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Office for Resources & Planning

Purchasing Card Policies

  • Roles and definitions:
    • Cardholder – individual user of P-card.  Responsible for complying with P-Card policies.

    • Department Head – Responsible for approving cardholder request for initial issuance of card and assigning the person (supervisor) who reviews and signs monthly cardholder statement.

    • Authorized Approver – Person assigned by the Department Head to review and correct transactions in the MARS web-base application.  The Authorized Approver may be the cardholder or one person assigned to review all or some of the department’s accounts.

    • Supervisor/College CFO – Person who reviews and signs the cardholder’s monthly statement.
  • P-card Policy Quick List of Dos and Don'ts. P-Cards are exclusively for the Cardholder. No sharing of P-Cards is allowable.  Sharing means allowing another person to make a purchase with your card.  It is acceptable for a cardholder to make a purchase for another individual, as long as the cardholder is the one making the purchase.

  • Individual purchases cannot exceed $1,499.  Use the Emory Marketplace purchase order system for larger purchases. In circumstances where a purchase order is impractical for purchases over $1,499 a special “V-payment” may be used by contacting Amy DeMore or Tascha Short.

  • Cardholders are required to retain all receipts and attach them to the statement on which the charge appears. In situations where P-cards are used to make purchases with grant funds and the sponsor requires records with original receipts, the department P-card records may contain copies of receipts.

  • When an original receipt is missing you must use a Missing Documentation Affidavit in lieu of the original receipt.  The form is available on-line for your convenience.   If an original receipt is not available, please attach this affidavit to the cardholder statement.

  • Cardholders must forward their monthly statements/receipts to their supervisor for review.

  • The supervisor is required to review the statements/receipts on a monthly basis. This will be evidenced by the supervisor signing the monthly statements. Cardholders cannot have someone who reports to them review and sign their statements.

  • All departments must establish a filing system and keep all statements/receipts attached in a central location for easy retrieval when needed. P-card records should be maintained for at least three years.  A representative from the College Office Administration, Accounts Payable, and/or the Office of Internal Audit may review statements/receipts at any time to ensure appropriateness of purchases and compliance with P-Card policies.

  • Signed copies of all Department Chairs and Program Director statements/receipts must be forwarded to the College Office Administration, 200 Candler Library (attn:  Kimberly Gullatt), for review and approval by the College CFO each month. The original documentation should be kept in the department’s central files. College Office Administration will not view these charges in the MARS web-base application; the review must be completed at the departmental level.

  • The Cardholder or Authorized Approver uses MARS, to view and make the necessary changes to their P-Card transactions within ten (10) days of the posted transaction. For those Cardholders who do not use the MARS web-base application, the receipts must be forwarded to the departmental "MARS Reviewer". The MARS Reviewer must view and make the necessary changes to the P-Card transaction within ten (10) days of the posted transaction.
    The Purchasing Card Administrator will no longer view these transactions for you.

  • All P-Card transactions are reflected in the MARS web-based application which provides us with an electronic statement similar to a credit card paper statement.  This process is automated, but to complete the process, every transaction needs to be reviewed and checked off to confirm 1) that you are aware of the charge, 2) that the charge is a valid Emory (business) related transaction, and 3) that the account number that the charge will be booked to is correct.

  • Typically transactions that are not reviewed within 30 days will automatically be checked off by the system and will no longer be viewable by the P-Card user.  This is not acceptable since it does not allow for the necessary review of P-Card charges.  Review your account regularly to ensure that all transactions are checked off within 30 days of the post date. Ideally, active P-Card users/reviewers should make it their habit to review their P-Card transactions at least weekly.

  • A detailed description of each P-Card purchase must be keyed into MARS for all P-Card transactions, especially for catering and business meals/refreshments. Do not use the description as "Purchasing Card Item" or "Miscellaneous" for any transaction. According to the P-Card Customer Manual (PDF), "it is mandatory that the business purpose of the meal be documented as well as the names attendees if not greater than ten." This can be done by typing the topic of discussion or business purpose of the meal and the names of those in attendance in the "NOTES" section. Please consult the P-Card Customer Manual (PDF) for additional information.


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