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College of Sciences
Department of Biological Sciences

Purchasing Card (P-Card)

A Purchasing Card (Pcard) is a credit card issued by the university for university-related expenses.

  • Cardholder: The individual to whom the Pcard is issued. This person is the sole authorized user of the card and is responsible for providing all receipts, justifications/supporting documents, and accounting details.
  • Reconciler: The individual responsible for routing and ensuring Pcard statement approval on monthly basis. To find your reconciler, check MyPack Portal>PCard Center>Card Summary.

Who to contact and quick resources:

NCSU PCard SOP 

Obtaining a Pcard

  1. To request a Pcard, log in to MyPack Portal and navigate to the ‘For Faculty & Staff’ tab > Employee Self Service section > NCSU Card Center > PCard Center.
  2. Select ‘Request new Procurement Card’ option.
  3. Complete the application specifying the following details:
    1. Preferred Training date (Training is REQUIRED)
    2. Amount Limits:
      1. Standard limit: $2,500 per transaction || $5,000 per day || $25,000 per month
      2. Extended limit: $5,000 per transaction || $10,000 per day || $25,000 per month
    3. Allowable Purchases:
      1. Standard: includes routine supplies, materials and service expenses. Also registration fees, books, subscriptions, etc. This category covers grocery stores and stores like Target and Walmart. This classification does not include travel expenses or meals.
      2. Travel: includes expenses such as airfare, hotels, car rental/gas, other transportation and parking. This classification does not include personal meals while in travel status (aka per diem), nor any other meals.
      3. Meals: refers to the purchase of food and beverages from restaurants for entertainment purposes only. The PCard is NOT to be used for personal meals while in travel status.
      4. Other: Some purchasing responsibilities may fall under the “Other” category such as Entertainment/Amusement or Athletics Medical.
    4. Default Project ID: Choose the project where most of the expenses will occur. This can be adjusted later.
    5. Requested Reconcilers: it is very important to choose the correct person to be a reconciler. Every account should also have at least one (1) backup reconciler in case of emergency or absences. Contact Hakan for advice.
    6. Comment: Enter any text that may clarify the card request. (example: special training consideration, or prior training date).
  4. Once the application has been submitted, it routes to the Supervisor of the cardholder then the Division/College Business office for approval.
  5. The approved application is routed to Purchasing for final processing. It may take up to 7-10 business days to complete this approval process.
  6. An invitation to attend a PCard training session will be sent via email.
  7. PCards are distributed to new cardholders at the end of the required training session.

A cardholder may apply for more than one PCard if employed by more than one department/unit at the university

All changes (e.g., legal name change, change the default project ID, the spending limits, the allowed purchases) to PCard accounts are requested through MyPack Portal PCard Center (‘Request Changes to Card’) by the cardholder or an assigned reconciler.
Once the College/Division approval is granted, the PCard administrator will process the change to the cardholder profile.
To view the status of the request, check the MyPack Portal PCard Center: “Request History”

We all forget sometimes, but every effort should be made to obtain a copy of your itemized PCard receipt. Oftentimes, restaurants, stores, etc., can run a query using your card number and date of service to pull a copy of the receipt for you, sometimes even over the phone/email.

It is the PCard holder’s responsibility to find all missing receipts! Reconcilers are unable to obtain receipts on the cardholder’s behalf.

If you are unable to obtain your receipt after making a good-faith effort, complete the missing receipt form and submit this to your PCard reconciler.

Download Missing Receipt Form 

Allowable taxes:

  • Other states’ sales tax (NOT NC)
  • County occupancy tax (often listed on hotel receipts; is sometimes called “resort fee” in NYC)

Taxes that are not allowed:

  • North Carolina sales tax
  • What do I do if I’m charged NC sales tax?
    • The best way to avoid being charged tax is to ensure your cashier/salesperson is aware you are using a university PCard, and that your purchase is state tax-exempt prior to running your card. Should state tax be charged and you discover this before leaving the establishment, ask that the purchase is voided and run again for the correct (tax-free) amount. Keep all receipts!!
  • The cashier didn’t know how to make a tax-free transaction, so they discounted the sales tax amount from the total, but the sales tax was still paid; does this work?
    • NO. You must still attempt to have the sales tax refunded.

It is not your PCard Reconciler’s responsibility to have your NC sales tax refunded.