Expenses and Purchasing Card Policy

7. Making Payment by University Purchasing Card

7.1.    Obtaining a University purchasing card 

7.2.    A University purchasing card may be obtained in the following circumstances:

• The College Dean or Head of Service approves the application for a card and provides justification for the member of staff requiring a purchase card.
• The applicant must receive training in the use of the purchasing card by Finance Services.
• Card usage may be restricted to specific pre-defined ‘merchant categories’ and will be restricted to standard pre-defined monthly and single transaction financial limits.

 7.3.    Details of how to apply for a purchasing card can be found at <web link to be inserted>

 7.4.   Control of Purchasing cards 

7.5.    The use of purchasing cards is controlled as follows:

• Finance Services issues purchasing cards on receipt of an appropriately completed and authorised application.
• Cardholders must comply with the Terms and Conditions of use, which are supplementary to the details covered specifically by this policy and which are issued to the cardholder when they collect the purchasing card from Finance Services
• Breach of this policy or the more detailed Terms and Conditions may result in the card being cancelled and may result in disciplinary action.
• Each College Dean or Head of Service must review the distribution, use and financial limits of the purchasing cards in their College or Service at least on an annual basis.
• Finance Services reserve the right to cancel cards and/or reduce monthly limits for no or low usage based on actual spend data and patterns.

 7.6.   Administration of Purchasing cards

7.7.    On issue of the card, card holders will be given access to the University’s on-line expenses system.

7.8.    Card holders must obtain a receipt for all items of expenditure made via a purchasing card. Credit card vouchers are not sufficient. An official receipt should be requested which provides details of the goods purchased and enables VAT to be reclaimed where appropriate.

 7.9.    Purchasers should exercise particular care in contracting with an internet supplier. The purchaser should print out a copy of the items purchased, the price paid, VAT payable, and information about any additional charges such as delivery, together with an acknowledgement that payment has been accepted.

 7.10. Cardholders are responsible for completing the analysis of purchasing card payments via the University’s on-line expenses system. Card statements will be uploaded electronically to cardholders’ on-line accounts at a frequency determined by Finance Services.

 7.11. Reconciliation/analysis of card statements must be completed on at least a monthly basis. Failure to clear statements on a timely basis (within 15 days of the end of the previous month) may result in: 

• Claims for reimbursement of expenses being put on hold pending the clearance of card items
• Cancellation of the card

 7.12. The authorisation of expenditure via purchasing cards follows a similar process to expense claims (see section 5 above.) As set out in section 4 above, due to the retrospective nature of the approval of purchasing card expenditure, where items are deemed not to have been made on University business, the card holder must reimburse to the University the amount paid via the purchasing card.