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State Accounting Fiscal Essentials . SAFE Policy Manual |
Revised: 04/18/2025 |
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State Accounting Fiscal Essentials . SAFE Policy Manual |
Revised: 04/18/2025 |
Applicable or Related Code Sections
ORC Section 127.16 - Purchasing by competitive selection
ORC 126.21 - Accounting duties of director of budget and management
Related Links
This policy provides general guidance on the use of the state of Ohio Payment Card Program.
This policy applies to all state agencies, boards, and commissions that participate in the state of Ohio Payment Card Program.
The state of Ohio’s Payment Card Program (the “Program”) allows state employees to make immediate purchases of certain goods and services using a payment card (“PCard”). The Program is designed to simplify the purchase of materials, equipment, supplies, and services while lowering transaction costs. Authorized agency personnel are only permitted to purchase goods or services using the payment card as prescribed herein.
Nothing contained in this policy is intended to place a spending limit on those cardholders who are members of the state’s legislative or judicial branches.
Payment cardholders (“PCard holders” or “cardholders”) have a standard individual purchase limit of $5,000 and a standard monthly spending limit of $15,000. The standard purchase limit is enforced at the point of purchase by Visa control features. Cardholders shall not intentionally split a purchase with the intent of processing two transactions that total more than the $5,000 limit.
The payment card may be used to make purchases on the internet. It is the PCard holder’s responsibility to ensure the merchant is valid and legitimate; that the website being used is secure; and that payment card numbers are encrypted.
Cardholders may use the payment card to purchase goods and services from Department of Administrative Services (“DAS”) contract suppliers. Most DAS contracts include language for use of the payment card for transactions below $5,000. For contracts that do not include language for the payment card, acceptance of the PCard is voluntary and at the supplier's discretion.
The following purchases require OBM approval and are subject to OBM discretions:
Cardholders are not authorized to use the Pcard to purchase or obtain the following:
PCard holders are not authorized to use the card for personal gain, which includes enrolling in a program that provides a benefit to the PCard holder, other public employee, or any family members of the cardholder or other public employee. This includes but is not limited to reward programs, frequent flier programs, or other programs that directly or indirectly provide a benefit resulting from a state purchase, such as Amazon Smile. The State must be the recipient of any benefit provided by the merchant.
A cardholder must comply with all transaction requirements set forth in this Policy, as well as all applicable state laws and policies. Each PCard holder must submit a Cardholder Agreement form. Cardholders are responsible for the security of their card, including purchases made with the card, and must take all appropriate precautions to ensure security of the PCard. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
The account number must never be left in an unsecure or conspicuous place.
Each cardholder must examine all receipts and packing slips and redact any portion of the number that is documented.
Confidential payment card information must not be sent to a fax machine or emailed via unencrypted email.
A PCard holder shall not allow any other person to make purchases with their PCard.
If making a purchase using a state contract, the cardholder must note the contract number when reconciling the payment in the PCard Reconciliation Portal or OAKS.
Cardholders must ensure that a purchase order has been dispatched prior to authorizing a charge on their card.
A PCard holder must immediately return their PCard to the Agency Payment Card Administrator upon a change in the cardholder's job status or separation from agency employment, or when required by the Agency or State Payment Card Administrator.
If a card is lost or stolen, cardholders must immediately report it to their Agency Payment Card Administrator and US Bank 1-800-344-5696 (24 Hour Bank Coverage).
Agency Payment Card Administrator Responsibilities
The Agency Payment Card Administrator (the “Administrator”) is the primary point of contact for communications between OBM and an agency. The Administrator and Chief Fiscal Officer are responsible for ensuring agency compliance with the Program. An Administrator must also follow all applicable state laws and policies. Additionally, the Administrator also has the following responsibilities:
Compliance with State Laws and Policies. The Administrator must follow all applicable state laws and policies. This includes complying with all state purchasing guidelines.
