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Home My WebLink AboutN-481 - Corporate Credit/Account Cards CITY OF PASCO • ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS Administrative Order No. 481 Finance Subject: Corporate Credit/Account Cards Initial Effective Date: A ril 7, 2000 Revised 6/16/04 2/1 08 Ap roved GC This Administrative Order supersedes Administrative Order No. 79, "Procedure for Use of City Visa Credit Card," dated 4/7/00 and revised 6/16/04. I. PURPOSE: To establish the policies and procedures related to the authorization, control and use of corporate credit/account cards issued to the City of Pasco. II. DEPARTMENTS AFFECTED: . All III. REFERENCES: RCW 42.244.115 and RCW 43.09.2855 IV. POLICY: The City of Pasco finds that the use of corporate credit/account cards is an economical and practical means for making purchases in today's business environment, improve cash management,reduce costs and increase efficiency. V. PROCEDURE: A) Setting up Accounts: All requests for setting up a corporate credit card account must be approved in writing by the respective Department Director. This request will then be forwarded to the Finance Division. The .Finance Division will then establish a corporate credit card account with companies when needed and will establish appropriate credit limits for each account based on estimated City usage. Accounts may be established with companies when the use of city procurement cards does not allow for federal tax exemption, where city personnel without procurement cards may require the use of goods or services, or a business requires a membership account and does not accept city procurement cards. Examples of these would be purchase of gasoline for city vehicles, use of a rental car while on city business or an account at businesses that do not accept credit cards (example, Costco). B) Distribution of Credit Card(s): Corporate credit/account cards will by issued • by the Accounting Clerk in Finance. Persons requesting use of a credit card will be required to sign the Credit Card Check Out Log prior to being issued a card. The name of the individual responsible for the credit card, the date the card was checked out and returned and purpose of purchase will be recorded in the log. The corporate credit card is to be returned to the Finance Division the next business day or as soon as reasonably possible so that others may have use of the credit card without undue delay. C) Authorization and Controls: Corporate credit/account cards will be administered by the Finance Division. Finance will designate the Accounting Clerk as the responsible person for administration of credit cards. This individual will process all requests for cards, credit limit changes, activation, cancellations, and deactivations. D) Purchases: Purchases may be made in person, by phone, by fax, by mail or via a secure link on the internet. Receipts are required to be turned in to Finance. In- person purchases require the original sales receipt/invoice; purchases made by phone must have either a receipt mailed, emailed or faxed to the employee; internet purchases must have a copy of the on-line receipt printed at the time of purchase or emailed receipt. Fuel purchases for city vehicles made using the Chevron account require that • the city vehicle number be identified on the Credit Card Payment Authorization form in addition to attaching the original receipt. Finance requires this information to correctly record fuel usage charges for each vehicle. Purchases must be for City related business. NON-CITY CHARGES ARE NOT ALLOWED. The employee who makes the purchase shall immediately (or not later than the first business day following the last day of out of town travel) complete the "Credit Card Payment Authorization Form," attach the receipt and forward it to his/her Department Director for approval. The Department Director shall approve all Credit Card Payment Authorization forms. The Department Secretary shall input the purchase information into the accounts payable software system and then forward the documentation to Accounts Payable in Finance within 5 business days of the purchase date. E) Local Vendor Preference: Given the local tax benefits generated by use of Pasco vendors (i.e., property tax, utility tax and sales tax), employees are encouraged to purchase supplies from Pasco vendors whenever possible and reasonably economical. Employees are expressly discouraged from traveling out of Pasco to purchase supplies unless the increment of savings substantially exceeds the value of their time and vehicle travel. Electronic purchase decisions should consider shipping and any other ancillary charges. Administrative Order 481: Corporate Credit Account Cards Page 2 F) Credits and Returns: Credits and returns shall be processed in the same manner as purchases. The cardholder shall obtain a credit receipt or credit memo from the vendor and complete a Credit Card Payment Authorization Form. Indicate on the form that the transaction is a credit or return and the reason for the credit. Submit the form and the credit receipt or memo for Department Director approval. G) Lack of Receipt or Documentation: In the event that purchase documentation or receipts are lost; unable to be retrieved or duplicated; or in the instance of internet purchases, the on-line receipt was not printed, a "Certificate of Unavailable Documentation" form must be completed by the cardholder. This form must be submitted along with the Credit Card Payment Authorization form to the Department Director for approval. Any additional documentation, such as packing slips, that substantiate the purchase should also be attached to the forms submitted. Repeated and frequent use of this form as substitute documentation may result in revocation of your credit card privileges. H) Prohibited Purchases: Prohibited purchases for use of the credit card include, but are not limited to the following: • Non-City charges • Cash Advances • Meals for Travel in place of Per Diem • Alcohol Contracts requiring authorized signatures Legal Services • Payments to individuals or employees • Refunds of revenue • Recurring payments except as approved by Finance • Personal purchases • Medical Services • Moving expenses • College tuition payments Consulting Services • Recreational activities: o Except for those activities that are specifically a part of Recreation Service programs. • Gifts, donations, or contributions to individuals or organizations • Fuel purchases (Gasoline or Diesel)for vehicles o Purchasing fuel for city vehicles should be done at the nearest facility that accepts the vehicle's fuel card, as the City is exempt from paying the federal excise taxes on fuel. A listing of fueling locations can be found on the CFN website at: www.cfnnet.com. The Finance Manager may issue a temporary use gasoline card for special circumstances at the request of the Department Director. In an emergency or in the event that a fueling facility cannot be found, or is so far away as to be impractical, the employee should purchase fuel and provide receipt to the City in seeking reimbursement as a travel expense. Administrative Order 481: Corporate Credit.Account Cards Page 2 Any employee who willfully makes prohibited charges shall be subject to disciplinary action, including the possibility of termination. Unauthorized charges, or charges not properly identified, shall be paid by the employee. These charges will be considered liens against any amount owed by the City to the employee, and may be withheld from funds owed to the employee (payroll)up to the amount of the disallowed charges. [RCW 42.24.115(3)] I) Receipt and Payment of Bills: All corporate credit card billing statements will be received at Accounts Payable, The Accounts Payable Clerk will reconcile the statements with invoices submitted by departments to ensure that all purchases are appropriately documented and that bills are paid timely. J) Lost or stolen Cards: The cardholder shall report a lost or stolen card to the Finance Department IMMEDIATELY. Administrative Order 481: Corporate Credit Account Cards Page 2