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My Procurement Card Was Declined
Why did my transaction decline?
Your Procurement Card purchase might be declined at the point of sale even if a merchant accepts the Procurement Card (Visa card). USBank utilizes specific mechanisms that trigger a decline on Procurement Cards to protect the cardholder, the merchant, and UCSD.
If your Procurement Card is declined:
The first step is always to contact U.S. Bank at (800) 344-5696 and request the decline reason. Once the decline reason is provided, contact the Procurement Card team to troubleshoot specific issues such as limits and opening vendor codes.
Common Decline Reasons:
Standard Limits
The purchase exceeds the allowed amount: A purchase cannot exceed the maximum single purchase limit of $4,999 maximum transaction amount. This maximum includes charges for tax, freight, and handling. Cumulative purchases cannot exceed the maximum cycle limit of $20,000.
Incorrectly entered information
The account number has been transposed: A transaction will be declined if either the cardholder or merchant transposes the card account number while completing the transaction. If a card is declined, verify the account number with the merchant in case this error has occurred.
Billing Address
The billing address does not match the address provided by the cardholder at the point of purchase.
The transaction is coded as fraud by USBank
Transactions often fall within USBank’s fraud parameters. For declined transaction reason, please contact U.S. Bank at (800) 344-5696 and request the decline reason.
When calling US Bank please be prepared to provide the following:
- Last 4 digits of your employee ID ( in lieu of social security #)
- Zip code and/or linked to the card
Merchant Category Code (MCC) not approved
The Merchant Category Code (MCC) is not approved for usage on the cardholder's Procurement Card
PayPal
If you find your Procurement Card is not being accepted with a message such as "The card you entered cannot be used for this payment. Please enter a different credit or debit card number." it might be due to one of the following reasons:
- Your card is associated with a specific PayPal account, and you're not logging in with that particular account.
- Your card was associated with a PayPal account that has since been closed.
- You've linked the card to a PayPal account, but have not yet confirmed it.
- You've exceeded your card limit with the PayPal system.
- Your email address is raising a red flag in PayPal's system.
- Your browser is not accepting cookies. You should clear any existing cookies and try again.
The Procurement Card team nor USBank can provide assistance for the above items. The cardholder must contact PayPal directly for assistance. The PayPal customer service number is 1 (402) 935-2050 for purchases made through their service.
The card has not been activated
A transaction will be declined if the cardholder has not activated a newly assigned or renewed card. See How to Become a Cardholder for additional information.
Why is my Procurement Card inactive?
USBank will automatically terminate an Procurement Card after 24 consecutive months of inactivity or the card has not been activated within 30 days of its arrival.
If you are a cardholder you may receive an email reminding you to activate your Procurement Card. If you receive an email activate the Procurement Card immediately. If the card is not activated within the next 30 days the card will be canceled without further notice.
If your Procurement Card was canceled due to inactivity, we will not reactivate it unless there is a predetermined upcoming change in future card usage. Consistent with UCOP policy and US Bank recommendations we realize that inactive cards pose a financial risk and have agreed to cancel an Procurement Card due to consistent usage, without notice.
How do I check my Procurement Card balance?
The standard cycle limit on all Procurement Cards is $20,000 and the cycle runs from the 16th of the month to the 15th of the month.
As an Procurement Card cardholders, you can complete the online self-registration process for U.S. Bank by following these instructions from the How to Become a Cardholder Section and U.S. Bank Access Online Section
This will allow you to create your own Access Online User ID with access to your card account's profile information, reporting, and electronic statements.
Where is my new card? My current card is expired.
Procurement Cards expire every four years on the last day of the expiration month and are good through the last day of the month in which they expire. Example: A card with an expiration date of 06/21 will expire on June 30, 2021.
- Replacement Procurement Cards are sent from U. S. Bank directly to the cardholder at their UCSD mail code, two weeks before the expiration month. Example: US Bank will send a replacement card out towards the end of second week of May when the cards expiration date is 6/21.
- Once the new Procurement Card is activated, destroy the expired Procurement Card.
- Unfortunately, the Procurement Card team cannot track the status of replacement cards.
- Contact US Bank, 1-800-344-5696, if you do not receive your new card by the last day of the card's expiration month.
- While working remote during COVID-19 pandemic, cardholder's may contact US Bank to have their replacement card sent to their home address.
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Fraud or Lost/Stolen Procurement Cards
Who can report fraud or a lost or stolen Procurement Card?
The Procurement Card cardholder is the only entity authorized to contact the USBank for a lost card, stolen card, unidentified, fraudulent, or inaccurate charges.
It is the responsibility of the DA to ensure the cardholder submits the card cancel request in Concur prior to the cardholder leaving, retiring, or transferring. If the cardholder has separated from UCSD and can no longer submit a card cancel request in Concur, the DA MUST contact the Procurement Card team via the UC San Diego Services & Support Portal to submit a case to cancel the card on their behalf. If an unidentified, fraudulent, or inaccurate charge appears after the separation, please notify the Procurement Card team via UC San Diego Services & Support portal.
What do I need to do if my Procurement Card is lost or stolen?
Use these step-by-step instructions to report an Procurement Card that has been lost or stolen.
- Gather cardholder account information
- Contact U.S. Bank at (800) 344-5696.
- Inform the bank representative that your "purchasing card" has been lost or stolen.