Adherence to Procedures, Rules, and Regulations. The Administrator must ensure that all cardholders and their supervisors are aware of their agency purchasing guidelines, as well as all state purchasing rules, including but not limited to:
MBE/EDGE – The Administrator shall be aware of the agency's MBE Plan on file with DAS to determine if purchases made with payment cards are part of the agency's required MBE percentage.
Hotels (Travel Rule) - Payment cards are not authorized for travelers to use for their travel needs. The Administrator must ensure proper controls are in place to ensure the state's travel rule is followed. Agencies may request a waiver for a fiscal cardholder who is aware of the OBM Travel Rule to allow the cardholder to make reservations and payments for hotels rooms for travelers. The waiver requesting authority to pay hotel invoices must include language within the justification that acknowledges the cardholder understands these responsibilities.
Agency Payment Card Manual. The Administrator must ensure their agency has an Agency Payment Card Manual that meets all of the requirements set forth in this Policy. The Administrator must also ensure all PCard holders within their agency are aware of and comply with the Agency Payment Card Manual.
Training. The Administrator must ensure a process exists to train cardholders and cardholder supervisors and shall require additional training when notified of errors made by trained personnel. The Administrator must keep cardholders and cardholder supervisors informed of all changes within the Program and offer training associated with any changes, if necessary. The Administrator must also attend payment card administrator training at least every two years.
Card Issuance and Cancellation. The Administrator shall submit the New Payment Card Application form to request a payment card for agency employees. Agency Payment Card Administrators must be assigned as a proxy to all cardholders and show the assignment on the Mass Proxy Maintenance Sheet. When an employee leaves the agency or changes positions, the Administrator shall follow a written process ensuring payment cards are properly destroyed. To initiate closing an account, the Administrator shall complete and submit the Account Cancellation Form to obm.pcard@obm.ohio.gov to initiate closing the account.
Records Maintenance. The Administrator shall maintain a list of all cardholders and their supervisors.
PCard Reconciliation Portal and OAKS. The Administrator shall monitor the processing time and have a process in place to ensure transactions are processed within ten days from the time the transaction is available in the PCard Reconciliation Portal/OAKS, as discussed more in this policy. Administrators shall also have a process in place to ensure disputes, when necessary, are filed timely with the bank and are documented as being in dispute in the PCard Reconciliation Portal/OAKS.
Lost or Stolen Cards. The Administrator must notify the State Payment Card Administrator as quickly as possible when a card is lost or stolen.
Suspend or Restore PCards. The Administrator may submit a Payment Card Suspend/Restore Request Form to obm.pcard@obm.ohio.gov at any time.
Automatic Charges. The Administrator may authorize cardholders to use their payment cards as a method of payment to merchants for regular or automatic charges (monthly subscriptions, regular delivery charges, etc.) when the merchant agrees to all of the following:
The agency has the right to cancel at any time (cancellation can be completed by the cardholder, their supervisor, or the Administrator);
All cost increases are pre-approved by the Administrator; and
The merchant has proper security to ensure cardholder information is protected.
Monitoring Activity. The Administrator must monitor the activity of PCard supervisors and cardholders.
Changes to Cardholder Profiles. The Administrator may request changes to cardholder profiles by submitting the Change Spending Limits form to obm.pcard@obm.ohio.gov. Changes may include an increase in a spending limit for one transaction or for a limited time. Each request must justify the need for the change. Agency Payment Card Administrators are responsible for maintaining documentation of approved requests.
Payment Cardholder Supervisor Responsibilities
Supervisors shall review payment card transactions and the corresponding backup documentation to (1) ensure the purchase was made in accordance with policies and procedures and (2) ensure that the documentation of the purchase is complete and proper, containing at least an itemization of the purchase and proof of payment. Supervisors shall verify the goods or services quantities and dollar amounts match on all backup documentation. Supervisors shall approve transactions in PCard Reconciliation Portal or the agency’s alternative electronic system.
