Procurement Card FAQs

The Procurement Card Policy can be found under WKU Policies.

The link to the procurement card application can be found under Strategy, Operations and Finance Forms under Purchasing - Procurement Card.

Contact the Procurement Card Office for training: pcard.admin@wku.edu.

It is not recommended that a card holder is his/her own record keeper. Should a card holder request to be his/her own record keeper, an explanation must be provided with the card application and approved by the card holder's supervisor.

In Banner, every index or fund has a Financial Manager who is responsible for the budget.

The procurement card has been dedicated for most small dollar purchases less than $2,000 and travel. For information on prohibited purchases, please see WKU Policies.

Some Premium Suppliers accept a credit card through TopShop; look for the credit card symbol in the supplier's logo. These contracts should be utilized first. If an item doesn't fall under a contracted vendor, and the purchase is acceptable for procurement card use, then you can use a card for the payment with a non-contract vendor.

A department card statement must be signed by a card record keeper and the card supervisor. An individual card statement must be signed by the card holder and the card holder's supervisor.

A receipt can be an invoice or a cash register receipt tape. It could also be a confirmation email or screen print from the Internet (such as an airfare confirmation) or a packing slip or statement with line-item details. A receipt (regardless of format) MUST contain the vendor's name, date of purchase, and line-item detail, such as description, unit cost and quantity (FAP 111-58-00).

Contact the vendor and request a duplicate receipt. if the vendor can't provide a duplicate, complete the form on Strategy, Operations website under Purchasing - Procurement Card. Maintain completed form with the card statement.

Documentation is considered to be the invoice/receipt with the line item detail. It can also be any other backup information that explains the purchase. Examples are approved emails, packing slips, Hospitality form, Account Maintenance form, roster of participants, event flyer and etc.

Record retention for procurement card documentation is 5 years per the policy. If purchases have been made with grant funds, please check with Grant Accounting to determine record retention for the grant information.

Use a Procurement Card Account Maintenance Form to request a temporary limit or MCC change. The form must be approved by the Financial Manager of the index to be charged. Backup documentation for the requested purchase must be sent with the form for single transaction limit increases and MCC changes.

The card record keeper can review the Authorizations/Declines screen in bank’s system to determine the reason for the decline. Once the reason is known contact the vendor to correct the misinformation or complete a Procurement Card Maintenance Form to request the necessary change to allow the charge to be authorized.

For a single transaction limit increase or MCC change complete the documentation and email to pcard.admin@wku.edu at least two days in advance of payment date. For a monthly credit card limit change the documentation can be submitted at any time during the month. A card record keeper can review the available balance on the card at any time in the bank’s system. Complete a Procurement Card Maintenance Form to request the changes and provide all backup documentation for the purchase.

A card record keeper can see the available balance on a card in PaymentNet on the Home Screen by selecting the card in the Account Summary section.

Transaction notes should describe the purchase. The description should contain what was purchased, the reason for purchase, for whom was it purchased, etc. The notes should be brief but specific.

Account codes provide a description of the type of commodity purchased. This not only delineates the expenses for a budget, but also assists Supply Chain Management in determination of contracts for the university. 71119 is a clearinghouse account code which means it is to be cleared to a zero balance at the end of the fiscal year. It is also generic, providing no details about the purchase. Transactions must always be reconciled to the appropriate account code describing the purchase. The only exception which allows for the use of 71119 is when a credit will post to the index for the exact amount that the debit transaction was. These two transactions will cancel each other in the budget.

Contact the vendor and ask for a refund. Most vendors are willing to do this. However please note that vendors do have the right to refuse to refund sales tax after the transaction has occurred. Occasionally sales tax will show up on the transaction in PaymentNet but no sales tax is listed on the receipt. In cases such as this, NO sales tax was charged. The vendor’s merchant bank has coded the transaction incorrectly. The best way to handle this situation is to add a transaction note that states, "no sales tax charged, see receipt".

WKU is sales tax exempt in the following states.

• Connecticut
• Michigan
• Florida
• Mississippi
• Idaho
• Ohio
• Illinois
• Tennessee
• Indiana
• West Virginia
• Kansas
• Wisconsin
• Kentucky
• Wyoming

• Alaska
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• Oregon

The procurement card is only for purchases using state funds.

The Discretionary Spending Policy (see – WKU Policies) describes what types of purchases are allowed with state funds and foundation funds.

A Hospitality (or T & E) card is usually held in the dean’s offices and is to be checked out when a department within the college has need of restaurant purchases, such as faculty/staff prospective candidates or guests of the university

These guidelines can be found on the Purchasing website. The Food Request Form can be found under Strategy, Operations and Finance under Forms.

Study abroad cards are used for the sole purpose of expenses for study abroad course through FLSA or KIIS. The guidelines for this type of card can be found on the website under Purchasing – Procurement Card.