We Are…stewards of the University’s finances, and we have a responsibility to ensure that all financial transactions posted to accounts are appropriate and reasonable, based on policy. Visit policy FN10 for guidelines on Business Expenses and Activities.
Purchasing
Please follow all university, campus, and department preferred purchasing processes and policies.
Please use the Procurement Search Tool as a “one-stop shop” of search capabilities to find products, GL product categories, purchasing agents, standing contracts, payment decision matrix, and more.
IMPORTANT NOTE: PSU requires vendors to become suppliers by registering their information into our University PaymentWorks database to be paid. For more information about becoming a Supplier and PaymentWorks, please visit the following: https://purchasing.psu.edu/become-supplier.
Personal Reimbursement
Requests for personal reimbursement for approved business purposes are made through Penn State SAP CONCUR.
Purchasing Card
The Penn State Purchasing Card is a Visa charge card with predetermined limits that vary by employee that enables authorized Penn State employees to purchase certain goods and services and travel expenses directly from a supplier.
Employees will use Penn State SAP Concur to settle all purchasing card transactions within 20 days– both for travel as well as for goods and services.
- To get a Purchasing Card, you must first obtain department approval and then complete the Purchasing Card online tutorial to electronically sign the Purchasing Card agreement. You will receive a certificate of completion that must be submitted with your new pcard request through SAP Concur.
- Most departments will use business area 1200-Penn State Lehigh Valley.
Goods and Services (G&S)
Tax Exemption Forms
As an instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania State University is exempt from most federal and state taxes.
Make sure you have confirmed that you have received department approval and know the correct cost center or internal order (IO) to be charged via the Cost Objects Dashboard Fiori tile in SIMBA.
Make sure you have confirmed that you can use a pcard for your purchase via the Procurement Search Tool’s payment decision matrix.
Lion Marketplace should be used in lieu of the Purchasing Card whenever possible which can be found in ShopOnLion in SIMBA.
Amazon Business should only be used when products are not available through Lion Marketplace. For questions or to request a new Amazon Business account, please contact [email protected]
Pcard purchases should be reconciled* within 20 days of purchase date in SAP Concur.
Last Name, First Initial/Vendor & Item/Purchase Date
Travel
If travel for business is granted, travelers are obligated to act as responsible financial stewards of the university, avoiding impropriety or extravagance, and be familiar and comply with the policies governing such expenditures of university funds. Refer to travel policies TR01 and TR02.
Expenses must be clearly documented, accurate, and reasonable for business purposes.
Travel reports must be reconciled in Penn State SAP Concur within 20 days from the trip’s conclusion as per campus policy.
Please use the following naming convention for travel*:
Traveler Last Name, First Initial/Event & Location/Event Date(s)
You MUST answer the 5 W’s in the event description for every report.
*Exception: When a p-card holder prepays certain travel expenses on their pcard for a traveler, the pcard holder will follow pcard-naming protocols.
Cardholder last name, first initial/name of traveler + destination or travel expense type (i.e., airfare, car rental)/purchase date.
All students, faculty, and staff traveling either in a group or individually for University purposes (with a club, organization, team, college, or department) or with University funding must record international travel in the TSN database prior to departure as outlined in the University's International Travel Requirements Policy (TR01). This includes travel for international research, conferences, and internships.
Group Meals and Meeting Expenses
Please consult the Procurement Search Tool for General Ledgers (GL).
Group Meals = “Event Expense” in SAP Concur
Meals: When two or more people (one of which is a University employee or representative of the University) have a meal which replaces breakfast, lunch or dinner during the conduct of University business, event expense examples include:
- Primarily for Students, GL 52390201
- Includes University/Community, GL 52390600
- Faculty/Academic only, GL 52390401
- Primarily Guest/Donor/Candidate/Board, GL 52390100 (allowable); 52390101(unallowable – for grants only)
Snacks & Refreshments: When two or more people (one of which is a University employee or representative of the University) have a meeting to conduct University business and expenses apply to the rental of facilities and related supplies, services and equipment, and for food and beverage items such as donuts, coffee, and other snack items that are not in place of a meal, please use Event Expenses – GL 52211000.
Meeting Expenses are processed through Penn State Penn State SAP Concur
- List of attendees required for group meals and must be attached to SAP Concur report.
- NOTE: PSU employees must always be listed singly.
- Groups of 12 or more may be used, but still need to edit total #.