Procurement Card General Information

Login to Scotia Bank PCard

The University of Guelph Procurement Card (PCard) is provided by the University to its employees for the purchases of low value goods and services.

Designed to streamline the procure-to-pay process for goods and services of less than $5000, the PCard is an efficient shop and payment tool when used properly.

To learn about the PCard program, click on the following topics.


Benefits of the Procurement Card

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The PCard benefits the cardholders, the department and the University in the following ways:

  • Manages small dollar payments to Suppliers
  • Reduces the need to submit requisitions and issue purchase orders;
  • Reduces the need to use personal funds and submit expense claims;
  • Provides immediate access to suppliers' products and services;
  • Provides convenience and flexibility as the card is accepted worldwide ;
  • Provides the same level of security as personal credit card;
  • Increased efficiency and lowers overall transaction cost(s).

How the PCard Works

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PCards are not transferable and can only be used by the cardholders on behalf of their department for approved University purchases.

  • The system validates transactions against a pre-set list of authorization criteria established by the University;
  • Transactions are posted on the cardholder's online account;
  • Cardholders log into their account to complete reconciliations;
  • Transactions are billed monthly to the University through an electronic statement;
  • Payments Services processes payment directly to Scotiabank based on the electronic statement;
  • Transactions are posted to the general ledger in FRS according to the GL information provided during the cardholders' reconciliation.

Responsibilities of Department Head/Approver

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Review and approve Pcard statements monthly to ensure that charges are appropriate and comply with University Pcard Policy and Procedures

Notify the PCard Administrator to suspend or terminate card privileges in instances of misuse

Notify PCard Administrator immediately of a Cardholder leaving the University, upon termination of employment, maternity or parental leave, or any other applicable circumstances.

 

Restrictions & Limits

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As with any financial tools, the PCard has its restrictions and limits.  

Restrictions:

The PCard is for University purchases only. Any personal use is strictly prohibited. Misuse of the PCard for personal purchases may result in the immediate and irrevocable forfeiture of the card and/or disciplinary actions.

The following items must NOT be charged to the PCard in addition to personal purchases:

  • Internal campus purchases, such as purchases from the University Bookstore and the University Hospitality Services;
  • Travel and accommodations, such as flight, train, bus, coach, ferry, taxi, car rental, hotel and other travel incidentals;
  • Meal and entertainment expenses, such as meal, alcohol.
  • Gas for personal vehicle used for business trip note;
  • Cash advances and ATM withdrawals;
  • Controlled goods and substances, such as hazardous material, radioactive materials and chemicals;
  • Live animals and vertebrates;
  • Goods that require a government permit, such as viruses;
  • Items covered by Blanket Orders and Supply Managed Contracts where PCard is not set up as a payment method.

Note: Gas is an allowable expense when a University vehicle or rental car is used for a business trip. If a personal vehicle is used for the trip, gas is considered personal purchase and must not be charged to PCard.

Limits:

  • The default single transaction limit is $5000, including shipping costs, currency exchange and taxes
  • Each card has a pre-determined monthly credit limit
  • The maximum spending limit available for a card is $50,000 per month. To request a change to the monthly credit limit, complete the PCard Change Request Form with the Dean/Chair/Director's approval signature and email the form to treasury@uoguelph.ca

Getting a PCard

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Eligibility

PCards may be issued to permanent, full time employees who are authorized to purchase goods and services on behalf of the department.

Application

  • Applicants will complete the Scotiabank Employee Application Form
  • Dean/Chair/Director of the department will approve the application
  • Applicant's email the approved application to PCard Administrator at Treasury@uoguelph.ca
  • PCard Administrator will order the card and inform applicants when they have been received
  • Card can be picked in person, applicants must sign the PCard Employee Agreement at the Treasury office

Activation and Registration

Prior to use, PCards must be activated, instructions come with the card. Failure to do so prior to the first use will result in the card being declined.

To activate the PCard, call the phone number on the card and provide the requested information

To register the card go the www.centresuite.com.  A username and password will be created, this information should be kept confidential. 

Change of Procurement Card Information

The Cardholder must notify the PCard Administrator of any updates or modifications to their name, address, transaction limit etc. using the Procurement Card Change Request Form.

Using the Procurement Card

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Cardholders should ensure all purchases made by PCards are approved by department signing authorities prior to making the purchase.

