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UCSC Purchasing Card Supervisor Training

Getting Started
Program Introduction
What Are My Responsibilities as a Supervisor?
Program Administration and Support
How Do I Add a Cardholder Account?
Changing, Canceling or Revoking a Cardholder Account
The Reporting Cycle
Reviewing the Cardholder Transaction Detail Report
Reviewing Cardholder Statements and Receipts
Vendor Disputes
Consequences for Card Misuse
Lost or Stolen Cards

Getting Started

Welcome to the web based training for UCSC Purchasing Card Supervisors. You must complete the Pro-card Cardholder Training before completing this Supervisor training.

After you complete both trainings, you will be qualified to be a UCSC Purchasing Card Supervisor.

Who can be a Purchasing Card Supervisor

To be a purchasing card supervisor,

• you must be permanent or limited status
• you must have either taken the cardholder classroom training or the cardholder on-line training and passed the quiz at the end of the training.
• you must complete this supervisor on-line training

How to Get Started

1. Study these materials.
2. Confirm with your Budget Manager/Purchasing Card Authorizer that you are part of the Pro-card Hierarchy (a University Division/Department organization chart).

How this Training Works

1. This training is self-paced. It begins with the Program Introduction below.
2. Click the Reviewed button at the end of this training to receive credit for completing the training.

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Program Introduction

The Purchasing Card is a VISA issued to authorized UCSC employees for the purpose of purchasing low-value, un-restricted goods for University work-related use.

The Purchasing Card is issued in the name of the authorized employee; however, the University pays expenses incurred on the Purchasing Card.

To qualify for a Purchasing Card, an employee must:

• receive authorization from his or her supervisor and Budget Manager/Purchasing Card Authorizer
• participate in Cardholder Training
• complete both the Cardholder Application and Agreement Form (PBSci agreement)

The Cardholder agrees to observe policies contained in the Agreement.

Policy misuses may result in the following actions:

• letter of notification
• temporary or permanent loss of card privileges
• personal liability for purchases
• disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

What Are My Responsibilities as a Supervisor?

As a Cardholder's Supervisor you will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Approving employees for participation in the Purchasing Card Program.
• Identifying restrictions to be placed on Card.
• Processing Card Maintenance Requests
• Reviewing purchases to ensure they meet objectives and are within restrictions placed on Card.
• Forwarding signed and dated statement to FAST/AP within 10 working days of statement issuance date
• Monitoring and responding to any misuse of Card by Cardholder.
• Revoking Cards if abuse occurs.
• Ensure exit interview procedure includes closure of purchasing card
• Designating back-up approver in case of absence.

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Program Administration and Support

The UCSC Purchasing Card Program Administrator is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at: 459-3343, Fax: 459-1851, Procard@ucsc.edu

FAST/AP personnel maintain files as the Office of Record (OOR) (statements and supporting documents) as well as process accounting journals as required. The following Units maintain their own files as OOR:

• Bay Tree Bookstore
• Library
• Physical Plant
• PP&C
• UCO Lick Observatory

How Do I Add a Cardholder Account?

An employee may be identified as a candidate for the Purchasing Card Program by various employees:

• the employee himself or herself
• the Supervisor
• the Unit Budget Manager/Purchasing Card Authorizer

An ideal candidate for the Purchasing Card Program:

• makes a significant number of low-value, non-restricted purchases of goods from reliable suppliers
• is consistent in providing required documentation for purchases
• needs the card just to get his or her job done

When adding a new account, the Supervisor is responsible for he following tasks:

• approving each Cardholder account
• establishing credit limits appropriate to each Cardholder
• establishing restrictions on card use
• identifying the appropriate FOAPAL to be charged
• Budget Manager/Purchasing Card Authorizer authorization and signature on the agreement form

Approving Each Cardholder Account

First, assess whether the employee is a good candidate for the Purchasing Card Program.

• Does the employee frequently purchase low value, non-restricted goods from reliable suppliers?
• Will the employee abide by the purchasing card policies and procedures?
• Will the employee consistently collect ALL receipts and submit them in accordance with the established timetable?