Supervisors shall determine the appropriateness of purchases prior to giving verbal approval for the purchase to be made.
Supervisors shall not maintain a list of PCard numbers.
The State Payment Card Administrator administers the Program. The State Payment Card Administrator may cancel a payment card at any time in the State Payment Card Administrator’s sole discretion.
Agency Responsibilities
The executive staff of each agency determines the level of participation in the Program, including the number of PCards issued, subject to the discretion of the State Payment Card Administrator and OBM. An agency shall designate an Agency Payment Card Administrator to be responsible for the agency-wide Program.
Agency Payment Card Manual
Agencies must have a documented PCard process, known as an Agency Payment Card Manual (the “Manual”). The Manual must contain documented internal controls that provide reasonable assurance that the state's assets are safeguarded and that payment card transactions are completed accurately and in accordance with OBM guidelines.
All agency Administrators, Supervisors, cardholders, and fiscal processors must be aware of the Manual’s requirements. The following processes must exist within the Manual:
Timelines that ensure the cardholder, cardholder supervisor, and agency fiscal staff will complete their responsibilities in a timely manner that meet the ten day transaction processing time;
Assets purchased with the payment card are properly tagged and entered in the agency asset system;
Purchases made with the payment card are included in the calculation of the threshold amount per supplier required by ORC 127.16;
Requirements that PCard holders, Supervisors, and the applicable agency fiscal staff are appropriately trained;
Designate appropriate employees to have access to payment card roles within the PCard Reconciliation Portal/OAKS;
Agency policy concerning sales tax credits when the amount is less than $10; and
A document dispute process defining the responsibility of the cardholders, Supervisors, and payment card transaction processors, or agency fiscal staff, as applicable.
Backup Agency Payment Card Administrator
Agencies must assign a “Backup Payment Card Administrator" to resolve issues and make requests when the Agency Payment Card Administrator is out of the office. An agency must submit the Designation of Agency PCard Backup Administrator form to obm.pcard@obm.ohio.gov.
Biennial Certification and Other Forms
Each agency participating in the program must submit a Biennial Payment Card Program Certification. The Certification must be resubmitted whenever the Agency’s Payment Card Administrator or Chief Financial Officer change. Additional forms exist on OBM’s PCard Forms page (linked at the beginning of this Policy) that agencies may submit to request different usage of a PCard.
High Limit Transaction Cards and Purchase Orders
Agencies may have one payment card with a single transaction limit of up to $49,999 for processing high dollar transactions with a purchase order. These cards may be used like a regular payment card; however, all transactions greater than $5,000 that are not emergency payments or utility payments must have a purchase order associated with the payment. Agencies should use a cardless account instead of a high limit transaction card to make a large purchase, when possible.
Agencies may request one additional high dollar card per satellite location (district, region, hospital, institution, etc.), subject to OBM discretion.
Any agency that requests a card with a single transaction limit greater than $5,000 must implement one or more internal controls or monitoring tools to reduce risk to the greatest extent possible.
OBM has a zero-tolerance policy for misuse of the high-limit accounts due to the inherent risk associated with the accounts. If OBM finds that a transaction is processed without a purchase order that exceeds $5,000 and is a non-emergency or non-utility transaction, any high dollar accounts at the agency will be reduced to $5,000 immediately. Accounts may be restored at OBM’s discretion. Agency Payment Card Administrators may request restoration of increased spending limits by submitting the Change Spending Limits Form to the State Payment Card Administrator.
An agency may find that it is beneficial for the state to process a transaction greater than $49,999 on the payment card. If this happens, the agency may submit a Change Spending Limits form to request a one-time limit increase to obm.pcard@obm.ohio.gov. The request must contain a detailed justification, including the benefit of using the payment card for the purchase, the purchasing authority to make this purchase either by competitive selection or other basis, as well as the purchase order number.
