Office of Origin: Purchasing
Responsibility: Purchasing Manager
Date Adopted: 10-01-99
Last Date Reviewed: 01-17-18
Last Date Modified & Approved: 01-17-18

Lake Michigan College (the College) has designed a program to allow for the direct procurement of certain purchases through use of a procurement card (Pro Card.) Only those employees with regular purchasing needs are eligible for a Pro Card, and all Pro Cards issuances must be approved by the Vice President of Finance.

Issuance of Procurement Card

To receive a Pro Card, a Pro Card request workflow must be completed via the online dashboard at https://mylmc.org/login using your normal login credentials. It must be then approved by your Cabinet level approver and the Vice President of Finance. It will then be submitted to the Purchasing Manager, at which time a Pro Card will be ordered. Once the Pro Card has been received from the issuer by the Purchasing Manager, it must be picked up in person.

A Pro Card will not be issued until the requestor has completed training and signed a Pro Card Program Participant Agreement.

Pro Cards expire every 3 years on last day of the expiration month noted on Pro Card. Pro Cards are automatically reissued to Pro Card holders with activity within 12 months prior to expiration. Reissued cards are sent to the Purchasing Manager for disposition.

Responsibilities

The Pro Card program is operationally administered by the Purchasing Manager.

The Finance Department is primarily responsible for online access (e.g., ability to access the website), guidance on coding of purchases, and Pro Card report generation.

Responsibility for use of and reporting on Pro Cards rests with each department. Ultimately, each department chair is responsible for ensuring that each Pro Card holder is performing purchasing duties with competence and honesty and for monitoring the effectiveness of the accountability structure. The responsibility for appropriate use of the Pro Card lies not only with the cardholder but also with the approving supervisor. Each department should establish internal controls sufficient to regulate Pro Card activities.

Each Pro Card holder is responsible for the following:

• Participating in Pro Card training
• Signing Pro Card Program Participant Agreement acknowledging responsibilities of use
• Abiding by all purchasing and Pro Card procedures
• Ensuring security of physical Pro Card and Pro Card account number
• Immediately reporting lost or stolen cards to issuing bank and Purchasing Manager
• Notifying the Purchasing Manager in event of a name change
• Using issuer website (https://sdg2.53.com) to code purchases and provide info
• Identifying any disputed items, contacting merchant, and resolving such issues
• Coding and reviewing Pro Card charges on issuer website by 25th of each month
• Providing required documentation (e.g., receipts) for each purchase
• Obtaining supervisory approval on the Pro Card Report
• Submitting signed and approved Pro Card report to Finance Dept. by 5th of following month
• Communicating with Finance Dept. as soon as possible if delays are anticipated
• Upon employment end, discontinuing use of Pro Card and returning to Purchasing Manager

Each approving supervisor is responsible for the following for those under their supervision:

• Ensuring compliance with purchasing and Pro Card policies and procedures
• Immediately reporting any known or suspected misuse of Pro Cards to Purchasing Manager
• Reviewing all transactions on Pro Card Report and related receipts
• Reviewing all transaction coding on Pro Card Reports
• Signing Pro Card Reports to indicate approval
• Ensuring that Pro Card Reports are submitted to Finance Dept. by the 5th of each month

The Purchasing Manager and Finance departments, jointly, have the responsibility to provide guidance and training (as requested) on using the Pro Card and completing the Pro Card Report in a timely and helpful manner.

Cardholders are responsible for and accountable to the College for all purchases made with the Pro Card. Cardholders must adhere to all policies and procedures regarding its purchasing in general and Pro Card use specifically. Use of the Pro Card for unauthorized or inappropriate items may result in loss of Pro Card privileges, disciplinary action, or termination of employment.

Procurement Card Limits

For most cardholders, the per-transaction limit is $750 and monthly dollar limit is $2,500. Other limits may be requested in writing by a supervisor to the Purchasing Manager based on spending needs and must be approved by the Vice President of Finance before enacted.

Should a Pro Card holder be traveling for a lengthy period or to a location that would necessitate an increased per-transaction and / or monthly limit or there is need for a one-time purchase that would exceed a limit, such limits may be temporarily raised, as requested in writing to the Purchasing Manager and approved by the Vice President of Finance.

Certain merchant categories may be blocked and purchases at those merchant types will not be allowed.

Allowable & Non-Allowable Purchases

See the Travel & Expense Reimbursement procedure for guideline on allowable and non-allowable purchases.

