Recent changes to p-card policies are making things a lot more complicated if you rely on a p-card (yours or someone else’s) to conduct business. Directly or indirectly, we all have a role in purchasing, so any change really affects us all. Many of us depend on p-cards to help drive efficiencies where we can. After all, it is a lot more convenient to use a credit card than BuzzMart. However, beginning last August, new p-card policies are changing how we all need to think about making purchases – namely, to give yourself adequate time to abide by the new purchasing policies.

The following Q & A was conducted with Director of Finance, Betsey Kidwell and Director of Administration, Debbie Dorsey. This article is by no means intended to provide the final word on how one should or shouldn’t handle their business purchases. Rather, it is intended to be a part of an informational series to help clarify the new p-card policies and more importantly, help you understand how these changes impact you.  

In summary, what were the big changes to the p-card policy announced last summer?

Betsey: The Department of Administrative Services, who set the policies for the Board of Regents, allowed an exemption to expire on August 1, 2013. Without this exemption, food purchases made via p-card are greatly restricted. While the new rules also apply to decorations and other services, food is a bigger issue for us in Student Affairs because we often provide free food as an incentive for our students either to participate in an activity or volunteer their time. Clearly, the state doesn’t see food as a necessity for us to conduct our day to day business. While I can understand their point of view from a macro level, it will be more difficult to garner student participation without free food and that will hurt us.

Under what circumstances, if any, can you use your p-card to make food related purchases?

Betsey: Yes, under the following conditions, you may still use the p-card to purchase food:

1. An official student event.
2. Employee group meetings that are 4 hours or more in duration and do not provide food at the beginning or ending of the meeting.
3. Workshops, conferences and camps where you have collected a registration fee for meals/breaks which are important to the program.

However, even if your purchase fits into one of the categories above, you must submit the proper Food/Group Meal Event Documentation Form and you must adhere to the state meal per diem limits ($7 breakfast, $9 lunch, $20 dinner) which is often very, very difficult to do.

Debbie: Snack foods and beverages for casual meetings are NOT classified as group meals and may not be purchased via p-card. Also, food and group meals for entertainment purposes may not be purchased via p-card. Under no circumstance may you use the p-card to purchase alcohol for an event.

For a more complete listing of the Georgia Tech Food/Group Meal Procurements, click here.    

Aside from food, what other items are no longer allowable p-card purchases?

Debbie: The other big category is entertainment – decorations and party favors. In the Division, this is again a big deal. While we do conduct many student events for which you can use the p-card as long as the total amount charged is under $2,499, we also conduct many events for staff such as the Winter Celebration, Administrative Professional Day, etc. and, for these events, we can no longer use the p-card.  The State is not prohibiting us from purchasing the event supplies, they just don’t want us to use the p-card to do so.

To access the Georgia Tech P-card Reference Guide, click here.   

So how can we make these purchases when the p-card is no longer an option?

Betsey: As it stands right now, and we are getting modifications (to our benefit) on a case by case basis, you can pay for items by:

1. Processing the invoice via BuzzMart. This assumes that the vendor will bill you after the fact which is not always the case and, of course, you have the nuances of processing payments via BuzzMart. If you do process the payments through BuzzMart remember that the vendor must be approved and e-verified. The current shutdown of the federal government will cause delays with e-verification. Click here for more information on e-verification.
2. Issue a Purchase Order (PO) to the vendor. This takes a good amount of planning and time because you need to enter the order in its entirety into BuzzMart for a PO to be generated. The vendor must also be an approved and e-verified vendor. Once the PO is issued via BuzzMart, you submit the PO number to the vendor, and the vendor will ship the invoice with the goods. You subsequently process the invoice in BuzzMart. Efforts are underway to inquire with mass retailers (i.e. Publix, Target, etc.)  if they will accept POs from Georgia Tech. We recently learned that Oriental Trading accepts POs which should help greatly with online purchases. However, it took almost a month for them to take the PO. This is a great example of why you need to plan well in advance.
3. Submit AP Payment Request Form with invoice only if the caterer invoice is less than $2,500. If the caterer invoice is greater than $2,500, you will need to submit via BuzzMart (Confirming Order). Regardless of the amount spent on catered food, you must also include the Food/Group Meal Event Documentation Form. 
4. Pay for the items using your personal credit card and seek reimbursement using the Employee Payment Request Form. Reimbursement from the Foundation can take up to 10 business days. While this is obviously the least desirable method of paying for goods, it is an option.  

Given all of these changes, what advice can you give those who plan and make purchases for their department?

Debbie: The best advice we can give those involved in the purchasing process at any level is to plan your purchases well in advance – 2 to 3 months ahead of time would be ideal. It will be very important to look at what you intend to purchase and how the purchasing policies will impact the actual purchase. These restrictions on p-card usage are a real game changer. It will take additional time to process a PO, payment or reimbursement for items on which you can no longer use your p-card.

I would also emphasize that if you have questions on how to use the p-card, contact pcard.ask@business.gatech.edu during the planning phase – it could save you some headaches. And if you have questions regarding payment processing, contact ap.ask@buisness.gatech.edu.