Cardholder Absence
If a cardholder is absent for a period of time, the agency should request a temporary suspension of the account, and retrieve the absent cardholder’s PCard. The agency may consider obtaining another card for a different designated employee, either temporarily or permanently, based on the need to make purchases in the absence of the original PCard holder.
Prohibitions
In addition to other actions listed throughout this policy, agencies are not authorized to establish accounts with suppliers, merchants, or banks that permit partial payments, thus incurring a line of credit (e.g., department store credit cards). Additionally, an agency is prohibited from using a PCard without the funds available to ensure timely payment is made.
Additional Purchase Requirements
Timely Payment
The State receives a rebate for transactions processed timely. Transactions must receive final approval within ten business days from the date the transaction is available in the PCard Reconciliation Portal. For agencies that do not use PCard Reconciliation Portal, transactions will be monitored from the date they are entered into OAKS. The State Payment Card Administrator may suspend a cardholder account if transactions are not processed within ten business days of availability in the PCard Reconciliation Portal or OAKS.
Purchasing Goods Prior to Shipment
Most DAS state contracts prohibit merchants from billing for goods before they are shipped. Back-ordered goods should be billed when they are shipped. Any cardholder billed prior to a merchant shipping goods must advise the merchant that the State will not continue to purchase from the merchant if this practice is used. If a merchant does charge a payment card account before shipping goods, the cardholder must dispute the transaction with the bank, by submitting a Transaction Dispute Form as soon as possible.
If there is a dispute that cannot be resolved with the merchant, the cardholder should contact their Agency Payment Card Administrator.
Sales Tax
The state of Ohio is not required to pay state sales tax. A PCard itself should be sufficient identification to allow tax-free purchases. However, there are merchants who want a Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate, or similar form on file. Providing a tax ID number should not be necessary, but if required, use 31-1334820.
If a cardholder has been charged tax and is still at the place of purchase, they must ask the merchant to correct the problem. If they have left the place of purchase and the tax is equal to or greater than $10, the cardholder must return and ask the merchant to correct it. This may occur via issuing a credit for the taxed amount or it may result in canceling the original transaction and entering a new one. If the cardholder has left the place of purchase and the tax is less than $10, the cardholder should contact their Agency Payment Card Administrator for further instructions. Payment of sales tax less than $10 is dependent on each agency's internal policy.
Problems with Purchased Merchandise or a Specific Merchant
If there is a problem with a charge or an item purchased, the cardholder should try to reach a resolution with the merchant that sold the item. Disputes can often be resolved directly between the cardholder and the merchant. When the resolution involves a refund or credit, the merchant shall issue a credit to the account. Cardholders shall not accept cash, a rain check, or agree to lower a future bill when receiving a credit from a merchant.
Pre-approval of DAS Computer Services/Equipment
Payment card purchases for transactions totaling less than $5,000 are exempt from pre-approval according to the Acquisitions Management Section of the DAS-Computer Services Division.
Payment Card Transaction Processors
Security Requirements
For agencies not using the PCard Reconciliation Portal:
Agencies must have an Agency OAKS Payment Card Approver (Payment Card Reconciler is optional).
OAKS Payment Card Approvers must be independent of cardholders. Agency Payment Card Administrators and Back-up Payment Card Administrators must have the OAKS Payment Card Approver role, which will allow them to approve payments in OAKS if necessary.
Reconciling Payments
Agencies are required to use the PCard Reconciliation Portal or a similar electronic system that meets the following minimum requirements for transaction reconciliation and processing:
Users must log in to the system so that activity can be tracked.
Cardholders must have the ability to attach required backup documentation.
Transactions must go through an electronic workflow and each approval must be recorded in an historic record.
All documents, approvals, and comments associated with transactions must be stored by the system. All documentation must also be added to the OAKS voucher for transactions processed in a system other than the PCard Reconciliation Portal.
