Draft Policy Pending UPC Approval
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY
POLICIES & PROCEDURES
DEPARTMENT: CONTROLLER’S OFFICE
SUBJECT: UNIVERSITY CARD POLICY
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Policy Number: BF001.01 Supersedes: May 2016
Effective Date: June 2021 Date for next review: June 2023
1 Statement of Policy
This policy outlines the definitions, responsibilities, procedures, and guidelines for
the issuance and use of a Loyola Marymount University Card.
Cardholders and their supervisors must comply with this policy. Failure to comply
with the policy and procedures herein will result in suspension or termination of
Card privileges and may result in disciplinary action.
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CONTENTS
1 Statement of Policy ...................................................................................................... 1
2 Definitions ................................................................................................................... 3
3 Responsibilities ............................................................................................................ 4
3.1 Cardholder Responsibilities ................................................................................. 4
3.2 Approver Responsibilities .................................................................................... 4
3.3 Purchasing Card Program Team Responsibilities ................................................ 5
4 Card Usage Guidelines ................................................................................................ 5
5 Card Limits .................................................................................................................. 5
6 Procedures ................................................................................................................... 6
6.1 Card Distribution & Activation ............................................................................ 6
6.2 General Instructions for Cardholders to Make a Purchase ................................... 6
6.3 Documentation Requirements .............................................................................. 6
6.4 Review of Expenditures/Submission of Statement and Documents ..................... 7
6.5 Disputed Charges ................................................................................................. 7
6.6 Returns, Credits, Exchanges & Rebates ............................................................... 7
6.7 Lost, Stolen or Damaged Cards. ........................................................................... 8
6.8 Returning the Card Upon Separation from the University ................................... 8
6.9 California Sales & Use Tax Guidelines................................................................ 8
6.10 Personal Charges .................................................................................................. 8
6.11 Failure to Comply with Card Policy .................................................................... 9
6.12 Connect to Supplier Website ................................................................................ 9
7 University Card Travel Benefits .................................................................................. 9
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2 Definitions
Accountable Plan
A plan under which an employer reimburses an employee for expenses and is not
required to report the reimbursement as taxable income to the employee. The employee
must document business connection or purpose, substantiate expenses, and return any
amount in excess of substantiated expenses to the employer within a reasonable period of
time. Accountable Plan is an IRS term.
Approver
The person who is responsible for charges to a particular account or individual
employee. The Department Manager may be or may designate an individual as an
Approver.
Business Purpose
Statement of justification that expense is directly connected with the
performance of cardholder duties (e.g. recruiting lunch). According to the IRS
Accountable plan a valid business purpose must be provided by the cardholder
for each transaction or expense. Generic explanations such as "Business Lunch"
are not adequate substantiation; the purpose should clearly be one that furthers
the interest of the University and enables the approver to understand that that is
the case.
Cardholder
A person to whom a University Card has been issued. The Cardholder is accountable
for all charges made with the Card. A Cardholder may or may not be a Reconciler.
Daily Transaction Limit
A daily limitation on the number or transactions in one day (generally 12).
Department Manager
The person who is responsible for approving spending limits (see 2.7 & 2.8)
and assigning the Approver. Generally, this will be the operational department
manager (e.g. Registrar, Director of Athletics, Dean).
Monthly Spending Limit
A dollar limitation of purchasing authority assigned to the Cardholder for the total of all
charges made during each monthly billing cycle.
Preferred Vendor
A vendor who has offered special pricing or terms to the University.
Program Administrator
University employee responsible for administering the Card Program for the University
and acting as the main contact between the University and the Bank.
Program Coordinator
University employee responsible for assisting with the administration of the Card Program
for the University and acting as the main contact for card holders.
Purchasing/Procurement Card
A charge card issued to an individual for the purpose of making authorized
purchases on the University's behalf. Card is primarily used for payment of
invoices for goods and services. The University will issue payment for charges
made with the Card.
Rebate
The return of all or part of an amount paid for goods or services.
Reconciler
The person assigned to review a Cardholder's monthly charges and to ensure that charges
are supported by proper documentation (see 2.12). A Cardholder may be his or her own
Reconciler, and a Reconciler may manage more than one Cardholder's account. A
Reconciler may or may not be a Cardholder.
Support Documentation
A vendor-produced or non-University document that records the relevant details for
each item purchased including quantities, amounts, a description of what was
purchased, the total charge amount, and the merchant's name and address (e.g. sales
receipt, original invoice, packing slip, credit receipt, etc.).
