INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Clemson University/State of South Carolina VISA Purchasing Card Program. Clemson University participates in this program as an agency of the State of South Carolina. The program is designed to help better manage low-dollar routine purchases and benefit job performance. The University and our vendors use of the purchasing card allows for a more cost effective process for purchasing. Those individuals who have buying responsibilities in departments are encouraged to be the departmental cardholder.
What is the Purchasing Card?
The Purchasing Card is a VISA credit card issued by Bank of America. It is a flexible purchasing tool that offers an alternative to the existing University purchasing process and provides for an efficient and effective method to purchase non-restricted commodities for items under the competitive bid threshold of $10,000, or items 1) from State or Agency contracts, 2) airline tickets, or 3) those included on the Direct Purchase Voucher Exemption List, even if those exempt purchases exceed $10,000 (and also receive prior approval to raise the card transaction limit to allow). Purchases must follow the State and University purchasing regulations and the card is to be used only for official University purchases.
GENERAL PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES
Purchasing Cards are limited to certain types of allowable University business transactions:
- Purchasing Cards cannot be used for cash advances or the purchase of items that can be used as cash, i.e. gift cards, gift certificates, etc.
- Purchasing Cards are only issued to individuals, in the individual's name and cardholder must be a permanent, temporary grant or temporary employee of Clemson University.
- Purchasing Cards are not transferable between individuals or University Budget Centers.
- Departmental Approver may not process his/her transaction(s). Separation of Duties: Please refer to - clemson.edu/finance/business-manual/as48guid.html
- Departmental Liaison may be assigned to more than one department/cardholder.
- Employee's Department Chair/Head & Business Officer must approve the request for a card and assign the Departmental Liaison for the Cardholder. Cardholder will submit information to the University Purchasing Card Administrator through the appropriate request form in Concur that will route for the required approvals.
- By approving new card requests, the Business Officer and Department Chair/Head delegate purchasing authority to the Cardholder.
- Transactions are distributed electronically into Concur. Cardholders and Delegates have the capability to begin processing the transactions at any point during the monthly billing cycle once the charge comes into the system.
- Purchasing Cards with no activity for 24 months will be canceled.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Agency
Clemson University arranges with the card issuer, Bank of America, for the issuance of Purchasing Cards to approved University employees and agrees to accept departmental liability for the employees' use of the cards.
Card Issuer
Bank of America's services were contracted by the State of South Carolina to issue VISA Purchasing Cards to University employees, bill the University for all purchases made on the cards, and to collect payment from the University on behalf of the vendors.
Cardholder
A Cardholder is an employee of the University who is authorized by his/her Department Chair/Head and Business Officer to use the Purchasing Card to execute procurement transactions on behalf of the University.
The Cardholder must only use the Purchasing Card for legitimate Clemson University business purposes. The Purchasing Card may not be used for travel (except airline & train tickets), entertainment, cash, and other categories as included in the Blocked Vendor list included in these policies and procedures. Misuse of the card will subject Cardholder to disciplinary action in accordance with University Policies and Procedures relating to disciplinary action and termination for cause.
Criteria to receive a University Purchasing Card are as follows:
- Applicant must be a permanent, part-time or full-time employee of the University. Cards may not be issued to student employees, temporary workers or contractors or Federal employees.
- His/her Department Chair/Head and Business Officer must approve applicant's request for a Purchasing Card.
- Applicant must be assigned a Departmental Liaison selected by his/her Department Chair/Head.
- Employee must complete required training on the Purchasing Card before having a credit limit approved for an issued Purchasing Card.
Responsibilities include:
- Adhere to the SC Consolidated Procurement Code and all other applicable University policies.
- Obtain all backup documentation for each charge. Backup is a receipt provided by the vendor showing the date, all items purchased with dollar amounts and taxes paid.
- If documentation has been lost or misplaced, contact the vendor for a duplicate copy. If a duplicate copy is impossible to obtain, a Missing Receipt Affidavit must be completed inside the reconciliation software and attached to the transaction in place of the receipt. If this becomes habitual, the procurement card may be suspended or revoked.
- Attempt to resolve disputes or billing errors directly with the vendor and notify Bank of America if the dispute or billing error is not satisfactorily resolved by using the Dispute Claim form.