- Contact your Department Administrator (DA) and inform your DA that:
- Your Procurement Card was lost/ stolen or that unidentified/ fraudulent charges were posted to your account.
- U.S. Bank was contacted to report the issue.
- The new Procurement Card will be delivered via mail in 7-10 business days.
- A new Procurement Card does not need to be requested through Concur.
- The Procurement Card should not be canceled in Concur.
- No DA action is required.
- Complete the Affidavit
- U.S. Bank may mail you an affidavit, which you must complete and return within the allotted time frame in order to receive credit for the charges.
- A copy of this affidavit must be uploaded to each fraudulent transaction in Concur.
Note: The DA assumes all responsibilities for transactions that occur after an employee has separated i.e.: completing and signing the affidavit on behalf of the cardholder.
How do I handle a fraudulent charge?
Use these steps to report unidentifiable or fraudulent charges to your Procurement Card.
- Gather cardholder account information
- Contact U.S. Bank at (800) 523-9078
- Inform the bank representative that unidentifiable or fraudulent charges were posted to your "purchasing card."
- Contact your Department Administrator (DA) and inform your DA that:
- Your Procurement Card was lost/ stolen or that unidentified/ fraudulent charges were posted to your account.
- U.S. Bank was contacted to report the issue.
- The new Procurement Card will be delivered via mail in 3–5 business days.
- A new Procurement Card does not need to be requested through Concur.
- The Procurement Card should not be canceled in Concur.
- No DA action is required.
- Complete the Affidavit
- U.S. Bank will mail you an affidavit, which you must complete and return within the allotted time frame in order to receive credit for the charges.
- A copy of this affidavit must be uploaded to each fraudulent transaction using Concur.
Note: The DA assumes all responsibilities for transactions that occur after an employee has separated i.e.: completing and signing the affidavit on behalf of the cardholder.
How do I reconcile a Procurement Card fraudulent charge or credit in Concur?
For instructions on how to reconcile fraudulent charges in Concur, please visit this Knowledge Based Article
Things to Note:
You do not need to create a separate expense report for a fraudulent charge, it can be included with other expenses.
You do not need to wait for a fraudulent credit to come into Concur, you can reconcile the fraudulent charge as is.
Fraudulent transactions or fraudulent credits cannot be removed/deleted from Concur. Once they are listed under available expenses, they must be reconciled.
When should a Procurement Card Cardholder dispute a charge?
Each cardholder is responsible for promptly resolving all disputed transactions with the issuing bank and the merchant. The cardholder remains responsible for pursuing the matter to resolution.
The cardholder can file a dispute with a U.S. Bank Customer Service Representative at 800-344-5696. A cardholder can also file a dispute online with U.S. Bank Access Online. The cardholder's Procurement Card must be registered with Access Online. Common problems include:
- Billed for a different amount
- Duplicate billing
- Billed for merchandise you never received
- Associated credit not received
Note: The dispute must be reported within 60 days after the date on which the transaction.
How do I file a dispute?
- Contact the Merchant
- Contact the merchant to discuss the disputed item.
- If you are unable to resolve the dispute with the merchant, proceed to Step 2.
- Log into US Bank Access Online
- Click on Transaction Management followed by Transaction List.
- Select the transaction at the left (you may have to search the previous billing cycle for the specific transaction to appear).
- Click on Dispute to initiate the dispute.
- Follow the prompts and submit the claim. The transaction status should reflect 'D'.
- U.S. Bank opens and will conduct an investigation, normally within 30 days of filing the dispute.
- If the resolution is in favor of the cardholder the amount of the disputed charge will be credited back to the account once the investigation is completed.
- If the resolution is in favor of the merchant the account will continue to be charged for the disputed amount.
All decisions from US Bank are final. Dispute resolution correspondence must be uploaded to the transaction using Concur.
Can I purchase from a foreign vendor?
Usually.
You can use the Procurement Card to purchase goods from a foreign vendor if the vendor:
- Is not listed in the Restricted Party Screening (RPS) on VisualCompliance.com, to ensure compliance with federal export control regulations. For more information see Restricted Party Screening (RPS)
- Accepts Visa ©
- Does not require a written purchase order document
Common foreign purchases include software programs downloaded electronically, publications, and reprints.
Foreign purchases that cannot be obtained with the Procurement Card include those that require duty papers or that are shipped FOB Origin. A professional buyer must coordinate these types of purchases.
What are some of the restricted suppliers?
Some supplier types are restricted and automatically excluded from the Procurement Card. Restricted suppliers include but are not limited to:
- Liquor stores
- Airlines
- Rental car agencies
- Hotels
- Restaurants
- Automated teller machines (ATMs)
Integrated Pay to Procure Solutions has specific guidelines for University faculty and staff in determining the appropriate method of payment for common, routine purchases. While some items are restricted the Procurement Card is the preferred method for many purchases.
How can I purchase clinical trial gift cards?
Gift cards for clinical trials can be purchased using a Human Subject Procurement Card (HSPC)
To request a Human Subject Procurement Cards please submit your request in Concur.
How can I temporarily increase my Procurement Card limit?
