Purchasing Card Program

Administrative Procedure 2.404

Related Administrative Procedures

The Business Services Manual and all forms noted in the following procedure can be located on my.Elgin.edu, Elgin Community College’s employee intranet under Business Services.

I. General

  1. The college purchasing card (p-card) program is designed to execute routine, low-dollar-value, and online purchases. The purchasing card will not replace the purchasing process outlined in Administrative Procedure 2.401. Using the card facilitates the acquisition of time-sensitive materials and supplies and reduces overall processing costs. The program decentralizes purchasing responsibility and approvals back to the department level. The final approval authority for all purchased items remains under the Purchasing Department.
  2. All college funds, regardless of their source of origin, are considered public funds, and expenditures must be 1) following college and state policies, 2) reasonable and necessary, and 3) part of a bona fide business function of the college.
  3. The card shall not be utilized for personal purchases, cash advances, furniture, computers, tablet or mobile devices, cellphones, printers, or capital equipment purchases. Purchases for conferences or events, team-building exercises, or retreats must include a copy of the agenda with the statement reconciliation.
  4. The purchasing card shall not be used to split orders with a dollar value greater than $5,000. Commercial card usage is monitored, and the misuse or fraudulent abuse of the card may result in personal liability, prosecution, and disciplinary actions up to and including termination from the college. Policy violations also include failure to perform monthly reconciliation, return of the card when reassigned or terminated, or upon request and/or failure to submit proper documentation for purchases. Each card request requires the approval of the college’s Vice President, Business and Finance, Vice President, Teaching, Learning, and Student Development, or the college President. The program requires strict adherence to all policies in the Commercial Card Cardholder Guide, Administrative Procedure 2.401, and the purchasing procedures outlined in the Business Services Manual by all cardholders and budget officers. Employees are required to review policies and procedures prior to receiving a purchasing card, attend an orientation session, and sign an acknowledgment form.
  5. The purchasing card is under a corporate pay arrangement. The college will pay account balances in full each month.

II. Procedure for Obtaining a Purchasing Card

  1. Cards are issued to college employees who frequently order materials and supplies to support their departments and to college employees who consistently conduct off-campus business and travel for business purposes.
  2. Requests should be made by completing the Commercial Card Cardholder Agreement form on the college’s employee portal under Forms/Business Services. The completed form should be forwarded to purchasing for final Vice President or President approval.

III. Usage Policy

  1. Cardholders commit college funds each time the purchasing card is used. The cardholder is responsible for ensuring sound financial and policy judgment is utilized for all transactions made to the card.
  2. Each card will have a limit on the number of transactions per day and per month, the dollar value of the transaction, and the total credit limit per billing Limits will be determined at the time of request based on expected purchase activity.
  3. Each card is limited to purchases for a specific department/division.
  4. All purchases are to be charged to the appropriate and active budget code that has available funding.
  5. If a budget transfer is required, the budget transfer request should be made to the accounting department before the order is placed.
  6. The cardholder is responsible for ensuring receipt of goods and for resolving any discrepancies or damaged goods The college’s receiving department should be notified by email of orders that are being shipped to the college. The email notification should include the Supplier's description of the order, quantity, and expected delivery date. Shipments without purchase orders or email notifications may be rejected.
  7. The purchasing card is never to be loaned out. Only the person whose name appears on the card may use the card; however, the department Manager / Supervisor may use their card to arrange travel and conference registration for staff within their
  8. Should the cardholder be declined at the point of sale for any reason, he/she should contact Purchasing. Every effort will be made to determine why the transaction was declined. If the issue persists, they can contact JP Morgan Chase Customer Service.
  9. If a sales tax is charged, the cardholder should immediately contact the supplier to have the sales tax charge reversed. The cardholder is responsible for informing the supplier of the college’s tax-exempt status and providing the tax-exempt number. In the event sales tax is not reversed/removed, the cardholder will reimburse the College for taxes charged. The number is available to the user upon request from the purchasing department. The only exception to this rule is a tax charged during travel, including hotel and meals.

IV. Travel and Conference Registration Usage Policy

  1. All employee travel and business-related expense policies must be followed, including, but not limited to, the business nature of the meal or event, the name and location where the meal or event took place, and the names of individuals present at the meal or event, along with their titles and college/business affiliation.
  2. College-related travel and conference registrations may be paid for with a purchasing card with proper approval(s). If the employee uses their credit card, they will not be reimbursed prior to the travel or event.
    1. If the traveler does not wish to use their funds, they may contact their manager/supervisor to use their college purchasing card or contact purchasing to inquire about using purchasing cards for travel arrangements and registration costs.

