SECTION OVERVIEW AND POLICIES

This Section provides Business Units with guidance on how pay and reconcile charges to the State Procurement, Travel and Net Cards within the Statewide Financial System.

See the following sections in this Chapter for additional detail on paying and reconciling each type of card:

Paying and Reconciling Procurement Card Charges

SECTION OVERVIEW AND POLICY

This section provides agencies with the Office of the State Comptroller’s policy on paying and reconciling Procurement Card (PCard) charges within the Statewide Financial System (SFS).

In addition to the guidance contained in this section, agencies and State employees with PCard privileges should refer to Section XIV.10.B of this Guide to ensure compliance with Advisory Opinion No. 08-04 issued by the former New York State Commission on Public Integrity, now succeeded by the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, regarding supplier reward programs.

When creating the voucher for PCard transactions, the agency must select the PCard supplier’s Supplier ID: 1000009372 for Citibank or 1100273879 for JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. In addition, the agency must reference the centralized contract number on the voucher in accordance with Section XII.5.E of this Guide to ensure contract expenditures are recorded accurately and timely.

Invoice Field

In the invoice field of the voucher, the agency must enter the full PCard billing account number followed by the two-digit billing month and the two-digit billing year. There should not be any letters, special characters (e.g., #,-) or spaces before, within, or after the account number. Failing to use this format in the invoice field may prevent the credit card supplier from properly applying the payment to the correct account and may result in PCard deactivation. For example, when processing a voucher for account number 4865-5900-0000-0000 for billing month and year May 2022, the agency should enter 48655900000000000522 in the invoice field. Please note this is a dummy account number. The agency must fill in the actual account number in the invoice field for the credit card supplier to apply payments correctly.

Processing Separate Payments

To help apply payments properly, the Supplier IDs for both Citibank and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. are coded so that the SFS will not combine multiple agencies’ payments to each supplier. Accordingly, when the agency creates a voucher under one of these Supplier IDs, SFS automatically places the checkmark in the “Separate Payment” box in the Payment Options section of the voucher. The agency should not remove the checkmark as this will cause the agency’s payments to be combined with those of other agencies. This affects the suppliers’ ability to apply payments to the correct account and may result in PCard deactivation. Bulkload agencies that have the ability to affect the checkmark in the “Separate Payment” box should ensure it is checked.

For additional instruction on this topic, visit the job aid related to paying and reconciling PCard charges and other related topics published to the SFS Coach. The SFS Coach is accessible from the SFS home page after logging in with your SFS user ID and password

Credits

In certain circumstances, a credit card supplier may owe the agency a credit; an example of this would be if an agency ordered an item that is out of stock and the credit card supplier processes a refund. When this happens, the agency should request that the credit card supplier apply the credit to the next billing cycle so it will be included on the agency’s next PCard invoice. The agency should not receive a check from the credit card supplier or process a credit memo for the PCard.

Process and Transaction Preparation for Online Agencies

Prior to payment, the agency should review the PCard invoice to ensure charges appear reasonable. The agency will then pay the entire PCard invoice using one prepaid voucher with the PCard Clearing Account Code 58971. This voucher will satisfy the payment to the PCard supplier and establish a balance in a specific PCard Clearing Account.

Reconciliation

Within 30 days of the payment, the agency must complete the reconciliation process so the actual PCard expenditures are charged against the appropriate Account Chartfield, which will identify the specific goods or services purchased with the PCard. To complete the PCard reconciliation process:

• The SFS loads the credit card supplier’s PCard transactions into the Purchasing Module.
• Cardholders must verify transactions are appropriate, attach supporting documentation, reconcile their charges by selecting the appropriate account code for each transaction, and submit transactions for review and approval through the agency’s finance office.
• Authorized official(s) other than the employee (e.g., the employee’s supervisor), must review and approve each transaction along with its supporting documentation to ensure it is appropriate.
• The SFS generates a reconciliation voucher that reclassifies expenses into the actual expense account codes and reconciles the PCard Clearing Account. This reconciliation voucher will not result in a payment.

Process and Transaction Preparation for Bulkload Agencies

Prior to payment, the agency should review the PCard invoice to ensure charges appear reasonable. The agency must either:

• Prepare a regular voucher using the PCard Clearing account code 58971.

Or

• Reconcile the charges to the account codes that identify the specific goods or services purchased with the PCard prior to paying the invoice. Then, the agency may process a regular voucher to the PCard supplier using these account codes.

