Purchasing Card and Expense Reimbursement Policies

Pomona College and the other Claremont Colleges have implemented the Expenses module in Workday to reimburse expenses and clear purchase card transactions. P Card transactions will be uploaded from Bank of America daily.

Finance Recommendations:

• Create separate expense reports by Cost Center or Grant to reduce the number of required approvals.
• For easier review, create expense reports weekly when more than ten transactions are to be reconciled.
• If the department wants to track expenses by trip, include P Card transactions, reimbursable transactions, and advances on one expense report.

Job aides to assist you in completing expense reports are in the Workday Resources app on the Workday home page.

The following is a summary of Pomona’s reimbursement and P Card policies.

Credit Card/Purchasing Card (PCARD) Purchases

The Finance Office issues purchasing cards to Pomona faculty and staff to make the purchasing process more efficient. The P Card functions similarly to a credit card (it has a VISA logo on the face of the card) and is paid directly by the College to Bank of America (B of A).

To obtain a purchasing card, log into Workday, search ‘Request Purchase Card,’ and complete the fields as appropriate. See the specific job aide in the Workday Resources application on the home page in Workday under the Expenses section titled ‘Request Purchase Card.’ The card will be available within ten days. You will be contacted by the Finance Office when it is available.

Once the first purchase has been made on the P Card, please contact the Systems Training Director to schedule Expenses training. If training has not been completed within 30 days of the 1st transaction, the P Card will be closed for use until training is completed.

The policies included herein are for general expenditure approvals relating to P Card purchases:

• Most cards have a preset maximum single purchase level of $2,500. NOTE: If this needs to be changed due to a specific event, please create a ‘Request Purchase Card’ in Workday before the event so the card can be updated. This will prevent card denial at the time of purchase.
• Restrictions – The card should not be used to pay for the following:
  • Cash Advances
  • Financial Services
  • Professional Services – legal, architectural, engineering, accounting, and other professional services
  • Invoice Payments
    • Please place your order with the supplier and request that Pomona College be invoiced at Pomona College Invoice. Once the invoice is received, your department will create a supplier invoice in Workday
    • An exception is allowed if there is an urgent purchase. In these cases, invoices may be paid on the P Card but then MUST be entered as a $0 invoice in Workday to help track purchases and prevent duplicate payments.
  • Equipment, furniture, computer equipment
  • Round-up donations are prohibited
  • Generally, purchases of $25,000 or greater are NOT allowed on a P Card. Before the purchase, such expenses should be processed through the Procurement module in Workday. The Purchasing Card may be canceled if transactions of $25,000 or greater are charged without approval from the Director of Finance.
    • An exception is allowed if the following have been met AND the Director of Finance approves the exception:
      • After the contracts with the supplier have been signed by the appropriate individuals, a Supplier Contract must be created in Workday
      • Once a final billing has been received, the contract in Workday must be amended to match the final billing amount, and an updated, signed contract must be attached.
• An expense report must be APPROVED in Workday and include copies of receipts within 30 days of the expense date.
• Detailed receipts must be attached for all meals over $25 and any other transaction over $75. NOTE: When completing the expense report, ensure the transaction date of the expense line matches the receipt date.
  • Transactions over the $25/$75 minimum not supported with appropriate documentation will be treated as taxable income to the cardholder.
  • Descriptions and business purpose for each expense should be documented in the memo field of the report. When the P Card is issued to the cardholder, specific instructions for preparing the report are given.
  • Names of attendees at luncheons must be provided; unless it is a large gathering of >10 people, the group affiliation must be noted.
  • Hotel detail folios must be included.
  • Round-up donations are prohibited
  • Cardholders are strongly discouraged from using their personal funds or credit cards when traveling or purchasing goods for the College.
  • Gift Cards are allowed but must be given out within 30 days of purchase. A Participant/Recipient Gift Card Log, along with a confirmation of receipt either via email or signature, must be completed and included with the expense report. If the card is over $10, it will be taxable to the recipient.
• All dining hall tickets purchased MUST be signed for by the individual using the ticket on the Dining Hall Ticket Log. The log must be attached to the expense report. All tickets not signed for will be considered personal charges.
• Employee Gifts
  • Using College funds for merit or thank you gifts to staff, faculty and/or student employees are acceptable up to $100. The employee’s name must be included in the description of the expense
    • Cash/Gift Certificates are discouraged as any amount given is considered wages to the employee and must be added to the employee’s W2 per IRS regulations
  • Achievement Awards of less than $400 are acceptable and nontaxable to employees if:
    • It is awarded for length of service (must be after 5 years of employment)
    • It is awarded for safety achievement unless:
      • the employee is a manager, administrator, clerical or other professional
      • more than 10% of the department employees have already received a safety award.
• P Cards are not to be used for personal expenses. If personal expenses are purchased inadvertently, the funds should be reimbursed immediately through the Cashier using the deposit form available on the Workday Resources application on the Workday homepage.
• P Card holders who regularly prefer to pay for expenses out of pocket instead of using their P Card will have their P Card canceled.
• Reimbursement for direct payments to students/faculty/staff by other departments utilizing prepaid debit cards or electronic payment apps like PayPal and Venmo are not permitted unless approved in advance by the Finance Office. Situations needing prepaid cards should be handled using Cash Advances to employees, Petty Cash to students, or other means determined by the Finance Office. Receipts are still required to clear any advance of cash.
• If using the Per Diem reimbursement method, do not use the P Card to pay for meal transactions.

