8.0 RECONCILING YOUR MONTHLY STATEMENT

The billing cycle with Mellon Bank ends the 15th of each month or the next business day.  You will receive your monthly statement in the mail approximately ten to 15 business days after this. The Program Administrator will pay the total bill within 30 days after the end of the billing cycle.  The statement you receive is not a bill; it is for your information and reconciliation purposes.  You have 10 days from the date you receive your statement to reconcile it and return your PurCard Journal Report, with receipts and documentation attach, to Procurement Services.  Here's how it works:

1. Review each charge on the monthly statement to verify it is correct and agrees with the actual receipt.  Match the monthly Purchasing Card statement furnished by Mellon Bank with PurCard Journal Report.  Amounts of all three should match.

Reconciliation Tips

  • A vendor’s billing date may different than your order date.  If you received an order in more than one shipment, the dollar total of the receipts or packing slips from the partial shipments may have been billed as one charge on your statement.
  • If you only received a partial shipment, you should only have a partial charge on your statement.  It is illegal for vendors to charge your card for merchandise not shipped.
  • A supplier’s billing name may be different than the name by which you know them.
2.  Print the PurCard Journal Report.  Using the correct navigation in PeopleSoft will produce the correct report.  The cardholder's name will be preprinted at the top of the page.

3.  Attach all original receipts and documentation to the PurCard Journal Report..

4.  The Business Meal and Amenity Policy and Travel Policy must be followed.  The PurCard Journal report provides space to capture the IRS' Accountable Plan Rules.  This is true for all travel and meal transactions. 

Please provide the following information (either on the receipt or on the PurCard Journal report) for travel:
- name of the traveler
- destination
- business purpose of the trip.

Please provide the following information (either on the receipt or on the PurCard Journal report) for business meals and hospitality activities:
- names of attendees
- location
- business purpose of the meal.

5.  Any reallocation of expenses to a grant or contract must comply with applicable account restrictions. Reallocation to/from a grant to another must occur within the same billing cycle in which the original expense occurred.  Expense transfers requested after the end of the billing cycle must comply with the following policies:  Cost Transfers on Grants & Contracts and Sponsored Projects Expense Transfers.

6.  If transfers are not made in a timely fashion, and a grant is closed, the expense will be charged to the cardholder’s departmental account.

7.  Sign and date your PurCard Journal Report.  The report must be signed by the cardholder.  If charges have been reallocated to other chart strings, an appropriate signature(s) must appear next to each transaction not authorized by the person who normally signs the bottom of the report.

8.  Route to obtain supervisor signature.  Signature stamps will not be accepted.  Supervisor’s approval on the PurCard Journal Report indicates the following:
    •    All transactions are appropriate University business, and fall within University and federal guidelines.
    •    All original receipts are attached.
    •    Transactions are within guideline limits - $4,999.99 per transaction.  
    •    Transactions are charged to the correct chart string and account.
    •    Transactions have been reallocated if necessary.
    •    Any additional documentation requirements have been completed.
    •    No Vermont Sales Tax has been charged.
    You may have departmental policies about who verifies and signs the PurCard Journal Report.
9.  Be certain to keep track of returns, credits, or disputed items for future statement reconciliation.  In case of returns, credits, or disputed items, the Purchasing Cardholder is responsible for coordinating directly with the supplier and MasterCard.

10.  After reconciliation of each billing statement, resolve any discrepancies.