Procurement Card (P-Card) Policy and Procedures
Prior to using the Procurement Card, the University’s Procurement Card Policy and Procedures must be reviewed and the Cardholder Agreement signed to ensure proper use.
| General Information | Sales TaxBilling Address | Cancelled CardsCard Security | Cardholder AbsenceTransaction Credits |
General Information
A procurement card (P-Card) is a VISA credit card issued by Bank of America to Elon University for making direct purchases from vendors. The procurement card offers a cost-effective, convenient, and decentralized way of purchasing for individuals whose jobs require them to make frequent business-related purchases. The individual named on the card is authorized to make specific business purchases on behalf of the university. Procurement card transactions do not require a purchase order or check request.
Use of the procurement card is a privilege extended to university employees. As with all university privileges, the use of the procurement card can be revoked for inappropriate or unauthorized use.
The university is liable to Bank of America for the charges and remits payment directly to them. Therefore, personal purchases are not permitted. All personal purchases must be reimbursed to the university. Procurement card purchases must be used for business purposes only and in full compliance with other university policies. The cardholder is responsible for ensuring that any expense paid by procurement card is not otherwise submitted for reimbursement or used for any inappropriate purpose.
Failure to use the card in compliance with this policy may result in the suspension or revocation of the procurement card, but not limited to garnishment of wages, employee termination, and the filing of criminal charges.
Purchase Thresholds
A purchase limit applies to each transaction, and a monthly limit applies to total purchases.
The maximum approved amount is:
- $2,500 per transaction for all purchases excluding travel-related charges (hotel, transportation, meals, conference registration, etc.)
- Monthly limit is at the discretion of the cardholder’s supervisor
An increase to a cardholder’s monthly limit requires an email request from the cardholder’s supervisor to the procurement card program administrator (Purchasing Department), indicating the amount of increase needed and the period to which the increase applies.
Card Usage
Transactions made with the procurement card must be in accordance with all of the University’s policies, procedures and regulations. The card is not intended to be a tool to circumvent existing policy or regulations.
Personal Purchases
The cardholder may not make personal purchases on the card. Cardholders understand that they shall be personally liable for any improper use of the university procurement card and agree to obtain direct credit from the vendor for the inappropriate charge to the procurement card and make payment via another source. Alternatively, the individual may reimburse the Student Financial Services office and upload that receipt into Works to verify the reimbursement. The cardholder understands that their personal use of the university procurement card may be cause for disciplinary action by the university, including termination, and that improper use of the university procurement card may subject the cardholder to criminal prosecution. The cardholder understands that the university may withhold amounts attributable to personal use by the cardholder from any paycheck or other university check that may be payable to the cardholder.
Allocation and Signoff of Procurement Card Charges
It is the cardholder’s responsibility (or their proxy) to allocate and sign off the charges on the procurement card account by the last day of each month, which includes uploading the proper receipt or documentation. The cardholder must know the Colleague account (budget) number to be charged and provide an expense description. This description needs to be clear so that an auditor will not question it. Descriptions that say “approved”, “ok”, or have the initials of the cardholder or proxy, will be flagged back for a better description. Transactions must be reconciled by the last day of the month in which the transaction was posted.
Failure to allocate and sign off on the procurement card charges by the last day of each month may result in the following:
- Temporary suspension of procurement card privileges (Credit dropped to zero if transaction(s) are still not reconciled by the end of the following month in which the transaction(s) were posted)
- Charges being allocated to the incorrect Colleague account number (must complete the expense correction form)
- Depletion of credit limit (credit limits are replenished on the first of every month, as long as the transactions have been reconciled)
- Must complete the Moodle course and pass the knowledge test with at least 80%.
It is the Approver’s responsibility to review all P-Card transactions of those individual cardholders for whom they are the Approver promptly. Approvers receive an email notification from the Works system when P-Card transactions have been reconciled (allocated and signed off) by cardholders for whom they are the Approver. Transactions must be reviewed and either approved or flagged back to the cardholder for editing within thirty (30) days after the cardholder reconciles the transaction. Failure to review the reconciled transactions within this timeframe may result in the following:
- Charges being allocated to an incorrect account number
- Inappropriate or unauthorized transactions being charged to their budget
Sales Tax
Elon University is a not-for-profit, but we are not tax-exempt. Elon is required to pay NC sales tax and can submit to the state for reimbursement twice a year with proper documentation (itemized receipt). P-Card holders must record North Carolina Sales Tax only in Works.
- NC is a “destination state”: online purchases shipped to NC should include NC sales tax.
- Record NC sales tax in the GL03 box in Works only if it appears on the receipt.
- If the receipt does not show NC sales tax, it cannot be recorded or reimbursed.
- Sales tax for Purchases outside NC should not be recorded.
- Always submit itemized receipts, especially for restaurants and merchants.
- Failure to provide an itemized receipt will result in the department incurring sales tax to their budget.
Billing Address
The vendor will require the cardholder’s billing address. The address must be as follows:
Elon University
2950 Campus Box
Elon, NC 27244
Phone: (336) 278-5587
Failure to use this billing address may result in the purchase being declined.
Shipping Address
Most items can be shipped directly to the cardholder’s campus box. Larger (over 100 pounds) and freight items should be shipped to the Facilities Management receiving dock, making sure that the vendor includes the cardholder’s name and department on the shipping label. All business-related purchases must be shipped to the cardholder’s campus box or office address, not their home address.
Regular Shipping Address*: Larger (over 100 pounds):
First & Last Name (as used in the directory) First & Last Name (as used in the directory)
XXXX Campus Box Department Name
Elon, NC 27244 803 West Haggard Ave
. Elon, NC 27244
*If a vendor is requiring a physical address, 100 Campus Dr. can be used on an additional line.
