Allowable/Non-Allowable Charges
General considerations
Cardholders may use their P-card for small value purchases of materials, supplies, equipment and services that are not otherwise prohibited or restricted. All purchases must be made within the Cardholder’s assigned spending limits and in compliance with the University’s policies and the applicable laws.
Splitting purchases over $10,000 to bypass Procurement review or to avoid exceeding the Single Transaction Limit (STL) is considered an unauthorized procurement.
Purchase reference guide
✓ Allowable purchasesThe following is a partial list of possible items and services that can be charged to the P-Card, this list is not all-encompassing: |
✗ Unallowable purchasesThe following are prohibited from purchasing with a P-Card under any circumstances, this list is not all-encompassing: |
|---|---|
| ✓Airline or Train tickets for the Cardholder plus baggage fees if purchased with ticket | ✗Alcohol |
| ✓APL iTunes – for CU business applications only | ✗Business Meals |
| ✓Books | ✗Cash advances, use at ATMs, use inside banks or cash advance, quasi-cash and money transfer locations such as Western Union, Telecheck, etc. |
| ✓Computer Software | ✗Conference meals and hotel charges not included in the registration fee |
| ✓Conference and Registration Fees | ✗Decorations |
| ✓FedEx/UPS Express Shipping | ✗Employee functions i.e. food for staff meetings |
| ✓Guest Travel | ✗Employee Parking Hangtags |
| ✓Hardware | ✗Employee Travel, with the exception of airfare, rental cars, train tickets, and baggage |
| ✓Individual and Group Student Travel (excluding home sharing properties like Airbnb, VRBO, etc.) including chaperones | ✗Entertainment, including in-room movies |
| ✓Internet Providers | ✗Equipment required to be capitalized |
| ✓Lab supplies | ✗Fuel for vehicles |
| ✓Marketplace (alternative for inter-departmental purchases) | ✗Gift cards, stored value cards, calling cards, pre-paid cards or similar products |
| ✓Membership Dues | ✗Holiday or Birthday Cards |
| ✓Office Supplies | ✗Home Sharing (Airbnb, VRBO, Roomorama, HomeAway, etc.) |
| ✓Payments to Conference Facilities for the purpose of reselling such conferences to the public | ✗Payment of State and local taxes to the Department of Revenue |
| ✓Postage | ✗Payment on open accounts maintained with vendors. The P-Card can only be used to pay one transaction at a time and cannot be used to pay the accumulated balance of an account |
| ✓Printing | ✗Personal purchases of any kind |
| ✓Purchases off State or Agency Contract | ✗Professional Services |
| ✓Rental Car for the Cardholder | ✗Purchases from a vendor with a blocked MCC |
| ✓Repairs | ✗Tobacco products |
| ✓Subscriptions | ✗Travel Packages that include airline tickets, hotel, rental cars, or meals |
| ✓Telephone and Cell Phone payments in compliance with the University Personal Communication Services Policy | |
| ✓Temporary Services under contract, such as Manpower | |
| ✓Utilities | |
| ✓Procurement Exemption purchases — the Exempt from Competition List includes items that can be paid for using the procurement card without consideration of the $10,000 limitation |