University of Minnesota  Procedure

Reconciliation and Approval of Corporate Card Transactions

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Questions?

Please use the contact section in the governing policy.

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to define the process for reconciling corporate card expenses. All corporate card expenses must be reconciled and approved according to the University’s Accountable Plan.

Timeframe for Reconciliation and Approval

  • Corporate card transactions must be reconciled and submitted for approval within 60 days from the date the expense was incurred.
  • Approvers must review the substantiation supporting the business connection and approve the expense.
  • Transactions not reconciled and submitted for approval within 60 days may be reported as taxable income to the cardholder, or the employee for whom the purchase was made. Approved transactions submitted after 60 days will route to the Tax Management Office (TMO) for review of reasonable timeliness based on the facts and circumstances provided.
  • Purchasing Services may suspend cards with late submissions. The card will remain suspended until ALL outstanding transactions have been reconciled and approved.

Receipts

Cardholders must submit receipts for all purchases. Transactions for travel-related expenses can follow guidance provided in the Administrative Policy: Traveling on University Business. Signatures on the receipts are only required if the cardholder does not use Chrome River, My Wallet, or submits a service request to FinOps to request their transactions be reconciled and submitted for approval.

Disputed Charges

Cardholders must document that they have processed a dispute or contacted a merchant directly regarding unidentified items. Disputed charges must still be reconciled according to the timelines for processing. See Administrative Procedure: Dispute Process.

Unallowable Expenses and Repayment

If a corporate card expense is determined to be unallowable, the cardholder (or employee who made the purchase, if on a departmental PCard) must reimburse the University by:

  • Payroll deduction (available only for Travel & Expense Card transactions reconciled through Chrome River)
  • Receiving a bill from the University

Reconciling and Approving Corporate Card Expenses

Procurement Card

Cardholders

EFS EX Preparer Role (can be cardholder)

  • Delegate themselves as UM Authorized Users to cardholders to reconcile procurement card activity.
  • In EFS, review and bring procurement card transactions into an expense report (Employee Self-Service > Travel and Expense Center > Expense Reports > Create/Modify and click on the “Add a New Value” tab).
  • Compare receipts to transactions and ensure receipt(s)/documentation is attached to the Expense Report.
  • Ensure a justification is in the "Description Field" for each transaction.
    • If a charge appears to be invalid or is not recognizable it must still be reconciled and approved. See Administrative Procedure: Dispute Process.
      1. Indicate in the justification (Description Field) that the transaction is being disputed.
  • Include appropriate ChartField information for each transaction.
  • Submit Expense Report for approval.

Department/Certified Approver (cannot be the cardholder)

  • In EFS, Expense Reports will be routed for approval based on the Dept ID in the ChartField and the Payment Type (Prepaid or Out-of-pocket).
  • Review the justification for the expense to ensure it contains a valid business connection and appropriate documentation.
    • Deny any expense that does not have a valid business purpose or connection.
    • Return or deny any expense that does not contain the appropriate documentation.
  • Review the justification to determine if it was timely submitted. Units can deny an expense reconciled and submitted for approval over 60 days from the date the expense was incurred. Or units can approve such transactions based on the valid business purpose or connection and appropriate documentation, and such expenses will then be routed for review by the TMO for taxability.

Travel & Expense Card Expenses

Cardholders

  • Navigate to MyU (myu.umn.edu) > Key Links > U Travel > Chrome River to reconcile posted transactions.
  • Create a new expense report or work from an existing expense report.
  • Complete the required header information.
  • Provide justification for the expense report in the Business Purpose field.
  • Select corporate card transaction(s) from eWallet to be added to the expense report.
    • Provide any additional required information.
    • Attach detailed receipts for each transaction.
      1. Receipts can be emailed ([email protected]) or uploaded in Chrome River at any time.
      2. Chrome River will attempt to merge any receipts loaded to corresponding corporate card transactions.
    • Resolve any compliance warnings or violations by following the instructions provided in Chrome River.
  • Provide Allocation(s) (ChartField string) to record the expense.
  • If a charge appears to be invalid or is not recognizable it must still be reconciled and approved. See Administrative Procedure: Dispute Process.
    • Indicate in the justification (Additional Information field) that the transaction is being disputed.
  • If a charge is unallowable, check the box “A portion of this expense is unallowable.” Cardholders are responsible for reimbursing the University for expenses on the travel card that are deemed unallowable. Amounts owed to the University will be collected:
    • By deducting from any amount to be reimbursed to the cardholder on the expense report that includes the unallowable expense(s).
    • If the expense report does not include an amount owed to the cardholder, the cardholder must choose one of the following to pay for the unallowable expense:
      1. receiving a bill from the University or
      2. a one-time payroll deduction.
  • Submit Expense Report for approval.
Approvers (cannot be the cardholder)
  • Expense Reports will be routed for the following approvals:
    • Supervisor – based on “reports to” relationship in HRMS.
    • Department Finance - based on the DeptID in the Allocation.
    • Certified Approver (when activity hits sponsored accounts) – based on DeptID in Allocation.
    • Chief Financial Manager – policy violations
  • If the expense owner is also an approver on the expense report submitted for approval, the expense report will route to “Find Me Fix Me” and the Financial Helpline will contact the department to identify the appropriate person for approval.
  • If expense reports route to the wrong person or an approver does not exist, the Financial Helpline can assist in reassigning the expense report.
  • Review the justification for the expense to ensure it contains a valid business connection and appropriate documentation.
    • Deny any expense that does not have a valid business purpose or connection.
    • Return or deny any expense that does not contain the appropriate documentation.
  • Review the justification to determine if it was timely submitted. Units can deny an expense reconciled and submitted for approval over 60 days from the date the expense was incurred. Or units can approve such transactions based on the valid business purpose or connection and appropriate documentation, and such expenses will then be routed for review by the TMO for taxability.

Imaging of receipts/documentation for Expense Reports

  • Any receipts/documentation attached to an Expense Report will be “swept” into Perceptive Content once the Expense Report is approved.
  • Receipts/documentation not attached to the Expense Report must still be imaged into Perceptive Content.