- Ensure that an appropriate credit for the reported disputed item(s) or billing error appears and is processed on a subsequent Cardholder Expense Report.
- Return the Purchasing Card to Departmental Liaison upon terminating employment with the University or transferring to a different Budget Center Department within the University.
- Review and submit the completed expense report in a timely fashion to allow the assigned approvers time to review and approve the report and to comply with the Procurement Services deadline of the 1st Friday of the following month. It is the responsibility of the cardholder to make sure all transactions are reviewed, submitted and approved by the due date. Liaison and Budgetary approval indicate that all transactions are valid and meet business needs and proper budgets.
Cardholder Liability
The Purchasing Card is a corporate charge card that will not affect the Cardholder's personal credit; however, it is the Cardholder's responsibility to ensure that the card is used within stated guidelines of University Policies and Procedures relating to the expenditure of University funds. Ultimate responsibility for use /misuse of cards rests with the cardholder. Failure to comply with the program guidelines may result in permanent revocation of the card, which may also include notification of situation to management and further disciplinary measures which may include termination.
Cardholder Termination
The University Purchasing Card Administrator is required to close an account if the Cardholder: (a) transfers to a different University department, (b) moves to a new job in which the Purchasing Card is not required, (c) terminates University employment, or (d) for committing any of the offenses listed in the Progressive Discipline Guidelines which may also subject Cardholder to disciplinary action in accordance with University Policies and Procedures relating to disciplinary action and termination for cause.
Delegate
A delegate is an individual authorized to process expense reports on behalf of another person in Concur. A Cardholder may have one or more delegates who can work in the Expense System on behalf of the Cardholder and may or may not be their Liaison. However, the Cardholder remains accountable and responsible for whatever a delegate may do on their behalf. The Cardholder MUST submit expense reports as this is not something that can be delegated.
Department Chair/Head
University official who must approve employee's request for a purchasing card, assign departmental liaison, and approve an application to the University Purchasing Card Administrator.
Departmental Liaison
Departmental Liaison is an employee assigned to a Cardholder to assist Cardholders with meeting compliance requirements and processing monthly Purchasing Card reports. A Cardholder cannot function as his or her own Liaison.
A Departmental Liaison may not process accounting activity for transactions for his/her own card. The Departmental Liaison must receive training before any individuals in the department may receive a Purchasing Card. Responsibilities include:
- Review all charges made to the Purchasing Card for the following:
- Review for proper budget being charged
- Spot check to ensure applicable tax on Cardholder’s expense report is correctly accounted for
- When applicable, if a card limit has been increased to greater than $10,000, ensure the comment field contains a Contract Number or Exemption Number.
- Once submitted by the Cardholder, Liaisons must approve monthly expense reports in advance of the cut-off date for approvals as established by the University Purchasing Card Administrator certifying that the purchase(s) meet budgetary/accounting requirements and any policy exceptions. They do NOT have to review for policy compliance, as Concur will perform this review, but if Concur notes an exception, the Liaison should review those flagged transactions.
- Notifying University Purchasing Card Administrator within 5 days of any unresolved disputes, noting the reason for dispute as well as notification of lost or stolen cards.
- Requesting University Purchasing Card Administrator to cancel a Cardholder's card e.g. (terminated employees, transferring departments, loss of purchasing card privileges) as approved by Department Chair/Head.
- Collecting canceled cards from Cardholders and properly shredding/disposing of them.
- Liaison must identify backup with cardholder services in the event of extended absence. The backup must have system access for the liaison process linking for a timely transition to the new liaison.
University Purchasing Card Administrator
Purchasing Card Administrator coordinates the Purchasing Card program for the University and acts as the University's intermediary in correspondence with the card issuer.
The University's Procurement Office will assign an Administrator to be responsible for the over-all Purchasing Card program.
Responsibilities include:
- University liaison with Bank of America and utilize the associated bank software.
- Reviewing Department approved applications for completeness of required information.
- Approving completed application for submittal to Bank of America and setting limits on card once training is complete and card is received from Bank of America.
- Ensure Cardholders and Departmental Liaisons receive required training before releasing Purchasing Cards.
- Handling disputed charges/discrepancies not resolved by Cardholder or Departmental Liaison.
- Securing revoked Purchasing Cards and submitting information to Bank of America.
