Purchasing Card Policy
Williams College is pleased to provide the Willams Purchasing Card for Faculty and Staff. This purchasing tool will allow you to acquire the goods and services you use, and eliminate the need for out of pocket expenses. We believe the time you take to apply for and learn to use a purchasing card is an investment that will reward you many times over.
What is a Purchasing Card?
A Purchasing Card is a payment mechanism designed to help companies and institutions maintain control, while reducing the administrative cost associated with authorizing, tracking, paying and reconciling small purchases.
How does a Purchasing Card Work?
To the end user, or purchaser, the Purchasing Card works just like a credit card. The Williams Purchasing Card is a MasterCard Corporate Purchasing Card supplied by Bank of America. Each card is assigned to a Williams account number, which can be a departmental account, grant, or other budgeted account. The subcode charge will be determined by the MCC code of the vendor. In the event the vendor MCC code is not available a determination will be made by the Controller's Office. Purchases can be reallocated from the default budget and/or subcode to another budget/subcode with an appropriate journal entry. On a monthly basis, all cardholders, or their designated "verifiers" must reconcile their card purchases to a monthly statement from the bank, and forward documentation to the Controller's Office for review and archival storage. Williams College pays the bank in full, on a monthly basis, for all transactions that have occurred during the billing cycle.
Program Goals
- Reduce costs associated with small dollar purchases
- Maintain or improve accountability and control
- Streamline administrative overhead and procedures
- Replace paper-based systems with electronic solutions
- Improve faculty and staff efficiency and effectiveness
Benefits to the Cardholder
- Reduction of petty cash reimbursement and out-of-pocket expenses
- More options for small dollar purchases conducted by phone, electronically, or from local merchants
- Automated recording and notification of transactions through monthly statements
Benefits to Williams College
- Consolidating invoicing and payments
- Increase accountability and control of small dollar purchasing
- MasterCard may be more widely accepted than American Express
Benefits to Vendors Doing Business with Williams College
- Eliminates the need for local vendors to do time consuming billing to various campus offices.
- Payment received within 72 hours of transaction posting.
topPurchasing Card Procedures
Cardholder Procedures
- Application needs to be filled out for every candidate with the appropriate department manager as well as the Controller's Office approval.
- Cardholder reviews and retains policy and procedure information.
- Cardholder reviews and signs cardholder agreement.
- Within the first week of each month a statement will arrive from Bank of America directly to the cardholder.
- Cardholders or their staff needs to return monthly statements and the IRS Documentation of Business Expense form with receipts, invoices, packing slips (with proper signatures as to who received the good or service) within 15 working days back to the Controller's Office.
- If there is a discrepancy in the charge or charges it is the responsibility of the cardholder or their staff to make the initial dispute. It is also up to the cardholder to see that all credits are appropriately recorded in a timely manner.
- The purchasing card can be terminated at any time for any reason by the Controller's Office. If you are terminated, retire or leave Williams College the card must be turned in immediately to the Controller's Office.
Controller's Office Procedures
- The first day of each month the bank is paid and the credit limit is refreshed.
- All charges need to be retrieved from Bank of America and posted in the FRS system.
- The individual cardholder statements should be received within 15 days of the monthend. They should be checked for accuracy and proper reporting guidelines.
Recommended Uses for the Purchasing Card
The following is a short list of examples of items that can be bought with a Purchasing Card:
- Small local or on account purchases (i.e. McClelland's Office Supply, Hot Tomato's)
- Items ordered from catalogs or on the Internet
- Charges at local restaurants
- Travel expenses
- Items formerly purchases with petty cash
It's FAST because you don't need to process an AP voucher, so you're saving time and money on processing costs.
It's EASY because all you have to do is present the Purchasing Card or give the Purchasing Card number to the merchant over the phone, and your order will be placed and paid for on a timely basis.
It's CONVENIENT because you may carry the card with you, and you don't need to use your own money for departmental needs and expenses, then be reimbursed.
A Purchasing Card is a credit card for Williams College faculty and staff to use for college business only. Williams Purchasing Cards are issued by Bank of America, and are a MasterCard product. Authorized vendors that accept MasterCard for payment can accept Williams Purchasing Card.
Each Williams Purchasing Card has a specified limit set by the Controller's Office. Cards are initially assigned a default account number and object code. For a given transaction, however, account numbers and object codes can be changed and charges split among several accounts, if so desired. Instead of paying numerous individual invoices to various vendors, Williams makes one consolidated payment to Bank of America each month.
Up-Front Authority
For the Purchasing Card to have its most beneficial impact on the way Williams conducts its purchasing and payment processes, we have designed it so the the purchasing authority is up-front. Essentially, the cardholder is delegated the authority (by management or their supervisor) to purchase certain goods and services. Transactions are reviewed by the cardholder (if they have been delegated that authority by their management), or by a designated verifier and reconciled against a monthly statement from Bank of America. Misuse of the card may result in revocation of the card or other disciplinary action.
The card should be kept in a safe place. If the card is lost or stolen please notify Bank of America - Customer Service immediately at 1-888-449-2273.
College Contact
In the event you need additional cards or an increase in your spending limit contact Abby Bienkowski (x4413) in the Controller's Office.