Purchases must be for the use and benefit of the University System of New Hampshire and its member institutions. Under no circumstances are unauthorized purchases allowed.
Here is a list of the types of expenses which the Purchasing Card CAN be used.
There may be additional restrictions on Grant/Contract related purchases. (See Procedure 9-113, Grants and Contracts Controls)
This is a list of the types of expenses which the Purchasing Card CANNOT be used.
The Campus Purchasing Departments negotiate and issue contracts that will provide the “least total cost” arrangements for goods and services.
In order to assure the campus communities of “least total cost,” goods and services must be purchased from the contracted supplier when a contract exists.
Please use these suppliers whenever possible. Information on the contracts available to the University communities can be found in the CONTRACT table in HUM, List of Preferred and Contracted Suppliers. Included in the appendix is a list of purchasing agents and how you may contact them with any questions or concerns.
When using your Purchasing Card for purchases from contracted suppliers (either in person or by phone), emphasize to the supplier that this is a USNH, UNH, PSC or KSC purchase (whichever is applicable) to ensure the proper discounts and tax exemption are applied.
Some contracted suppliers have account numbers assigned specifically to your department. You will need to supply the account number to the order entry person taking your order and in most cases they will prompt you for the number since you have made the supplier aware that you are from USNH, UNH, PSC or KSC. For example: Boise Cascade will need your account number and consignee number when placing your order. When ordering through Boise Cascade, using your Purchasing Card, you will need to provide the following information:
Using UPG as an example, your account/consignee number should be 239615UPGCCC. This number is very similar to the number you are currently using with Boise Cascade when placing orders using a purchase order, except purchases using purchase orders have 3 zeros in place of the 3 Cs.
Another example of suppliers having assigned specific account numbers per department are Fisher Scientific and VWR Scientific. The account numbers you use with both suppliers when ordering with a purchase order should be used for any credit card purchase as well. For example: the Fisher account number for Zoology is 849605-04 and the VWR account number for Zoology orders is 87-528704. Two distinctively different numbers; two different suppliers. If you or any of your cardholders do not know your account numbers, contact your campus purchasing office.
If you find that you are making frequent and routine purchases for the same commodity or types of commodities and find no contract exists, please contact your purchasing office. Purchasing can work with you in establishing a contract for the products you purchase on a regular basis. Or we can negotiate a more favorable discount structure with better terms and conditions.
The monitoring should take place both when a transaction is initially processed and at the end of the month when the monthly charges are reviewed in summary. This review includes comparing the transactions processed to all applicable limits. For example, if you see a number of transactions processed in one day for a cardholder, look at the cardholder's per day transaction limit to see whether the limit was reached and at the purchasing history to see if this is unusual activity. At the end of the month review the transaction detail for the month to monitor whether there were several days on which any cardholder reached their limit. These steps should assist in determining if cardholder limits need increasing. The manager should also review transactions to determine that suppliers from whom the cardholders purchase items are generally in that business and the cardholders are using formal contracts. For example if the department has issued a card for purchasing hardware items only and there is a charge to a grocery store, the manager should consult the cardholder immediately.
At the end of the month, the manager should review each cardholder's detailed transaction summary for complete and adequate supporting documentation for each transaction, compliance with monthly limits, purchasing from contracted suppliers, and investigation of any unusual transactions. If there are any transactions which are not for authorized purchases, the manager should follow the procedures outline in Procedure 9-102, Role and Responsibilities. If the manager notices that an individual cardholder reached his/her approved limit in one or several categories (number of transactions per day, dollar per transaction) the manager should review the purchasing needs of that cardholder with the department head and determined whether limits should be changed. (See Procedure 9-106, Changing Limits or Options.)
The Purchasing Card represents the institution's trust in the cardholder and an empowerment of that cardholder as a responsible employee of the institution. As such, each cardholder is required to safeguard and protect his/her institution's assets, including the Purchasing Card.
It is against the law to use any governmental funds for personal use. USNH and its member institutions are funded in part by state appropriations. In addition, many areas are funded through state and federal funds as grants and contracts. As a result, any personal use of institutional funds may be construed as a criminal act and subject to prosecution. These statutes apply not only to purchases made on the Purchasing Card, but to any purchases made using institutional funds and regardless of the intent to repay.
As with any other personnel issue, consultation with your campus personnel office is prudent. Prudence will dictate how, when and the severity of consequences to apply to each individual infraction and cardholder. The steps and definitions that follow are designed to be a guide rather than a rule book. Each incident will require the department determine what appropriate action is appropriate for each event.
The general process will involve the following steps;
if the suspicion is substantiated, and this is the first incident of misuse, a warning letter to the cardholder from the business manager, indicating the violation and a stipulation that continued misuse will result in a more formal warning and/or possible revocation of the card. A copy of the letter will be sent to the Campus Card Administrator to be included in the cardholder's file.
if the suspicion is substantiated, and this is the second incident of misuse, a formal written warning will be sent to the cardholder by the Campus Card Administrator. The cardholder's immediate supervisor, the appropriate school or center's Dean or Director, the Campus Director of Purchasing, the USNH Controller and the cardholder's personnel file, will all be copied on the letter. The letter will include a detailed description of the violation and a warning that the Purchasing Card may be revoked pending further investigation or continued misuse.
after a second warning for a misuse violation, or if fraud is suspected, the card will be revoked with notification as listed above. The card may be reinstated after additional training and consultation between members of the department and the campus purchasing department.
There are 6 general violation categories. Refer to Authorized and Unauthorized
purchases earlier in this chapter for descriptions of what is allowable
and Procedure 9-110, Documentation and Retention
for a full description of what documentation is required.
Personal
purchases
Assignment
or transfer of an individual card to an unauthorized person or use of the
card after the authorized user has been terminated or separated from the
institution or after the card has been requested to be returned by an authorized
individual.
Cash or cash
type transactions
Split transactions
or "pyramiding"
Lack of original
documentation
