Procurement Card Program

The College has a procurement card program to compliment the purchasing system. Users are given set limits on their cards and transactions are allocated to the proper cost center via the internet. Charges are fed into the FRS system and the Purchasing Office using a direct pay makes one payment monthly. Using this system, the College can eliminate the process of obtaining W9’s, required by the state prior to payment and the creation of a vendor code in the system, which can become very time consuming.

Procurement Card Benefits

To You

  • Eliminates the need for encumbering, increasing, and decreasing blanket orders
  • Eliminates the need for acquiring W-9’s from new vendors
  • Eliminates the need for small-dollar purchase orders
  • No more searching for vendor codes
  • Gives you the ability to shop as is convenient to you - over the internet, in person, by mail order, or over the phone
  • Eliminates the need to fax orders

To Purchasing

  • Able to focus on high dollar purchase orders for more timely processing
  • Able to create more and improved BSC contracts, or College-specific contracts
  • Dramatically reduces the number of small dollar purchase orders
  • Reduces the number of vendors on the College vendor file
  • Eliminates the need to increase and/or decrease blanker orders
  • Eliminates the need for acquiring W-9’s from new vendors
  • Decreases mailing and handling costs, need to fax orders, or hold purchase orders for department to pick up

To Accounts Payable

  • Able to dramatically reduce the number of checks produced
  • Decreases mailing and handling costs

To Merchant

  • Able to process orders and receive payments in a more timely fashion - allowing for better College-Merchant relations
  • Eliminates the need to complete & return W-9 requests

How the Procurement Card Program Works

The Credit Card simplifies the process for the purchase and payment of goods. When issued a Credit Card, you, as the Cardholder, are granted the authority to purchase on behalf of the College. This enables you to order materials directly from the supplier at your convenience.

Every time you make a purchase, keep track of it in your Purchase Log. When the goods are received, save all documentation received from the vendor to show proof of purchase. Once a month, you'll receive a statement from the bank that lists all your purchase transactions. Once you match up your receipts and log to your statement, you are done.

The purchases you make are debited directly from your FRS Account once a month.

The outline below breaks down Credit Card use into six easy steps.

  1. Complete an agreement. You need to sign a cardholder agreement acknowledging receipt of the card and willingness to comply with all policies and procedures.
  2. Attend a training session. Learn about what you can and can't purchase, how to best utilize your card, and get answers to any questions you might have. This training is mandatory to be authorized to use the Credit Card.
  3. Make your purchases. Save your receipts and keep a Purchase Log of what you spend and where, so that you'll be prepared to reconcile your bank statement when it arrives.
  4. Pay attention to your receipts. Make sure that sales tax hasn't been charged, and that no items are backordered. If you're missing a receipt, fill out the Missing Itemized Receipt Form.
  5. Reconcile the bank statement. Make sure that you have documentation for every purchase that applies to that statement, and that amounts and quantities match up. If you're going to need a vendor credit for a return or unshipped goods, now is the time to call and arrange for it .
  6. File your paperwork. Keep all your Credit Card documentation in a locked file. If you have more than one Credit Card, separate your paperwork by card number. If you have a Records Manager other than yourself, hand in your statement and documentation for approval and storage.

Sit back & relax. You're done!

Last Modified: April 7, 2009