Both cardholders and their supervisors are responsible to ensure the use of PCards is in compliance with the University's Purchasing Policy and Procurement Card Policy.

Placing orders

  • When placing orders other than in person purchases, copies of the order confirmation, invoice or payment receipt should be kept as the record of the transaction.
  • If there is no documentation available during the ordering process, cardholders should request a copy of the receipt to be sent with the shipment, and also keep a record of the merchant name, and the final amount of the order.
  • For orders where goods are shipping from outside of Canada, cardholders should clarify with the merchant who is responsible for customs clearance.  If the University is responsible, cardholders should forward a copy of the order and invoice to the Customs Officer at purchasinghelpdesk@uoguelph.ca for customs clearance.
  • Upon receiving the shipment, packing slips, invoices and any other delivery documentation as well as the shipment itself should be checked against the original order for completeness and accuracy.

Misuse of Procurement Card

The following situations are some examples of misuse of the PCard:

  • Personal purchases
  • Lending the card to another individual
  • Use of a PCard by a suspended or terminated employee
  • Lack of proper and timely reconciliation 
  • Splitting an order to avoid the single purchase limit
  • Purchase of commodities that have been restricted by any University policy
  • Improper use of the card may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Monthly Reconciliation

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Monthly reconciliation is a mandatory process to ensure all transactions are reviewed and verified, appropriate object codes are assigned to each transaction, and detailed descriptions are added to the record before the transactions are posted in the general ledger by the University. 

As part of the reconciliation process, cardholders will:

  • Sign in to the PCard account in CentreSuite, Scotiabank's online management tool
  • Review all transactions for accuracy
  • Assign the correct object codes, if a transaction is to be allocated to more than one GL code, multiple coding can be applied by splitting the charge either by percentage or by dollar amount
  • Add detailed information describing the goods or services to the comment section.  This section information will be transferred to the FRS report
  • Attach a receipt for each transaction
  • Complete the reconciliation and save it, which forwards the report to the approving authority

If the object code is not reallocated prior to posting, all PCard transactions will be posted to a default object code and budget information in FRS will not be updated, requiring a journal entries later (prior to year end) to correct the object codes

Even though the journal entries can change object code after the fact, journal entries must not be considered as an alternative for the monthly reconciliation.  

The monthly billing cycle closing date is different from the monthly reconciling cut-off date.  Transactions can be reconciled as soon as they are posted to the PCard even when the current month cycle is still open. Cardholders have until the end of the last reconciliation date to complete the monthly reconciliation.  For detailed last reconciliation date of each month, please see Monthly Reconciling Dates.

Record Keeping & Audit Requirements

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It is the responsibility of the department of the Cardholder to retain all PCard related documentation in accordance with the University's record retention policy.

  • All transaction records must be retained by the Cardholder's department for minimum of seven (7) years after fiscal year end 
  • If purchases are for research projects, the copy of transaction records must also be retained in compliance with the rules of funding agencies (e.g., for CFI, records must be retained for 10 years)
  • In the event that documentation for purchases is missing or receipts are lost or misplaced, Cardholders must contact the Supplier and obtain a duplicate receipt/invoice or complete a Missing Receipt form.

Financial Services and Internal Audit will make periodic random audits. In addition, external audits may be done by research funding agencies for research projects involving PCard purchases

 

Taxes & Duties

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TAXES

By default, the PCard tax system assumes all taxes are applicable per the following table:

Ontario Purchases

Canadian Purchases
(outside of Ontario)

International Purchases
13% HST included in the invoice  5% GST included in the invoice; 
 Provincial Portion of HST to be self-assessed 

Zero tax included in the invoice;
13% HST to be self-accessed

For each PCard transaction, the tax status will be determined based on the origin of the transaction, for example where the transaction takes place or where the supplier is located. Taxes will be self-assessed the tax rebate will be calculated accordingly.

To correct any incorrect tax assessment and calculation for a particular transaction, Cardholders should email a copy of the invoice and a screen print of what has been charged in FRS to acctspay@uoguelph.ca

DUTIES

For all international orders without a physical shipment, there is no duty involved.

For international orders with physical shipments, Cardholders should determine who is responsible for customs prior to shipping. When the University is responsible for duties, Cardholders should email a copy of the order and invoice to customs@uoguelph.ca prior to shipping.

Return or Cancellation of the Pcard

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PCards are cancelled or returned under the following conditions:

  • Employee termination, retirement of change of status from full time;
  • When deemed appropriate and necessary by the department budget authorities.