1. If the answer is yes to all of the above, notify candidate to complete training and begin application process.
2. Next, determine the card use restrictions to be placed upon each Cardholder. This includes both the Credit Limits and Unit Restrictions (which are discussed in more detail below).
3. Route the forms to the Budget Manager/Purchasing Card Authorizer for signature.
4. Route the forms to Purchasing, attention Pro-card Program.

Establishing Credit Limits Appropriate to Each Cardholder

These limits are encoded in the system and cannot be overridden by the Cardholder or the Supplier.
You will need to establish limits for the following categories:

• Maximum amount allowable per transaction (UCSC maximum = $2,500 per purchase). .
• Total dollar amount expendable per month. (Base this amount on your department's budget.)
• Total dollar amount expendable per day. (Base this amount on the Cardholder's need.)

Once these limits are determined:

Complete the Cardholder's Controls Sections on the UCSC Purchasing Card Application Form:

• section 2: default accounting code (Fund Org Account Program Activity Location)
• section 3: card limits
• section 4: hierarchy (4 digit department number assigned to you as a Supervisor.) See Reporting Hierarchy.

Establishing Restrictions on Card Use

These limits are not encoded in the system and must be observed by the Cardholder.
Examples:

• Types of products (e.g. ONLY office supplies, automotive supplies, lab supplies, computing supplies, etc.)
• Types of suppliers (e.g. ONLY lab supply distributors, office supply retailers, book suppliers, etc.)
• Specific suppliers (e.g. ONLY McWhorter's, Safeway, Lumbermans, etc.)

If any restrictions apply, fill out the Use Restrictions section on The UCSC Purchasing Card Cardholder Agreement form. Sign this form in the Supervisor Section, regardless of whether or not any use restrictions apply.

Complete, sign, and date both forms; route to Budget Manager/Purchasing Card Authorizer for signature and then to Pro-card Program @ Purchasing for processing. Cards are generally received within 7-10 days.

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Changing, Canceling, and Revoking a Cardholder Account

The Supervisor can determine at any time to make a change to the Cardholder account.
Examples of changes to an account include:

• Change in FOAPAL (fund-organization-activity-program)
• Change in credit limit or other card control
• Suspension of a card for two months for misuse
• Cancellation of the card of a separated employee
• Revocation of a card due to abuse

To make FOAPAL changes, send e-mail to Procard@ucsc.edu.

For all other changes, complete, sign and date the appropriate form:

• Cardholder Application Form indicating control change, suspension, cancellation or revocation of the card.
• Cardholder Notification Form
• Suspension Form
• Revocation Form

Attach these forms and any additional documentation to the monthly statement when action is taken during statement review. When action is taken at any other time, forward immediately to Pro-card Program @ Purchasing.

The Reporting Cycle

• The review of reports, statements and receipts is on a monthly cycle.
• It is imperative that the statements are routed to FAST/AP in a timely manner.
• Failure to observe the established timeline may result in:
  • financial losses if disputes are not handled within 60 days of purchase
  • temporary suspension of card privileges
  • permanent revocation of card
• On the 11th of each month, each Cardholder will receive notice that their statement is available via the US Bank website.
• Cardholder is required to submit the statement and every associated receipt to the Supervisor within ten business days.
• The Supervisor then has ten business days to review the Cardholder's statement and receipts prior to submitting the statement and receipts to FAST/AP.
• It is essential that the Supervisor set a schedule with each Cardholder that establishes how and when the Cardholder will submit the statement and receipts to the Supervisor.
• A set schedule will provide the Supervisor with sufficient time to review the statement and receipts AND to deliver the statement and receipts to FAST/AP on schedule.

Reviewing Cardholder Transaction Detail Reports

The Supervisor is responsible for the following tasks:

• reviewing the Cardholder Transaction Detail Report via Monthly Reports
• issuing letters of notification or suspension when misuse occurs using a Notification Letter
  or Suspension Letter
• canceling cards as soon as abuse is detected using a Revocation Letter

1. Each month following the statement date, an email will be sent to each Supervisor whose cardholder had activity on their account.
2. Cardholder Transaction Detail Report should be reviewed when the cardholder's statement is not received within ten days of the statement date.
3. Review report to detect potential misuse or abuse of the card.
4. Investigate any suspicious purchases through subsequent review of the Cardholder statement and receipts that provide greater detail.