Contact purchasing to obtain vendor information regarding an approved travel agency.

V. Gift Cards and Giveaways:

  1. Gift cards and giveaways may be purchased with a purchasing card by sending a request to the Purchasing department.
    1. A request email explaining the request should be sent to Purchasing, and Purchasing will determine the best method to procure the cards. If the method uses our preferred vendor, the requestor will be asked to create a requisition following Administrative Procedure 2.401.
      1. If the preferred vendor cannot be used, the requesting department must complete the Gift Card Fulfillment Form - DOC (including the recipients’ signature) and submit it to Purchasing. Purchasing will make the purchase for the department via a purchasing card dedicated to purchasing gift cards. Gift cards with fees or expiration dates are not permitted. Provide a signed copy of each physical gift card and the original purchase details (PO# or Order#) to Purchasing@elgin.edu.
      2. Gift cards should not be ordered more than one month in advance. They should be distributed within 30 days of receipt. All cards purchased within the fiscal year need to be disbursed by the fiscal or grant year-end. Regular inventory of gift cards on hand should be completed. To maintain the security of the purchased gift cards, they must be stored in a locked drawer or safe.
    2. Giveaways must be obtained through the college’s marketing and communications department.

VI. Unallowable Expenses:

  1. The card shall not be utilized for:
    1. Employee/college representative travel not conducted for college business.
    2. Non-employee travel that is not conducted for college business.
    3. Non-business meals and/or transportation.
    4. Reimbursement for the purchase of alcoholic beverages.
    5. Personal charges including, but not limited to, tipping baggage handlers, valet service, bellman, housekeeper, recreation, or entertainment not considered college-related, trip insurance, in-room movies, minibar, room safes, gifts, souvenirs, and personal purchases.
    6. Expenses that are inherently personal in nature include child care, dog kennels, clothing, and personal toiletries and sundries.
    7. Club memberships, including airline, auto, discount warehouses, etc.
    8. Theft or loss of personal belongings or money.
    9. Gifts to individuals in place of payments for lodging.
    10. The cost of repairs to personal vehicles, regardless of whether the costs result from business travel or from acts of the traveler or another individual.
    11. Used equipment without prior approval from the purchasing department.
    12. For social events, i.e., new employees, birthdays, retirements*, special events such as baby and wedding showers, and graduations*.*Note: The college provides a college-wide retirement party twice yearly for retiring employees and hosts convocation and commencement twice yearly.
    13. Greeting cards, holiday cards, and flowers for employees for funerals, celebrations, etc., by a department. The college president’s office will purchase appropriate bereavement flowers, as well as holiday and birthday cards. Anyone wishing to send out holiday cards must go through the college’s marketing department.
    14. Undocumented expenses.
    15. Additional items may not be listed here. Refer to Administrative Procedure 2.601.
    16. Institutional memberships, unless pre-approved by the President.
    17. Professional growth/development expenses as documented in Administrative Procedure 5.206 Professional Development and collective bargaining agreements
    18. Equipment and furnishings include, but are not limited to, furniture, cameras, computers, related software and peripheral devices, notebooks, iPads, Kindles, or other forms of eBooks, printers, and capital equipment purchases.
    19. This list does not include all scenarios. If an item is not explicitly listed, the employee must seek clarification and approval from purchasing; otherwise, they may be responsible for payment. 

VII. Compliance

A.The college’s purchasing card usage and compliance monitoring is based on a “three-strike” system. Strikes are tracked in Purchasing.

    1. First strike - Cardholder is given a written
    2. Second strike – The cardholder is given a written warning, and the cardholder’s supervisor is copied.
    3. Third strike – Purchasing card is suspended for three

B. The college can cancel any purchasing card when abuse or fraud has been found, resulting in the cardholder’s loss of purchasing card Instances of fraud may result in discipline up to and including termination of the employee.

C. THREE STRIKE POLICY:

    1. Any cardholder who fails to reconcile and turn in their approved statements to purchasing within thirty (30) business days of the statement date will be issued their first strike in the form of a written reminder with a copy sent to their Supervisor.
    2. If reconciliation is not completed within sixty (60) days of the statement date, a second strike will be issued as a written warning with a copy sent to their Supervisor.
    3. If reconciliation is not completed within ninety (90) days of the statement date, all card activity is suspended for three months. Suspensions will be removed after three months and upon completion of all past-due reconciliations.
    4. Continued failure to reconcile the purchasing card may result in card cancellation. 