- Reviewing Bank of America invoice and preparing for payment processing.
- Reconciling accounting statements for payments to Bank of America.
- Monitors transactions periodically for compliance with procurement card guidelines and procurement regulations.
The University Purchasing Card Administrator is required to close an account if the Cardholder: (a) transfers to a University department within a different Budget Center, (b) moves to a new job in which the Purchasing Card is not required, (c) terminates University employment or (d) for any reasons which will subjects Cardholder to disciplinary action in accordance with University Policies and Procedures relating to disciplinary action and termination for cause.
Vendor
Merchant from whom a Cardholder is making a purchase.
ALLOWABLE/NON-ALLOWABLE CHARGES:
A partial list of possible items and services which can/cannot be charged on the University Purchasing Card can be found here.
A list of blocked Merchant Class Codes can be found here. Purchases will not go through to vendors that are classified as one of these Merchant Class Codes.
The Procurement Exemption List includes items that can be paid for using the procurement card without consideration of the $2500 limitation. (This limitation includes freight but does not include South Carolina sales tax.)
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Card Set Up
- University employee completes and submits a University Purchasing Card application form. Upon approval from the department chair/head and business officer the Purchasing Card Administrator will review the information and once approved, the application will be submitted for the card creation with Bank of America.
- By submitting and approving the request for a card, the Cardholder is signifying an agreement with the terms of the Purchasing Card program and their responsibilities outlined above as a Cardholder. The department chair/head and business officer are approving transaction authority to the cardholder.
- After approval of new card request, the Purchasing Card Administrator will enroll the new cardholder in the required training. The training will be conducted through the University’s Tiger Training site.
- Upon receipt of the Purchasing Card from Bank of America and completion of required training, the Cardholder is to submit an increase request form in Concur. The University Purchasing Card Administrator will confirm completion of required training by the Cardholder and approve the increase request to set the spending balance on the card.
Card Maintenance
All contact with Bank of America for card set up, maintenance and closure will be handled by the University Purchasing Card Administrator. All contact with Bank of America regarding reporting a lost or stolen card must be handled by the Cardholder.
Changes to Account
All changes to a Cardholder’s personal information must be submitted through the appropriate channels. Official name changes must be approved through Human Resources. Changes to existing cards such as address, phone number, etc. are to be submitted through Concur utilizing the University Card Services Request.
Renewal of Expiring Purchasing Cards
Purchasing Cards will be automatically reissued by the contracted bank prior to expiration and should arrive the month prior to expiration. Upon reissue, the cards will be mailed directly to each cardholder at the address on record. Current cards are valid through the last day of the expiration month.
Security and storage
Cardholders should always treat the University Purchasing Card with the same level of care as one does their own personal credit card(s). The card should be kept in a secure location and the account number should be carefully guarded.
Program Documentation
All documentation and/or receipts must be scanned or saved as a legible imaged file to Concur, where they will be maintained per University records retention requirements. No paper receipts or back up documentation is required to be kept outside of Concur. The University Purchasing Card Administrator will maintain all other documentation concerning the Purchasing Card program, which may include, but is not limited to, Cardholder agreements, agency billing statements, reconciliation of accounting statements, Bank of America program material, copies of transmittals and correspondence with Bank of America.
Spending Controls
Clemson University’s general spending parameters for each VISA purchasing card issued is set at $2,500 per transaction. The Purchasing Card must adhere to the University purchasing policies and procedures. The University, through the Procurement Department, will adjust limits as determined by demonstrated need.
For Purchasing Card purchases, Cardholders should follow all published Procurement Card Policies and Procedures. Purchasing Card limits may be increased up to a single purchase limit of $10,000 for one-time purchases by requesting permission from the Purchasing Card Administrator by making a request with required details through Concur. Occasionally, purchases over $10,000 may be made after completing a card limit increase, but such purchases must adhere to all Procurement rules and the comments section must contain appropriate detail to suffice in an audit, - (i.e. noting contract numbers if the purchase is off State contract, DPV Exemptions, etc...) and would only be approved for those suppliers who are not already set up in our eProcurement system. Sole sources over $10,000 may not be placed on the Purchasing Card.