Single Transaction Limit
A dollar limitation of purchasing authority assigned to the Cardholder for each individual
charge made with a University Card.
Travel and Expense Card
A charge card issued to an individual for the purpose of making authorized purchases on
the University's behalf. Card is primarily used for travel expenses and low dollar expense
purchases. The University will issue payment for charges made with the Card
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University Card
Includes both forms of University credit cards, the Procurement/Purchase Card and the
Travel and Expense Card.
Workday
The University’s internet based system used for creating, tracking and automating
expense reports and invoice payment processing as well as requisitions and purchase
orders.
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3 Responsibilities
3.1
Cardholder Responsibilities
Full liability of payment for purchases made with the Card rests with the University,
however Cardholder s are responsible for all purchases made with their assigned card. In
addition, Cardholders must adhere to the following:
1. Cardholders are responsible for obtaining necessary approvals before using
the card to purchase goods or services and for following the guidelines for
purchasing set forth below.
2. Once a purchase is made, the Cardholder is responsible for confirming goods
received match the order, and uploading and reconciling support
documentation with card charges in Workday.
3. Cardholders are responsible for providing legible and readable
documentation or a missing receipt affidavit for each transaction. All receipts
should be retained until final approval has been processed in Workday. Use of
the missing receipt affidavit should be rare and excessive use will result in the
loss of card privileges.
4. Cardholders are responsible for reviewing purchases for propriety and
accuracy of the General Ledger Account at least on a monthly basis.
5. Cardholders must enter a valid business purpose for each transaction in
accordance with the IRS Accountable Plan.
6. Cardholders are responsible for reviewing their transactions in Workday and
submitting their expense reports in a timely manner according to the deadlines
established by the Controller’s Office. (Within 30 days of the charge and no
less frequently than on a monthly basis)
7. Cardholders are responsible for safeguarding the card as if it were cash and
must notify the bank immediately if the card is lost or stolen.
8. Cardholders are responsible for follow-up with the bank and LMU staff to
resolve disputed items.
3.2
Approver Responsibilities
1. Approvers are responsible for reviewing purchases for propriety and accuracy and
ensuring that the business purpose and required documentation are appropriate.
2. Approvers must login to Workday and approve transactions of their direct
reports or transactions charged to their account timely.
3. Approvers must confirm that appropriate account codes are used.
4. Approvers must ensure that the transactions are in compliance with the
University’s Purchasing & Payments Policy and/or the University Travel
Policy.
5. Approvers are responsible for notifying the Program administrator of
cardholders who are separating from the University, collecting University Cards
from the cardholders, and returning them to the Program administrator. The
LMU Purchasing Card Surrender Form should be completed and signed by
the appropriate Budget Manager indicating receipt of the card from the
separating Cardholder. The LMU Purchasing Card Surrender Form can be
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found on the Controller’s website under Business and Finance Forms. Upon a
Cardholder’s separation from the University, it becomes the Approver’s
responsibility to maintain the support documentation retained by the
Cardholder and reconcile the transactions within Workday. See 6.8 for
discussion of cardholders who transfer within the University and
requirements to update card information.
6. Approvers are responsible to take appropriate action if cardholders do not
comply with university timelines or policies.
3.3
University Card Program Team Responsibilities
The University Card Program Team (UCPT) is responsible for the ongoing maintenance
of the program including responsibilities to:
1. Provide training to administrators and cardholders
2. Distribute the cards
3. Interact with the bank to add, change, and delete cardholders
4. Issue and update cardholder policy & procedures
5. Monitor purchases for compliance & propriety
6. Monitor the departmental approval of billing statements
7. Facilitate resolution of disputed charges
8. Review and approve changes in cardholder limits
The Program Administrator is the Accounts Payable Manager in the Controller’s Office.
The Program Coordinator is a designated AP Staff in the Controller’s Office.
4 University Card Usage Guidelines
The University Card may be used for any purchase in the normal course of business
within departmental budget guidelines. Misuse of the University Card may result in
revocation of card privileges, disciplinary action, termination, and/or criminal
prosecution.
The University issues two types of cards. A travel and expense card and a procurement
card. Please note differences between card usages below:
Procurement Cards
• Use the Verify Procurement Card Transactions task to reconcile transaction
and tie to an existing Purchase Order within Workday where applicable
• Not to be used for individual travel related expenses
• Used for larger dollar purchases including but not limited to supplier
invoices, catering, maintenance agreements, event production, etc.
