University of Georgia

INTRODUCTION

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Student Learning CenterRoom 148

P-Cards may be issued only to permanent (regular) employees of the University

Job duty to require the use of the card No more than one (1) card per employee

Card Limits:$10,000 monthly credit limit

Period of Retention for Documentation:Five (5) years from date of transactionIf a sponsored account is involved, these records

must be retained for the period of the grant/contract plus an additional seven (7) years following the end date of the grant/contract

If all efforts to settle a claim for purchases directly with the merchant have failed, a Cardholder must file disputes within sixty (60) days of billing issue date

Billing AddressFirst use address listed on billing statement; The cardholder may be requested to also

provide the corporate billing address as listed in the P-Card manual

P-Card Sharing The cardholder is the only person authorized to use the P-Card

that has been issued in that cardholder’s name

P-Card sharing is prohibited and results in immediate termination of P-Card/privileges

P-Card sharing increases the risk of fraud and cardholder liability

Best practices to prevent fraud and misuse include NOT allowing

an individual other than the cardholder to:have physical possession of the P-Card to make payments

to point of sale vendors;have access to the P-Card number and expiration date to

make payments via telephone, internet, or in person;have access to receipts or invoices that display the

complete P-Card number and expiration date.

Keep the P-Card (and account number) in a secure location

Safeguard the P-Card as you would a personal credit/debit card

Lost, stolen, or fraudulently used P-Cards must be reported to Bank of America (1-888-449-2273) and DOAS (email to ProcessImprovement@DOAS.GA.GOV) within 24 hours of discovering the loss, theft, or fraudulent use. The cardholder’s Approving Official and the P-Card Administrators must also be notified.

When placing an order online, use only secure sites. URL (website address) should begin with https A graphic, such as a lock, should appear in the bottom

right hand corner of the browser bar

Consequences of Inadequate Documentation:• Cardholders are required to personally reimburse the

University for purchases not appropriately documented.

• Approving Officials may also be required to reimburse the University if the approving official approved an undocumented purchase.

• If appropriate documentation is unavailable, a Missing Receipts Affidavit form must be completed, signed, and kept on file with the monthly billing statement.

Example of a Missing Receipts Affidavit form

Note: Responsibility for individual purchases rests with the individual cardholder making the purchase and the approving official who approves the purchase

P-Card Missing Receipt Affidavit

I ______________________, have either not received or have misplaced a P-Card receipt totaling

$__________. This document will be used in lieu of an invoice or receipt for this transaction.

Vendor: _______________________________________ Amount: $_____________ Date of Purchase: ______________ Transaction Number: ___________________ Item(s) Purchased: (Include description, quantity and unit price, and business purpose for each item) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

What attempts have been made to request a duplicate receipt from the vendor? (Include names, dates, phone numbers, or emails used in requesting documentation from the vendor.) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I certify that the amounts shown above (and on the attached, if applicable) were purchased and received for University of Georgia business. I understand that habitual use of this form instead of submitting actual receipts or invoices will result in suspension or termination of P-Card privileges. If charged to a sponsored account, I certify that the expenditures represented on the missing receipts were appropriate for the purposes of the award and requirements of the sponsor.

____________________________ __________________________________ Cardholder’s Signature/Date Printed Cardholder Name

____________________________ _________________________________ Approving Official Signature/Date Printed Approving Official Name

Transaction Logs:• As P-Card transactions occur, the cardholder

must record all purchases on a transaction log

• Logs help to keep a running tally of monthly charges and identify outstanding transactions not yet billed on the monthly bank statement

• Maintaining a log will assist cardholders in staying within the established purchasing limits of the card

Example of a transaction log

P-Card Transaction Log

Cardholder Name Default Account Period of Review*

*All transactions must be recorded on the transaction log as they are purchased. Outstanding items purchased but not yet billed on the monthly statement within thirty (30) days should be addressed with the vendor.

Date of Purchase Vendor Name

Detailed Description of Item/Service (including Quantity & Misc Notes)

Amount (w/freight)

Date Rcvd

Date Billed On

Statement Redistribution

Accounts Business Purpose

I certify that I have made all of the listed transaction on behalf of the University and that they comply with the established procedures for using the P-Card.

Cardholder (Signature/Date): _________________________________ Printed Cardholder Name ________________________________

Personal Use of the P-Card:Under HB 1113, the use of the P-Card for personal

expenditures is strictly prohibited. Cardholders who violate this rule must immediately report the personal use and reimburse the funds. Per USG requirements, the University is required to report the misuse to the Board of Regents who will then forward the information to the Attorney General’s Office. This is required regardless of a cardholder’s intent to reimburse the University. An example would be when a cardholder includes a personal purchase with a departmental order to take advantage of free shipping or pricing discounts.

