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