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Travel and Expense Card
• For purchases outside of the connect to supplier websites module and travel
within card holder limits
• Use Create Expense Report to reconcile travel and expense card transactions
to an expense report
5 Travel and Expense Card Limits
Travel and Expense Card limits are standard across the University. Certain types of
vendors and transactions are blocked as it has been determined that they would not apply
to the University’s operations. Any specific Card limitations will be explained to each
cardholder in the course of cardholder training. The Travel and Expense standard limits
are as follows:
• $1,500/transaction, up to $20,000/month
Other limits may be assigned if the Cardholder’s expected usage does not conform to the
limits noted above. These will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.
If limits need to be changed, the cardholder’s supervisor should email the Program
Administrator and the Program Coordinator in the Controller’s office with the request.
The supervisor should specify if the change in limit is permanent or temporary and the
justification.
6 Procedures
6.1
Card Distribution & Activation
Employees may receive a University Card upon approval from their Department Head and
completing the following:
• Complete and submit the LMU Credit Card Application to Accounts Payable at
the Controller’s office. The application form can be found on the Controller’s
website under Business and Finance Forms.
• Read and sign the LMU Cardholder Agreement. The LMU Cardholder Agreement
can be found on the Controller’s website under Business and Finance Forms. The
signed form must be submitted to Accounts Payable at the Controller’s office.
• Complete the University Card training course. The training course will be
provided by the Program Coordinator.
Once all the above is completed and submitted to Accounts Payable, the applicant can
generally receive the University Card within 7 business days.
6.2
General Instructions for Cardholders to Make a Purchase
The University Card is the preferred payment method of the University. All
University Card purchases must be made in accordance with the University’s
Purchasing & Payments and Travel
Policies.
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6.3
Documentation Requirements
The department is responsible for maintaining records of every transaction made with the
University Cards. These records must be reconciled and submitted within Workday, at
least monthly for each billing cycle (30 days). The following items constitute proper
documentation:
1. Cashier receipt
2. Invoice issued by Vendor
3. Vendor supplied detailed list of items purchased
4. E-mail orders, acknowledgements or confirmations which include vendor
name, transaction date, and detailed list of items purchased, dollar amount
for each item and sales tax.
Expenses paid on University Travel and Expense Card under $25 do not require receipts.
However, meals charged to all federally and non-federally sponsored projects must still
provide itemized meal receipts. Receipts are required for all out of pocket expenses
regardless of amount.
6.4
Review of Expenditures/Reconciliation of Charges/
Reports and
Documents
The Cardholder is responsible for reviewing the expenditures charged to their card. This
review occurs within Workday. In accordance with the Accountable Plan, a business
purpose must be entered for each transaction and documentation must be submitted in a
timely manner. It is required that online review and approval be completed at least
monthly (by the second week of the month).
6.5
Disputed Charges
Any charge that appears on the monthly statement may be disputed if it is an error. If
there is a charge that is not recognized or appears to be incorrect, first contact the vendor
and try to resolve the dispute. If an agreement cannot be reached, the Cardholder should
call the number on the back of the card and report the disputed transaction within 60 days
of transaction date or contact the Program Administrator for assistance. The bank will
then contact with the vendor and attempt to resolve this dispute within the billing cycle.
For fraudulent charges, the bank may require the cardholder to complete an affidavit.
6.6
Returns, Credits, Exchanges & Rebates
It is the responsibility of the Cardholder to contact the merchant when merchandise
purchased with the University Card is received that is defective or incorrect. The
Cardholder must arrange for a return for credit or an exchange.
If a return for credit is made, it is the Cardholder’s responsibility to obtain a receipt from
the merchant and maintain this credit receipt with the original support documentation for
the purchase. The refund must be credited to the same card on which the original
purchase was made. It is strictly prohibited for a Cardholder to accept a refund in the
form of cash or check.
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If an exchange is made, the Cardholder is responsible for returning the merchandise to
the merchant and obtaining a replacement. Documentation supporting this exchange
should also be maintained with the support documentation for the original purchase.
Cardholders may at times purchase items for which a manufacturer or vendor rebate is
available. In this case, it is the responsibility of the department or Cardholder to follow
the appropriate procedures to receive the rebate. No Cardholder or University Staff will
be allowed to profit personally from a rebate. All rebates must be deposited with the
University Cashier crediting the account charged for the original purchase.
