New Purchasing Card Model and Expansion of the Travel and Expense System
The Supply Chain Services team, led by Chief Procurement Officer Andrew Brennan, is sharing progress on the Travel and Expense Transformation Project to help faculty and staff prepare as they prepare to expand the Travel and Expense system on July 1.
This project will streamline expense and purchasing card (PCard) reconciliation processes through Concur software, improving processing times, increasing visibility into transactions and reducing manual work. The goal is to create a more efficient, user-friendly experience for faculty and staff.
In recent months, the project team has collaborated with campus partners to complete several milestones, including restructuring the university’s approach to purchasing cards.
New purchasing card model
The university will transition to a new three-card model that aligns card types with common purchasing and travel needs to create consistent practices and processes across departments and units.
The three University Card types are:
ProCard: For frequent, small-dollar operational purchases
TravelCard: For employees who travel and need to pay travel-related expenses
OneCard: For limited situations involving group travel or special purchasing needs
A new interactive decision tree will help users determine which card they need. All current cardholders will need to apply for a new card and complete an updated training.
Departments and units will be invited to apply for the new cards in phases from May to August. Until new cards are approved and distributed, cardholders can continue to use their current PCards. There is no action required until training and card applications become available.
Dedicated support from ambassadors
The project team is building a community of Travel and Expense ambassadors to support departments and units throughout this change.
Ambassadors will receive dedicated training on the expanded Travel and Expense system and will serve as primary points of contact for their colleagues within their college or division. As we approach implementation, they will engage with their units and provide:
Support to system users
Local training
Easy access to project resources
A collaborative process
Input from the campus community has been a priority throughout this project and will continue to inform the work leading up to the July 1 expanded system launch and beyond.
The most significant outreach efforts include:
In October, the Travel and Expense Advisory Group was formed, including 45 members representing colleges and units.
Last fall, over 400 faculty and staff participated in focus groups and 70 of them tested the expanded system over two weeks.
In recent months, project updates were shared with leaders, business officers and others at forums such as Staff Council.
The project team will present upcoming changes at the Finance and Budget Forums on April 29, 30 and May 1, and at the Staff Council's Crossroads Conference on May 21.
In May and June, select campus units will participate in a pilot group that will test the expanded system.
You can visit the project website for resources and the latest updates on progress. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the project team.