When a Procurement Card credit limit or single purchase limit increase is being requested, you may submit this request in Concur. Prior to submitting your request please ensure you have gathered the following to include in your Concur request:
- Cardholder's name
- last 4 digits of the card
- The dollar amount needed to accommodate the purchase
- The date range in which you estimate making the purchase
- Is there a contract involved? If Yes, the Procurement Card cannot be used as the payment method for this expense. See explanations to assist you in determining the correct payment type to select when using Oracle and Concur
- A DETAILED business purpose of what will be purchased and why
- A quote or list of goods and services (If applicable, attach to your request)
Any additional information provided will make it easier. Once you have submitted your request in Concur. It will be routed for approval to your Department Administrator (DA) and then to your Financial Unit (FinUnit) approver before it reaches the Procurement Card team for review. Your request will be reviewed within 48 hours.
Note: If the limit increase request is larger than normal please keep in mind there should be higher levels of accountability to reduce your department's liability. Please ensure the Common Purchases page is reviewed, no purchases are made from the restricted items list, no contracts are required or signed, and attachments are appropriately uploaded within the redistribution period. If it is a questionable purchase please reach out to us first to ensure your department’s Procurement Cards are not put at risk of suspension or closure.
*For further guidance on how to submit this request in Concur, please visit this Knowledge Base Article for step by step instructions.
How do I request an MCC exception?
If the Procurement Card was declined please have the cardholder reach out to USBank at 1-800-523-9078.
If the decline reason is due to a blocked Merchant Category Code (MCC) you can request for the Procurement Card team to lift the MCC in Concur. To request an MCC exception the Procurement Card cardholder or cardholder delegate can submit a request in Concur. Prior to submitting your request please ensure you have gathered the following to include in your Concur request:
- The cardholders name
- Last 4 digits of the card
- Is there a contract involved? If Yes, the Procurement Card cannot be used as the payment method for this expense. See explanations to assist you in determining the correct payment type to select when using Oracle and Concur
- Lyft Event or Lyft Concierge? If Yes, requests to lift the MCC for Lyft Ride Share will continue to be submitted via the UC San Diego Services & Support Portal. Visit Lyft Events or Lyft Concierge for guidance on how to submit a request to the Lyft Program Manager
- Whether this is a permanent or temporary MCC open request
- MCC Code ( if applicable, the Procurement Card team can locate it if you were declined or have used this vendor before in the past)
- Dollar amount needed to accommodate the purchase
- A DETAILED business purpose of what is being purchased and why
- A quote or list of goods and services (attach this to your concur request if applicable)
Any additional information provided will make it easier. Once you have provided this information in your Concur request we can review your Procurement Card MCC request. If approved, the exception will be applied immediately and the user will be notified of the MCC exception approval via the Concur request they submitted.
Visit this KBA for step by step instructions on how to submit a Procurement Card MCC Request Card Action.
The Procurement Card team can provide exceptions for these blocked MCCs via Concur.
- Food for student only programmatic events
- If any outside guest, including the community, nonstudents, faculty, or staff are in attendance this would then be a violation.
- To reconcile these transactions the attachment must describe the title of the event, the business purpose, and who was in attendance.
- Mail to purchase stamps off campus
- Transportation for a human subject, research, and participant studies
- Florists for office decor in welcome areas
Please note that we cannot lift MCCs based off of a vendor name. We must know the exact Merchant Category Code, if you are declined we can view the code and obtain the MCC that way. If you are uncertain your payment will not go through to a certain payee due to the type of transaction, we cannot lift the MCC ahead of time by the merchant name. The cardholder will need to make the purchase, if it is declined then we can go ahead and obtain the MCC from the declined transaction.
For any exception made by the Procurement Card Team, you will need to reference your Concur Request ID or Services & Support ticket # in the business purpose of your expense when reconciling. You will reference the approval in Concur, every time you make a purchase that you received an exception for.
How can I request a permanent limit increase?
Integrated Procure to Pay Solution (IPPS) can provide an exception to permanently increase the credit limit or single purchase limit on a Procurement Card. To request a permanent limit increase, please log into Concur and submit a Permanent Limit Increase Request. You will be asked to provide the following:
-
- Log into Concur using your Single Sign-On
- Create a Request - Permanent Limit Increase
- Complete the Procurement Card Permanent Increase Request (PDF) form
- Upload the Permanent Increase Request PDF in Attachments
- Submit Request
It can take up to 30 days for a permanent limit increase request to be approved. While it is being reviewed, the Procurement Card team can place a temporary limit increase for the time being.
For further guidance on how to submit this request in Concur, please visit this Knowledge Base Article for step by step instructions.
Where did this policy come from?
Who can apply to be a Procurement Card cardholder?
Anyone that has an active employee ID can apply for a Procurement Card.
Can a non-university staff or faculty have a Procurement Card?
With prior approval.
Procurement Cards shall be issued only to University faculty and staff. Any exceptions must be approved by the campus Controller. Upon approval, these individuals must complete the same training required as University employees, prior to receiving a procurement card or assuming their role.
Can we have a department or lab Procurement Card?
No.
A department or business unit may not issue a single procurement card for use by multiple employees. Purchasing cards may be issued to employees, if the use thereof is supported by a specific business need and guidelines for use are implemented.
The individual whose name appears on a card is responsible for protecting that card and is accountable for all purchases made using that card number. The cardholder may not share their procurement card or
number with any other person. To safeguard against the unauthorized use of the card, all orders placed using a card should be made only by the cardholder. .