Personal Use of the P-Card (cont.):All personal use (intentional and unintentional) of the P-Card should be handled by the cardholder as follows:

Immediately report the purchase to the Approving Official and the P-Card Administrators

Immediately submit a check payable to UGA to the Accounting Department for the amount of the purchase

Attach a memo on letterhead explaining the circumstances of what happened (including a timeline of the incident) and attach a copy of the receipt and/or other supporting documentation.

Note: These purchases will be reported to the Controller’s Office for disposition.

Background/Credit ChecksPursuant to HB1113, in addition to the required criminal

background check, credit checks will be required on employees hired for positions for which purchasing cards are issued. The credit check shall be completed prior to issuing the P-Card. Positions identified by the employing department as P-Card cardholders will be considered to be “positions of trust”. The University shall ensure that the results of a criminal background and/or credit check are provided the privacy protections required by law.

UGA has received clarification from the Board of Regents Office (BOR) stating that this requirement applies only to new cardholders, effective July 1, 2008.

Food/Travel:Student food, student travel, and food for instructional uses is permitted on the P-Card subject to certain exceptions and documentation requirements. Additionally, food purchased for resale and as required supplies is allowable. Food purchased for official research use as approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB), or food that is integral to or subject of research is permitted. These are the only instances in which food may be purchased with the P-Card.

Additional guidance will be incorporated into the P-Card manual to provide a more detailed list of allowable food purchases.

Motor Vehicle Expenses:Motor Vehicle Repairs and Maintenance are

allowable purchases on the P-Card for state-owned fleet vehicles only provided that all costs associated with state vehicle repair and maintenance be reported in accordance with DOAS fleet management regulations using the Maximo system

House Bill 1113http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/fulltext/

hb1113.htm

Section 1(b): “It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain for his or her own personal benefit, or for the benefit of any other person, any goods, services, or other things of value through any resource or method established pursuant to this article, including, but not limited to, purchase orders, government contracts, credit cards, charge cards, or debit cards.”

Section 3(a): It shall be unlawful for any person to use any travel advance received from public funds, for nongovernmental purposes or to submit or approve, knowingly or through willful and wanton neglect, a fraudulent request to the state for reimbursement of expenses.

Both P-Card cardholders and Approving Officials may be criminally prosecuted for P-Card misuse – a supervisor that according to Section 2(d) “knowingly, intentionally, willfully, wantonly, or recklessly allows or who conspires with an employee who is issued a purchasing card to violate subsection [2](c) of this code section shall be subject to immediate termination of employment and criminal prosecution

Statement of Ethical ValuesCardholders will be required to sign a statement of

ethical values in order to have a P-Card. Approving Officials will also be required to sign the statement of ethical values prior to being assigned as a P-Card approving official. An ethics segment will be incorporated into the P-Card application process and made available July 1, 2008.

P-Card Roles/Duties

Roles:Permanent (regular) employeeIndividual to whom the card is assignedOnly one (1) card per cardholderMay not be his/her own “approving official”

Mandatory Duties:Record each transaction on a log as the purchase occursProvide adequate documentation to “approving official”

for reviewSign/date both the reconciled monthly billing statement

and the transaction log

Note: Responsibility for individual purchases rests with the individual cardholder making the purchase and the approving official who approves the purchase

Roles:Overall responsibility for budgetSole authority for assignment of cards/roles; this

responsibility cannot be delegated

Mandatory Duties:Establish and maintain internal controls Approve issuance of new cards :

Establish cardholder single transaction/monthly credit limits Assign knowledgeable individual acting in a supervisory

capacity as the “Approving Official” for each card Note: It is recommended that Approving Officials not be

responsible for reviewing more than ten (10) P-Cards at one time. Department Heads may request exceptions to this policy from the Procurement Office, provided appropriate justification is received

Mandatory Duties (cont):Routinely assess business need for each card Evaluate transaction/spending limits at least

annually

• Request changes to card set up and role assignment

Note: The Department Head may also act as an Approving Official

Approving OfficialRoles:

Required role (assigned by the Department Head) Acting in a supervisory capacity to the cardholder

Mandatory Duties: Review the P-Card purchases of assigned cardholders on at least

a monthly basis The monthly review must be evidenced by a signature of the

approving official on the monthly Bank of America statement for the assigned cardholder

Identify, document, and report cardholder violations If desired, the approving official can also monitor P-Card

purchases on a more frequent basis using the WorksTM program.

