Colby College Purchasing Card Program

Colby College has an agreement with J.P. Morgan Chase to provide credit cards to full-time regular faculty and staff who regularly make purchases or travel on behalf of Colby College. Departments may also request to have a departmental PCard. Students, contingent workers and part-time faculty and staff are not eligible.

Please submit all questions to [email protected]. 

•  Colby College’s Purchasing Card is to be used for College related purchases ONLY.
• The card and card number are to be kept secure at all times.  If card is lost or stolen, immediately contact the Program Administrator at x4125 or Accounts Payable at x4126/x4128. You may also email [email protected].
• Transactions must be reviewed in Workday every 3 to 5 days.  If you notice an invalid transaction, contact the Program Administrator at x4125 immediately. You will need to contact JP Morgan to verify all current transactions on the account.
• To keep budget expenditures up-to-date, charges must be verified within Workday within 14 days of the posted date.
• Computer related purchases, including but not limited to computers, hardware, printers, storage, servers, cloud services, and software, must be requested through Information Technology Services (207) 859-4222 or [email protected]. Hardware requests can be submitted using the ITS Hardware Request form.  Software requests can be submitted using the ITS Software Request form.
• Regardless of the dollar amount, every transaction must have an itemized receipt/invoice (not a statement, order confirmation or packing slip) attached to the transaction within Workday, together with the business purpose/reason indicated on the line-item description.
• The preferred file format for Workday attachments is PDF.
• All PCard transactions are required to be verified on an individual basis. Credit card transactions should not be lumped into one verification. 
• Improper use of the card and/or non-compliance with all related responsibilities and procedures will result in loss of card privileges and may result in disciplinary action or termination.
• Colby College strives to purchase environmentally friendly products, so please keep this in mind when buying products with your card.
• Cardholders are responsible for verifying all credit card transactions within Workday prior to his/her permanent departure from Colby. 

The Colby College Purchasing Card (PCard) is used by Colby faculty and staff that purchase goods and/or services on behalf of the Colby College for Colby College use.

The PCard is the preferred method of payment for invoices from vendors that accept Visa.  Low dollar purchases are ideally suited for the card; however, many companies will take it for high dollar purchases.

The PCard is to be used for Colby travelers who incur frequent travel expenses such as airfare, hotels, restaurants, rental cars, or other travel/entertainment expenses. Travelers still have the option to use personal payment methods for travel and entertainment expenses. However, the preferred payment method is the PCard.

Travel can also be arranged using SAP Concur, Colby’s online booking tool, or by contacting Direct Travel.

If you would like to request access to SAP Concur, please contact [email protected]. 

Direct Travel Contact Information:

(800) 335-7076 or [email protected]    9:00 a.m. – 5.30 p.m. ET, Monday – Friday (excluding holidays)

Holidays, Weekends, and Afterhours: (800) 247-0846

Technical Support- Online Booking Tool:  (855) 874-9260 or [email protected]         8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday – Friday (excluding holidays)

To apply for a Colby College PCard, please complete the Colby Procurement Cardholder Responsibilities and Procedures document from the link below, then email it to [email protected].

Colby Procurement Cardholder Responsibilities and Procedures v. October 2024

Making a purchase – When placing an order or purchasing goods in person, over the phone or via the internet, cardholders will provide the merchant/supplier with their Colby College Purchasing Card number.  At the time of purchase, you should also provide the merchant with the College’s State of Maine tax exemption number (this number is E10005) to exempt the purchase from sales tax.  Cardholders should keep electronic copies of all receipts (ex. “print screens” if ordering off the internet).  All transaction documentation will be kept in Workday, but electronic copies should be available upon request by the Office of Financial Services or the external auditors.

Paying from an invoice – When you receive an invoice for something already purchased you need to find out if the company will accept payment by Visa.  Call the number on the invoice and ask for Accounts Receivable.  If the company will accept payment with your card, please give them your Visa information rather than sending the invoice to our Accounts Payable office for payment by check or ACH. Please contact [email protected] if guidance is needed for payment by check or ACH. 

Reconciling PCard transactions in Workday – Each transaction will be posted individually on the web-based Workday System within 3 to 5 days of the transaction.  The cardholder or departmental representative assigned to the account will be responsible for approving the transaction and making sure the correct general ledger account is associated with the transaction.

Once verified and approved in Workday, all credit card transactions will post to and appear in the Workday General Ledger and Budget.

The Office of Financial Services will periodically conduct a Card Activity Review in order to review proper usage of the corporate card, communicate changes and “best practices”, and to solicit feedback on ways to improve Colby’s Purchasing Card program.

Colby College is exempt from paying sales tax on tangible personal property or taxable services in the State of Maine. If you are placing an order to be delivered to the campus, download the Maine Exemption Certificate and submit it to the vendor when the order is placed. The Office of Administrative Financial Services maintains the Permanent Exemption Certificates for Colby.  Certificates should be presented at the time of purchase and should only be used for College related purchases. Other state tax exemption certificates can be found here: Tax Exempt Information | Colby College.

The Office of Financial Services will periodically conduct a Card Activity Review in order to review proper usage of the corporate card, communicate changes and “best practices”, and to solicit feedback on ways to improve Colby’s Purchasing Card program.

Colby College and J.P. Morgan have the right to cancel any corporate card in accordance with the delinquency provisions of the contract or other credit card abuses. Employees must immediately return the corporate card to the Colby College’s program administrator upon notice of cancellation.

Faculty and staff who are issued a corporate card are required to promptly notify and return the card to the Program Administrator or a Human Resource officer upon termination of employment or if it is deemed that the card is no longer needed.