4000-2-3 Corporate Purchasing Card

Policy

1. Lambton College has established a partnership with the financial institution to provide and support the Corporate Purchasing Card (P-Card).
2. The main objectives of the Corporate Purchasing Card policy and procedure is as follows:
   1. To provide staff with a convenient, efficient and cost-effective means to acquire low value goods and services
   2. To enable employees to obtain low value goods and services without requesting a purchase requisition;
   3. To improve the timeliness of accounting and improve management reporting on purchasing activities.
3. A P-Card is the property of Lambton College but is issued in the name of the authorized employee. Lambton College is liable for all transactions made on the card. The P-Card holder is responsible for the card and shall take appropriate measures to ensure that it is kept secure.

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Employees entrusted with a P-Card shall:
   1. Adhere to Lambton’s Corporate Purchasing Card Policy;
   2. Adhere to Lambton’s Purchasing Policy;
   3. Adhere to Lambton’s Travel, Meals & Hospitality Policy
   4. Properly safeguard the card to maintain its security;
   5. Ensure that supporting documentation is received from the vendor;
   6. Resolve all questionable items or charges directly with the vendor; and
   7. Reconcile all purchases on the activity statement with supporting documents.
2. Supervisors shall:
   1. Approve or decline P-Card requests;
   2. Ensure card holders adhere to Lambton’s Corporate Credit Card Policy, Purchasing Policy and Travel, Meals and Hospitality Policy;
   3. Ensure all transactions are legitimate and charged appropriately;
   4. Control and approve P-Card holders’ monthly reconciliations; and
   5. Return the cardholder’s card to the Finance department for immediate cancellation upon termination from the College.
3. The Finance department shall:
   1. Process application forms for new cardholders;
   2. Receive the new P-Card and distribute it to the cardholder;
   3. Process profile changes for cardholders, including changes to daily or monthly limits if authorized;
   4. Process P-Card cancellations or suspensions;
   5. Load the monthly statement file from financial institution to the Jira Finance Portal on a monthly basis; and
   6. Ensure all P-Card holder statements with supporting documentation are received and reconciled within the deadlines stated in #16.

Requesting a P-Card

1. Permanent employees may apply for a P-Card using the P-Card Request Form in Jira, which requires approval from their supervisor and completion of the Employee Acknowledgement of Responsibilities and Obligations declaration.
2. Each P-Card will have a preset limit per transaction and a monthly spending limit. The cardholder may use their P-Card for business purchases within the following limits:

   P-Card spending limit chart

   Type	Limit
   Usual Limits	$1,000 transaction limit $5,000 monthly limit
   International/Extensive Travel, High Volume Purchasing Limits	$5,000 transaction limit $10,000 monthly limit
   Unusual Circumstances	Determined on a case-by-case basis

3. Purchases must not be broken into smaller amounts to meet the transaction limit on a P-Card.
4. Exceptions to the standard P-Card limits may be established for certain positions or circumstances. Temporary changes to standard P-Card limits may be established to address temporary needs. Requests for permanent or temporary P-Card limit increases requires completion of the Purchasing Card Limit Increase Form in Jira and approval by the supervisor and the Finance department.

Use of P-Card

1. The P-Card may only be used by the employee’s name that appears on the card.
2. The following must not be purchased using a P-Card:
   1. Personal expenditures or cash advances
   2. Alcohol
   3. Unless approved as outlined in Lambton’s Travel, Meals and Hospitality Policy
   4. Hazardous materials (Unless approved under Lambton's Purchasing Policy)
   5. Long-term contracts greater than one (1) year
   6. Fees for consulting, staffing or contracted services
   7. Computer equipment and software (Unless approved by information Technology department)
   8. Operating purchases of goods and services greater than $1,000
   9. A purchase requisition is required for operating purchases greater than $1,000
3. Itemized receipts are required for all purchases made using a P-Card. The employee must first contact the vendor and request a duplicate receipt. If an itemized receipt is lost or unable to be obtained, then the cardholder must complete and sign the Lost or Missing Receipt Form in mylambton, have the form signed by their supervisor and include the form with their monthly reconciliation.
4. The Director, Finance has the authority to cancel an employee’s P-Card at any time. Circumstances that can lead to suspension or cancellation of a P-Card may include:
   1. Using the card for personal or unauthorized purchases;
   2. Failing to reconcile and submit the approved monthly statement in a timely manner; and
   3. Failing to attach the appropriate documentation to the reconciled statement.
5. In the event of a lost or stolen P-Card, the cardholder must notify the Finance department immediately. The card will be cancelled, and the card holder must apply for a new card using the Purchasing Card Request Form in Jira.
6. In the event the card holder notices fraudulent transactions on their statement, the card holder must notify the financial institution immediately. The financial institution will cancel the card and issue a new one. In the event the financial institution recognizes possible fraud on a card holder’s account they will notify the Finance department immediately and the card will be blocked for possible fraud. The Finance department will forward the communication onto the card holder and the card holder will be required to follow the instructions in the communication.

Monthly Reconciliation

1. The monthly billing cycle ends on the 6th of each month. A Jira ticket, including a copy of the monthly statement, will be created for each cardholder that had activity on their P-Card in the prior month. Cardholders must review their monthly statement, complete their reconciliation, upload the information and have their supervisor approve the ticket within four (4) weeks of the original ticket date. At year end for the March monthly statement, the reconciliation and supervisor approval must be completed within 2 weeks.
2. If there is an accidental personal charge on the P-card, the employee must reimburse the College within 4 weeks of receiving their monthly statement in Jira. The employee must contact the finance department to arrange reimbursement. If the amount is not paid within 4 weeks, then the P-card will be suspended until the personal charge is fully reimbursed.
3. A cardholder who does not submit their reconciliation within required time period, will be subject to the following consequences:
   1. For a first occurrence, a warning will be issued to the cardholder from the Finance department.
   2. For a second occurrence within 12 months, the P-Card will be suspended until the required information is received by the Finance department.
   3. If a cardholder receives three (3) suspensions within 24 months, the P-Card will be cancelled by the Finance department. The P-Card will be cancelled for a period of six (6) months, at which time the situation will be reviewed by the employee’s supervisor and the Finance department to determine if the P-Card will be reinstated.
4. No employee may approve their own P-Card statement. Approval at the next higher level must be obtained before a monthly reconciliation can be processed. If expenses are incurred for a group of employees, the most senior person should claim the expenses on behalf of the group.
5. Responsibility rests with the employee and supervisor to ensure all transactions are accurate, legitimate and are charged to the correct budget accounts.

Process for Disputing a Charge

1. If an employee does not agree with a charge on the monthly P-card statement, then the employee may dispute the charge by taking the following actions:
   1. Contact the supplier/vendor directly to try to resolve the error and receive a credit on the visa
   2. If the vendor does not agree an error has been made, then contact the financial institution and state that you dispute a charge on your card