The Natomas Unified School District maintains financial policies that comply with state and federal law, and that incorporate recognized best practices for prudent oversight of the District’s financial assets. The use of the Cal-CARD is not intended to circumvent the District’s purchasing policies. The purpose of the Cal-CARD to provide coverage for official school business when a purchase order is not accepted or impractical. The Cal-CARD procedures are only for the payment and reconciliation of the monthly statement; all other District procedures relating to expenditures and reimbursements must be adhered to. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that District assets are protected, accurately and timely processed, and properly reported. Under no circumstances should District credit cards be used for personal expenditures.
PURCHASING
Goods and Services
Prior to using the Cal-CARD for goods and services:
- Verify funds are available in the appropriate budget
- Complete a Purchase Requisition with the vendor name care of Cal-CARD (for example, if you are reserving with Southwest, your requisition would read “Southwest c/o Cal-CARD”).
- Obtain all required approvals
Once all of the necessary paperwork is done, budget is verified and appropriate approvals have been obtained an authorized person may make the order/reservation with the vendor. After the order/reservation is completed:
- Retain all documentation until the monthly statement is received.
- For emergency situations the paperwork can be submitted for approval immediately after the order/reservation is made.
Travel
Prior to making ANY travel arrangements using the Cal-CARD, all travel procedures should be adhered to. This includes pre-approved conference request forms and corresponding requisitions for purchase. Please refer to NUSD TRAVEL GUIDELINES.
RECONCILIATION PROCEDURES
A monthly statement is received in the Financial Services Department and each card holder will receive a copy of their respective charges for the month. To reconcile, the authorized card holder or his/her assistant should:
- Review and compare each charge to the pre-approved documentation that was used when purchasing with the vendor.
- After all of the itemized receipts have been reconciled to the charges on the statement, the packet should be put together in statement order.
- Completed packets must be submitted to Financial Services no later than 10 business days after the statement is delivered, this will ensure timely payment and processing which will provide for continued access to these funds.
RETURNS/CANCELLATIONS
In the event merchandise was returned or services cancelled and a credit has not been posted at the time of reconciliation, the cardholder should include any available documentation of the return/cancellation when the monthly packet is submitted to Financial Services Department.
UNAUTHORIZED/DISALLOWED EXPENSES
Charges should be made by authorized personnel only, which will expedite the process when it is time to reconcile. As with all expenditures, purchases should only be for pre-authorized, allowable district expenses. Any expenditure disallowed will be the responsibility of the purchaser.
FRAUDULENT/DISPUTED CHARGES
When there are fraudulent or disputed charges, the card holder or his/her assistant should:
- Contact the vendor to resolve the matter and request a credit.
- If it is not possible to contact the vendor or the vendor is uncooperative, please contact U.S. Bank Customer Service at (800) 344-5696.
- Notify Financial Services of the dispute.
LOST/STOLEN CARDS
If a card is lost or stolen the cardholder must immediately notify U.S. Bank Customer Service at (800) 344-5696, the approving official, and Financial Services if a card has been lost or stolen, or if you believe your card number has been compromised in a fraudulent manner.