PCard Policy
The Purchasing Card (PCard) program was implemented in 1997 as a cost effective method to purchase and pay for small dollar transactions. The intent was to pay vendors faster and reduce University administrative costs.
Risks commonly associated with PCard:
- Inappropriate use of the PCard, including non-University business purchases
- Incorrect financial accounting for transactions
Cardholders should:
- Attend training and sign a cardholder agreement outlining their responsibilities
- Keep the card in a safe location at all times
- Use the card for Harvard business purposes only
- Notify vendors of the University’s tax exemption
- Edit transactions in the settlement system each week by including business purpose and appropriate general ledger coding
- Obtain receipts and submit them to the reviewer each week
- Review monthly statement from Citi and reconcile transactions
Cardholders should not:
- Share their card with other employees
- Make personal purchases
- Split transactions with the vendor
- Purchase restricted commodities including out-of-town travel and meals, unincorporated vendors and gifts over $75
Reviewers should:
- Review all transactions prior to the weekly PCard sweep
- Ensure spending is in support of University business and in compliance with policies and procedures
- Ensure cardholders have provided adequate documentation to support business purpose
- Check general ledger coding for accuracy
- Compare detailed listings to the settlement system to detect unreviewed transactions
- Maintain receipts in compliance with University record retention policies
- Collect cards from terminated employees and notify/send cut up card to tub and central PCard administrators
See also: Best Practices - Finance