Small Dollar Purchases
A small-dollar purchase is defined as a purchase with a total value not exceeding $2,500. For administrative efficiency, university employees who have been issued a procurement card in their name may use it to buy items from a vendor when the amount does not exceed $2,500. This small dollar limit does not apply to purchases related to travel (as stated in section 1. Purchase Thresholds above).
Splitting Orders
Cardholders are expressly prohibited from splitting orders as a means of circumventing the $2,500 limitation. Moreover, cardholders shall not encourage vendors to split orders. This is considered an inappropriate use of the procurement card and can result in disciplinary action.
Cancelled Cards
A procurement card may be cancelled immediately for any of the following reasons:
- Unauthorized use, inappropriate use or misuse
- Cardholder employment termination
- Cardholder department transfer
The cardholder’s supervisor is responsible for ensuring that employees terminating employment with the university or transferring to another university department return the procurement card and supporting documents to the Purchasing Department before their departure or transfer. Procurement cards shall be surrendered upon notification of resignation from the university.
Card Security
It is the cardholder’s responsibility to safeguard the procurement card and the account number with the same degree that the cardholder safeguards their personal credit card. Sharing, loaning, or otherwise providing the procurement card number to any other individual may result in the cardholder having their procurement card revoked.
If a procurement card is lost, stolen, or if the cardholder discovers fraudulent charges, the cardholder is responsible for notifying Bank of America immediately. Representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 888-449-2273 (number on back of card). If you are outside the U.S., you can call collect at 602-379-8753 (number on back of card). The cardholder is also responsible for contacting the program administrator (Purchasing Department) regarding a lost or stolen card or the discovery of fraudulent charges. Please call the number on the back of the card to file a claim.
Inappropriate Purchases
An inappropriate purchase is a purchase made using university funds that has no business purpose. Inappropriate purchases can be grounds for disciplinary action by the university against the cardholder. Examples of inappropriate purchases include premium subscriptions such as Instacart+, DoorDash DashPass, and Uber One.
Cardholders are expressly prohibited from using the University’s Procurement Card (P-Card) for any Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payment platforms (for example, Venmo, Zelle, Cash App). These platforms do not provide the required level of institutional control or transaction transparency, may create potential tax-reporting liabilities (e.g., IRS Form 1099 issues), and involve elevated fraud and security risks, including irreversible transactions, a higher likelihood of personal use, and limited consumer protections.
Documentation of Charges
The university requires sufficient documentary evidence for all purchases made with the procurement card to comply with its policies, sound business practices, the requirements of external and internal auditors, and the Internal Revenue Service. Sufficient documentary evidence includes an original itemized receipt, e-mail confirmation, packing slip, or commercial invoice.
It is the cardholder’s responsibility to obtain and upload a receipt for each transaction posting to your account, allocate the transaction to the correct Colleague account (budget) number in the GL01 and GL02 fields, record North Carolina Sales Tax in the GL03 field (if applicable), provide a description of the transaction, and sign off the transaction in the Works system by the last day of each calendar month. Failure to do so may result in your credit limit being reduced to zero. Cardholders will be required to complete the P-card Moodle course and pass the knowledge test with 80% or above to have their credit limit reinstated.
Missing Documentation
A cardholder who loses or misplaces a receipt should attempt to secure a replacement receipt from the merchant/vendor. Should this fail, the cardholder must complete the Missing Receipt Affidavit Form instead of the original receipt and upload it to the transaction in the Works system. The form must have the cardholder’s and supervisor’s signature. Save the form by using the “Print to PDF” feature or by taking a screenshot of the completed form. Failure to do so may result in the Works system erasing all the writable fields.
Missing Receipt Affidavits will NOT be accepted for the following:
- Airlines
- Hotels
- Subscriptions
- Amazon purchases
- Transportation Services
- Any transaction from an online account (the receipt/ proof of purchase can be accessed through the account or by an email from the site/ account)
- Grant-related purchases
Cardholder Absence
It is the cardholder’s responsibility to allocate all transactions to the proper account number and sign off all procurement card charges in the Works system no later than the last day of each calendar month. If the cardholder is out of the office, the cardholder must provide the transaction information to their proxy to perform the allocation and sign-off activities.
Transaction Credits
Transaction credits must be allocated to the same Colleague account (budget) number that the original purchase was allocated. The cardholder must obtain a credit receipt from the vendor indicating the credit on the procurement card and upload it to the transaction.
Erroneous Charges
It is the cardholder’s responsibility to contact the vendor if there is an erroneous charge on their account. If this does not remedy the situation, the cardholder should immediately contact Bank of America Customer Service at 888-449-2273 (number on back of card). Please call the number on the back of the card to file a claim.
Fraudulent Charges
It is the cardholder’s responsibility to contact the Bank of America Fraud Department directly at 888-449-2273 if there are unauthorized or unrecognized charges on his/her account. The disputed charge should be communicated to Bank of America as soon as it is discovered. You have 60 days to dispute a transaction.
Outside Reviews and Audits
Cardholder transactions are subject to review and audit by the Program Administrator, Accounting Department, Internal Auditor, or other external auditing agencies. Based upon these audits, cards may be suspended or permanently revoked, or other disciplinary action may be taken.
Disciplinary Action
Serious violations of procurement card policies may result in disciplinary action. Disciplinary action may include, but is not limited to, oral reprimand, written reprimand, card deactivation, credit limit dropped to zero, or termination of employment.