Knowingly charging a non-allowable expense to a Pro Card and then reimbursing the College is not acceptable and could result in loss of Pro Card privileges. If a non-allowable inadvertently occurs, the Pro Card holder will be given 10 business days to resolve with the Purchasing Manager; thereafter, reimbursement to the College of any and all non-allowable charge will be made through payroll deduction.

Use of the Pro Card for unauthorized, inappropriate, or personal items may result in loss of Pro Card privileges and/or disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Reporting

As noted above, each cardholder is responsible for completing a Pro Card Report for each billing cycle in which a cardholder has purchasing activity by the 25th of each month, ensuring it is approved by the supervisor, and submitting the Pro Card Report to Finance Dept. by 5th of following month.

To facilitate this process, the cardholder will be notified by both the card issuer and the College via email within 2 days of the date that the issuer ‘cuts off’ from one billing period to another. This date is currently the 21st of each month. This notification will indicate that a statement is ready for review and coding on the card issuer’s website.

A Pro Card Report must include coding of purchases (org unit, account), detailed description, and acceptable supporting documentation (e.g., receipts.) See the Travel & Expense Reimbursement procedure for acceptable supporting documentation guidelines. In addition, documentation of competitive procurement may be required; refer to the Purchasing procedure.

For training or help on completing the Pro Card Report, contact the Purchasing Manager or Finance Dept.

Pro Card Suspension, Revocation, & Appeal Process

Cardholders not reviewing and coding charges by the last day of the month will have their Pro Card suspended. The cardholder’s privileges will be reinstated once their paperwork is submitted and reviewed by the Finance Department.

Cardholders submitting a Pro Card Report after the 8th of the following month will have Pro Card privileges suspended until a Pro Card Report is received by the Finance Dept.

Pro Card privileges will be revoked indefinitely for any cardholder who:

• Intentionally or repeatedly make unauthorized, inappropriate, or personal purchases,
• Submits a Pro Card Report that is 60+ beyond the due date of 5th of following month,
• Is non-responsive to requests for information, or
• Has had privileges suspended 3 times already and misses a Pro Card Report deadline.

After 60 days from date of termination of Pro Card privileges, an employee may appeal to have Pro Card privileges reinstated upon recommendation of both their Dean and Vice President. The appeal must be in writing and explain how the conditions that led to termination of privileges will be corrected in the future. Upon approval of the appeal by the Vice President of Finance, Pro Card privileges will be restored.

Should a departure from the Procurement Card procedure occur after a reinstatement, no further appeals would be available to the Pro Card holder.

Resolving Errors, Disputes, Returns, and Credits

The Pro Card holder is responsible for all efforts required to resolve delivery problems, discrepancies, damaged goods, billing problems, or returns.

Any dispute should first be addressed with the merchant and referred to the issuing bank only after attempts to resolve the matter with the merchant have failed.

Disputes must be made within 120 days from the date of the Pro Card statement containing the charge. Disputes filed later than 120 days may not be honored, and the Pro Card holder will be responsible for resolving the dispute or reimbursing the College.

Note that disputed transactions must be notated "transaction under dispute”; once a disputed transaction has been reversed on a subsequent statement, the reversal must also be notated “transaction under dispute” in order for the org unit and account to be properly credited back.

Procurement Card Security

The only person authorized to use a Pro Card is the person whose name appears on the card. If your Pro Card is lost or stolen or if fraudulent charge(s) are noted, immediately contact:

• Issuing bank (Fifth Third Bank) at (800) 375-1747 and
• Purchasing Manager at (269) 927-8169

The issuing bank may contact the Pro Card holder directly if there appears to be questionable charges on the Pro Card. A temporary block is placed on the card until charges are verified by the Pro Card holder.

Employment Transfer or Termination

Upon leaving employment, the Pro Card must be returned to Purchasing Manager, who will confirm receipt of the Pro Card on the Employee Termination Check Out Form. Failure to return the Pro Card may result in an employee’s final payroll check being held by the College.

Purchases on the final statement will be reviewed and any non-allowable charges will be deducted from the employee’s final payroll check. If final the payroll check is insufficient to cover such charges, the employee will be responsible for paying the balance with personal check or money order. If the employee fails to pay outstanding balance in a timely fashion, the College may at its discretion take action to recover balance, including engaging an outside collection agency.

Employees who leave one department to work in another must advise the Purchasing Manager immediately so that the Pro Card reporting org may be changed.

References: Internal Revenue Code, Section 6109