MAKING A PURCHASE/PLACING AN ORDER

Plan to use the P-Card as you would a requisition for a purchase. Before you place an order, please be sure that the purchase has been approved by the department head or budget manager and that there is a valid Banner account number and budget to apply the charges.

If ordering by phone, please follow these steps:

  • Identify yourself as a Lafayette College employee.
  • State that you are making a College purchase using the College Credit card.
  • Provide the vendor with your card number, expiration date, and the tax-exempt number printed on the card. If a vendor needs a paper copy of the tax-exempt form, please contact the Procurement Office.
  • Remember to give the vendor explicit delivery or “ship to” information.  Instruct the vendor to include your name in an “Attn:” line which helps track the package. Because there is no PO number on the package, there is no other way to identify where the request originated if it is delivered to the wrong place.
  • Always ask for an order confirmation number and “receipt” which you will need for your back up when doing your reconciliation for the credit card report.
  • If processing numerous transactions via the phone, you should keep your own transaction log and request a receipt.

NOTE: Please remember that ordering via the phone is the most inaccurate purchasing method. This method is most prone to creating problems. You have nothing in writing as to what you ordered. Keep your own records with dates and times of the order and the dollar amount.

If ordering online, please follow these steps:

  • Check to see that it is a safe website and a valid company.  You are responsible for the purchases you make when you give out your P-card number.
  • Most websites have an area to identify yourself and your company (Lafayette College) when making a purchase.  Provide your card number, expiration date and the tax exempt number printed on the card.  If a vendor needs a paper copy of the tax exempt form, please ask the Procurement Services Office to send one.
  • Give explicit delivery information.
  • Get the order confirmation number.

If ordering in person, the transaction is similar to ordering by phone:

If you are not taking the supplies with you, you must give explicit delivery instructions.

AFTER PLACING YOUR ORDER

When you have received the supplies, keep all shipping documents with your receipt, in case a return is necessary. You must retain the original copy of the “receipt” to match with your monthly reconciliation expense report. Each month you will have to complete the SDOL account summary and print an expense detail report. The report must have all receipts and detail attached, approval from department head and must be sent to Procurement Office by the 10th of the next month.

 SUPPLIERS WHO WON’T ACCEPT THE CARD

Although major credit cards are accepted worldwide by millions of vendors, it is still possible to find a vendor that does not accept MasterCard.  If you do find such a vendor, please notify the Procurement Services Office and make alternate arrangements.

 DENIALS

As one of the safeguards of the P-Card Program, the College has blocked certain MCCs (Merchant Category Codes) that should not be used with a P-Card according to the Policy guidelines. For example, you cannot use the card to purchase office furniture.

Unfortunately, because the MCC codes are established by a vendor’s card-issuing bank, the codes may be erroneously applied. For example, it is possible that a vendor selling shirts may be classified as “services not described elsewhere,” which is a code that is blocked.  If a vendor says your card is denied, it may be because of the MCC code or it is over your card limit.  Call the P-Card administrator in the Procurement office who will investigate why that purchase was denied.

 DISPUTES

You, the cardholder, are responsible to handle any and all disputes with the vendor. If you believe you are being billed in error, promptly and directly contact the vendor where the order was placed. If the vendor agrees to issue a credit, simply write a note in the SDOL web-based software program next to the applicable transaction concerning the impending credit.

If the vendor does not agree to issue a credit, then Call the customer service number for the credit card to initiate a dispute.  You have 60 days from the date of purchase to dispute a transaction.

 

 LOST OR STOLEN CARDS

If your card is lost or stolen, call (800) 316-6056 immediately.  Please also call the Procurement Services P-Card administrator on the first working day so the card can be blocked from further use.

 

 REVIEW OF TRANSACTIONS

You should have attended training on how to Log-on to the appropriate section of the JP Morgan Chase website with your user ID and password.  JP Morgan Chase pays the vendor within three working days of your purchase; your transaction will be visible on its site at that time.

Apply the correct Banner account number, a description of your purchase, and approve the charge on the JP Morgan Chase online system. All descriptions and FOAPAL account charges must be entered prior to printing your Expense Report at the end of each Month.

 

 P-CARD RECONCILIATION

Each month the cardholder must:

  1. Enter the JP Morgan website Account Summary page and enter the FOAPAL account number and description for each purchase, by the end of the month.
  2. Schedule a Report of your charges:  Make sure to check split accounts on page 5 if more than one account is charged, Make sure to go to page 6 and enter the correct posting dates:  27 of previous month to 26 of current month.
  3. Print report and attach original receipts for all transactions processed during the statement period,
  4. Have the P-card reconciliation Report approved by your Department Head or Budget Manager.
  5. Forward the above in an envelope marked P-Card Reconciliation to the Procurement Services Office by the 10th day of the month following the statement ending date.

Any transactions not reviewed will be posted to the default FOAPAL account assigned to your card.

Usually within the first 10 days of a new month, the charges from the previous month will be reflected in your budget within the Banner system.

Instructions for reconciling P-Card purchases

 

HOW YOUR CARD MAY BECOME INVALID

If you do not complete your Reconciliation Report on time or attach all your receipt/detail backup, your card may be put on hold, canceled with charging privileges revoked.

If you are leaving the College, your card must be surrendered to the Procurement Services Office two weeks before your final day with the reconciliation of any purchases that have been made.

 

 HOW YOU CAN MAKE THE PROGRAM BETTER

We want the P-Card to be a tool that makes your job easier.  Please remember, to ensure the continued success of the P-card program we must meet and comply with all auditing controls of various government agencies, risk management, and audit services.  All receipts and reconciliations must be done properly.  Adequate documentation must be maintained to record the transactions, and all supporting documentation (including credits) must be forwarded with your reconciliation Expense Report to the Procurement Office.  Review of the online transactions and proper allocation of the charges to another FOAPAL is the responsibility of the cardholder.  If you find that you need to have additional training, have questions, or need to have any of your limits altered, please contact the Procurement Office.