VIII. Reconciliation

A. The cardholder must review all transactions online and input the budget code to be charged along with a brief but relevant expense description.

B. The employee’s manager must also go online and approve the transaction(s).

    • If the approver believes that a personal charge was made in error on the ECC card, they should request that the employee request a reversal of the transaction from the company and provide an individual card for the transaction. Return the improper items for a credit for the transaction. The employee should receive a strike per the VII Compliance section of this procedure and reimburse the College for the wrongful purchase.
    • If the approver believes that a transaction was made in error in accordance with Section V Unallowable expenses, the approver must work with the employee to correct the issue. The employee will receive a strike per Section VII Compliance if the problem persists.

C. After the end of each billing cycle on the 4th day of each month, original detailed receipts are to be retained and submitted with the monthly statement for approval by the appropriate Supervisor. Receipts are to be attached to the statement in the order shown on the Smaller receipts should be taped to an 8-1/2” x 11” sheet of paper. Once the statement is signed and dated by the cardholder and the cardholder’s Supervisor, the approved monthly statement is to be forwarded to purchasing.

D. All receipts of online purchases must include the date of purchase, vendor information, description of the item purchased, cost, and payment method.

E. All conferences, events, team-building exercises, or retreats must include the program agenda with the statement (Note: Travel out of state and team-building exercises must have preapproval from Purchasing and the appropriate cabinet member before the event.)

F. Travel itineraries that do not provide a method of payment are not accepted as receipts. The cardholder must contact the vendor/travel agency and obtain a detailed receipt.

G. Hotel receipts must show all items billed to the hotel

IX. Reviews

  1. Purchasing reviews p-card statements monthly and may contact the approving supervisor to clarify purchase(s). If the review finds anything in non-compliance, the cardholder and approver are sent a notice, at which time the cardholder has thirty (30) days to reply and correct any non-compliance items.
  2. The Business & Finance office will conduct periodic audits of purchasing card activities and record-keeping to ensure compliance with the Purchasing Card

X. Increase Credit Line or Single Purchase Limit

  1. Cardholders requesting temporary additional credit may request a credit limit increase through their Supervisor. If approved, the Supervisor will send their approval to the purchasing card officer detailing how much to increase, why the increase is needed, and how long the increase will be in place.
  2. Cardholders requesting a temporary single purchase increase must follow the above directions.

XI. Cardholder Recertification

  1. Purchasing reviews cardholder spending limits each year to ensure that actual usage is consistent with the limit.
  2. If the usage is consistent with the spending limit, the card’s limit will not change.
  3. If the usage is not consistent with the spending limit, the recommendation will be to decrease or increase the card limit or cancel the If the department does not agree with the recommendation, it has the ability to appeal. The appeal must be in writing and justify why the card limit should not be reduced, increased, or canceled. The Vice President, Business and Finance, will have the authority to review the appeal and make a recommendation to the President.

XII. Lost & Stolen Card Policy

  1. All users are responsible for their cards and are expected to keep the card in a secure, locked location.
  2. Cardholders must be familiar with the Lost & Stolen Card policy in the Commercial Card Cardholder Guide and follow the procedure if a card is lost or stolen.
  3. The cardholder must notify the bank (JP Morgan Chase) if a card is lost or stolen. The 800-to-call is on the JP Morgan website, the college’s employee portal, and the back of the card. The cardholder should notify purchasing as soon as possible.
  4. If a cardholder suspects their card has been compromised, they should immediately contact JP Morgan Chase using the 800 number on the back of the card and contact purchasing as soon as possible.
  5. If JP Morgan Chase suspects the card has been compromised, a bank representative will contact the cardholder and cancel the card. The cardholder should then notify purchasing as soon as possible.

XIII. Employee Termination, Resignation, or Retirement

  1. Upon the resignation or termination, retirement, or transfer to a new department of the cardholder, the supervisor is responsible for obtaining the return of the purchase card and returning the card to Purchasing.

XIV. Purchasing Card Program Training

  1. All cardholders are required to attend a training session on the basics of the program delivered by the purchasing department. These are one-on-one training sessions scheduled prior to card distribution.
  2. Refresher training is available at any time at the cardholder's request.
  3. If the cardholder experiences problems using their card at any time, the cardholder should first contact the bank’s customer service by calling the 800 number on the back of the card. If the issue cannot be resolved through the bank, the cardholder should then contact purchasing.
  4. The purchasing card is under a corporate pay Account balances will be paid in full each month by the college. Departments are responsible for ensuring that budget accounts have adequate funds at all times to cover their card expenses.

This policy was last reviewed on 04/07/2025.

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