Account Balance/PIN Reset
The cardholder is responsible for knowing their card limit and available funds. Bank of America Global Card Access can be used to check your limit, set a notification for credit availability, access/reset your PIN, and identify fraud.
Erroneous Declines
Should the Purchasing Card be erroneously declined by a vendor, the Cardholder should immediately contact the University Purchasing Card Administrator for assistance. If purchase being made is outside of normal University business hours, the employee must find an alternate payment method or terminate the purchase and contact the University Purchasing Card Administrator during normal University hours.
Credits
Vendors will issue all credits to the individual Purchasing Card account for any item they have agreed to accept for return. Under no circumstances should a Cardholder accept cash or gift cards in lieu of a credit to the Purchasing Card account.
Unresolved Disputes and Billing Errors
The Cardholder is responsible for contacting the vendor to resolve any disputed charges or billing errors. If the matter is not resolved with the vendor, the Cardholder/Departmental Liaison should -
- Contact Bank of America at 1-800-352-4027 directly for assistance.
- Fax to Bank of America at 1-888-678-6046 a signed "Dispute Form" to document the reason for the dispute if form is requested by Bank of America.
- Contact the University Purchasing Card Administrator for assistance if an acceptable resolution is not obtained.
- The total amount billed by Bank of America will be charged to the individual departmental accounts and credits for disputed transactions will be posted to departmental accounts when the credit appears on the Bank of America billing.
CLOSURE
Lost or Stolen Cards
Cardholders are required to immediately report any lost or stolen Purchasing Card to Bank of America toll-free at 1-888-449-2273 (24 hours a day, 365 days a year). The Cardholder must also immediately notify his/her Department Liaison and/or the University Purchasing Card Administrator about the lost or stolen card at the first opportunity during normal business hours.
Terminated or Transferred Employees
Departmental Liaisons are to secure Purchasing Cards from terminated employees and employees who transfer to another University department. Upon transfer, the Cardholder must immediately submit a cancel card request in Concur and provide date of transfer. Upon termination, the Departmental Liaison will immediately notify the University Purchasing Card Administrator via phone or e-mail of the termination. A request for closing the Cardholder account will be submitted to Bank of America within 2 days of receiving the notification. All Purchasing Cards are to either be destroyed by the liaison or returned to the University Purchasing Card Administrator for disposal.
Other Card Revokes/Closures
University Purchasing Card Administrator will ensure notification is sent to Bank of America immediately of all revocations and closures.
Vendor Blocking
The University has established a Blocked Vendor List. Transactions will be blocked at the point-of-sale level at the types of vendors on the Blocked Vendor Listing attached to these procedures.
The University Purchasing Card Administrator can authorize the temporary unblocking of an MCC code on an as-needed basis. Upon receiving a request from a cardholder, the Purchasing Card Administrator will review the request and determine if the blocking can be changed for a particular purchase or series of purchases, ensuring that such purchase will not be in violation of any other policies, procedures, or regulations. Occasionally, Purchasing Cards established for a specific use, such as student travel, may be established with different MCC blocks from the start and maintained with those blocks at all times. This is determined at the time of issuing these specific cards in coordination with the cardholder, liaison, business officer, Purchasing Card Administrator, and Procurement Director. Any changes to MCC codes are captured in the history files in the Bank of America Works program.
RECONCILIATION, APPROVAL & ALLOCATION OF BILLING
Concur is the software used by the University for allocating Purchasing Card charges to the appropriate budget. This system allows Cardholders, Delegates and Liaisons to have easy access to the transaction activity for each card for which they are responsible. Transactions are posted daily enabling Cardholders and Delegates to process charges as often as they deem necessary to meet the deadlines set forth by Procurement and Business Services. All Purchasing Card transactions within the cycle period should be submitted via the Concur monthly expense report by the Cardholder and approved by Liaison and Budgetary Approver by the 2nd Friday of the following month. Clemson’s monthly cycle begins the 28th of each month and continues through the 27th of the following month.
Monthly Statements and Follow-Up
Monthly statements from the Issuing Bank will not be sent to the cardholder since the cardholder is required to review and verify transactions before submitting the expense report through SAP Concur. However, Cardholders may also access transaction information for their purchasing card through Global Card Access provided by Bank of America and review individual monthly statements but signing off and saving monthly statements is NOT required when using Concur.
