Financial Affairs

PROCARD PROGRAM



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ProCard Forms		 Training Programs

DePaul University makes a ProCard available to university employees to provide them with the flexibility to quickly and easily obtain goods and services while allowing departments to maintain control over these purchases.  The program streamlines small dollar-value purchases to improve efficiency and reduce administrative costs.

Obtaining a ProCard
Full-time faculty and staff are eligible to enroll in the ProCard program by filling out an application with an appropriate signature from their approving official.  Additionally, applicants must submit to a criminal background check, in accordance with the Criminal Background Checks - Pre-employment policy, where prior felonies of a financial nature may disqualify the applicant from ProCard eligibility.

The required forms are:

All new cardholders must complete ProCard training (which includes usage of the card, rules and restrictions, and the Pathway system) before the card is released.

ProCard application processing generally takes two to four weeks.

Rules and Restrictions
Acceptance and use of the ProCard requires that the cardholder abide by all rules and restrictions listed in the Procurement Card policy and in the Employee Acknowledgement of Responsibilities. These include restrictions on spend and transaction counts, purchasing restrictions, receipt retention requirements and proper documentation of transactions.

Spend and Transaction Counts
In general, the ProCard is limited to $2,500 per transaction and $10,000 per cycle and limits the number of transactions at 25 per day and 50 per cycle.  These limits can be changed at the written request of the approving official and approval by Procurement Services.

Purchasing Restrictions
Restrictions relating to purchases placed on the ProCard include:

  • The ProCard is only authorized for DePaul expenses and cannot be used for personal expenses
  • Card sharing is not allowed
  • All computer (e.g. desktops, laptops) purchases require a requisition, regardless of dollar amount. Printers, desktop software and accessories do not require a requisition, unless over $2,500
  • Gift cards or other taxable expenses (e.g. parking passes, club memberships, etc) cannot be purchased via the ProCard unless pre-approved by Accounts Payable
  • Splitting purchases to circumvent transaction limits is not allowed
  • Sales tax generally should not be applied to ProCard transactions as DePaul is a not-for-profit institution
  • ProCards cannot be used for consulting services
  • ProCards cannot be used for leasing expenses
  • Cardholders may not purchase travel/entertainment items for their approving official's individual use
  • Purchases that cross fiscal years must be reported to Financial Accounting via the ProCard Prepaid form available online
  • Cardholders are not to use the ProCard to purchase items that will be charged against a sponsored program unless they are in accordance with the terms of that specific grant or contract

Additional details and examples of the above restrictions can be found in the ProCard Handbook.

Receipt Retention Requirements
Original and itemized receipts for all transactions must be kept on file for a minimum of seven years.

Proper Documentation of Transactions
All transactions on the ProCard must be properly documented within the Pathway system in order to comply with DePaul policy and IRS rules. This includes documenting any credits/refunds and transaction fees. Some specific guidelines for documentation include:

  • All transactions require a business purpose
  • Travel, hotel stays and conference registrations also require the dates of the trip or event
  • Meals and entertainment expenses also require the names / titles / company / DePaul affiliations for all attendees

For examples of proper documentation see Transactions Comments Guide.

Cardholder Responsibilities
The role of the cardholder is to make purchases according to the established restrictions listed above.  The responsibilities of the cardholder include:

Approving Official Responsibilities
The role of the approving official is to ensure cardholder's compliance with university policies and ProCard restrictions.  These responsibilities include:

Responsibilities of Approving Officials for Cardholders on Leave
If a cardholder goes on leave (maternity, FLMA, military, etc.), the approving official is responsible for notifying Procurement Services so that the card can be temporarily suspended.  Once the cardholder returns, the card will be restored to its normal privileges.

If charges occurred on the card prior to the leave, but before the cycle closes, the ProCard Coordinator will submit statements on the cardholder’s behalf so the approving official can enter comments and approve the statement.

Approval Timeline
All transactions should be submitted by the cardholder and approved by an approving official in a timely fashion.  In general, this should take place within two weeks following the close of a cycle.  Procurement Services regularly distributes deadline information and publishes these dates online as well.

Notwithstanding the above requirements, all transactions must be commented with a valid business purpose and be submitted online within 60 days of the date the expense(s) were incurred to meet IRS regulations.

Lost/Stolen Cards & Fraudulent Charges
To report a card lost or stolen, contact the bank immediately at (800) 316-6056. Cardholders may be held liable for charges made on the card if it was not reported in a timely manner.

You do not need the card number to report a card lost or stolen, but you will be asked to provide the cardholder's name, as it appears on the card. For verification purposes, JP Morgan Chase may also ask you to provide the primary cardholder's social security number.

If a transaction is uncovered that the cardholder does not recognize, first contact the associated merchant or vendor and attempt to resolve the issue directly. If you are unable to resolve the issue directly within a reasonable period of time (generally, allow no more than two weeks), submit a Charge Dispute Form (available online through the Pathway system) directly to JP Morgan Chase. Charges can only be disputed within 120 calendar days of the transaction date.

Rejected Statements
Approving Officials who do not approve of any or all transactions on a cardholder’s statement should reject it.  However, all statements must eventually be approved.  To meet this requirement, one of the following scenarios should take place:

  1. The concern is fixed (eg comments are entered, expense is explained)
  2. The cardholder reimburses the university for an unapproved expense
  3. Disciplinary action is taken in accordance with Human Resources policies

Violation Consequences
A ProCard may be revoked for failure to adhere to the policy or the Agreement to Accept form. ProCards may also be revoked at the discretion of the Director of Procurement Services at any time.

Cardholders may be held personally responsible for any inappropriate expenses and may be required to pay back the university.  Expenses not reimbursed will be considered taxable wages and are subject to appropriate withholding and reporting.  Misappropriation of university funds may also result in further disciplinary action which may include termination of employment.