The documentation attached to transactions in the system must include transaction details, including merchant name, a detailed description of the item(s) or service(s) purchased, the amount for each detail line, and the sum total of the transaction. For services, the documentation must also include date(s) of service. When reconciling transactions, the person performing the reconciliation must attempt to associate a Supplier ID with all transactions. Not all payment card merchants are registered suppliers with the state of Ohio. If the merchant is not set up in OAKS as a supplier, the Supplier ID field may be left blank.
Reconciliation of receipts must be performed each time a transaction is processed for payment. Reconciliation consists of reviewing both the transaction in the PCard Reconciliation Portal/OAKS and the physical receipt to confirm that the information matches. In the event that the transaction in the PCard Reconciliation Portal/OAKS and the corresponding receipt do not match, the cardholder must work with the merchant to address the issue. If the merchant refuses, a dispute must be filed with the bank, using a Transaction Dispute Form, and in the PCard Reconciliation Portal/OAKS. Reconciliations must be performed by someone other than the cardholder.
An agency must exhaust all options to obtain a receipt or invoice from a merchant. If all options have been exercised and an agency still is unable to obtain a receipt or invoice, and the purchase amount was less than $500, the agency must complete and submit a PCard Purchase Affidavit.
OAKS Approvers must ensure reconciliation is complete and have confirmation of receipt of goods from the cardholder before payment is approved.
Emergency Payment Cards
During an emergency, an agency may need to make purchases that are outside the normal authority of the agency. The agency may use an emergency payment card when the director of an agency has determined there is a need caused by an emergency. Emergency payment cards have limited restrictions placed on the card to enable agencies to react to emergency situations. Card use is limited to the agency’s direct purchasing authority.
Obtaining an Emergency Payment Card
Agencies may request a reasonable number of payment cards to be designated as emergency use cards. Prior to requesting an emergency use card:
The agency shall complete a risk assessment so that the risks associated with these cards are known and mitigated to the greatest extent possible.
The agency shall address emergency use cards in the agency payment card policy where appropriate internal controls are described.
The agency shall determine if the emergency limit will be granted on an as-needed basis, after an emergency is identified OR if specific cardholders will be authorized to have the emergency limit as their default limit.
A payment card designated for emergency use may also be used for normal day-to-day purchases. The $5,000 single transaction limit, or approved utility limit, applies for all non-emergency related purchases.
Emergency Payment Card Use
The maximum single transaction limit for emergency use cards is $49,999. There is a maximum monthly limit of $150,000. If the emergency purchase is approaching or will exceed the direct purchasing authority of the agency, the agency should consult with DAS procurement under DAS Policy PM-02 to determine whether the agency should request DAS approval of a state procurement emergency or if the purchase is being made under a Governor's emergency declaration. Agencies shall not request more than is necessary for continuity of operations in an emergency situation. If more is needed, the Agency Payment Card Administrator or the Agency Chief Fiscal Officer shall contact the OBM Payment Card Section directly during regular business hours. During non-business hours, the Agency Payment Card Administrator and Chief Fiscal Officer have contact information that will allow them to authorize an agency PCard holder to have emergency limits established for their card. OBM cannot ensure the legitimacy of requests that are submitted by anyone other than the Chief Fiscal Officer or Agency Payment Card Administrator.
If an agency intends to use an emergency payment card to purchase goods or services that will exceed the normal single transaction limit amount, an agency should attempt to obtain the bill prior to using the card. If a purchase order is required in order to process the invoice through OAKS, the agency is authorized to enter a purchase order after the emergency order has been placed.
Accounts designated for emergency use can be used to purchase from any merchant; all merchant category codes (“MCCs”) are open for emergency use accounts. Emergency use accounts cannot be used to withdraw cash or to purchase from any merchant specifically prohibited by the agency.
Emergency Payment Card Use
In the event the emergency payment card is used for an emergency, OBM shall be notified, in writing, on the first business day following the use of an emergency use card via the Payment Card email box at obm.pcard@obm.ohio.gov. The notification shall include:
