Procurement cardholder’s roles and responsibilities
As a cardholder, you must comply with all applicable university regulations.
This means you are responsible for:
- Following all procurement card procedures and policies as well as fiscal and procurement rules.
- Providing the required documentation for your purchases and submit your monthly procurement card expense report in Concur Travel and Expense System.
The department is liable for all expenses made on this card. If you see charges you didn’t authorize, you must report them to the bank. Call the 800 number on the back of the card. Let your Approving Official (AO) know that you have unauthorized charges and that you have reported them to the bank. The bank will cancel the card and reissue a new one.
The cardholder is authorized to use their card to purchase directly on behalf of CU, thereby allowing tax-exempt use. Because the university is a public institution of higher education in the State of Colorado, it is exempt from all federal excise taxes and all Colorado state and local government sales and use taxes.
Action Item: The Department of Psychiatry requires that all cardholders take the University training annually. Below are the four required courses.
CU: Procurement Card Cardholder Training – u00053
CU: Fiscal Code of Ethics – f00001
CU: Procurement Fundamentals – u00208
If you have taken the required courses within 12 months, you do not need to retake them, but please provide the certificates of completion to Stephanie Livingston. If it’s been longer than 12 months, you must retake them and email Stephanie Livingston the certificate of completion. They must be retaken by October 1, 2025
Common mistakes in purchases.
- Taxes on purchases (The university is a tax-exempt organization)
- Purchases covered by a mandatory price agreement (Staples, IT Equipment) available through Marketplace
- Split purchases
- Personal Purchases (Accidental)
- Gifts Purchases without prior authorization and an approved gift card program
- Travel-related expenses (airline tickets, lodging, parking)
Before you purchase, using your procurement card, you should be able to answer “yes” to the following questions:
- Is this purchase allowable on the procurement card?
- Is this purchase appropriate for the university, and does it have a valid university business purpose that could be justified?
- Is it directly beneficial to the university?
- Does the purchase follow the guidelines for the sponsored project, if applicable?
- Is this purchase in compliance with university conflict of interest provisions?
Update your information on the Procurement Card
Updating your procurement card information
We have noticed that some names and emails in our recent cardholder list differ. Please update your information following the step-by-step document: Concur Procurement Card Updates
Exceptions and Special Requests
If you have a situation in which you might need an exception to use your procurement card, such as for gift card purchases, some vendors will only allow a specific number and denomination of gift cards purchased using a procurement card. In this case, you could request an exception to lift that restriction for a period of time to avoid your card from being declined.
Limit Changes:
You may also request a temporary limit increase for a large purchase of many items. You will need to specify the date for this time limit. After that date, the limit will revert to the previous amount. Please note that this change can take 1-2 business days to process, so allow for adequate time.
Single Purchase Limit Increase:
You can request a temporary increase in your single purchase limit for a single large purpose. The Controller’s office will also require approval for this request if it is greater than $10,000. For example, if you need to make a purchase that exceeds your single purchase limit, you can request an increase. This request will be reviewed and considered. If it is declined, you may be required to process the payment using the Marketplace.
Please note that you should not ask the vendor to split the invoice into multiple invoices or payments to stay below the single purchase limit. Doing so is considered a split purchase and violates the cardholder policy.
Card Violations
If you violate the procurement card policy, you may receive a warning or a 50-point violation from the Procurement Service Center (PSC). The PSC may uncover violations through periodic program reviews or by Approving Official reviews, which are then submitted to the PSC on a Violation Notification form.
When a violation notification form is submitted, the cardholder receives a warning of 50 violation points. Upon reaching or exceeding 150 points, the card will be suspended, and the cardholder will be required to retake cardholder training before the card is reinstated.
If the cardholder receives three suspensions, their card may be permanently revoked.
Violation points remain in effect even if the cardholder transfers to a different department and campus.
Violation points expire after two years.
