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Home FAQ How to Get a Card Index Online Reconciliation User Guide/Forms Using the Card What's New | FAQ  Who can get a purchasing card? The card is available to all full-time faculty and staff of Iowa State University with the approval of their respective department heads and deans or directors. The Cardholder Application Agreement form is available on the forms page, and should be completed, signed by your department head and dean or director, and returned to the Purchasing Card Program Administrator, 3616 ASB Room 1323. (top) Can I use my card for hospitality expenses? The university has authorized the use of the Purchasing Card for meeting, event, and hospitality expenses up to its $2,000 per transaction limit. New cardholders may request the new configuration by completing the Cardholder Application Agreement and Hospitality Attachment; existing cardholders may request a configuration change to their Purchasing Card by completing the Hospitality Attachment. Send the Agreement and/or Attachment to the Purchasing Card Program Administrator, 3616 ASB Room 1323. Cardholders and on-line reconciliation system users will be required to attend a training session before the new card configuration is activated. More information about the hospitality configuration for the Purchasing Card is available on this website on the Using the Card page under Meeting, Event, and Hospitality Usages. (top) What is the billing address for my card? If the vendor asks for the statement or billing address, it is generally the address of your department administrative office. The billing address can also be found on the documentation you received when you picked up your card. Contact the Purchasing Card Program Administrator at 294-4589 for specific information. (top) The vendor charged tax on my purchase. What do I do? First, consider the time and effort to obtain a credit. If the amount of tax charged is small, it may be more cost effective to pay the tax and save yourself the time it would take. However, if you decide it is worth your time, contact the vendor and ask for a credit in the amount of tax charged. Iowa State University is sales tax exempt. If the vendor requests a university sales tax exempt certificate, advise the vendor they can request an exemption certificate directly from the Purchasing Department (515-294-4860). (top) Can I use my card at the University Bookstore? Yes, the purchasing card is accepted at the University Bookstore. (top) Why was my card declined when I tried to make a non-restricted purchase? Make sure that the amount of your purchase is not above your transaction limit or that you have not exceeded the monthly cycle limit for your card (remember that the cycle begins on the 12th of the month). If the transaction falls within your limits, the transaction may be declined because the vendor's Merchant Commodity Code is blocked on your card configuration. Contact the Purchasing Card Program Administrator at 294-4589 for assistance. (top) How do I process credit transactions? If you have a transaction against which you will receive full or partial credit, the Validator or Reallocator should note this in the transaction description field and use the status code ‘N’ – Not received – to hold the transaction on the SU screen and suspend e-mail messages. Once the credit transaction is transmitted to the SU screen (identifiable as a negative amount from the same vendor as the original transaction), both transactions must be validated, reallocated, and approved. Make sure to use the same fund account number and class code on both the original and the credit transaction. (top) I reallocated a transaction; why hasn't the approver in my department received it? Approval routing is determined by the fund account code(s) associated with the transaction. If a fund account number is associated with a department other than your own or the cardholder's, the transaction will be routed to the approvers in that department. For additional assistance, contact the Purchasing Card Program Administrator at 515-294-4589. (top) What do I do if I don't recognize the vendor name on a transaction? Check the cardholder's transaction log to see if you can cross-reference the transaction by date and amount. If you have access to the ADIN Purchasing Vendor Index System (VD), use the VX screen to search for the vendor's name; if you find it, use the VN function to find the phone number and contact the vendor to provide proof-of-purchase documentation. Use Internet search engines to find information about vendors. If you cannot identify the vendor or the transaction, contact the Purchasing Card Program Administrator at 294-4589 for assistance. (top) When do I use status code 'D' to dispute a transaction? A transaction dispute is a formal process of billing inquiry initiated by the Purchasing Card Program Administrator with USBank/Élan. If there is a charge that is not recognized by the cardholder or if it appears to be incorrect, the cardholder should first seek resolution with the merchant; use status code 'N' to hold the transaction on your summary update (SU) screen until the discrepancy is resolved. Use status code 'D' only when the transaction is not the cardholder’s or the vendor refuses to issue a credit and the administrator should initiate a billing inquiry with USBank/Élan. (top) The other purchasing records in our office are kept for 2 years. Why must purchasing card documentation be kept for 5 years? The credit card receipts, packing slips, and on-line order forms received by the cardholder are the only documents associated with the Purchasing Card Program; all other documentation is electronic. In the Purchasing Card Program, your department is considered the holder of permanent record in accordance with the University's Record Retention Schedule. For other purchasing records, the Purchasing Department is the holder of permanent record; your department is the holder of nonpermanent record. (top) | |||||||||||||||||||
Purchasing Department, purchasing@iastate.edu Copyright© 2002, Iowa State University, all rights reserved Revised 10/26/2004 2:21 PM | ||||||||||||||||||||
