Harvard Credit Card Services administers the University card programs. The University offers two payment card options for eligible faculty or staff who travel or purchase goods and services on behalf of their department, the Purchasing Card (PCard) and Corporate Card.
PCard
Application
Harvard Purchasing Cards (“PCards”) are University-liability credit cards issued in the names of authorized, trained individuals to purchase eligible goods and services in support of Harvard University business. Travel outside of the Cambridge area is never allowed on PCard, nor are gift cards. Local ground transportation is allowed. Please check with the Finance Office before using a PCard to pay for gifts, celebratory events or flowers as there are restrictions on what can be purchased and for how much.
PCard Individual Cardholder Application
Training
Before you can receive your Purchasing Card you must complete the online training in full. Please call your contact in the Financial Office with questions or to set up a training time at 495-4607.
Rules
- No travel, gift cards, personal charges or charge-splitting to stay below the per-transaction limit
- Tax ID is printed on the card – do not pay sales tax.
Reviewing (All Transactions)
Reviewing is done by working on the left side of the PCard home screen in Oracle.
- PCard transactions ‘sweep’ every week, usually on Thursday at 3:00pm
- You must review your charges (enter business purpose and correct coding) in Oracle before the sweep, preferably Monday of the sweep week.
- The business purpose must contain who, what, where, when and why. An invoice number and date is helpful, along with a short description of what it is you are paying for.
Reporting (Only Transactions Over $25)
Reporting is done by working on the right side of the PCard home screen in Oracle.
Email the corresponding PCard settlement report for that sweep and attach it to any receipts that are $25 or higher. Please send it to the Finance Office as soon after the sweep as possible.
Here is where you should go to create a PDF that we need:
Here is an example of the report we need attached to receipts that are over $25:
Corporate Card
The Corporate Card is the primary payment method used for travel expenses incurred by Harvard employees. Employees who take at least three business trips per year and/or incur event or entertainment expenses of $5,000 or more per year are strongly encouraged to apply for a corporate card.
CITI MasterCard Application Instructions
Settling your Corporate Card and Reimbursing Employees through Concur