Reconciliation

Within 30 days of the payment, the agency must complete the reconciliation process so the actual PCard expenditures are charged against the appropriate Account Chartfield, which will identify the specific goods or services purchased with the PCard. To complete the PCard reconciliation process:

• The agency loads the credit card supplier’s PCard transactions into the agency’s Financial Management System (FMS).
• Cardholders must verify transactions are appropriate, obtain supporting documentation and attach into their agency’s FMS (if applicable), reconcile their charges by selecting the appropriate account code for each transaction, and submit transactions for review and approval through the agency’s finance office.
• Authorized official(s) other than the employee (e.g., the employee’s supervisor), must review and approve each transaction along with its supporting documentation to ensure it is appropriate.
  • If the agency pays using the PCard clearing account, the agency must then create manual journal transfers to the accounts that identify the specific goods or services purchased with the PCard.
  • If the agency completes the reconciliation process first and pays the invoice using the account codes specific to the goods or services purchased with the PCard, the agency does not need to subsequently process a journal transfer.

Special Considerations for Reconciliation for Online or Bulkload Agencies

On occasion, there may be special considerations for reconciling PCard charges. These include:

• “Negative” Reconciliation Vouchers:
  • There may be instances where reconciling charges will cause a reconciliation voucher with a total amount less than zero dollars, or a “negative” amount. In these instances, the agency should reference the SFS Job Aid (SFS Coach AP 210, Correcting a Reconciliation Voucher with a Negative Gross Amount) for additional guidance.
• Reconciling disputed charges:
  • When the agency disputes a charge with the credit card supplier, the credit card supplier reverses the charge on the card while it determines whether it will uphold the dispute. The agency should reconcile both the disputed charge and the reversal. Because the agency reconciles the original charge and reversal together, they cancel each other out.
  • If the credit card supplier does not uphold the dispute, an additional charge in the amount of the original charge will appear. The agency will be responsible for reconciling that charge to the appropriate expense type.
• Reconciling charges when an employee is under investigation:
  • The agency should inform OSC if an active investigation is preventing an employee’s charges from being reconciled timely by emailing [email protected]. Once the investigation is complete, the agency should notify [email protected] and reconcile the charges in accordance with the results of the investigation.
• When an employee no longer needs SFS access to perform their job, or is no longer employed by an agency:
  • The agency must lock the employee’s SFS user account or change the employee’s role accordingly. The agency should remove this access no later than the employee’s last day in the position. For any questions relating to locking or removing access, please email the SFS helpdesk. The employee’s status in PayServ and SFS changes to inactive once the agency locks or removes access. Although reconciliation vouchers can still be created, the agency must undertake multiple steps for SFS to reconcile the inactive employee’s PCard transactions. Therefore, the agency should require cardholders reconcile transactions prior to switching roles or separating from agency service

For questions regarding paying or reconciling PCard charges, please contact the Bureau of State Expenditures’ Customer Service Help Desk at (518) 474-4868, or by email addressed to [email protected].

 

Guide to Financial Operations

REV. 04/21/2023

Paying and Reconciling Travel Card Charges

SECTION OVERVIEW AND POLICY

This section provides agencies with the Office of the State Comptroller’s policy on paying and reconciling Travel Card (TCard) charges within the Statewide Financial System (SFS).

In addition to the guidance contained in this section, agencies and State employees with TCard privileges should refer to Section XIV.10.B of this Guide to ensure compliance with Advisory Opinion No. 08-04 issued by the former New York State Commission on Public Integrity, now succeeded by the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, regarding supplier reward programs.

When creating the voucher for TCard transactions, the agency must select the TCard supplier’s Supplier ID: 1000031857 for Citibank or 1100273880 for JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. In addition, the agency must reference the centralized contract number on the voucher in accordance with Section XII.5.E of this Guide to ensure contract expenditures are recorded accurately and timely.

Invoice Field

In the invoice field of the voucher, the agency must enter the full TCard billing account number followed by the two-digit billing month and the two-digit billing year. There should not be any letters, special characters (e.g., #,-) or spaces before, within, or after the account number. Failing to use this format in the invoice field may prevent the credit card supplier from properly applying the payment to the correct account and may result in TCard deactivation. For example, when processing a voucher for account number 4489-9500-0000-0000 for billing month and year May 2022, the agency should enter 44899500000000000522 in the invoice field. Please note this is a dummy account number. The agency must fill in the actual account number in the invoice field for the credit card supplier to apply payments correctly.

