Departments making small purchases can now charge it with MasterCard.
The campus has a new arrangement so purchases less than $500 can be made by a program called ProCard, a corporate version of MasterCard.
"Customers can give their MasterCard number, a customer code and they're done. They can walk away with their purchase," said Charles Noland, procurement and business contracts manager for the campus. "The vendor will be paid in 48 hours."
Because it's a paperless transaction, ProCard will eliminate jockeying invoices, a costly and time consuming process which adds dollars to the transaction for both the supplier and the university. With ProCard, data captured electronically at the point of sale is transmitted directly to the computer that ultimately houses all information on campus purchases. No purchase order form is necessary.
Also, customers can expect discounts when using the card. In order to be recommended by the campus as a ProCard supplier, vendors are requested to offer a price break to the university.
So far such discounts are running around 5 to 30 percent, said Noland. He said almost everyone the campus does business with accepts the MasterCard and 30 have already committed to accept the ProCard program.
Purchase limits may be higher for a handful of large departments on campus already trained to make more expensive buys without asking permission from purchasing.
For these units, charges to $2,500 may be authorized by ProCard at the department's discretion.
Noland said in the long run ProCard will probably replace purchase orders departments now use to buy small items. But for the time being both programs will remain available.
Noland, Disbursements Manager Donald Stoneham and Computer Resources Manager Steve Slauson led the effort to implement the card.
For information on the program or to get the card, call Kathleen Wood at 642-5166.