Rebate checks should be payable to the University. If the check is payable to the
purchaser, it must be endorsed to the University. Rebates in the form of certificates or
gift cards must be returned to the department head to be used for future purchases.
It will be the responsibility of the Approver to review any rebate activity when approving
the Cardholders’ expense reports.
6.7
Lost, Stolen or Damaged Cards
If your Card is lost or stolen, notify the bank immediately by calling 1-800-270-7760.
Representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Next, notify the Program
Administrator, Gunita Chopra at extension 87525. Your card will be immediately
suspended to protect against unauthorized use and you will be supplied with a new card.
If a card is found after being reported lost, the canceled card should be cut in half and
both halves forwarded to the Program Administrator. If your card is damaged, notify the
Program Administrator and he or she will arrange to cancel your current card and issue a
new card. Canceled cards should be cut in half and forwarded to the Program
Administrator.
6.8
Returning the Card Upon Separation from the University
Prior to separation from the University, cardholders must surrender their University Card
to either their Approver or the Program Administrator. To release the cardholder from
responsibility for the card, the Approver must complete the LMU Purchasing Card
Surrender Form. When someone other than the Approver accepts the card from the separating
employee, s/he must complete this form and sign it. The separating employee should be asked
to sign this form as well.
Should a cardholder change departments at the University a new application must be
submitted with the new information and signed by the new supervisor. Please provide the
existing card information on the application.
6.9
California Sales & Use Tax Guidelines
Although LMU is tax exempt on its income, all purchases made by LMU are subject to
sales and use tax. Taxes should be included in the cost of all purchases; if erroneously
not included in the purchase total, the tax liability will be calculated, accrued, and
charged to the cardholder’s general ledger account.
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6.10
Personal Charges
No personal charges are allowed on a University Card. If you are traveling and plan to
incur personal room charges such as a movie, please provide two separate cards to the
hotel so that they may be charged correctly. However if a personal charge is inadvertently
charged to your card, please reimburse the University as soon as possible and mark the
transaction as personal within the expense report. Deposit the funds with the University
Cashier and attach a copy of the deposit slip to your expense report. The account number
on the deposit form should be (Fund – 11 Operations; Cost Center-General
University; Revenue Category – Personal Expense Repayment). Please be descriptive
on what the funds relate to on the cashier deposit form, including the expense report
name and date and the transaction date.
6.11
Failure to Comply with University Card Policy
If a Cardholder fails to submit documentation and/or missing receipt affidavits for each
transaction, the amount of the undocumented transaction(s) will be added to the
cardholders W2 at the end of the calendar year unless the Cardholder has reimbursed the
University. Purposeful misuse of the University Card may result in immediate
cancellation of card privileges.
6.12
Connect to Supplier Website
Within Workday the University has contracted with selected suppliers to directly link to
their websites to facilitate purchases and centralized payment. All online purchases from
suppliers who are included with the Connect to Supplier Website application of Workday
must be purchased through Workday; any purchases made outside of Workday from the
same vendors will be considered a non-reimbursable personal expense. It is to the
University’s benefit to use the contracted vendors for all of our available purchases.
7 University Card Travel Benefits
Under the terms of LMU’s agreement with JP Morgan Chase, travelers receive the
following benefits:
1. Automatic common carrier baggage reimbursement (coverage level $1,250);
Travelers who charge common carrier passenger fare to the Card
automatically receive insurance coverage of up to $1,250 for carry-on luggage
and checked baggage;
2. Worldwide automatic travel accident insurance (coverage level: $500,000);
24-Hour accidental death and dismemberment insurance covers all travelers
who charge common carrier transportation to the JP Morgan Chase Card.
The coverage is up to $500,000 and supplements the University's business
travel coverage;
3. Hotel/motel burglary replacement (coverage level: $1,000);
4. Emergency evacuation and transportation coverage.
Twenty-four hour customer service is available within the United States at 800.270.7760
for:
1. Reporting lost or stolen cards;
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2. Emergency card replacement;
3. Monthly statements and balances;
4. Billing disputes;
5. Card member benefits and services.
PaymentNet
TM
provides Card members with the following benefits:
1. Access account information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
2. Information available to prepare and reconcile expense reports;
3. View U.S. dollar equivalent of unbilled charges made in other currencies;
4. Check your corporate card bill on-line at
https://www.paymentnet.jpmorgan.com
*Note- Paymentnet should be used for reference or dispute purposes only. All Card transactions
flow into Workday and should be expensed there.
