Please note that these P-Card Tips and Tricks have been incorporated into the Enterprise Performance Support System (EPSS) which should be the main reference for any questions on P-Card.
Go to the EPSS
If you come across such a hint or tip that you would like to share with fellow P-Cards users, please e-mail it to Web Curator. Thanks for your input!
P-Card Process |
Issue/Question |
Solution/Answer |
| Access | User receives “Bad Default Charge Code” when first entering P-Card. | This error is received after some cardholders successfully log into P-Card. This indicates that they have no charge code information set up in the Preferences. Users are not required to enter any info in the Preferences. Alert users that they can either fill in accounting information into the Preferences or just ignore the message when it pops up. |
| Access | The same password doesn’t work for P-Card, SAP, and Travel Manager. | Each system is separate and has separate access requirements and requires separate logon and password. However, some users are changing passwords so they are the same for all systems (even though this practice is strongly discouraged due to security ramifications). Please note that passwords for SAP and TM can contain “special characters”, but passwords for P-Card cannot. |
| Accounting Info | An error message is generated when attempting
to enter information in the |
This field is 10 characters long and P-Card
requires it to be completely filled. If your |
| Accounting Info | An error message is generated when attempting to save an order log with zeroes in the “Earmarked” and/or “Networked” fields. | These fields will generally not be used,
however, any zeroes appearing in these fields must be deleted or an error will be
generated. Do not space over the zeroes to delete them. Instead highlight them and delete
them with the |
| Navigation | Use of BACK button can corrupt operations | Users should avoid using BACK button on their browser menu. |
| Navigation | Users are closing out web session without logging off of P-Card. | Users need to scroll down the main P-Card drop-down menu in order to find the logoff selection. |
| Order Log | Error message is received when attempting to modify funding information on an order log. | Competency Center is aware of this. Current workaround is to delete the line item(s) by zeroing out the quantity and unit price and then creating a new line item. |
| Order Log | Incorrect entering of line item description causes problems when P-Card software interfaces with SAP. | When entering the line item description, do not use the cut/copy/paste feature or the tab or return key within the item description. Doing so will prohibit any type of modification to the order log (e.g., enter receipt information, modify pricing, etc.) |
| Order Log | Error message is received when attempting to modify existing order log. | If the order log was successfully saved more than 30 days ago, the user needs to modify the order date to the present date to avoid this error. |
| Order Log | Modifications to particular fields are not retained even though user selects the "save" button. | Be sure to click your cursor outside of any field you are modifying before selecting the "save" button. This enables the software to "register" the change. This is especially true when modifying the unit price, as it permits the software to compute the total amount of the change. |
| Order Log | Cannot copy someone else’s order log | This is true, but users can use Template feature to save order log formats they will be using frequently. |
| Order Log | How to decommit funds from previously saved order log? | Zero out appropriate line items. Funds will be decommitted when modified order log is saved. |
| Order Log | Interface bounces when users delete Unit of Measure when trying to delete line item. | Only zero out dollar amount when line item is no longer needed. Do not delete any other field information. |
| Order Log | Users are getting an error and losing their work when they try to save an order log with 25 or more line items. | P-Card can currently only accept a maximum of 24 line items. |
| Order Log | Non-Procurement Users are filling in “Reference Number Field” causing problems in transmitting reconciled transactions for payment. | Non-procurement users should leave this field blank. This is for Procurement Division use only. |
| Order Log | How to handle shipping/freight charges now that separate field is grayed out? | Add shipping/freight charges as a separate line item and select Category Code “99” |
| Order Log | Preferences will only allow a user to save one set of accounting information. | Users can use the “Template” feature to save other sets of different accounting information. Use the “Supplier” field to type in some kind of identification that will help you differentiate between templates. (Tip supplied by P-Card user. Thanks!) |
| Order Log | Commas are causing problems when entered in number fields. | NO commas should be entered into any number field in P-Card. For example, 2,345.32 should be simply input as 2345.32. No commas. |
| Order Log | User cannot find their Vendor in the P-Card vendor database. | It is not necessary for a vendor to be listed in order to be used. The Vendor field is a free-form field. If a vendor is actually used in a transaction, then the name will eventually be added through the bank transaction process. |
| Order Log | Does P-Card have a wildcard character? | The wildcard character is the percent sign. For example, if you want to search for all vendors that begin with “Off”, you would type “Off%” in the search field. This would return responses including “Office Max”, “Office Depot”, etc. |
| Order Log | Error message is received when attempting to save modifed order log. | If you get an error message that appears prefaced with a "-1" and lists each item number, return to your order log and click on any Item number. When the funding page appears, select "Save changes to this Item." When you are back on the main Order Log screen, select "Save changes" again. The modified order log should now successfully save. |
| Receipt | Quantities received field is grayed out and won’t accept any input. | Make sure “Desktop Delivery” has been selected for your order log. If this is not checked, then you won’t be able to enter quantities received. |
| Reconciliation | After disputing a charge, the disputed line is no longer open when the credit comes through. | When disputing a charge, make sure to check “No” to the question “All items received?” This leaves the disputed line open to accept the credit when it comes through. |
| Reconciliation | Unable to reconcile a credit against an order log that has already been reconciled and no longer appears on open order log list. | After clicking on the credit transaction, select "Modify" from the next screen. Type in the complete order log number in the order number field on the right (next to the load button). This will bring up the previously reconciled log to enable you to take the credit. |
| Reconciliation | Negative numbers in transactions cause interface to bounce. | Do not enter negative numbers. If you are accepting a credit, match it up with the charge shown on the order log. Do not enter negative numbers. |
| Reconciliation | Approving Officials are not receiving reconciled transactions to approve. | Users need to hit the <DONE> button when they are finished reconciling their transactions. |
| Reconciliation | Vendor combines two or more order logs into one transaction. | Since a transaction can only be reconciled to a single order log, users will need to combine multiple order logs into one. To do this, users will need to go back and modify their order logs. Choose one order log to be the main one and add in the dollar amount(s) from the other order log(s) either as a new line item if one is available or added to an existing line item if the 24 line item limit was already reached. The main point of this is to end up with only one order log that equals the total amount of the single transaction you are trying to reconcile. Zero out the other order log(s) as these are no longer needed and you do not want to have a double obligation. Return to the reconciliation mode, and reconcile your transaction with the combined order log. You may want to document what was done in your Comments field for future reference. |
| Reconciliation | Partial shipments unnecessarily complicate the reconciliation process. | Partial shipments should be the “exception” rather than the “rule”. If a vendor indicates up front that items will need to be shipped separately, users can enter separate order logs so each order will represent a complete shipment. |
Go to Purchase Card Program User Manual
Go to Purchase Card Information Page
Monday, 11-May-2009 14:35:00 EDT