College Credit Card and Use

This policy applies to all employees who have been issued a Rhodes College credit card (“College Card”) as part of their job duties or have been given access to a College Card for approved expenditures.

Purpose of College Credit Cards. Rhodes College has established a Corporate Credit Card program with Bank of America. College Cards are authorized for business travel related expenses, College business entertainment, and small dollar purchases of goods and services as required during the normal course of College business. College asset purchases, (i.e. electronics, equipment, computers, furniture), contracted services, and large dollar purchases will require a purchase order (“PO”) through Workday and must not be paid with a College Card. 

Eligibility. College Cards may be issued to full time employees in good standing upon approval by the Finance Office when deemed necessary due to travel and/or purchasing and operational responsibilities. College Card requests should be sent to the Associate Controller/Director of Accounting by the employee’s supervisor with justification for the need. College Card privileges may be rescinded at the discretion of the Finance Office. College Card accounts will be closed upon notice of employee resignation or three weeks prior to the last day of work, whichever is the greater time period. Holders of College Cards must sign the Cardholder Agreement form acknowledging that they have reviewed and agree to comply with these and any related policies. 

Credit Card Statements. College Cards are issued in the employee’s name and charges are paid by the College to the bank. Individual card statements are made available to the Cardholder every two weeks. Cardholders are responsible for reviewing the statement to ensure that all charges are valid. Any erroneous charges must be addressed and fraudulent charges must be reported to the Bank and Associate Controller immediately. Failure to file a timely and proper fraud claim may result in personal liability for the charges.

Responsibility of Cardholders. Cardholders are responsible to the College for all charges on their Card and must retain transactional evidence to support all charges. Charges must be reconciled through a Workday expense report within 14 days after the close of the bi-weekly billing period.

Per IRS guidelines, the use of College resources may become taxable to the employee unless the expense is properly substantiated with a qualified business purpose and detailed documentation within a reasonable time frame as defined by the employer’s Accountable Plan. Rhodes has defined a reasonable time period as within sixty days from the date of the transaction.

Not Allowed on College Cards. Use of the College Card is not allowed for cash advances; payments through Pay Pal, VENMO, and other mobile cash payment applications; purchases from campus vendors operating the bookstore, mailroom, and dining hall; Amazon purchases through personal accounts, personal charges, and personal reimbursements made through cash apps. Donations to other non-profit organizations or political organizations are not allowed with College funds. As a non-profit organization, contributions to other non-profits could risk the tax-exempt status of the College per the IRS. 

Expenditure Reporting. College Card charges must be reconciled to the College by submitting an expense report through Workday with a clear business purpose and substantiating documentation. A description of each transaction should be detailed enough for all approvers to clearly understand the nature and business purpose of the expense. Simple generalizations (i.e., “airline ticket,” “dinner,” “internet purchase”) and acronyms (i.e., “APA conference,” “CAPP fee”) are not sufficient and could result in the report being returned for additional information. All College expenditures will be made available for review by the College’s internal and external auditors or regulatory agencies as needed. Expenditures and expense reports may be subject to review for up to three years or longer as determined by the IRS. 

Receipts and Substantiating Documents. Receipts for purchases of $50.00 or more must be attached to the Workday expense report. Exceptions: Itemized receipts, regardless of the amount, are required for all the following expenditures: travel and entertainment expenses, including meals, car rentals, fuel, ground transportation, hotel, and airline expenditures; purchases from book and general merchandise sellers such as Amazon, department stores (Target, Walmart, Walgreens, etc.) and wholesale warehouses (Sam’s, Costco, etc.)

Receipts must show all details of the transaction and not just confirmation of an amount paid. Required details: vendor name, city/state, amount paid, date and time of transaction, form of payment, and clear details of all items or services purchased. Additional supporting documentation may be required to substantiate purchases, travel and contractual expense if the payment document does not provide all details. Receipts must be attached to the expense report and must be in a digital format that allows the image to be opened with standards software (i.e., pdf, jpeg, etc.). Embedding electronic links or uploading documents with electronic links to websites or folders is not acceptable. Out-of-pocket expense receipts must be submitted for reimbursement within 60 days of purchase or the beginning of the current fiscal year, whichever date is most recent. 

Meals and entertainment. Itemized receipts as well as the signature copy showing tip must be attached to the expense report for these meals. A business purpose must be given for all meals and entertainment expenses and all attendees must be listed, including their relationship to the event. Failure to report the itemized receipt or attendees for meals could result in personal liability for the expense. 

Personal and Improper Use of College Credit Card is Prohibited. The College Card may not be used for personal purchases. All expenditures must have a verifiable business relationship to the College. Should an inadvertent personal transaction appear on the College Card, notify the Director of Accounting in the Finance Office immediately with information regarding the transaction. Reimbursement to the College must be made immediately. Personal and improper charges may include but are not limited to personal items, services and fees, and non-qualified, unapproved or unreasonable business expenses. Violators of College policies through personal use/misuse and misrepresentation will be subject to disciplinary action, including but not limited to loss of Card privileges, required reimbursement to the College, and discipline, up to and including termination. 

Review of Credit Card Expenditures by Supervisor/Budget Manager. Workday expense reports must be reviewed and approved by the Cardholder’s immediate Supervisor or funding Budget Manager. The Supervisor or Budget Manger is responsible to review all charges; ensuring that expenditures are appropriate and reasonable, have a clear business explanation and documentation meets policy requirements. The Supervisor or Budget Manager is also responsible for approvals made on their behalf through their assigned Workday delegates. 

Travel Pre-approval. All business travel must be pre-approved by the traveler’s Chairperson or Supervisor. Funding must be pre-approved by the appropriate Budget Manager for the funding source.

Gift Cards, Prizes, and Awards. Gift cards cannot be purchased without prior approval of the Finance Office and are generally discouraged. All gift cards of any value given as gifts of appreciation, prizes, or awards are taxable to the recipient. Tangible gifts and awards over $35 are also taxable to the recipient. Call the Finance Office for directions on how to handle these situations prior to making any purchases. 

Computers, Peripherals, and other Electronic Devices. (Purchase Orders may be required) No computers or peripheral equipment may be purchased without the pre-approval of the Director of Academic Technologies in Information Technology Services and also the approval of the Provost when applicable. Computing software and hardware must conform to the College’s standards for authorized computers. Educational pricing may be available through ITS sourcing. Please refer to the Information Services section of the College Handbook. Computers and peripheral devices purchased with any source of funding through the College become the property of the College. 

Sales Tax Exemptions. As a tax-exempt organization, no sales tax will be paid by the College on major purchases in applicable states. Rhodes has a sales tax exemption in four states - Tennessee, Texas, New York, and Florida. Sales tax exemption certificates are available through the Finance Office and may be used for business travel, restaurants, and other purchases in these states. 

The College sales tax exemption is only allowed on business transactions. Misuse of the sales tax exemption applied to personal charges, services, and membership accounts could result in the loss of the exemption privilege for the entire College. Not all Rhodes organizations and affiliated programs qualify to use the College sales tax exemption but many sanctioned student organizations are qualified. Sororities and Fraternities do not qualify to use the College tax exemption. Call the Finance Office if there are any questions about what qualifies for the benefit.