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College of Engineering

PCard

The University of Florida Procurement Card (PCard) is a corporate credit card issued by Bank of America and linked to your UFGo account.

It works just like a regular credit card and can be used to purchase both commodities and travel for official University business. To be eligible, you must be a UF employee (Faculty, Staff, Graduate Assistants, and OPS). These are issued at the discretion of BME administrators and supervisors. Carrying a PCard is a privilege based on trust & holders are accountable for the appropriate use and security of PCards.

Keep in mind, while your purchases are for the lab, the PCard is under YOUR name. According to the bank, this is your personal credit card and while the fiscal team will do their best to assist you in monitoring your PCard expenses, they are unable to call the bank on your behalf. You are responsible for contacting the bank should any issues arise, but please feel free to call the fiscal first for any guidance! We are here for you & will do our best to facilitate a solution.

In your UFGo account, on the Expenses page, there will be a list of all your current PCard purchases. Think of this as your Bank Statement. Note – these may take a few days to appear after placing an order/swiping the card.

TIMELINESS

•Per UF Policy, a weekly report (instead of the previous monthly report) will be required. The Fiscal team will add all your expenses to a report along with funding and email you to submit it. Please do this at your earliest convenience to ensure accurate accounting of projects.

•Receipts for PCard purchases must be sent to BMEUFGo@bme.ufl.edu or uploaded to UF Go within 5 days of making a charge. This includes travel-related PCard charges even if that travel has not yet concluded.

The Fiscal team will resolve your charges on a weekly basis to ensure that all fraudulent charges are caught quickly & all purchases are approved in a timely manner.

See the FAQ below to learn how to use your PCard.

  • Secure approval from your supervisor. Work with them to determine if your card will be used to purchase commodities, travel, or both.
  • Take the required trainings: UGO100 – Introduction to UFGo (to gain access to UFGo) & UGO500 What Every PCard Holder Needs to Know.
  • Email your request to BMEUFGo@bme.ufl.edu and provide your name, UFID, the dates you completed the trainings, and if your PCard will be used for commodities, travel, or both. Make sure to copy your supervisor!
  • The BME Fiscal Office will then submit the application.
  • Once the UF PCard Team approves the application, please allow 7-10 business days for your new PCard to arrive.
  • PCards are delivered to the BME main office. We will email you for pickup as soon as it arrives.

After setting up your PCard (following the instructions listed in your initial letter), you can now make purchases on behalf of the University! You are not to save the PCard onto any devices, allow anyone but you to input the card’s information (see What is PCard sharing?).

All PCard purchases must have a clear business purpose and be permitted by the funding source. Your PCard may only be used for purchases that are reasonable and for appropriate goods or services necessary to accomplish the mission of the University.

UF is a tax-exempt institution. Make sure to contact vendors and set up online accounts as tax-exempt BEFORE making any purchases. As a PCard holder, it is your responsibility to provide UF’s tax exemption certificate and to request refunds for any purchases where taxes were assessed.

After placing an order with your PCard, we recommend either sending the receipt immediately to BMEUFGo@bme.ufl.edu OR uploading it to your UFGo account. You can drag and drop receipts into your ‘Available Expenses’ queue, where they can wait until your charge shows up in the following days.

The Fiscal Team will email you each week, asking you the following:

  • To review your statement for fraud.
  • Send any missing receipts.
  • Funding sources.
  • Purchase description & brief justification.

Per UF Policy, a weekly report (instead of the previous monthly report) will be required. The Fiscal team will add all your expenses to a report along with funding and email you to submit it. Please do this at your earliest convenience to ensure accurate accounting of projects.

Receipts for PCard purchases must be sent to BMEUFGo@bme.ufl.edu or uploaded to UF Go within 5 days of making a charge. This includes travel-related PCard charges even if that travel has not yet concluded.

  • All receipts need to have an itemized list of what was purchased + any fees, the total cost, a description of the item, the last 4 of your PCard, and the date.
  • Receipts for PCard purchases must be sent to BMEUFGo@bme.ufl.edu or uploaded to UF Go within 5 days of making a charge. This includes travel-related PCard charges even if that travel has not yet concluded.

Card sharing occurs when someone other than the cardholder makes a purchase with the PCard. Examples:

  • Saving card information into an account that multiple people access.
  • Autosaving card information on any shared computer or mobile device.
  • Saving or using your PCard to book travel on someone else’s UF Go profile.
  • Authorized lab members may pick up items from the Fisher Store through the cardholder’s account linked to their PCard.
  • Any time the cardholder directly enters their own PCard information and ensures it is not saved under any account or on any device.
  • When booking airfare, hotel and lodging within UF Go, you must book these as guest travel through the PCard holder’s UF Go account.
  • When booking outside UF Go, the PCard holder must directly enter their own PCard information and ensure that information is NOT saved/stored.

Per UF policy, we cannot process travel expenses until you have returned from your trip.

  • Notify BME Fiscal within 5 days of the charge posting to your account.
  • Provide a check or money order in the amount of the personal expense to the BME fiscal office within 10 days of the charge.
  • Failure to comply will result in card suspension for up to 10 business days, and the cardholder will have to retake UGO500 What Every Cardholder Needs to Know.
  • When someone else’s personal expense is charged to your PCard, in addition to the consequences above, a new card will be issued to you.

UF PCards come preset with certain spending limits. The Single Transaction Limit is the amount your card is authorized to spend on any one purchase and is $2000. To place an order above this limit, reach out to bmeufgo@bme.ufl.edu to send a Temporary Limit Increase with the following information:

  • Amount
  • Item description
  • Brief justification
  • Project #
  • PI Approval

The UF PCard Team has provided a list of allowable and non-allowable charges. Most notably, you may not purchase food or fuel for your personal vehicle on PCard. This list is not exhaustive, so if you are unsure about the allowability of a particular item, please reach out to the BME Fiscal Team for guidance.

Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) must give prior approval before purchasing certain items such as 3D printers and small appliances. EH&S has provided a comprehensive list and a link to request preapproval here.