If your purchasing card report is delinquent, the Finance Office reserves the right to:

• Charge all transactions to your operating budget in the appropriate categories.
• Deactivate your purchasing card.
• Make the charges taxable on your W2 if proper backup is not provided.

Expense Reimbursements and Travel Advances

The Finance Office reimburses for travel expenditures when appropriately documented with receipts. The expense report should be completed within 30 days of travel but not earlier than two weeks before. Detailed receipts (no matter the transaction amount) are to be attached except for incidentals or if using the Per Diem reimbursement method. Reimbursements received after 60 days will be taxable to the employee per IRS guidelines.^[1] NOTE: Travel purchased more than 60 days before travel is exempt from taxation. No reimbursements can be claimed for any purchases made with personal frequent flyer points or similar points programs or gift cards.

Appropriate receipts for out-of-pocket expenses are defined as:

Detailed receipts that must include payment confirmation and show the form of payment, e.g., cash, check, visa, etc.

• If the payment form is a credit card, the receipt must show the last four digits of the card number. If the receipt does not show the last four digits of the card, a copy of the credit card bank statement will need to be provided. As we don’t require original receipts, we need to confirm that the charge was not paid for with a Pomona P card and that the receipt was not inadvertently paid previously on another reimbursement.
• If the payment form is a personal check, a copy of the bank-cashed check must be provided.
• For lodging, the folio is required in addition to the payment confirmation if not included on the folio.
• For airfare, the itinerary is required in addition to the payment confirmation if not included in the itinerary.
• If traveling on Pomona business and taking an extra leg for personal travel, a copy of the round trip cost must be provided when the receipt is turned in to show the round trip business travel price.
• If traveling for research on a Federal grant and taking an extra leg for personal travel, only the travel to the research location or back from the research location will be reimbursed, not the round trip per Federal guidelines.
• Round-up donations are prohibited
• Dining hall tickets purchased will only be reimbursed if signed for on the Dining Hall Ticket Log by the individual using the ticket.

In preparation for scanning, reimbursement documents should be scanned individually to make it easier for all reviewers.

TIP: Receipts can be uploaded to your Workday account immediately using the Workday Mobile application. See the specific job aide in the Workday Resources application on the home page in Workday under the Expenses section titled ‘Create Mobile Receipt.’

Fields on the expense report in Workday will be available for the documentation needed regarding attendees and business purpose. If anything is written on the receipt for any reason, please write legibly and in ink that will scan clearly.

Altered receipts will not be accepted.

Travel Advances

Travel advances may be received by creating a Spend Authorization in Workday and checking the ‘Cash Advance’ box.

When travel advances are received, the Expense Report must be completed within 30 days of travel return but not earlier than two weeks before travel and submitted to the Finance Office in Workday. Reimbursements over 60 days will be taxable to the employee. Travel purchased more than 60 days before travel is exempt from taxation.

• If the Advance exceeded travel expenses, an Expense Report is completed in Workday by selecting the created Spend Authorization. The Expense Report is completed, and the appropriate receipts are attached. Once submitted, a check for the remaining amount, which refers to the expense report number, must be given to the Cashier to clear the Advance.
• If the Advance was less than the travel expenses and funds are to be reimbursed to the traveler, an Expense Report is completed in Workday selecting the created Spend Authorization. The expense report is completed as usual, and the appropriate receipts are attached. Once approved, the funds will be reimbursed.

For information regarding additional Finance policies, please see the Finance Office – Guide to Payment and Purchasing Processes on the Finances tab in Workday Resources on the Workday homepage.

[1]It is understood that there may be times when more than 60 days is reasonable such as when there are illnesses, leaves, vacancies or when the employee is out of the country and doesn’t have access to the internet. [back]