Before issuance of a card, each cardholder shall be required to sign a statement acknowledging receipt of the card and agreeing to be bound by the terms and conditions of University procurement card use.
Can a cardholder serve as their own Department Administrator ?
No.
This answer is based on BFS-BUS-43 (PDF): In order to ensure that the verification of expenditures is an entirely independent process, this person should not be the subordinate of any procurement cardholder.
To ensure proper separation of duties, different personnel must be assigned different roles within the Procurement Card program.
Special exceptions can be made for small departments. They must confirm the number of staff in the employees in the department and agree to frequent random audits to ensure the quality of work is consistent.
What is the US Bank Customer Service phone number?
1-800-344-5696
Why is my single purchase limit $4,999.00?
The limit is set at $4,999 as a safeguard against cardholders attempting to purchase items that would fall under inventorial equipment (i.e. $5k and above - should go through PO process, to be capitalized, depreciated, etc.).
What do I do if I make an accidental personal purchase?
Once the Procurement Card has been charged, the purchase cannot be removed. To avoid a violation against the cardholder, the department administrator and the cardholder should seek a refund from the supplier as the initial corrective action item.
If a refund cannot be provided please notify the Procurement Card team via the UC San Diego Services & Support portal with the following information:
- Cardholders name
- Last 4 digits of the card number
- Department's response and corrective action
- Please advise on what the department has done to ensure the cardholder is aware this type of purchase cannot be made with the Procurement Card. Examples include:
- Letter to cardholder informing them of policy
- Email to department providing training on restricted purchases
- Requests for the cardholder to retake UCLearning Cardholder Orientation course
- Written warning the card is at risk for suspension
The department can also choose to cancel the card if they believe this was intentional or request corrective action from the cardholder.
In a situation where an employee needs to pay the University back for a personal/non-reimbursable charge incurred on a Procurement Card, please visit this KBA for a detailed step by step procedures guide on how to reconcile this expense type.
- IMPORTANT: DO NOT use the chart string provided in Step C5.c.ii of the KBA above, in the Report Header of the Concur Expense Report. The department chart string is what needs to be used in the Concur Expense Report Header, while the chart string provided in the KBA, Step C.5.c.ii should only be used for the Cashier’s Deposit Form.
We ask that if a personal purchase has been accidentally made on the Procurement Card, please do not make a direct payment to US Bank as payments should never be made to US Bank by a Cardholder or Department.
What do I do with my Procurement Card if I am taking a leave of absence?
If you are taking a leave of absence for more than 30 days (IE: maternity, personal, medical) you should ensure your card is locked up or with you in a safe place. Submit a request in Concur to have your card limits lowered before you leave on your leave of absence. Once you return, you will submit a request in Concur to have your card limits re-instated. If you have recurring transactions set up on your Procurement Card, they will need to be moved to another card holder if you will be on leave for more than 30 days. As a reminder, your card should never be used by anyone else.
What should a department do if a cardholder leaves the University and they have outstanding transactions?
We highly encourage that if a department knows a cardholder is leaving or retiring, that the cardholder needs to reconcile and submit all expenses in an expense report PRIOR to them leaving/retiring. The card should also not be used or have ANY reoccurring transactions come through after the cardholder has left.
If the cardholder had Delegation of Authority on their Procurement Card Concur profile, prior to them separating, any Delegate can act on behalf of the cardholder and create or submit expense reports on the separated cardholders behalf.
In the case that a cardholder is terminated, leaves unexpectedly, and does NOT have Delegation of Authority on their Procurement Card profile, the cardholder's Concur profile can be transferred to someone else within the department. The employee that takes on the that card profile should be someone who is familiar with Procurement Card reconciliation's and Procurement Card policy.
Please follow these steps:
Submit a case via the UC San Diego Services & Support portal providing:
- The cardholders full name and their UC Path Employee ID
- The name of employee and their UC Path Employee ID, of the person who will have the separated cardholder's profile transferred too
- Confirm the cardholder's card is closed
- Confirm there are no open Procurement Card expense reports on the cardholder's profile
Once the Procurement Card team has received the case, they will transfer the card profile. Then the employee that took the card profile on can log into their own Concur profile and will see transferred transactions listed under Available Expenses.
Expenses cannot be transferred over if they are assigned to an expense report. If the transactions in Concur have already been added to an Expense Report, a Delegate will need to go in and delete the expense report(s). Once the transactions are showing in the separated cardholder's, Available Expenses in Concur, they can be transferred over to the employee you have requested.
Once the transfer of the profile has been completed by the Procurement Card team, the new owner of those Procurement Card transactions will be able to log into their own Concur profile and see all of the transactions for the separated cardholder, under Available Expenses.
Things to Note:
- The only time a Procurement Card profile can be transferred to someone else is when the cardholder has permanently separated from the University or if a cardholder has been on leave for more than 30 days and is not coming back for a while.
- If a cardholder has transferred to another department, the cardholder (or their delegate if they have Delegation of Authority) are still responsible for submitting their own expense reports.
- Delegates will still have access to act on behalf of the separated cardholder to access previously completed expense reports.
- If a vendor ever submits a credit on a separated employee's Procurement Card, and the card profile was transferred to someone else before the credit came in, the credit will appear on the employee's Concur profile that owns, the separated cardholder's profile.