Note: Responsibility for individual purchases rests with the individual cardholder making the purchase and the approving official who approves the purchase

Other Mandatory Duties/Functions

The following duties must be performed to ensure that transactions are recorded correctly and reviewed on a timely basis: Enter comments in WorksTM that describe the item/service

purchased including the reason for the purchase Change default account code in WorksTM (if necessary)

Default object code 71490 must be changed in WorksTM

Perform first level of sign off in WorksTM

Perform second level of sign off in WorksTM

Second level review must be completed by someone other than the cardholder or person performing the first level of sign off

Reminder: Funds are refreshed at beginning of next billing cycle only IF second sign off occurs

Other Mandatory Duties/Functions (cont.) Reconcile the monthly bank statement with the signed

transaction log, receipts, invoices and other supporting documentation

Ensure a propriety review has occurred and is documented. A propriety review indicates that the purchase was reasonable, appropriate and necessary while also in compliance with P-Card rules and regulations

Retain the complete reconciled monthly billing statement with signatures and attached documentation for a period of five (5) years or if a sponsored account is involved for the life of the contract/grant plus an additional seven (7) years. The reconciled monthly billing statement cannot be retained by the Cardholder.

Use of the P-Card

Unallowable Uses:Gift cards, gift certificates, or other equivalent forms of

cash Example: purchases of gift cards to provide incentives

to research participants or to students, etc…

Agency account purchases 90-xx-xxxxx-xxxException: Study Abroad travel expenses for students UGA has received clarification from the BOR indicating

that this exception for Study Abroad programs does not apply to domestic Field School Programs or other student organizations established with agency accounts; however, UGA is researching ways to restructure the type of account for those programs currently set up as agency (90) accounts.

Unallowable Uses (cont.): Split transactions purchased on statewide or agency

contract to circumvent the single transaction limit

Purchasing items with the P-Card that are intended to be reimbursed by the Foundation

Intra-University charges (tickets)Examples include:Georgia Center or CAES conference registration feesCentral Research StoresInstrument ShopMSDException: UGA Bookstore (Athens/Gwinnett)

Unallowable Uses (cont.):Use of coupons, rebates or rewards programs

that offer free items or promotional items for the benefit of the cardholder are not allowed when purchasing items with the P-Card

Rebate checks must be made payable to UGA and sent to the Accounting Department for deposit

Example: The Office Depot rewards program that allows a customer to earn free items based on accumulated points/dollars spent

HB 1113 specifically prohibits employee personal use of rebates or refunds from vendors, banks or other institutions for a purchase or the use of the purchasing card

P-Cards may only be used to purchase items allowed on University accounts. Examples of unallowable purchases include:

Entertainment Flowers/gifts to be given away Service/Recognition awards i.e. plaques Break room supplies for employee use

Personal purchases

Memberships

Inventoried Equipment

Travel (for employees and prospective employees)

Use of a retail site when vendor has established a specific website to provide statewide or agency contract pricing

P-Card and Sponsored Accounts

If a sponsored account is set up as the default account, all purchases made on this card must be intended for that default account only. If a general account is not available to use as the default account, then the following types of accounts could be used: 

UGA Indirect Cost Recovery account (xx-xx-Axxxx-xxx)

UGARF Indirect Cost Recovery account (xx-21-RRxxx-900)

Departmental Sales & Service account that is not for a specific project (xx-xx-Dxxxx-000)

Set up a new General account with no budget (xx-xx-Gxxxx-xxx)

P-Card Transfers (Journal Vouchers)

Charges to a sponsored default account should not be transferred to another account while in WorksTM , unless an error has been detected

Charges to a general/state account can be transferred to a sponsored account while in WorksTM

Once the charge posts to G/L, the Cost Transfer policy applies. (http://askuga.uga.edu/default.asp?id=1428&Lang=1&SID=)

Initial request forms will be forwarded to Contracts & Grants for approval

Changes to sponsored default accounts must also be routed through Contracts & Grants

Contracts & Grants will review for account type, business purpose, and budget restrictions imposed by agencies

P-Card PurchasesMust be allowable per the terms and conditions

of the sponsored agency

Must be allowable per the University’s direct cost policy/procedures (http://askuga.uga.edu/default.asp?id=1429&Lang=1&SID)

(http://askuga.uga.edu/default.asp?id=1432&Lang=1&SID=)

Must be allowable per the University’s P-Card policy

Things to KnowSome purchases that are allowable per the P-Card

manual are not typically allowable on sponsored accounts.

Comments in WorksTM should be as specific as possible.

Food purchases must be approved in writing by the sponsoring agency.

Book purchases and subscriptions must be justified as a direct cost.