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Reviewing Cardholder Statements and Receipts

The Supervisor is responsible for:

• reviewing the Cardholder statement and associated receipts
• taking action whenever misuse or abuse is detected
• submitting the statement and receipts to FAST/AP within 30 days of statement issuance date

1. Review Cardholder statement for the following items:
   • missing or non-itemized receipts (An itemized receipt includes supplier name, purchase description, and amount charged.)
   • inappropriate purchases
   • -questionable suppliers
   • -unauthorized purchases
   • -consistency with unit restrictions set by supervisor
   • split transactions (bypassing the Cardholder's single purchase limit by splitting a higher dollar transaction into 2 smaller transactions)
2. Sign and date Cardholder statement to verify presence of all receipts and appropriateness of all purchases.
3. Take action by issuing the appropriate communication if misuse of card is detected:
   • Cardholder Notification Form
   • Suspension Form
   • Revocation Form
4. Forward signed and dated Cardholder statement, receipts and copies of notifications (and any other documentation) to FAST/AP within 30 days of statement issuance date.

Disputes with Suppliers

Sometimes, Cardholders don't recognize a transaction on their statement, or the amount doesn't match their receipt. Disputes with suppliers are initially handled by the Cardholder. S/he is responsible for contacting the suppliers immediately.

Cardholder

1. Immediately contacts supplier to attempt to resolve any dispute.
2. If the Cardholder is not able to resolve a dispute with a supplier, the Cardholder submits a dispute form to the Bank (copy attached to the cardholder statement in lieu of receipt). Remember, the dispute form must be filed no later than 60 days of the statement date, or the bank cannot assist in the matter, any losses cannot be recovered.

The Bank

1. Reviews the dispute form, gives credit to the Cardholder for the disputed amount, and negotiates with the supplier.
2. If charge is determined to be valid, the expense will be charged to the Cardholder's account by the bank.
3. If the charge is determined to be incorrect, the credit will remain with the Cardholder.

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Misuse and Abuse

• The Supervisor, Budget Manager/Purchasing Card Authorizer, FAST/AP or Purchasing may detect misuse and abuse. It is the responsibility of each to monitor for misuse and abuse and to take action accordingly.
• The Supervisor is responsible for detecting and reacting to any misuse and abuse of a purchasing card that comes to light during the review of monthly Cardholder reports, statements and receipts.
• Card misuse is on a continuum, beginning with a single minor infraction of policy and ending with intentional abuse or fraud.
• If misuse is detected, take immediate action depending upon the type and level of misuse. Because consequences are progressive, it is important that each occurrence of misuse is documented.

Level 1 Misuse: The following infractions are subject to a letter of notification:

• 1st missing receipt
• 1st unintentional misuse of policy
• 1st late submittal of statement and receipts

Level 2 Misuse: The following infractions are subject to temporary loss of privilege to use the purchasing card:

• Recurrent pattern of misuse of card including but not limited to:
• 2nd missing receipt
• 2nd unintentional misuse of policy
• 2nd late submittal of statement and receipts
• 1st split transaction

Level 3 Abuse: The following infractions are subject to permanent revocation of card and/or further employee action:

• Pattern of misuse of Purchasing Card
• 3rd missing receipts
• 3rd unintentional misuse of policy
• 3rd late submittals of statement and receipts
• Intentional misuse of Purchasing card
• 2nd split transaction
• Personal use of card
• Cash refund for card purchase
• Any unauthorized use of Purchasing Card

Always copy Purchasing or attach documentation to statement (letter of notification, suspension or revocation).

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Lost or Stolen Cards

If a purchasing card is lost or stolen, the Cardholder is responsible for canceling the card account.

Cardholder

1. Notifies US Bank immediately by phoning 1-800-344-5696
2. Contacts Purchasing Card Administrator @ Procard@ucsc.edu and at 459-3343 to report the missing card
3. Reviews the next statement to identify all unknown charges
4. Begins the dispute process for unknown charges if necessary

UCSC Program Administrator

1. Updates Cardholder records
2. Files Notice

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Last revised: July 17, 2008 (am)