PCard cancellations require the following action:

  • Cardholder's supervisor should complete and approve the PCard Change Request form
  • Email the completed PCard Change Request form to treasury@uoguelph.ca
  • Cardholder's supervisor must takes possession of the PCard and destroy it

Employee Transfer

  • If an employee is transferred to a new department within the University, the employee's PCard should be changed to reflect the unit code of the new department.
  • To make this change, the Cardholder's supervisor should complete PCard Change Request form and email it to treasury@uoguelph.ca.
  • If the employee doesn't need to use the PCard in the new department, the PCard should be cancelled.

Troubleshooting

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Lost/Stolen/Damaged PCards

  • In the event a PCard is lost or stolen, Cardholders should report to the incident by calling the 24-hour number listed on the card immediately and notify the PCard Administrator.
  • In the event a PCard is damaged beyond use, Cardholders should call the customer service number shown in the card to request a replacement card
  • The replacement card will be mailed to the PCard Administrator, the Cardholder will then need to go to the Treasury office to pick it up
  • Cardholders will be required to sign a PCard Employee Agreement for the replacement card

Disputing Charges

Cardholders may dispute charges that appear on their monthly account statement for reasons such as: 

  • Fraud or misuse
  • Altered charges
  • Incorrect amounts or sales tax charges
  • Duplicate charges
  • Credits not processed

Cardholders should contact the Supplier first in order to resolve any erroneous charges or outstanding issues. Most issues can be resolved in this way. If successful, Cardholders should get written confirmation of the transaction from the Supplier.

For fraudulent charges, Cardholders should contact the customer service number shown on the card, and contact the PCard Administrator immediately.  The card will be cancelled and a replacement card will be issued.

Declined Purchases At Point of Sale

There are a number of possible reasons why a purchase is declined at the point of sale:

  • Incorrect PIN or CVV number has been given to the seller or entered into a point of purchase terminal
  • Incorrect billing address is given to the seller
  • The total cost of the purchase exceeds the transaction limit for the card
  • The item falls under a restricted merchant category code
  • The card has been de-activated by the University
  • The card has been de-activated by the bank

Cardholders should attempt to determine the reason and resolve the issue accordingly. To inquire further, contact the PCard Administrator or the bank's customer service department.

Goods Return and Credits

If goods need to be returned, Cardholders should work directly with the Supplier.  All goods returned should have a corresponding credit. 

Cardholders should:

  • Retain boxes and packaging for a reasonable time
  • Obtain a "Return Authorization Number" from the Supplier if required
  • Ensure the credit appears on your card account
  • In case of a disputed transaction with the Supplier, contact the Supplier immediately and report to customer service within 30 days of the purchase date

Best Practices

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Safeguard Your Procurement Card Information

  • Keep the online account user name and password confidential
  • Do not provide your PCard information to strangers other than legitimate merchants
  • Always write down the name of the person taking your order

Record Keeping 

  • Keep all documentation in order, check them against the statement monthly
  • File the documentation with the monthly statement in a manner that they can be easily retrieved

Reconciliation

  • Don't wait until the last day to start reconciling.  Assigning end uses and object codes, and adding comments for transactions can be done at any time during the billing cycle
  • Review the entire monthly activity report before approving 

Keep Your Card Active

  • If you don't use your PCard very often but would like to keep it in good standing, use the card at least once a year
  • Cards without any activity in a period of 17 months are considered inactive accounts and may be cancelled  

Be Alert to Scams

  • If there is suspected fraud the bank will contact you directly. If they are unable to reach you, they will contact the PCard Administrator
  • Any email, regardless of how professional or legitimate it may appear (i.e. professional wording, logos or graphics), that requests your account information be resubmitted, updated or reactivated could very well be fraudulent
  • If you are at all in doubt as to the legitimacy of an email, please contact customer service using the number shown on the card

Monthly Reconciling Dates

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The PCard billing cycle closes on 20th of every month.
 

All expenses must be allocated to the right GL, have receipts attached and be submitted to approvers by the 24th of each month.

Useful Links & Numbers

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Application Form:

Change Request Form

User guide:

Procurement Card administrator:  Brenda Reynolds; email: treasury@uoguelph.ca

Scotia Bank customer service: 1-888-823-9657. This phone number can also be found on the back of your PCard.