- The Procurement Card should be canceled no later than the last day the cardholder has worked. It is the responsibility of the Department Administrator and Cardholder to cancel the card BEFORE the employee has left the University. If any fraudulent transactions come in after the employee has left and the card was not closed, the Department is held liable for those transactions if the bank is not able to reverse those fraudulent transactions. Please ensure the card is canceled in US Bank before requesting to transfer over any transactions to someone else.
What should the department do if the current Department Administrator (DA) leaves/transfers from the department?
When a Department Administrator leaves or transfers, the department needs to submit a ticket to the Procurement Card team in Services and Support with the following information:
- The name and employee ID of the DA that is leaving
- The name, employee ID, & email address of the person who will be the new DA
- A list of the Financial Units that need to be assigned to the new DA ( all cardholders listed under the Financial Unit provided will be assigned to the new DA)
OR
- You can request to have all cardholder's that are currently under the old DA, be moved to the new DA. ( Must provide the old DA's employee ID & email address)
The Procurement Card Team now has reporting in Concur that allows them to:
- Search by an employee ID and see who their DA is
- Search by a DA employee ID and see the list of cardholder's assigned to them
- Search by Financial Unit to get the list of cardholders assigned to that Financial Unit
The Procurement Card Team can also run reporting in US Bank by mail code. If the cardholder's are current with their mail codes on their US Bank card profile, the P-card team can run a query that provides a list of cardholder names by mail code.
*Please note that a Concur Approval Role Request will NOT remove or transfer cardholders. The concur approval role request is only one part of a two step process. Approver Role Requests grant you authority to be selected in the approval flows in requests but does not assign you cardholders. You do not become a DA until you have you been assigned cardholders in Concur by the Procurement Card team. This is a two step process, please visit Program Roles on How to Become a Department Administrator for detailed information on this process.
Can I purchase equipment on a Procurement Card?
The standard answer is no but...
increasing the Procurement Card limit for certain purchases can be approved. Prior to purchase, approval is required if the purchase is for one piece of equipment with a cost of over $4,999. Please contact a commodity Strategic Procurement Buyer and Campus Asset Management System aka (CAMS) for approval
Forward both approval emails through the UC San Diego Services & Support portal for further assistance. Once both approvals are received, the Procurement Card team will gladly provide the requested increase to the Procurement Card.
What is considered a gift or award?
Gifts and awards including but not limited to:
- Awards
- Cash equivalent awards
- Charitable contributions
- Donor or potential donor gifts
- Door prizes
- Flowers
- Employee birthdays
- Weddings
- Anniversaries
- Nonretirement farewell gatherings
- Administrative Professionals' Day (Secretary's Day)
- Gifts, Gift cards, Gift certificates, Gift wrapping
- Inscribed, embroidered, or engraved goods
- Length of services
- Party or event
- Plaques
- Political or campaign contributions
- Prizes
- Raffles
- Retirement
- Recognition
- Flowers
- Fruit, candy, or food items
- Books or similar items
- Parking permits
- Transit passes
- Sympathy
- Tickets to sporting, production, or cultural events
- Volunteer gifts
What is considered promotional material?
Appropriate types of gifts for non-employees include:
Promotional materials include goods strictly for non employees and organizations outside of UC San Diego
- Must be tangible, personal property (non-cash)
- Cannot exceed $75 per recipient
- Includes the UCSD or University logo
- Examples:
- T-shirts,
- caps,
- pennants,
- mugs, and
- pens bearing
- Is not included in a door prize, raffle, or participation incentive
When do I need to use Facilities Management?
Facilities Management services many functions including building and landscape services, fleet services, production management, customer service and maintenance requests, project management, and sustainability. Here is a list Facilities Management Services:
- Building and office alterations, maintenance & repairs
- Lock & key services
- Electronic access control system
- Key cutting, rekey door, cabinets, and desks
- Replace and repair lockset
- Electrical maintenance
- Cleaning services
- Additional trash, recycling cans, and dumpster
- Class, Clinic, Exam, and conference rooms
- Kitchenettes and break rooms, Labs, Offices, Restrooms
- Landscaping
- Landscaping architecture and design
- Landscape and hardcopy projects
- Vegetation management
- Tree trimming
- Sign fabrication
- Award and donor recognition plaques
- Banners, table covers, and digital printing
- 3 Dimensional signs
- Dimensional letting on buildings
- Signage fabricated from acrylic, aluminum, or PVC
- Creative displays
Can I pay for my conference registration with a Procurement Card?
Only under certain constraints. The conference registration must:
- Not have any other expense that will be reimbursed in Concur.
- Not include any additional items in the cost such as lodging, meals, or welcome reception.
- Be for a student (Non-employee) or a non-employee of UCSD.
- Accepts credit card as the only payments method and is due within less than 3 weeks.
Reasons these constraints are in place:
- If the student has a valid employee ID they can be paid through payroll and they can also apply for a Travel and Expense Card.
- The Procurement Card program is located in a different department from Travel who has their own set of policies and procedures.
- Registration outside of the listed constraints above are considered restricted purchase.
Can I pay for a training with my Procurement Card?
Only under these constraints:
- The training does not have any other travel expense that will be reimbursed in Concur.
- The training does not include any additional items in the cost such as meals, lodging, mileage, welcome reception, or any type of additional travel expense
If items 1 and 2 do not apply the Procurement Card may be used for the cardholder or on some one else's behalf. As long as the cardholder completes the purchase this is an allowable expense.
