Procedure: ANU Purchase Card Procedure

  Card Issue

1. Cards are issued on a needs basis to individual Officers in Budget Units subject to the approval by the Head of Budget Unit or Head of Department.

    

2. A NAB Purchase Card Application Form should be completed by the Head of Budget Unit or Head of Department.

    

3. The nominated cardholder must:
   1. Complete the Employee Number and Cardholder Details section of the Cardholder Application Form
   2. Sign and date in the box identified as Cardholder Consent
   3. Read and sign the ANU Cardholder Agreement
   4. Retain a copy of the Cardholder Agreement

    

4. The Application form and Cardholder Agreement should then be forwarded to the Budget Unit Business Office for verification. The Budget Unit Business Office will then retain the Cardholder Agreement, complete their section of the application form and forward the Application form to the Card Controller, Financial Services.

    

5. In determining the monthly credit limit, consideration should be given to the expected number of transactions to be made in one month and the average value of transactions that the Cardholder is delegated to incur.

    

6. The application form is then authorised by a University bank signatory from Finance & Business Services, and the Card Controller is then responsible for obtaining the Purchase Card from the National Australia Bank.

    

7. The Purchase Card will be presented to the Cardholder subject to the satisfactory completion of the ‘100 point’ bank test. The card must be signed by the Cardholder immediately on receipt.

Card Purchases

1. A sales voucher authorised by the Cardholder must be retained for each purchase to facilitate matching of transactions received from the bank. The Cardholder is to ensure that goods purchases are adequately described on the sales voucher to also facilitate the entry of the purchase into the ESP PCS. The description ‘goods’ is not acceptable. Other documentation that will require retention for matching against the bank transactions includes invoices issued by the supplier or goods received notes for equipment purchases. Where entertainment expenditure is incurred, an ‘Entertainment Expense Claim Form’ (Form FBT/1) must also be completed to support the decision made regarding Fringe Benefits charging of the expenditure.

    

2. The card may be used for telephone orders and mail requests, especially for purchases from overseas suppliers. In these cases a copy of the payment advice, eg. Invoice, telephone bill, conference registration slip etc. should be retained, signed and dated by the Cardholder when the transaction has occurred. Where the telephone payment is transacted through an automated credit card payment service, then the receipt number issued by the service should also be recorded on the documentation.

Accounting for card purchases/transactions

1. A file of Purchasing Card transactions is extracted daily by Financial Services Business Solutions from the National Australia Bank corporate banking systems. These transactions are then imported into the ESP Procurement Card System (PCS) on the same day thus providing a timely recording of all card transactions.

    

2. The bank transactions must then be confirmed by either matching against commitment or encumbrance transactions previously raised in the ESP PCS or by confirming the transaction directly. In confirming the transaction directly, the description of the goods/services acquired, the ledger account to be charged and the name of the supplier are required to be entered into the ESP PCS.

    

3. The ESP PCS has been implemented to provide sufficient flexibility for the management of card transactions. Cardholders have the option of confirming the card transactions themselves or providing the supporting documentation to another reviewing officer to confirm the transactions on their behalf. The reviewing officer can be a person within the Cardholder’s immediate area, or an officer provided by the Business Office of the relevant Budget Unit.

    

4. The flexibility of the ESP PCS also allows for the Cardholder/reviewing officer to determine the most appropriate, effective and efficient frequency of confirmation of transactions. This could be daily, weekly or monthly, however transactions must be confirmed at least monthly. Business Officers are responsible for ensuring that card transactions are confirmed at least monthly by the Cardholder/reviewing officer.

    

5. The confirmation of transactions will produce a ‘group’ or batch for the transactions confirmed by the Cardholder. All supporting documentation must be attached to this group. The group should then be forwarded to Finance & Business Services for filing and retention for the statutory archiving period.

    

6. The onus is on the supplier to verify the validity of any card transactions. Failure to do so will result in the reversal of the card transactions within 14 days of a dispute being registered. As a result, the ESP PCS allows disputed amounts to be marked by entering the disputed amount into the relevant disputed amount field. Where the dispute is regarding a part delivery of goods or an incorrect charge, the supplier should be contacted by the Cardholder in an attempt to resolve the dispute. Where the card transaction is unknown or the supplier fails to resolve the dispute, the dispute must be faxed to the NAB using the Disputed Purchase Card Transaction Form (available on web).

Withdrawal of Purchasing Card from a Cardholder

The ANU VISA Purchase Card may be withdrawn under the following circumstances:

• The Cardholder has not complied with the University rules and all rights to the card have been forfeited;

• The Cardholder has resigned or transferred to another School/Section in the University;

• The Cardholder no longer works in the position and the authority to hold a card has been withdrawn.

When a card is withdrawn, the Cardholder is to return the card to the Business Office or their supervisor for subsequent forwarding to the Card Controller, Finance & Business Services. The Card Controller will then advise the National Australia Bank of the withdrawal of the card and destroy the card. The Business Office should ensure that all outstanding transactions are confirmed.

Where a Cardholder transfers within the University but the requirement for the Purchase Card still remains, then the Business Office of the ‘old’ Budget Unit should notify the Card Controller of the details of the transfer and ensure any outstanding bank transactions are confirmed through the ESP PCS. The ‘new’ Business Office should then provide an approval from the Head of Budget Unit or Head of Department authorising the use of the card for the new Budget Unit. Where such an approval is not received within one month of the transfer, the Purchasing Card will be cancelled by the Card Controller.

Disputed Transactions

When a transaction is in dispute the National Australia Bank should be notified using the Disputed Purchase Card Transaction Form Letter .

The Cardholder must allow 45 days for the dispute to be resolved. If the merchant has not resolved the dispute with the bank, then a reversal will be automatically put through by the National Australia Bank on the relevant Purchase Card.

Note: If the charge that is in dispute is confirmed by the Bank as being correct, a fee will be incurred on the Purchase Card. This charge will be distributed to the respective school/department of the Cardholder.

Lost or Stolen Card

The Cardholder is responsible for the security of the ANU Purchase Card and the transactions made with the card. If a card is lost or stolen the following steps should be undertaken:

1. The Cardholder should call the Bank Lost/Stolen Card Number Line - Telephone 1800 033 103. A Customer Service Representative will block use of the card and order a replacement card with a new account number. The Cardholder should note the time and date of the call to the Bank hotline number.

    

2. The Cardholder should notify the Budget Unit Business Office by telephone or email and provide them with information about the lost or stolen card.

    

3. Either the Cardholder or the Business Office or Administrative Support unit must email the ANU Card Controller with details of the loss/theft so that the central card administration database is updated and the procedures for the distribution of the replacement card can be implemented.

Replacement Card

Replacement Cards are automatically sent to the ANU Card Controller, who will advise the Cardholder by email when to come and collect the replacement card. The Cardholder will need to provide proof of identity but not verify the 100 points test again. The card must be collected in person, signed for, and the back of the card must also be signed in the presence of the ANU Card Controller. It will also be necessary for the Cardholder to re-complete the ANU Cardholder Agreement form.