The Purchasing Process

Prior to making any purchase, your department should follow its existing pre-purchase process. If your department requires completing an internal requisition form, obtaining approval signatures that may vary according to the commodity and dollar value of the purchase, assignment of cost centers, cost types or project codes, it should continue to do so.

FlexCard purchases require a few extra steps to determine whether they are allowable:

1. Does the total (tax included) exceed the card's per transaction limit?
2. Is the commodity restricted - for example, a narcotic, precious metal, explosive material or gas, firearm, personal or professional services requiring a contract?

If the answer to either question is yes, a high value purchase order or contract must be obtained before FlexCard can be used for payment.

However the order is placed, it must be documented in order to meet records retention and auditing requirements.

1. Internet Orders: print a copy of the order confirmation page (not just the shopping cart), confirming email or similar document
2. Telephone Orders: note the fact that the order was phoned in, either on a department requisition form, or on the packing slip or paid invoice, when the order is received
3. Fax Orders: retain a copy of the fax (being careful to black out any card number, security code and expiration date information)
4. In-Person Purchases: retain the itemized cash register receipt; if you are only provided with a credit card receipt, attach it to a piece of paper when you return to your department and have someone else write down the list of items that were purchased

After the order has been placed, retain the documentation, to match up with the receipt documents when the order is completed and to complete the documentation package for the order.

Gateway will send notifications to the Invoice Allocator(s) assigned to a FlexCard's default CCOA FRU whenever a new invoice is imported. In the case of multiple new transactions in a single day, multiple notifications will be issued, one per transaction.

In order to maintain proper separation of duties and controls, an employee other than the cardholder should be responsible for receiving the order whenever possible.

1. Review the shipment for completeness: Verify if all items were shipped or if some are on backorder. Ensure the items received match the items originally ordered.
2. Address discrepancies: If there are problems—such as the wrong item being shipped—contact the merchant and take the necessary steps (returning the incorrect item, processing a credit invoice, or requesting re-shipment) to remedy the situation. There is no need to file a dispute with U.S. Bank unless you cannot resolve the problem directly with the merchant.
3. Verify the invoice: Check off each item on the packing slip or paid invoice enclosed with the order.
4. Sign and date: Sign and date the packing slip or paid invoice and attach it to the order documentation package. Note: Not signing and dating the receipt document is the number one audit finding.
5. Handle missing documentation: If no packing slip or paid invoice was enclosed with the order, note this fact clearly on the order document. This ensures that auditors know the receipt document was not lost or discarded.
6. Finalize: Pass the completed documentation package to the appropriate Allocator or Reviewer.

FlexCard purchases are no different from other expenditures that post to the General Ledger: all financial transactions should be reconciled each month.

In the case of FlexCard purchases, the initial reconciliation is made at the time that the charge was approved and allocated by the Reviewer. The General Ledger review consists of verifying that the charge has hit the General Ledger in the expected amount, under the expected CCOA. Any errors must be corrected via processing of a TOE or financial journal.