Procurement Card

Many of your purchases will be done in person at a store. However, you can also make purchases over the phone or the internet. Departments who have departmental cards rather than individual cards will have to sign the cards out for use. It is highly recommended that you keep a log of your purchases, especially if using a departmental card. An example is provided.

For purchases made at a store, obtain a detailed receipt at the time of purchase. Goods ordered by phone or internet will be received in the mail or by freight. Every purchase has to be documented with a receipt which will usually come in one of three forms - standard store receipt, packing slip or order form. Cardholders should ask the merchant to include an itemized invoice with the packing slip. This is not an invoice to be paid, but provides the itemized breakdown of the cost of all goods shipped. All receipts must contain the following information:

• Vendor identification
• Date purchase was made
• A description of each item purchased
• Total cost of each item purchased
• Partial Card number

This is necessary only for goods received in the mail or by freight carrier. Work with the vendor to correct any problems with the goods received.

Every Monday morning the University downloads all of the Visa transactions that posted the prior week. A SAP document is then created and parked for each Visa account with transactions. For each SAP document, an email is sent to the appropriate departmental card administrator. The email includes the SAP document number, instructions, and lists the G/L account, cost center/internal order, purchase date, purchase amount and vendor for each transaction. Example emails are included in this guide. Print the email. Use your receipts or purchase log to verify that all charges on the email are correct. File a dispute form for any charges in error. This form can be obtained from the University Procurement Card Administrator

When the SAP document is created, funds are encumbered against the default cost center/internal order and G/L account designated by the Card holder. If a transaction should be charged to another University account or to another G/L account, the change should be notated on the printed email. Transactions may be split between multiple University accounts and multiple G/L accounts. If no changes are necessary, write "No Changes" on the printed email. If you have the appropriate SAP authorizations, change and post your parked document. Notate the date posted on the printed email. Staple all receipts and documentation to it and forward to the Office of Procurement Services by Friday of the same week.

It is imperative that all documentation is sent to the Office of Procurement Services on a timely basis. The University is required by the State of Mississippi to maintain an original record of any expenditure of public funds. Therefore, the Office of Procurement Services cannot post a procurement card document without proper documentation, namely itemized receipts. Because the University can not pay the bank for its monthly charges until all documents for that particular month have been posted, one delinquent department can prevent payment for the entire University.

Therefore, the following policy has been established:

1. On Monday of the first week, an email is sent to the departmental administrator. On Friday of the same week, the printed email and all related receipts are due in the Office of Procurement Services.
2. On Monday of the second week, a reminder will be sent to the departmental administrator for all documents that have not been received.
3. On Friday of the second week, a temporary hold will be placed on all delinquent accounts. The card will remain on hold for a period of 30 days from the date the document and all related receipts are received. A notice of this hold will be sent to the departmental administrator as well as his/her department head.
4. On Monday of the fourth week if documentation is still outstanding, the account will be closed. Once the documentation is received, there will be a 90-day waiting period before the department may petition to have its account reinstated.

If a department's VISA account is placed on hold (3) three different times, their card will be suspended for (90) ninety days. The department will have to petition to have their card reinstated at the end of the ninety-day period. Procurement Services must be contacted if there are unforeseen circumstances causing a delay in the processing of a department's VISA document, so that problems may be addressed before an account is placed on hold. When documentation is not going to be available in the time allowed and a diligent effort has been made to obtain it, contact the Office of Procurement Services as soon 5 as possible. It is extremely important that departments keep the lines of communication open when they are unable to meet the document deadline. We will always try and work with the department if the vendor does not do their part by supplying the necessary paperwork. Inability to find the time to process the document is not an acceptable excuse.

Furthermore, it is also extremely important that the correct G/L account be assigned to each transaction. The University's accounting system is based on these account assignments. The proper use of these codes is imperative for accurate budgeting and reporting. Repeated failure to correct these accounts may lead to the denial of future use of the procurement card. A complete list of the G/L accounts can be found on the Accounting Office website

The following are some of the more frequently used codes for commodities:

• 56110 - Printing
• 56130 - Office Supplies - Campus Bookstore
• 56135 - Office Supplies - Other
• 56140 - Purchased Instructional Materials
• 56480- Expendable Equipment

Copies of the email and receipts should be retained in departmental files. After review and approval, Procurement Services will post all SAP documents that could not be posted by the department. Procurement Services will file all documentation so that it is easily retrieved upon the request of the auditor or other official persons.