1. GENERAL INFORMATION
a) The Dartmouth College Procurement Card (P-Card) Program is designed to improve efficiency in processing low dollar value purchases ($2499.00 or less). The Procurement Card is a Visa Card and can be used to make purchases for goods (not services) with any merchant who accepts the Visa Card. Procurement Card transactions for non-restricted commodities cannot exceed the $2,499.00 (including all delivery, shipping and/or special handling charges) per transaction limit. Transactions exceeding the $2499.00 limit will require a Purchase Order. Pyramiding (splitting) transactions to exceed single transaction limit is not permitted by Dartmouth College. Visa/MasterCard regulations also prohibit vendors from this practice.
b) The Dartmouth P-Card should never be used for travel related items or services. The only exception to this policy is that a P-Card may be used to purchase a Dartmouth Coach bus ticket. No other bus services, cabs, etc. are allowed. Dartmouth Coach ticket purchases will be closely monitored and will be a focus during audits. Departments who do not maintain detailed receipts may have their credit card privileges suspended or cancelled.
c) Purchases must be for the use and benefit of the College. No personal purchases are allowed - regardless of intent to reimburse the College. If you fail to comply with the policies and procedures associated with the Procurement Card, Procurement Services reserves the right to cancel your credit card at any time. Fraudulent or misuse of the Procurement Card may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
2. CARDHOLDER RESPONSIBILITIES
a) The person whose name appears on the card is responsible for protecting the card and is accountable for all purchases made using the card number. All purchases processed against a Procurement Card must be made by, or under the immediate direction of, the person to whom the card is issued.
b) When the cardholder signs the Dartmouth College Procurement Card Application & Agreement form, they are agreeing to protect the card and adhere to the policies and procedures of the Procurement Card Program. The cardholders and Procurement Card Approvers within each department are responsible for the integrity and accuracy of their department's Procurement Card purchases.
c) The cardholders and Procurement Card Approver(s) within each department are responsible for receipts for ALL Purchase Card transactions. Purchase Card receipts for catered or take-out food must show detail of all items purchased. Receipts that show only a total amount without any itemized details are unacceptable. Cardholders who do not retain acceptable receipts for P-Card purchases may have their credit card suspended or cancelled.
3. DEPARTMENT NAMED PROCUREMENT CARDS
a) Dartmouth College no longer supports or issues P-Cards that are in a department or project name. Procurement Cards will only be issued to specific, individual's linked directly with the College. The banking industry has made recent changes that no longer provide coverage of any kind (dispute or fraud) for any P-Card that is not in an individual's name.
b) Any department / division using a P-Card with a departmental name will be solely responsible for any financial losses due to disputes or fraudulent activities until the card has been replaced. A departmental account will be charged the fraudulent or disputed amounts if the bank cannot recover the funds.
4. MULTIPLE PROCUREMENT CARDS IN ONE CARDHOLDER'S NAME
a) Dartmouth College no longer issues multiple P-Cards to individuals. Previously, staff may have received multiple credit cards so that each Procurement Card defaulted to a different/specific account string. This also means that if a department has duplicate Procurement Cards (cards that have the same exact information on them, but having more than one card on hand) they will be required to reduce the number of cards as soon as possible. These security measures will aid in sustaining Dartmouth College's fiscal integrity. For every P-Card Dartmouth has the likelihood of fraudulent activity rises.
5. WHO SHOULD HAVE A PROCUREMENT CARD?
a) Regular staff or faculty who are directly paid by Dartmouth College may apply for a P-Card
b) Staff or faculty who make frequent, low dollar purchases. P-Cards should only be given to individuals who make frequent, low dollar purchases. P-Cards are audited regularly for appropriate use as well as the frequency of use. P-Cards may be cancelled anytime at the discretion of Procurement Services.
6. WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE A PROCUREMENT CARD?
a) Undergraduate or Graduate students may not have or use a P-Card. The College's contract with JPMorgan Chase bank only covers regular, Dartmouth employees or faculty.
b) Temporary employees
c) Visiting staff, faculty, Alumni or guests
d) The contract between Dartmouth College and JPMorgan Chase is a legal and binding agreement that does not extend support or coverage for students, temporary employees or any other persons not directly paid by Dartmouth College. Please note that if a student is given a P-Card to use, JPMorgan Chase is not obligated to assist with any disputes or fraudulent activities that might arise from this use. Each department, where P-Cards are used, is financially responsible for all transactions.
e) Any department/division that allows any student to use a P-Card will be solely responsible for any financial losses due to disputes or fraudulent activities. A departmental account will be charged the fraudulent or disputed amounts if the bank cannot recover the funds. Procurement Services strongly recommends that any P-Cards that are used frequently by students should have significantly lower single dollar and monthly dollar limits. Standard limits for a P-Card are $2499.00 for the single transaction limit and $5000.00 for the monthly limit. Procurement Cards that may be used by students should have more limited purchasing capacity. Changing single transaction limits to limits to $250.00 - $500.00 will significantly reduce possible financial losses to Dartmouth College.
7. APPROVING PROCUREMENT CARD TRANSACTIONS ON-LINE IN THE ORACLE PROCUREMENT CARD SYSTEM
a) All P-Card transactions must be approved on-line in the P-Card reallocation system before the sweep/post date. Departments, who are not approving P-Card transactions weekly, on-line will not be issued any new P-Cards until the situation is resolved. If the lack of on-line approval is not rectified in a reasonable amount of time, the department may have Procurement card access suspended.
b) Each department should have at least (2) staff assigned to approve all P-Card transactions for the department on-line. One as the primary approver and one to act as back up. In larger departments, additional approvers may be permitted at the discretion of the Procurement Card Manager.
c) No person may approve a Procurement Card in their name. This conforms to standard accounting and auditing practices. Exceptions may be made for small departments with limited staff. Approval from the Procurement Card Manager is required for any exception.
d) The Oracle P-Card reallocation system is a secure system that requires authentication and access should not be requested for multiple individuals unless the department has worked with the Purchase Card Manager and Procurement Services to review the current practices.
8. EXAMPLES OF PROHIBITED GOODS/SERVICES THAT CANNOT BE CHARGED TO A PROCUREMENT CARD
a) Cash Cards (credit cards that are used like cash), Travelers Checks, etc.
b) Travel and Entertainment related expenses and advances (this includes but
is not limited to: airfare, cabs, car rentals, buses (with the exception of the Dartmouth Coach), trains, parking fees, hotel fees - including room rentals for conferences, meals in restaurants/hotels, etc.)
c) Alcoholic beverages
d) Items/services for other than College related purposes (personal use)
e) Meals in restaurants - NO sit down or in-house service is allowed
f) Catered events from non approved caterers (approved caterers link is below)
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rmi/documentsunprotect/caterersrestaurantsfoodserviceslist.pdf
g) Automotive gasoline
h) Construction and renovations
i) Consulting services ("services" in general should not be charged to the P-Card)
j) Office furniture (*)
k) Prescription drugs and controlled substances
l) Radioactive and hazardous (**) materials
m) Animals (***)
n) Gifts and Gift Certificates for employees or students over $50.00 total may not be purchased using a P-Card. A gift certificate of $50.00 or less may be charged to the P-Card. Any gift or gift certificate that exceeds $50.00 total is considered taxable income by the IRS and must be reported to Dartmouth's Payroll department for tax purposes.
For multiple gifts or gift certificates that exceed $50.00 please contact the Controller's Office. They can provide information regarding alternative payment options that are available.
(*) Contact Denise Rowell in Procurement Services before purchasing any furniture
(**) Contact Environmental Health and Safety regarding hazardous materials
(***) Contact Animal Resources
9. CARDHOLDER AND DEPARTMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES
a) It is the Cardholder's responsibility to report the loss of the card immediately to the Procurement Card Administrator, JPMorgan Chase, and the appropriate department Purchase Card Approver. Email Linda.L.Lagasse@Dartmouth.Edu with the last six digits of the credit card that was lost and the full name of the cardholder. JPMorgan Chase may be contacted at: 1-800-888-307-2990. The Cardholder is responsible for attempting to resolve a dispute with the vendor within fifteen (15) days of receipt of a disputed purchase. If a resolution is not possible, the next step is to alert JPMorgan Chase of the disputed item. The bank will provide a dispute form that the cardholder will need to fill out and return to JPMorgan Chase. The bank will work directly with the cardholder to resolve the problem.
