Substantiating Transactions

Concur Transaction System

Ohio University uses Concur to post payment card transactions from Mastercard. Posting a transaction in Concur simply means that it is now visible to the cardholder or delegate for verification purposes. Any processing dates associated with reconciling and approving the card transaction are calculated from the post date in Concur. When the transaction report is submitted in Concur and subsequently approved be the approver, the transactions will be posted to the university financial statements.

Substantiating Transactions Timely

Substantiating a transaction involves allocating it to the correct account number and object code, attaching all required documentation, providing an adequate business purpose and having it approved in Concur. A cardholder has 28 calendar days to reconcile a transaction and submit the report. An approver has nine calendar days to approve the report in Concur. Cardholders are encouraged to substantiate their PCard transactions as soon as possible.

After the report is approved, the transactions are transferred to the Oracle financial system (also referred to as Ebiz). These transactions are generally posted to Ebiz the day after they are approved and will be visible in Oracle Business Intelligence (OBI) dashboards the day after that. Reconciling transactions in a timely manner ensures that you and your department can see a true view of your financial status as soon as possible. In the case of grant funds, the sponsors cannot be invoiced for these expenses until they appear in the financial statement.

Expense Report Naming Convention

All PCard transactions are pulled into an expense report in Concur. Reports should be named differently depending on the types of transactions that they contain. Use the following naming convention: 

• Type of Report – labeling reports with the first two letters below is required:
  • TR: Travel related transactions
  • PC: PCard only expenses
  • RE: Non-travel reimbursements - Do not submit travel reimbursement requests on an RE report
• We recommend labeling the Concur report after the TR, PC, or RE as follows:
  • First 4 letters of the traveler of PCard holder's last name
    • If a cardholder is purchasing on behalf of another individual, or in the case of a department card, the cardholder/custodian may use the first 4 letters of the individual's last name that they are purchasing on behalf of to keep track of their expenditures.
  • Date with 4-digit year (first date of travel, transaction date, oldest transaction date it multiple dates) e.g. PCSMIT08242023

If additional expenses are incurred for the same travel event that necessitate additional reports at a later date, the naming convention will continue to include the addition of the letter A, B, C, etc. to the original report. DO NOT wait on all charges for the travel to hit your Concur account, causing late transactions within policy.

Itemized Receipts

PCard purchases must be supported by itemized receipts, which list the items purchased, the dollar amount of each item, and the total amount of each transaction. Internet orders require a copy of the order that itemizes all costs.

An itemized receipt is defined as an invoice, cash register receipt, sales slip, or packing slip which contains the following information:

• Business/Vendor Name and Location
• Date of Purchase
• Description of items purchased
• Price of each item purchased
• Total amount of purchase
• Method of payment (sometimes is included but not always)
• Attach the packing slip (if available)

Electronic copies of receipts are acceptable. Handwritten receipts must be signed by an employee of the supplier. If the cash register tape does not itemize what was purchased, this should be legibly written on the tape so that an adequate description is provided for what was purchased. If you have a packing slip you should also attach that as backup to the purchase.

Business Purpose

Business purpose is a critical piece of information that is necessary with every purchase you make on a PCard. When using university funds or requesting a reimbursement from university funds, documentation of a clear business purpose is required so that an approver, and/or auditor may reasonably conclude and agree that the expenditure is an appropriate business expense.

The business purpose is a statement that adequately describes the expense as a necessary, reasonable, and appropriate business expense for the University.  All expenses must support or advance the goals, objectives, and mission of the University.

Expense approvers are responsible and accountable to determine whether expenses comply with the business purpose guidelines and the expenses are necessary business expenses.

When defining a business purpose, the 5 “Ws” (Who, What, Where, When, Why) can help you create a well-documented business purpose:

• Who:  The documentation must note specifically who the expense is for or who was at the event funded by the university.
  • Examples:
    • Business Meal: John Smith (external guest of the university) and Susie Bobcat.
    • Classroom Supplies: History 101, Professor Smith
• What:  The University needs to know what type of event or activity occurred, or what was purchased. All receipts or invoices should be itemized.
  • Examples:
    • 2 dinner entrees, 2 beverages, and 1 desert
    • 3 notebooks and box of yellow highlighters
• Where:  Document where the business activity took place. For example: Hotel room for Conference XYZ in Atlanta
• When:  Document when an event occurred. For example: 5/3/2022 Graduation reception.
• Why:  Most importantly, substantiate why the expenses are reasonable and appropriate for the university.  The “Why” should include the primary reason for the expense.