Processing Separate Payments

To help apply payments properly, the Supplier IDs for both Citibank and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. are coded so that the SFS will not combine multiple agencies’ payments to each supplier. Accordingly, when the agency creates a voucher under one of these Supplier IDs, SFS automatically places the checkmark in the “Separate Payment” box in the Payment Options section of the voucher. The agency should not remove the checkmark as this will cause the agency’s payments to be combined with those of other agencies. This affects the suppliers’ ability to apply payments to the correct account and may result in TCard deactivation. Bulkload agencies that have the ability to affect the checkmark in the “Separate Payment” box should ensure it is checked.

For additional instructions on this topic, visit the job aids related to paying and reconciling TCard charges and other related topics published to the SFS Coach. SFS Coach is accessible from the SFS home page after logging in with your SFS user ID and password.

Credits

In certain circumstances, a credit card supplier may owe the agency a credit; an example of this would be if a completed charge was later disputed. When this happens, the agency should request that the credit card supplier apply the credit to the next billing cycle so it will be included on the agency’s next TCard invoice. The agency should not receive a check from the credit card supplier or process a credit memo for the TCard.

Process and Transaction Preparation for Online Agencies

Prior to payment, the agency should review the TCard invoice to ensure charges appear reasonable. The agency will then pay the entire TCard invoice using one prepaid voucher with the TCard Clearing Account Code 54011. This voucher will satisfy payment to the TCard supplier and establish a balance in a specific TCard Clearing Account.

Reconciliation

Within 30 days of the payment, the agency must complete the reconciliation process so the actual TCard expenditures are charged against the appropriate Account Chartfield, which will identify the specific goods or services purchased with the TCard. To complete the TCard reconciliation process:

• The SFS loads the credit card supplier’s TCard transactions into the Travel and Expense Module.
• Travelers or their proxies must create an expense report using the SFS Travel & Expense Module.
• Travelers or their proxies select the transactions that correspond with the travel event and apply the charges to the appropriate expense report and expense account code.
• Travelers must verify the transactions are appropriate and submit or have a proxy submit the transactions for review and approval through the agency’s finance office.
• Authorized official(s) other than the employee (e.g., the employee’s supervisor), must review and approve each transaction along with its supporting documentation to ensure it is appropriate.
• The SFS generates a reconciliation voucher that reclassifies expenses into the actual expense account codes and reconciles the TCard Clearing Account. This reconciliation voucher will not result in a payment.

Process and Transaction Preparation for Bulkload Agencies

Prior to payment, the agency should review the TCard invoice to ensure charges appear reasonable. The agency must either:

• Prepare a regular voucher using the TCard Clearing Account Code 54011.

Or

• Reconcile the charges to the account codes that identify the specific goods or services purchased with the TCard prior to paying the invoice. Then, the agency may process a regular voucher to the TCard supplier using these account codes.

Reconciliation

Within 30 days of the payment, the agency must complete the reconciliation process so the actual TCard expenditures are charged against the appropriate Account Chartfield, which will identify the specific goods or services purchased with the TCard. To complete the TCard reconciliation process:

• The agency loads the credit card supplier’s TCard transactions into the agency’s Financial Management System (FMS).
• Travelers or their proxies must create an expense report using their agency’s FMS.
• Travelers or their proxies select the transactions or add out-of-pocket expenses that correspond with the travel event and apply the charges to the appropriate expense type and expense account code.
• Travelers or their proxies must verify the transactions are appropriate and submit the transactions for review and approval through the agency’s finance office.
• Authorized official(s) other than the employee (e.g., the employee’s supervisor), must review and approve each transaction along with its supporting documentation to ensure it is appropriate.
  • If the agency pays using the TCard clearing account, the agency must then create manual journal transfers to the accounts that identify the specific goods or services purchased with the TCard.
  • If the agency completes the reconciliation process first and pays the invoice using the account codes specific to the goods or services purchased with the TCard, the agency does not need to subsequently process a journal transfer.