Here is a quick list of common purchases related to training:
- Online: training, courses, classes, orientations, and certifications
- On Campus: training, courses, classes, orientations, and certification
- Membership fees
- Professional dues
- Webinar or Zoom meetings
Is my social security number used on my procurement card application?
No. US Bank is provided your UCSD employee ID.
*Please note that in July 2020 UC Path provided all UCSD employee’s brand new ID’s. Please navigate to the UC Path Portal login page at https://ucpath.universityofcalifornia.edu page and sign in using your active directory. Once you have logged in you can view your new employee ID on the top left corner.
How do I check my Procurement Card balance?
You can create your own Access Online User ID for access to your card account's profile information, balances, and electronic statements.
Can I pay for an Amazon Prime membership on my Procurement Card?
No. Amazon Business within Marketplace provides unlimited Free Prime Shipping on all qualified orders. And provides additional benefits for using Amazon within Marketplace as a punch-out supplier.
But great news! Shoppers who access the Amazon Business punch-out feature in Marketplace are automatically registered into receiving Amazon benefits.
What does MSO stand for?
Management Services Officer
What does DBO stand for?
Department Business Officer
What does PI stand for?
Principle Investigator
Is a packing slip a required attachment upload?
Packing slips are not required to upload to a procurement card expense.
Can I have items shipped to an off campus address?
- With prior approval, Procurement card cardholder's can request to ship goods they have purchased on their P card, to an address other than campus. We have replaced the form we use and the new process will require to submit a request in Concur. Visit this KBA for how to submit a request to get approval to ship goods to an off campus address. Once you have received approval from the Procurement Card Team, the cardholder may ship items to an off campus address. The turn around time to get this request reviewed by the Central Office is 72 hours.
- When reconciling expenses, in the detailed business purpose for that expense, you must provide the alpha numeric Concur Request ID for every transaction in which goods are shipped to an off campus address.
- Please note that if you are ordering items on your own Procurement Card on behalf of someone else and the items need to be shipped to that person's address, the request only needs to be submitted by the Procurement Card cardholder and NOT the person receiving the items. As a Cardholder, you will only need to submit one request for yourself in Concur, to be able to ship items to ANY off campus address.
How do I cancel/close a card? Submit a name Change? Submit a mail code change?
Log into Concur using your Single Sign-On. Click on the Requests module at the top of the screen. This will take you to the Requests module homepage. Within the request module you will have the option to close/cancel a card, submit a name change, and submit a mail code change.
*For further guidance on how to submit this request in Concur, please visit this Knowledge Base Article for step by step instructions.
What should I include in the business purpose or comments?
As many details as possible!
When adding a comment when you are expensing a transaction in Concur please remember to enter the following items when applicable:
- Enter a business purpose other than receipt, invoice, supplies
- Sometimes a receipt can easily explain the purchase. A detailed business purpose is still required and will save time in the long run.
- Here are examples of insufficient business descriptions:
- Article processing charges
- Publishing fee
- Receipt for online publishing
- Here are examples of detailed business descriptions
- Acceptable
- Article publication in the National Academy of Science for Professor XX
- Better
- Article publication in the National Academy of Science via Dartmouth Journal Services for Professor XX
- Preferred
- Article publication fee in the National Academy of Science via Dartmouth Journal Services for Professor XX. Volume 115. Manuscript Number: 2018XXXXXX
- Include relevant dates, service or membership term, invoice #s (if applicable),
- Spell out acronyms (unless internal to UCSD)
- For supplies: What are they? Why are they needed? Who are they for?
- All office supplies and lab supplies should have business descriptions
- Subscriptions: Publication title, term of subscription (dates), purpose (e.g., library)
- Conference (local conf. only): Organization name, dates, location & registrant name
- Membership: Organization name, term (dates), for whom
How can I submit an expense if the receipt is lost/missing?
The cardholder must contact the supplier to request a receipt.
We can provide an exception to policy but this is considered a violation that will be noted against the cardholder and by association Department Administrator and Department.
If a receipt cannot be provided by the vendor the cardholder will need to use the Receipt Declaration feature in Concur. Submitting a Services and Support Case to obtain approval and a Receipt Declaration is no longer required.
To access the Receipt Declaration in Concur, the cardholder will log into Concur, navigate to Expense, create an expense report, and add the transaction to an expense report.
Once the transaction has been added to an expense report, transactions that require a receipt will have a red receipt icon, under the receipt field.
The red receipt icon is red and has a picture of a piece of paper with a paperclip on it.
The cardholder will click on the red receipt icon and a new pop up window will open.
- The top portion of the pop up window will state:
“A receipt is required for this expense. If you are missing your receipt please use this missing receipt affidavit. To create a Missing Receipt Declaration, select the expenses(s) below that require a receipt. Please ensure you have done everything to contact the vendor/supplier for a copy of your receipt. By selecting the missing receipt option, you will be subject to a Missing Receipt Policy Violation in accordance with BFB-BUS-43 Purchases of Goods and Services; Supply Chain Management. The Policy Violation will not interrupt the use of your card. However, too many policy violations on your card profile can lead to loss of your Procurement Card privileges."