Receipt and Payment of Bank of America Bill
Bank of America will electronically bill the University within seven (7) days after the close of the billing cycle of each month. University Purchasing Card Administrator will review bill for any obvious errors in charges or non-posted payments. If none are noted, payment in full will be made to Bank of America.
The University Purchasing Card Administrator's Office will prepare payment voucher and submit for payment to Bank of America. Voucher will be prepared within 5 days after receipt of the Bank of America bill and processed so that payment will reach Bank of America no later than 25 calendar days after the close of the billing cycle of the previous month.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Monitoring & Review Process:
Purchasing Card transactions are subject to the monitoring & review process of Procurement and Business Services. Cardholders and/or liaisons may be requested to provide additional explanations for questioned transactions.
VIOLATIONS PROCEDURES
Inappropriate, Unauthorized or Fraudulent Use of the Purchasing Card
The following guidelines are established for various types of Purchasing Card infractions or exceptions. Administrators should review these guidelines so they are aware of the range of disciplinary standards and what possible disciplinary actions may be taken against employees and be able to pass that awareness on to their employees.
The circumstances surrounding an offense, such as the severity of the infraction, the number of times it has occurred, and any previous counseling, will suggest what action should be taken. A record of this action will be placed in the Purchasing Card Policy Violation file maintained by the Purchasing Card Administrator. The individual circumstances of the charge and the Cardholder’s history will be taken into account by the Purchasing Card Administrator to determine appropriate disciplinary action. At management’s discretion, individual offenses calling for counseling and written reprimands could cumulatively result in suspension or termination of card privileges.
Disciplinary Action Process
The first violation of the Purchasing Card Compliance Policy could result in written notification sent to the cardholder, department liaison and department administrator, notifying him/her of the infraction, except where otherwise stated. The notification will be placed in the Purchasing Card Policy Violation file and the department’s compliance file. For subsequent or more serious first-time violations, the Purchasing Card Administrator will investigate the circumstances surrounding it and make a recommendation for appropriate discipline to the Director of Procurement based on the Purchasing Card Progressive Discipline Guidelines and the Purchasing Card Program Policy. The Director will determine what action will be taken up to suspension of card privileges. Should stronger disciplinary action be deemed appropriate it will require approval by the appropriate Vice President with the Purchasing Card Administrator initiating such action. A written notice of action taken will be sent to the Internal Auditor and the appropriate Dean or Department Chair/Head.
PURCHASING CARD PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE GUIDELINES
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PURCHASING CARD PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE GUIDELINES
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Offense
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1st Offense
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2nd Offense
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3rd Offense
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Missing receipts*
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Written warning and liable for all undocumented purchases
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Suspension of card privileges from 3 to 6 months and liable for all undocumented purchases
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Revocation of card privileges and liable for all undocumented purchases
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Splitting of purchase over $2500
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Written warning
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Suspension of card privileges for 3 months
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Revocation of card privileges
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Inappropriate purchases outside scope of fund mission
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Written warning and possible fund reimbursement
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Suspension of card privileges for 3 months and possible fund reimbursement
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Revocation of card privileges and reimbursement of fund
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Unauthorized purchase
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Written warning and possible fund reimbursement
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Suspension of card privileges for 3 months and reimbursement of fund
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Revocation of card privileges
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Allowing use of card by another without permission
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Suspension of card privileges for 6 months
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Revocation of card privileges
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Failure to comply with departmental approval process
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Written warning
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Suspension of card privileges for 3 months
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Revocation of card privileges
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Use of card for personal gain
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Revocation of card privileges, liable for personal purchases and referral to Human Resources for disciplinary action
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Other non-compliant or inappropriate card use1
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At discretion of Director of Procurement with Chief Financial Officer approval
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* In the event that a Cardholder loses or misplaces a receipt, it is the Cardholder’s responsibility to obtain a duplicate receipt within a reasonable period of time or reimburse Clemson University for the amount expended.
The above-indicated actions in response to specific offenses are to be used as a guide and are not intended to be all-inclusive. At the occurrence of any of the listed offenses, or any that are not listed, the appropriate discipline shall be determined after the particular circumstances of the case have been carefully considered.
Updated September 2022 (Archived Pre-Concur Procedures 2017)