Special Considerations for Reconciliation for Online or Bulkload Agencies

On occasion, there may be special considerations for reconciling TCard charges. These include:

• “Negative” Reconciliation Vouchers:
  • There may be instances where reconciling charges will cause a reconciliation voucher with a total amount less than zero dollars, or a “negative” amount. In these instances, the agency should reference the SFS Job Aid (SFS Coach AP 210, Correcting a Reconciliation Voucher with a Negative Gross Amount) for additional guidance.
• Reconciling disputed charges:
  • When the agency disputes a charge with the credit card supplier, the credit card supplier reverses the charge on the card and while it determines whether it will uphold the dispute. The agency should reconcile both the disputed charge and the reversal. Because the agency reconciles the original charge and reversal together, they cancel each other out.
  • If the credit card supplier does not uphold the dispute, an additional charge in the amount of the original charge will appear. The agency will be responsible for reconciling that charge to the appropriate expense type.
• Reconciling charges when an employee is under investigation:
  • The agency should inform OSC if an active investigation is preventing an employee’s charges from being reconciled timely by emailing [email protected]. Once the investigation is complete, the agency should notify [email protected] and reconcile the charges in accordance with the results of the investigation.
• When an employee no longer needs SFS access to perform their job, or is no longer employed by an agency:
  • The agency must lock the employee’s SFS user account or change the employee’s role accordingly. The agency should remove this access no later than the employee’s last day in the position. For any questions relating to locking or removing access, please email the SFS helpdesk. The employee’s status in PayServ and SFS changes to inactive once the agency locks or removes access. Although expense reports can still be created, the agency must undertake multiple steps for SFS to reconcile the inactive employee’s TCard transactions. Therefore, the agency should require cardholders reconcile transactions prior to switching roles or separating from agency service.

For additional guidance on TCard reconciliation, travelers should refer to Section XIII.4.A - Employee Travel Card Reconciliation of this Guide.

For questions regarding paying or reconciling TCard charges, please contact the Bureau of State Expenditures’ Customer Service Help Desk at (518) 474-4868 or by email addressed to [email protected].

 

 

REV. 04/21/2023

Paying and Reconciling Non-Employee Travel Card Charges

SECTION OVERVIEW AND POLICY

This section provides agencies with the Office of the State Comptroller’s policy on paying and reconciling Non-Employee Travel Card (NET-Card) charges within the Statewide Financial System (SFS).

In addition to the guidance contained in this section, agencies and State employees with NET-Card privileges should refer to Section XIV.10.B of this Guide to ensure compliance with Advisory Opinion No. 08-04 issued by the former New York State Commission on Public Integrity, now succeeded by the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, regarding supplier reward programs.

When creating the voucher for NET-Card transactions, the agency must select the NET-Card supplier’s Supplier ID: 1000058617 for Citibank or 1100273878 for JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. In addition, the agency must reference the centralized contract number on the voucher in accordance with Section XII.5.E of this Guide to ensure contract expenditures are recorded accurately and timely.

Invoice Field

In the invoice field of the voucher, the agency must enter the full NET-Card billing account number followed by the two-digit billing month and the two-digit billing year. There should not be any letters, special characters (e.g., #,-) or spaces before, within, or after the account number. Failing to use this format in the invoice field may prevent the credit card supplier from properly applying the payment to the correct account and may result in NET-Card deactivation. For example, when processing a voucher for account number 4485-9200-0000-0000 for billing month and year May 2022, the agency should enter 4859200000000000522 in the invoice field. Please note this is a dummy account number. The agency must fill in the actual account number in the invoice field for the credit card supplier to apply payments correctly.

Processing Separate Payments

To help apply payments properly, the Supplier IDs for both Citibank and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. are coded so that the SFS will not combine multiple agencies’ payments to each supplier. Accordingly, when the agency creates a voucher under one of these Supplier IDs, SFS automatically places the checkmark in the “Separate Payment” box in the Payment Options section of the voucher. The agency should not remove the checkmark as this will cause the agency’s payments to be combined with those of other agencies. This affects the suppliers’ ability to apply payments to the correct account and may result in NET-Card deactivation. Bulkload agencies that have the ability to affect the checkmark in the “Separate Payment” box should ensure it is checked.

For additional instruction on this topic, visit the job aids related to paying and reconciling NET-Card charges and other related topics published to the SFS Coach. SFS Coach is accessible from the SFS home page after logging in with your SFS user ID and password.

Credits

In certain circumstances, a credit card supplier may owe the agency a credit; an example of this would be if a completed charge was later disputed. When this happens, the agency should request that the credit card supplier apply the credit to the next billing cycle so it will be included on the agency’s next NET-Card invoice. The agency should not receive a check from the credit card supplier or process a credit memo for the NET-Card.

Process and Transaction Preparation for Online Agencies

Prior to payment, the agency should review the NET-Card invoice to ensure charges appear reasonable. The agency will then pay the entire NET-Card invoice using one prepaid voucher with the NET-Card Clearing Account Code 54011. This voucher will satisfy the payment to the NET-Card supplier and establish a balance in a specific NET-Card Clearing Account.