- The middle portion of the pop up window:
Will allow you to select the expenses that require a receipt. The Missing Receipt Declaration is only available for expenses where the red receipt icon shows.
- The bottom portion of the pop up window will be the acceptance:
“Acceptance: I certify that I lost my receipt and this is a valid business expense. By clicking Accept & Create, I acknowledge that my Procurement Card profile will be documented with a Missing Receipt Policy Violation. If submitting an Expense Report on behalf of a cardholder who has separated from the University, the submitter is responsible for confirming this is a valid business expense.”
Once the cardholder has clicked Accept & Create, the receipt portion of that transaction will be fulfilled.
Please Note: The red receipt icon is visible to all, but only cardholder’s can open the icon and create a Missing Receipt Declaration. Even if a delegate has a delegation of authority on their profile, the cardholder must still be the one to create the Receipt Declaration. A delegate can still create an expense report and if delegation of authority is in place, the delegate can still submit the expense report. If there is a missing receipt, the CARDHOLDER will have to go into the expense report created by the delegate, and Accept and Create the Receipt Declaration.
Can I set up reoccurring charges in Concur?
NO.
Unfortunately, Concur requires individual receipts to be uploaded to each individual expense.
What is level 3 data?
The itemized lines you are seeing within an expense in Concur are called level 3 data, in which the vendor sends over receipt information automatically. Not all transactions will have this provided, but the ones that do, that does suffice as a receipt. You would not need to add an additional receipt to those transactions that have the itemized information coming through.
How is Use Tax applied in Concur?
Use tax will be calculated once the expense report is in Oracle based on the Sales Tax paid, tax exempt code, or ship to zip code entered in Concur. Use tax is not captured in Concur so you won't see any use tax calculated in Concur.
Procurement card transactions will use OneSource in Oracle to calculate use tax based on what was entered in Concur (Expense Type, Sales Tax paid, tax exempt code, and ship to zip code).
The application OneSource is now working correctly and use tax will be assessed (and charged to the department) for the applicable P-Card transactions from July 1 to present.
Please note that since we have fully transitioned into Concur, the previously used Use Tax Correction form will no longer be applicable.
What should I put for City of Purchase?
The city of purchase should be the final destination of the product purchased. For example, if the item is going to be delivered to Arizona, then that should be the city of purchase that is selected.
How long does a cardholder have to reconcile transactions and submit an Expense Report in Concur?
We advise creation/submission of Expense Reports should be monthly. We are requesting that cardholders reconcile transactions in the month the charge to the card was made (i.e. the same month the transaction becomes an Available Expense in Concur).
Please be aware that you are not required to submit an Expense Report for every individual transaction. It is recommended that cardholders combine multiple transactions onto one Expense Report. A cardholder can create an Expense Report, but not click submit. That Expense report will be saved in Concur. As the cardholder receives transactions in Concur, the Cardholder should continue to review, upload receipts, and add those transactions onto that saved Expense Report. During the last week of the month, the Cardholder would click “Submit” to route one Expense Report containing all transactions taking place during the month for approval.
An example is as follows:
- Cardholder sees a transaction post in Concur on July 5, 2020
- Cardholder creates an Expense Report Titled: July 2020
- Cardholder reviews the transaction, adds the Available Expense to the July 2020 Expense Report and attaches receipt(s)
- Cardholder clicks Save, but does not click Submit
- Cardholder sees a second and third transaction post in Concur on July 10, 2020
- Cardholder reviews the transactions, adds the Available Expenses to the saved July 2020 Expense Report and attaches receipt(s)
- Cardholder clicks Save, but does not click submit
- Cardholder sees a fourth and fifth transaction post in Concur on July 25, 2020
- Cardholder reviews the transactions, adds the Available Expenses to the saved July 2020 Expense Report and attaches receipt(s)
- Cardholder clicks Save, but does not click submit
- Cardholder Login to Concur on July 27, 2020 (the last week of the month), access the saved Expense Report and click “Submit”
- The Expense report will be routed for approval
- Approvals should be completed no later than the last day of the month, to ensure the transactions post to the Oracle financial system accordingly
The goal is to capture the majority of transactions during the month they are generated. Please ensure to account for the time needed for the Expense Report to be routed for approval by your Financial Unit Approver.
What is the difference between Expense Type vs Expenditure Type in Concur?
The Expense Type field in Concur is used to indicate the nature of the Expense. The Expense Type will prompt form fields for the user to input required information regarding the expense as it pertains to the respective policy.
The Expenditure Type field is a Chart of Accounts term that replaces the legacy Account Codes. The Expenditure Type is part of the POETAF string. When a Project and Task are entered, an Expenditure Type must also be entered. These values are used to report certain tax information to the financial system. Please see this link for a list of all the Expenditure Types and speak with your fund manager if you are unsure which value to enter for this field. Please visit this Knowledge Base Article to see an example of this.
What does COA/POETAF Failed Validation mean?
What is the UC San Diego Chart of Accounts?
UC San Diego’s new Chart of Accounts (COA) structure extends the elements of the UC Common Chart of Accounts (CCoA). The UC San Diego COA consists of twelve segments. Each segment contains values of a defined length and all segments are required for transactions performed in Oracle Financial's Cloud (OFC), even when segments have zero values- e.g., InterEnity, Future 1 & 2 must have zero values.
