| Initiating body: | Vice President for Finance and Planning |
|---|---|
| Contact: | Comptroller's Office, (438-2143) |
| Revised on: | 02/2004 |
In the course of the daily workings of the University, there are instances when a credit card must be used to charge University expenditures. All Purchasing policies must be complied with when using a credit card and an original receipt for the merchandise or services must be obtained.
To receive reimbursement when a personal credit card has been used to charge for university expenditures, the original itemized invoice or original itemized receipt must be attached to an invoice voucher and sent through the normal processes in order for the employee to be reimbursed. Reimbursement for travel charges require that a travel voucher be filed (see policy number 7.3.12 Travel Vouchers and Reimbursement). Reimbursement cannot be made from the credit card statement. Taxes cannot be reimbursed except for taxes incurred from restaurant and lodging expenditures while in travel status. The reimbursement must be made to the employee and not to the credit card company. In addition, Illinois State University cannot reimburse an individual prior to travel.
Note: The use of a personal credit card for small items and non-travel items is strongly discouraged. A credit card cannot be used to circumvent purchasing policies.
The Departmental Credit Card is a MasterCard™ for departmental purchases under $2,500. Illinois State University is embossed on the card along with an individual cardholder name.
The credit card is not to be used for personal use or borrowed by another individual.
Other guidelines include number of transactions per cycle (a cycle runs the first day of the month through the 27th) and a “not-to-exceed dollar” amount for the total purchases each month. The number of transactions and total purchase amount can be adjusted to meet requests in each department.
Since Illinois State University is tax exempt, the tax exempt number is printed on the Departmental Credit Card holder for convenience. There can be only one Card Manager for each department, but each department may have as many cardholders as needed.
The Departmental Credit Card can be used with any vendor that accepts MasterCard™ and the single purchase is under $2,500. Items such as office and computer supplies, online registration fees, books, memberships and subscriptions are examples of purchases that can be used with the card.
Note: Remember to pay\charge memberships, dues and subscriptions in the proper fiscal year
See the Comptroller's Web site for a list of prohibited purchases and information about requesting a departmental credit card.
Important Note: If a Departmental Credit Card is lost or stolen, the card manager or cardholder must immediately call Bank One at 1-800-316-6056. This person also must immediately report that the card is lost or stolen to the card administrator (438-2143) in order to inactivate the credit card. If the card has been stolen, report this theft to the University police as soon as possible.