Reconciliation

Within 30 days of the payment, the agency must complete the reconciliation process so the actual NET-Card expenditures are charged against the appropriate Account Chartfield, which will identify the specific goods or services purchased with the NET-Card. To complete the NET-Card reconciliation process:

• The SFS loads the credit card supplier’s NET-Card transactions into the Purchasing Module.
• Cardholders must verify transactions are appropriate, attach supporting documentation, reconcile their charges by selecting the appropriate account code for each transaction, and submit transactions for review and approval through the agency’s finance office.
• Authorized official(s) other than the employee (e.g., the employee’s supervisor), must review and approve each transaction along with its supporting documentation to ensure it is appropriate.
• The SFS generates a reconciliation voucher that reclassifies expenses into the actual expense account codes and reconciles the NET-Card Clearing Account. This reconciliation voucher will not result in a payment.

Process and Transaction Preparation for Bulkload Agencies

Prior to payment, the agency should review the NET-Card invoice to ensure charges appear reasonable. The agency must either:

• Prepare a regular voucher using the NET-Card Clearing Account Code 54011.
  
  Or
   
• Reconcile the charges to the account codes that identify the specific goods or services purchased with the NET-Card prior to paying the invoice. Then, the agency may process a regular voucher to the NET-Card supplier using these account codes.

Reconciliation

Within 30 days of the payment, the agency must complete the reconciliation process so the actual NET-Card expenditures are charged against the appropriate Account Chartfield, which will identify the specific goods or services purchased with the NET-Card. To complete the NET-Card reconciliation process:

• The agency loads the credit card supplier’s NET-Card transactions into the agency’s Financial Management System (FMS).
• Cardholders must verify transactions are appropriate, obtain supporting documentation and attach into their agency’s FMS (if applicable), reconcile their charges by selecting the appropriate account code for each transaction, and submit transactions for review and approval through the agency’s finance office.
• Authorized officials, other than the employee (e.g., the employee’s supervisor), must independently review and approve each transaction to ensure appropriateness.
  • If the agency pays using the NET-Card clearing account, the agency must then create manual journal transfers to the accounts that identify the specific goods or services purchased with the NET-Card.
  • If the agency completes the reconciliation process first and pays the invoice using the account codes specific to the goods or services purchased with the NET-Card, the agency does not need to subsequently process a journal transfer.

Special Considerations for Reconciliation for Online or Bulkload Agencies

On occasion, there may be special considerations for reconciling NET-Card charges. These include:

• "Negative” Reconciliation Vouchers:
  • There may be instances where reconciling charges will cause a reconciliation voucher with a total amount less than zero dollars, or a “negative” amount. In these instances, the agency should reference the SFS Job Aid (SFS Coach AP 210, Correcting a Reconciliation Voucher with a Negative Gross Amount) for additional guidance.
• Reconciling disputed charges:
  • When the agency disputes a charge with the credit card supplier, the credit card supplier reverses the charge on the card while it determines whether it will uphold the dispute. The agency should reconcile both the disputed charge and the reversal. Because the agency reconciles the original charge and reversal together, they cancel each other out.
  • If the credit card supplier does not uphold the dispute, an additional charge in the amount of the original charge will appear. The agency will be responsible for reconciling that charge to the appropriate expense type.
• Reconciling charges when an employee is under investigation:
  • The agency should inform OSC if an active investigation is preventing an employee’s charges from being reconciled timely by emailing [email protected]. Once the investigation is complete, the agency should notify [email protected] and reconcile the charges in accordance with the results of the investigation.
• When an employee no longer needs SFS access to perform their job, or is no longer employed by an agency:
  • The agency must lock the employee’s SFS user account or change the employee’s role accordingly. The agency should remove this access no later than the employee’s last day in the position. For any questions relating to locking or removing access, please email the SFS helpdesk. The employee’s status in PayServ and SFS changes to inactive once the agency locks or removes access. Although reconciliation vouchers can still be created, the agency must undertake multiple steps for SFS to reconcile the inactive employee’s NET-Card transactions. Therefore, the agency should require cardholders reconcile transactions prior to switching roles or separating from agency service.

For questions regarding paying or reconciling NET-Card charges, please contact the Bureau of State Expenditures’ Customer Service Help Desk at (518) 474-4868 or by email addressed to [email protected].