The Chart of Accounts User Guide serves as a reference document for users inputting financial transactions into Oracle Financial's Cloud (OFC) to select the correct accounting string for their transactions. The nine
major COA segments used in OFC are detailed in the
Chart of Accounts User Guide: https://blink.ucsd.edu/_files/finance-tab/budget_finance/coa%20user%20guide.pdf
Can Concur save or pre populate my COA information if my COA information stays the same for each expense?
You can save it for Requests only, you will have to manually input each time for an expense. You can save this for Requests by logging into Concur- Profile settings- on the left go to request information- enter the COA information here and hit save.
What is a Financial Unit Approver?
The Financial Unit approver is anyone who oversees use of the Chart of Accounts string attached to a made transaction. Chart of Accounts or COA is what was formerly known as account indexes.
- If you have any questions on what to enter for the Financial Unit Information, please reach out to your fund manager as we unfortunately are not able to provide that information.
Can I have one expense report with multiple transactions that require approval from different Fin-U Approvers?
Q: Is it possible for one expense report in Concur, to include multiple transactions that require approval from different Financial Unit approvers?
A: Yes. The expense report can be routed to multiple Financial Unit Approvers within one expense report. When one of the multiple Fin-u approvers that’s been assigned receives the expense report, they will see all expenses listed, not just the one they were assigned to approve. The Fin-u approvers only need to review for their Fin-U and not the entire report of the other listed expenses. Once all Fin-U approvers have approved their expense(s) then it would be routed to the final approver. The expense report will not be sent to Oracle until the other Fin-U approvers have approved their part of the expense report. In short, Fin-U’s have visibility to all expenses but only can approve what they were assigned to.
How do I allocate within an expense report?
What is the difference between allocating and itemizing?
Allocating is when a transaction is being expensed to two different (or multiple) financial units. Which means you are taking one expense and charging it to different places on the ledger.
Itemizing is when a transaction is being expensed to two different (or multiple expense types). So you are taking an expense and breaking it into different types of expense but still charge all of it to one place.
How can I view a shortcut for all of my allocation percentages/dollar amounts?
Log into Concur, click on the expense report, go to report header, then click on allocation summary.
How can I view an expense report that has been fully approved?
Log into Concur as the cardholder or acting as the cardholder delegate. Click on expense, manage expenses, next to report library click the down error on active reports. You will now have the option to select Last 90 days, this year, last year, and date range to search the expense reports that have been submitted by this cardholder.
How do I use Concur as an Approver?
Please visit this Knowledge Base Article: https://support.ucsd.edu/finance?id=kb_article_view&sys_kb_id=84c32579db9610184cd8f06e0f961920
How do I process a credit/refund on my Concur profile?
Once a transaction has been processed on your Procurement Card it cannot be reversed or deleted from your Concur profile. If you receive a refund, you will see two transactions on your concur profile. The first will be the debit and the second will be the credit ( if the merchant refunded you). You do not have to wait to for the credit to appear to reconcile the debit (original transaction). You will reconcile a debit or credit transaction on your normal monthly expense report as you would any other transaction. You will use the same COA, project, task, expenditure type, and receipt for both the credit and the debit.
What is the Procurement Card Expense Aging Report?
The Procurement Card Expense Aging Report is a report generated in Concur. The Procurement Card team sends it out via email on the first Thursday of every month to cardholder's, their Department Administrators, and Financial Unit Approvers.
The report identifies transactions that have yet to be expensed in Concur. These are transactions that are received by the Cardholder after making a purchase. The report breakouts transactions that are 30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days and >90 days overdue. Although broken out by date ranges, all transactions not expensed beyond the 30 days date range are considered as aging.
The report identifies statuses within the Approvals Status Column:
- Unassigned – Cardholder has received the transaction in Concur and no action has been taken.
- Not Submitted – Cardholder has received the transaction in Concur, created and attached the transaction to an Expense Report, but has not yet submitted the Expense Report.
- Sent Back to User – Cardholder has received the transaction in Concur, created and attached the transaction to an Expense Report, submitted the Expense Report, the Expense Report was returned to the Cardholder due to identified error(s), but has yet to resubmit the corrected Expense Report.
- Pending Financial Unit Approval – Expense Report pending approval from chosen Financial Unit Approver.
- Pending Additional Approval – Department User (delegate, cardholder, or earlier approver in the process) has added an additional approval level, and that level has not yet approved. Reminder email notifications are being sent to approvers.
- Pending Supervisor Approval – Someone (delegate or cardholder has added a supervisor as the cardholder’s Expense Approver 1, so P-Card Expense Reports are stopping with Supervisor for approval prior to Financial Unit approval.
- Pending Central Office Review – Expense Report requires P-Card team approval.
- Approved and in Accounting Review - Central Processor added an User Approval, Department Approved, now requires Central Processor to approve again.
- Pending External Validation – Transactions got “stuck” during the COA/POET validation with OFC and need to be manually approved. The team regularly review’s these expense reports so no action is required on behalf of the department to clear these.
A cardholder will be on this report if they have expenses/expense reports with any of the status's above.
To check the status of your expense report, log into Concur, click on expense, navigate to active reports, click on the drop down arrow, select a date range. You will now see all expense reports for the range you selected and the status of the report will display in the 2nd column.
A cardholder or DA will not receive the Procurement Card Expense Aging Report if they do not have outstanding transactions over 31 days.