder must consult with Sponsored Program Administration.

•   Cards issued on sponsored program accounts will be set up to expire in accordance with the "Budget Period End Date" reflected in Banner. The cardholder must contact the Procard Office to obtain a renewal card if the grant is renewed or extended before the card's end/expiration date. If the grant is renewed or extended after the card end/expiration date, a new card application must be completed and submitted to the Procard Office.  The cardholder is responsible for notifying the Procard Office of grant renewals or extensions before the card limits are restored)

    1. Purchases made with a Procard:
      1. Must be for official university business use only
      2. Must be less than $3,000 per transaction*
      3. Can total no more than  $20,000 per month*
      4. Must comply with all university purchasing, expense guidelines (see APPM Policy 1.3.1), and Procard policies.
      5. Must be shipped to Central Receiving or to a university departmental address
      6. Must comply with any special requirements of projects supported by sponsored funds
      7. Rebates on purchases must be made payable to the university and sent to the Procard Office for proper disposition.
      8. Vendor "gifts" or "no charge incentives" with purchases must be refused at the point of sale or, if they are sent automatically to the department, they must be turned over to the school/college/division head. They must be used solely for educational purposes.  Refer to Board of Governors Code Annotated 2.72.03.

* In certain circumstances, the Procard Office may authorize a temporary or permanent higher spending limit. Requests for the increase in limits or for Procard purchases of certain unauthorized item exceptions (see APPM Policy 2.7.1) must be submitted in writing to the Procard Office. No purchase of unauthorized items shall be made without the written authorization of the Procard Office.  The authorization from the Procard Office should be uploaded to the Procard transaction prior to the Procard Deadlines listed below.

    1. Procard Deadlines Procard deadlines have been established to ensure an efficient and timely process of uploading receipts, approving transactions, and reallocating charges when appropriate. The Procard deadlines are as follows:
      1. Cardholders must submit their receipts and approve their transactions by the 4th business day of the month for the prior month's transactions.  This ensures proper reallocation of Procard expenses, which coincides with the Fiscal Operations deadlines for feeding transactions into Banner.  A complete list of dates by month can be found at Procard Accounting Monthly Closing Period.
      2. Coordinators must approve or reject cardholder transactions by the 10th of the month for the prior month's transactions.
      3. Business Affairs Officers must approve or reject transactions by the 15th of the month for the prior month's transactions.
    1. Violations of Policy and Consequences

Cardholder violations include but are not limited to the following:

  1. Fraudulent use of the card, including the purchase of personal items
  2. Purchase of goods/services specifically prohibited by this policy or any other University Policy
  3. Splitting a charge to circumvent the transaction limit
  4. Failure to obtain and electronically submit valid receipts for all purchases
  5. Allowing the use of the card by others
  6. Instructing merchants to ship to an address other than a university address
  7. Failure to process transactions in the Procard Transaction Management System (PTMS) by the 4th business day of the month for the prior month's transactions.
  8. Failure to provide detailed proof of purchase to the Procard Office within five business days when requested.

Cardholder violation of the Procard Policies and Procedures consequences:

1st Occurrence

  1. A notice of violation will be sent to the cardholder, coordinator, and business affairs officer/administrator.
  2. Depending upon the severity of the violation, the card may be canceled immediately (e.g. fraud, personal items, shipments to a residential address, sharing the card or the card number with others, failure to provide valid documentation, etc.), and/or disciplinary action, including discharge, or legal [both civil and criminal] action may be taken.

 

2nd Occurrence

The card will be canceled until the cardholder completes the online training in Canvas and successfully passes the training quiz at the conclusion of training.

Coordinator:  Violations of Policy and Consequences

  1. A coordinator's failure to review and electronically approve cardholder-submitted transaction activity by the 10th of the month and the business affairs officer's failure to review and electronically approve cardholder-submitted transaction activity by the 15th of the month for the prior month's transactions may result in the suspension of all cards he/she is responsible for until such time that the activity has been accounted for by both the assigned coordinator & business affairs officer.
  2. Approval of transaction activity with known misrepresentations or omissions will result in immediate suspension of all cards reporting to the coordinator until such time as a new coordinator is assigned and trained in his/her responsibilities.
  3. On-going problems with the Procards under a specific coordinator and/or in a unit or department will prompt a thorough review of all card activity.  Should the review confirm serious errors, omissions, and/or irregularities, the Chief Financial Officer would review the documentation and sign off on the cancellation of all cards, if deemed appropriate, under the coordinator and/or in the unit/department for a minimum of four (4) months.
  1.  
  2.    Card Cancellation, Transfer/Termination

Upon notification of termination, a departure from the university, transfer to another department within the university, or if the employee ceases to be a full-time employee, the coordinator or assigned business affairs officer must notify the Procard Office to cancel the Procard no later than the effective date of the change and the card must be destroyed immediately.

All charges resulting from the unit/department's failure to notify the Procard Office in a timely manner will be the responsibility of the unit/department.

    1.    Lost or Stolen Cards

Lost or stolen cards must be reported immediately to the Procard Office at 313-577-3708. After normal business hours, call US Bank / Stolen Cards Services at 800-344-5696 and select the Lost/Stolen Card Services option. The card will be canceled, and a new card will be issued as soon as possible. The cardholder must inform the department Procard coordinator and business affairs officer of the missing card.

Any charges resulting from the cardholder's failure to notify as directed in a timely manner will be the responsibility of the unit/department.

