When are p-card transactions due? ALL p-card transactions (travel and non-travel) are due in Procurement Services by 5 pm on the 25th of the month following the cycle end date. If the 25th falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date defaults to 5 pm on the next working day. Exceptions are made throughout the year and are communicated out through the Procurement Newsletter or through email.
Where is Purchasing Card Services located? Purchasing Card Services is located in the Procurement Services Building. What is a Purchasing Card? Issued by the contracted bank provider, The University of Alabama Purchasing Card is a credit card that offers an alternative to the existing procurement processes and provides a very efficient method of purchasing and paying for goods costing up to $25,000. It is intended for business related supply items and some business related travel expense. It is targeted at low dollar, high volume purchases, which account for a high percentage of the University’s financial transactions each year. Who is eligible to receive a Purchasing Card? The individual applicant must be employed by the University of Alabama. The applicant’s request for a Purchasing Card must be approved by his/her Department Chair, Dean, or Area Budget Manager. How do I get a card? Complete the Concur-P-Card User Access Request Form. The request will first route to the assigned Budgetary Approver for review, then route to P-Card Services for processing. Email notifications with status updates and training information will be sent throughout the request process. Why should I use a Purchasing Card? The University of Alabama Purchasing Card is a credit card issued by the University through the contracted bank provider to University employees who have buying responsibilities. It is designed to allow the Cardholder to place authorized purchases up to $25,000 per single transaction including freight without delays or paperwork that can accompany larger transactions and related costs entailed therein. What kind of purchases can be made using the Purchasing Card? Purchases made with the Purchasing Card must: What is a receipt? Cardholders must obtain an itemized receipt for items over $75 to document each purchasing card transaction that contains the following information: Receipts come in various forms and sizes. The following examples of receipts are all acceptable as long as they have the information listed above: If I am a University Cardholder, is my personal credit affected? The Purchasing Card is a corporate purchasing card for business related items ONLY. The University of Alabama pays the contracted bank provider each month. The cardholders’ credit is not checked, nor will it be affected by the University’s Purchasing Card Program. What purchases cannot be made using the Purchasing Card? The Purchasing Card can never be used for personal purchases or payments to individuals. When are transactions charged to my budget? Transactions are charged to individual budgets after reconciliation is finalized. Can I stop payment on an item that is being returned? All transactions are paid by the contracted bank provider within 24 to 48 hours of the transaction. The University pays the contracted bank provider once every 30 days. A credit must be obtained for all merchandise returns at the point of sale, if local, or after the return is received by the vendor if mailed. If the credit is not posted to your bank statement in the same month as the original transaction is posted, the transaction must be reconciled as billed without the credit. The credit should appear on the next month’s statement. What do I do if tax is charged on a transaction? If sales tax is inadvertently charged to the Purchasing Card, request a refund as soon as possible. If at all possible, the sales tax should be credited back to the card. If this is not possible, the tax must either be allocated to a foundation FOAPAL or reimbursed to UA via cash or check. If cash or a check is received, please contact your department Budget Manager for assistance on how to make a department deposit through Student Account Services. Can I charge University business travel to the Purchasing Card? Airfare, conference registration fees, and lodging are allowable charges to the Purchasing Card. Some airlines may not honor the card if the cardholder’s name is different from the traveler. It is important that you advise the airline company that the card is a University of Alabama corporate card. Personal meals while in travel status cannot be charged to the purchasing card. Hotels normally require authorization to charge lodging to a card that is in the name of another individual. Call the reservation desk and discuss the arrangements. The hotel will fax an authorization form that you will need to complete and return to them. What information is required in letters or emails when referencing a P-Card? In all correspondence, be sure to include the cardholder’s name and the last four digits of the card. NEVER provide the full card number or a Social Security number in an email! What is the difference between a fraudulent transaction and a disputed transaction? Fraud occurs when there has been an act of deception or misrepresentation i.e. intentional unauthorized purchases charged on the P-Card. Suspected fraud must be reported to the contracted bank provider. Your P-Card will be cancelled and a new account will be established with all pending charges. Generally, a dispute occurs if the cardholder is charged incorrectly for an item, received damaged goods, did not receive a credit, etc. and the merchant is not cooperative after the Cardholder contacts the vendor and attempts to resolve the problem. Any communication should be documented and include dates, contacts with whom you spoke to, and a brief description of the problem. The Cardholder has sixty (60) days following the billing cycle ending date to dispute the charge with the contracted bank provider. Please refer to the P-Card Policy and Procedures for the procedures that must be followed when filing a dispute. How do I make a charge with the P-Card? The P-Card may be used to purchase goods in person at the supplier site, over the phone, over secure internet sites, or by mail. The vendor must accept, and be a valid merchant per policy. Before placing an order, inform the vendor that the purchase is for The University of Alabama and exempt from state sales tax. If necessary, provide the tax-exempt number on the back of the P-Card. Confirm that the order including shipping and handling does not exceed the established single purchase limit of $25,000. Provide your name, account number, expiration date, and complete delivery address. Inform the supplier that they are not to send an invoice to Accounts Payable. An itemized receipt must be sent to the Cardholder by mail, email, or included in the shipping carton. Should I pay state sales tax on purchases made with my P-Card? No, state sales tax should never be paid by the University. The University is a tax exempt, state institution. It is the responsibility of the cardholder to inform the merchant that the purchase will be charged to a University of Alabama Purchasing Card and is tax exempt. Be sure and check the receipt to see if tax was charged. If tax appears on the receipt, it must be credited to your P-Card account. My P-Card will be expiring soon. Do I need to reorder a renewal P-Card? No. Your renewal P-Card will automatically be sent to your department address during the month of expiration. You may continue using your P-Card until the last day of the month in which it expires. All cardholders with expiring P-Cards should receive an email from P-Card Services letting them know that a replacement has been mailed. How can I change the spending limits on my P-Card? Contact your Supervisor or Budgetary Approver and discuss your needs. If the request is approved internally, please complete the Limit Increase Request Form. This form will automatically route through the approval flow for all necessary approvals. How do I dispute a charge on my P-Card account? The Cardholder should promptly contact the vendor first to discuss the issue. If the vendor fails to promptly credit your account, please follow the steps on the US Bank webpage to start the dispute process. How can I update my address? Complete the Address/Name Change Request Form found in the Forms section of the P-Card website. How do I cancel my P-Card? If you are leaving the University, transferring to another department, or need to cancel your P-Card for any other reason, please complete the Card Cancellation Request Form. I am transferring to another department within the University. Do I need to apply for a new P-Card? Yes. When transferring from one department to another, a Cardholder should cancel the P-Card from his or her old department, and apply for a new P-Card for the new department when directed to do so by the new department chair. What do I do if I suspect fraud on my P-Card? The cardholder will need to contact U.S. Bank directly using these steps in the US Bank Fraudulent Process. What do I do if I have lost my P-Card or if my P-Card has been stolen? The cardholder will need to contact U.S. Bank directly using these steps in the US Bank Lost-Stolen Card Process. How do I check my available funds? Available credit may be checked at anytime by calling the card provider directly using the telephone number listed on the back of the p-card. Steps for this automated process can be found on the US Bank website.