Credit Card Policy

    Title: Credit Card Policy
    Effective Date: 12/1/2025
    Issuing Authority: Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
    Contact: Nate Engle at engle1@stolaf.edu or 507-786-3502
    Last Updated: 11/07/2025

    Purpose of Policy

    St. Olaf College sponsors a Purchase Card program enabling employees to make business related purchases for goods and standard (not professional) services.  It is a cost-effective method of paying for purchases and travel expenses. Uses of the purchase card should:

    • Provide cost savings through consolidated payments (one monthly payment made by the Business Office to card issuer versus multiple vendor payments)
    • Reduce paperwork and processing time in the employee’s department, as well as in the Business Office
    • Enhance the purchasing options available to departments
    • Provide an alternative to personal reimbursements

    Cardholder Responsibilities

    • Use the card to make purchases for College-approved business purposes.
    • Avoid using the card to make purchases for personal services from individuals (1099 non-employee compensation): consultants, speakers, and other personal services. These payments must be made through Accounts Payable.
    • Verify that sales tax is not charged on exempt purchases. St. Olaf is not tax exempt for purchases of prepared meals, lodging, airline tickets, rental cars, and gas.
    • Obtaining original itemized receipts or other required documentation for every transaction.
    • Uploading the appropriate documentation in Oracle for each transaction of $25 or greater. All transactions charged to a grant must include the appropriate documentation, even if less than $25.
    • Submitting an expense report within 30 days of when a credit card transaction is posted.

    Approver Responsibilities

    • Reviewing, and either approving or rejecting, expense reports within five business days (or delegating responsibilities when out of the office).

    Required Documentation

    An itemized receipt or substitute documentation must support each purchase. The receipt or substitute documentation should include the following:

    • Vendor name, itemized description of the item(s) purchased, transaction amount, and date.
    • For meals, include the names of individuals at the meal or attach a roster of names in attendance. If the list is greater than five attendees, a comment that it is for a department or applicable function can be used. 
    • Alcohol is only allowed for instances specified in the travel policy. If alcohol is allowed, specify names and titles of individuals for which the alcohol was served and why it was allowed according to the travel policy.

    If the cardholder is unable to obtain sufficient documentation, a completed Receipt Template Form can be used to document the transaction and verify it was for official St. Olaf business. Please note, this should only be used for occasional purposes and card privileges may be revoked if used frequently. 

    Compliance

    Supervisors and cost center managers are responsible for monitoring potential violations, approvals and ensuring their teams are completing expense reports timely. The Business Office is responsible for monitoring potential violations, regular audits of expense reports and ensuring compliance with IRS and state regulations.

    Enforcement / Penalties

    The following enforcement will occur regarding unsubmitted expenses:

    • After 30 days, cardholders and supervisors will be notified that expenses have not been submitted.
    • After 60 days, the card will be deactivated until all transactions are properly documented. Any transactions not properly documented within 60 days of when the expense was incurred will be either reduced from the cardholder’s paycheck or added to the cardholder’s income according to IRS regulations.
    • Once a card has been deactivated, it cannot be reinstated for a minimum period of three months after the transactions are properly documented.
    • If problems continue after the card is reinstated, the card will be canceled permanently at the discretion of the Controller.

    The College will seek restitution for any inappropriate purchases made with the card. In certain instances of abuse, the cardholder may be subject to additional personnel disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.

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