    1. Responsibilities
  1. President/AVP/VP and Dean/Chair/Director
  1. Appoint or change a Procard coordinator (primary and backup).
  1. Authorize individuals within the department/unit to obtain Procards by signing the completed applications.
  1. S/C/D Business Affairs Officer
  1. Determine who should obtain a card.
  1. Designate/approve the FOAPAL for each card to be issued.
  1. Oversee appropriate use of cards for the school/college/division.
  1. Determine appropriate reporting responsibility and verify that no coordinator is subordinate to the cardholder.  Recommend individuals to function as coordinators to the President/VP/AVP and Dean/Chair/Director.
     
  2. Establish procedures and monitor activity to ensure proper reconciliation of Procard transactions to Banner financial system for the school/college/division.  
     
  3. Perform a monthly review and approve all electronically submitted activity that has achieved cardholder and coordinator approval from the school/college/division             
  1. Cardholder
    1. Obtain detailed receipts for purchases from the merchant at the point/time of purchase.
    1. For purchases made by telephone, instruct the merchant to mail the invoice/receipt directly to the cardholder.  Receipts must reflect the quantity, description, vendor name, vendor address, transaction date, and unit price for all items purchased. 
    1. Advise merchants at the point/time of purchase that the university is a tax-exempt institution. 

a. The cardholder will be responsible for notifying the Procard Office and submitting reimbursement for any unsubstantiated transactions.
b.    Provide a written explanation via email to the Procard Office for all missing or incomplete documentation. If the receipt does not detail what was purchased, write a description within the comments section of the Procard Transaction Management System of the goods or services purchased. Where appropriate, a sample document or photocopy of the item should be uploaded and attached to the Procard Card Transaction Management System.

    1. Provide accurate shipping instructions to merchants to ship to Central Receiving or to the unit/department campus address.
    1. Review all transactions for accuracy within the Procard Transaction Management System. Upload a copy of all applicable receipts and electronically approve for review by the Procard coordinator.
    1. All transactions must be charged to the appropriate index. Transactions may be reallocated to a different index at any time during the monthly billing period; however, they must be completed before the Procard Accounting Monthly Closing Period.
    1. Report all discrepancies/errors and resolve issues as soon as they are identified, but no later than 30 days after the transaction posting date. Report discrepancies/errors with the Procard Transaction Management System to the Procard coordinator and take steps to correct those errors with the vendor.  It is the cardholder's responsibility to follow up on credits for returned merchandise. Credit must be to the same FOAPAL number as the original charge.
    1. A Dispute Form for discrepancies/errors must be submitted to the Procard Office within 45 days of the transaction posting date.  If submitting a dispute within the month or within the 10-day review period after a month has ended, the dispute form can be uploaded to the Procard Transaction Management System, and the transaction can be "Approved as Disputed."  The Procard Office will file the Dispute Form with US Bank.  Failure to adhere to the 45-day timeline will negate the opportunity to file a claim.
    1. Notify the Procard Office at 313-577-3708 (or US Bank 800-344-5696 if after hours) immediately if the card is lost or stolen. The card will be canceled, and a new one will be issued. 
  1. Coordinator

Business affairs officers, business managers, or other administrators must perform the coordinator function for each school/college/division (S/C/D).  Coordinators must have sufficient seniority and financial background to provide prudent oversight. Coordinators must not be in a subordinate position or a direct reporting line to the cardholder. A cardholder cannot be his/her own coordinator.  Each S/C/D should appoint a sufficient number of appropriately trained and responsible individuals who will complete the following duties:

    1. All designated Procard coordinators are required to attend training or complete the online training available in Academica / Canvas.
    1. Sign Procard cardholder applications and obtain appropriate approval signatures.  Forward the cardholder application to Procard Office for processing.
    1. Immediately notify the Procard Office and collect and destroy Procards when an individual terminates employment at the University or transfers to another department.
    1. Immediately notify the Procard Office to report any incident of possible abuse of Procard. Procard coordinators may request the revocation of purchasing privileges, temporarily or permanently, of a cardholder who fails to comply with any policy.
    1. Review all cardholders electronically submitted transactions in the Procard Transaction Management System for accuracy and compliance with the policy. If documentation is insufficient, reject the transaction and request that additional information be provided by the cardholder
    1. On a monthly basis, review and approve electronically submitted cardholder activity within the Procard Transaction Management System.  Ensure the cardholders are submitting their activity in a timely fashion that will allow all monthly activity to be reviewed and approved by the cardholder, coordinator, and business affairs officer by the 10th of the month after the month has ended.  (Note: cardholders, coordinators, and business affairs officers can review and approve activity throughout any given month to facilitate a more efficient month-end review process.
    1. Provide ongoing guidance for the use of the Procard to departmentally approved cardholders.
    1. Ensure uploaded source documentation is sufficient for review by the Procard Office, Fiscal Operations, Sponsored Program Administration (SPA), and External/Internal Audit.

APPENDICES

  1. N / A

RELATED UNIVERSITY/BOARD POLICIES

  1. 2.81.01 Contract Awards

Effective Date: Prior to 2000

Revised Date: 1/18/2023

Reviewed Date: 1/18/2023

To be reviewed, at minimum, every three years and/or revised as needed by:  Procard Coordinator, reporting to the Associate Vice President for Business Services

Next Review By Date: 1/31/2026

SUPERSEDES POLICY

  1. N/A

HISTORICAL DATES

01/18/2023, 5/09/2022, 9/17/2018, 1/25/2018, 2/01/2016, 10/02/2015, 05/01/2008, 08/01/2007, 01/01/2006