Procurement Card
The Procurement Card (ProCard) serves as the university's designated credit card, facilitating purchases of specified goods under $4,500.00, subject to vendor acceptance and ProCard policies.
About ProCards
The university benefits by having a more efficient, cost-effective method of purchasing and payment for small dollar transactions. If a department decides it is appropriate for their use and would like to participate, the cardholders, proxies, funding reviewers, and approvers shall be expected to follow the established guidelines and shall be held accountable for use of the card. The program complements the existing purchasing and payment process. Use of the card does not replace current travel or competitive bid regulations, nor does it allow departments to bypass purchasing policies and procedures.
ProCard Benefits
- Efficient, timely, and cost-effective method of payment for small dollar transactions less than $4,500.
- Participating departments will be allowed to procure low dollar items in person, or by mail, phone, or through the Internet.
- Eliminates the need for payment requests or requisitions which are time-consuming and costly to process.
- Vendors will be paid immediately by the credit card company, increasing vendor good will, and at times generating better discounts.
- The University will make one payment per month to PNC Bank rather than one payment per vendor.
- Eliminates the need for petty cash reimbursements.
Explore the ProCard Office
ProCard FAQs
The card creation process is not automatic. After completing the test, you must enter an application through PeopleSoft. After the application is entered, you’ll need to print the application form from Power BI, obtain the appropriate signatures, then send the application to the ProCard Office. More details on the application process can be found on our website.
Three to five business days after the ProCard Office receives the completed application form.
The person checking out the card must complete an Employee Usage Agreement. The original should be sent to the ProCard Office; a copy should be retained by the cardholder. A sign-in/out log must also be maintained by the cardholder. The log should be signed by the other employee at the time they check-out the card, then signed again to show when the card was returned.
Both a departmental card and an individual card are assigned to a single employee/responsible party. This person controls access to the card and authorizes others to use it as necessary. A departmental card, however, is intended to be used in situations where the volume of purchases per individual is so low as to not require a card for each person. In addition, some offices prefer a single departmental card as it centralizes the approval process since it only requires the approval of one transaction summary log each month. A sign-in/out log must be completed when a card is checked out to persons other than the responsible party. Department cards must be canceled and reissued with a new number when the responsible party changes for any reason (termination, transfer, change in job duties, etc.).
Your card's billing address was designated on your ProCard application. A member of the ProCard staff can also provide this information or you may view it in PeopleSoft: UofL Custom > UL Procurement Card > ProCard Billing Addresses.
A spending limit increase form should be submitted explaining the need for the increase. The transaction limit can be changed either temporarily (usually 30 days) or permanently. All spending limit increases must be approved by the department head/chair. Splitting a transaction as a means of circumventing the transaction limit is a violation of ProCard policy.
A spending limit increase form should be submitted explaining the need for the increase. The monthly limit can be changed either temporarily (usually 30 days) or permanently. All spending limit increases must be approved by the department head/chair.
The decline is most likely due to an incorrect billing address or expiration date (for online orders), expired grant, or a blocked Merchant Category Code (MCC). Several MCC codes have been blocked on all cards to assist with compliance of policies. Contact the ProCard Office to determine the specific reason for the decline.
Charges automatically move from the canceled card to the replacement card. The PNC bank statement should be carefully reviewed for the month(s) in which compromised charges were discovered to ensure all charges have been disputed.
PNC sends electronic bank statements the day following the end of the billing cycle. Statements are only sent for cards that had activity within the billing cycle, i.e. if you did not have any transactions, you will not receive a statement. If your card had activity and you did not receive a statement, please email a member of the ProCard staff with the cardholder’s last name and the last 6 digits of the card number. We will manually generate the missing statement for you.
You are encouraged to check for charges and reallocate/approve them in a timely manner, either daily or weekly. Please do not wait until the end of the billing cycle to reallocate/approve all charges at once as this creates a slow-down in the system.
Please refer the Amazon Business page.
You should complete a Journal Voucher to move charges to the correct speedtype and account code.
Quick Start Guides can be found here.
No. The required documents for all transactions must be present before signing/approving a log. This includes receipts, backup documentation, clear business purposes, and bank statement. Immediate action should be taken if the required files have not been submitted by the reconciliation/approval deadline (25th of each month). Approvers do have the option to deny a MAR using the Deny MAR button. Any questionable activity should be reported to the ProCard office as soon as it is discovered.
The ProCard cannot be used for faculty, staff, or student travel. The ProCard can be used for non-employee travel (except airfare) for authorized university purposes, such as recruitment. See Controller’s Office travel policy.
Yes, you may use the card to pay for the registration fee as well as the meals and events that are included in that fee. However, if the registration fee also includes the hotel stay, the hotel charge must be separated and paid by the employee, then reimbursed as part of the travel voucher. Spouse or guest registrations must be paid separately and not with the ProCard.
- NAPCP conference registration for Jane Doe
- Office supplies (toner, pens, stapler) for Dr. Jones’ lab
- HP laserjet printer for Henry Smith
- Payment of invoice #1234 for repair of microscope in the biology lab
- Business meal with Pam Jones (guest speaker for...)
Visit Purchasing’s website for a detailed description of an office supply. Technology items such as printers, mice, keyboards, etc. are not considered office supplies and do not need to be purchased from Staples. However, you are encouraged to check the Staples website first to determine if they have a cheaper price than the competitors.
Per university contract, all office supplies must be purchased from Staples or the university stockroom. If an item is not in stock, contact Purchasing to see if it can be special ordered. See Purchasing’s office supply policy.
The University of Louisville is exempt from Kentucky sales tax on all purchases. If you are charged sales tax, contact the vendor immediately to provide a copy of our sales exemption certificate. (Our tax exempt number is located at the top left corner on the front of the ProCard). If the vendor will not refund the tax, document your efforts and keep it with the receipt.
The receipt/invoice must be original and itemized, including vendor name, vendor address, description of item(s), amount, ship/bill to address. For business and entertainment, receipts must be itemized. For more information, please refer to the Entertainment and Business Meetings/Meals sections of the Travel Policy.
Write down the items purchased and the price or attach a copy of a menu and mark the items that were purchased. The totals should equal the amount of the receipt.
Yes, but it must include the required information (vendor name, vendor address, description of item, amount, ship/bill to address).
Once the ProCard Office has processed the new card in the system, the cardholder will receive a notification email regarding pick-up information.
Please refer to the Procurement Services Contracts found here.
Please refer to the instructions on the quick start guide HERE. If you have any questions, please reach out to the CAPS Systems team at capssys@louisville.edu.