Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions for cardholders using the Purchase Card Management System.

Transaction Reconciliation

Q. What are locked transactions?

Q. What date should be placed in the Date Received column?

Q. When should the SF281 code be used?

Q. What if you are supplied with a tax ID number that is too long?

Q. Why is it important to provide merchant information for convenience checks?

Q. What information do you write in the Item Description field?

Q. When reconciling transactions, can the Total accounting lines differ from the Transaction Amount?

Q. When the amount that came from the merchant in PCMS is different from the amount on the receipt, can the merchant's amount be changed in PCMS?

Q. What if the merchant insists on charging sales tax?

Q. With the PCMS Web (v4.2) release, accounting codes that I used to be able to use are now generating an error message. What happened?

Q. What type of information is required for 1099 reporting in PCMS?

Disputes

Q. Can duplicate check fees be disputed?

Q. When an item is disputed, do you have to use "Resolved?" When do you use "Resolved?"

Q. How do you dispute sales tax?

Lost/Stolen Cards

Q. What do I do if my card is lost or stolen?

Q. I have a new account after my previous account was closed because of a lost or stolen card or security fraud. The transactions with my new card are not showing up in PCMS.

Transaction Reconciliation

Q. What are locked transactions?

A. Locked transactions are transactions where the accounting is locked in FFIS (Foundation Financial Information System). A transaction is locked until the accounting has been accepted by FFIS. If you have a locked transaction, please work with your FFIS functional administrator to have the accounting issue resolved.

Please note that if you do not need to modify the default accounting for a transactions (i.e. the transaction is properly charged to profile accounting), the transaction can be approved (even if the accounting has not cleared FFIS). The date received, the item description can be inserted in the middle portion of the Transactions tab. Only accounting cannot be changed if a transaction is locked.

***Currently, there are some transactions that are locked although the accounting has cleared FFIS. This is a known issue that is being researched and addressed by the Procurement Systems Division.***

Q. What date should be placed in the Date Received column?

A. The date in Date Received should be the date that you got the purchase in your hand. For spot cash awards and reimbursements, use the date on the check.

Q. When should the SF281 code be used?

A. The SF281 Code field should only be completed when the transaction is over $2500.

Q. What if I have been supplied a tax ID number (TIN) that is too long?

A. Tax ID Numbers (TINs) are supposed to be nine digits. If you have been given a TIN that is longer than nine digits, you should contact the merchant for a corrected number.

Q. Why is it important to provide merchant information for convenience checks?

A. Merchant information must be entered into PCMS for convenience checks because the information is used in 1099 reporting. At the end of each calendar year, 1099 reports are generated for certain vendor types that have received more than $600 in payments during the calendar year. The information required to a) determine if a merchant should receive a 1099 and b) generate the report if it is required is not available from Bank of America when a convenience check is used. Therefore it is your responsibility to ensure the merchant's TIN, legal name and address are reported correctly.

Q. What information do you write in the Item Description field?

A. The Item Description field should be specific enough to identify what was purchased. Property may require more specifics. If it doesn't look like government business, give a description for why it was purchased and what it will be used for.

Q. When reconciling transactions, can the Total accounting lines differ from the Transaction Amount?

A. No. The total accounting lines must equal the Transaction Amount. When reconciling cardholder transactions in the PCMS Card Transaction screen, save each transaction by clicking the save button at the top of the screen. This will ensure the Total accounting lines and the Transaction Amount are equal.

Q. When the amount that came from the merchant in PCMS is different from the amount on the receipt, can the merchant's amount be changed in PCMS?

A. No. Contact the merchant to inquire why the amounts are different. If it was the merchant's error, request the merchant to send a credit to the bank. If the discrepancy cannot be resolved with the merchant, Dispute the transaction in PCMS and the bank will investigate.

Q. What if the merchant insists on charging sales tax?

A. Pay the sales tax if the merchant refuses to waive it. The cardholder must first inform the merchant that the purchase is for "official U.S. Government business" and is not subject to state or local sales tax. The card is imprinted with the statement, "US Government Tax Exempt." For larger purchases where the merchant refuses to waive the tax, the cardholder can present a state tax exemption letter. Cardholder can printout state tax exemption letters from the GSA SmartPay web site at www.fss.gsa.gov/services/gsa-smartpay/taxletter/.

Q. With the PCMS Web (v4.2) release, accounting codes that I used to be able to enter are now generating an error message. What happened?

A. Accounting codes are now limited to 7 digits. If you need to enter additional information, please note it in the comments section of the transaction.

Q. What type of information is required for 1099 reporting in PCMS?

A. Accurate Budget Object Class Codes (BOCCs) and merchant information are required for the yearly generation of 1099 reports. Budget Object Class Codes and merchant information are used to help determine if a 1099 needs to be generated.

As a cardholder, you can help ensure accurate 1099 reports by confirming that the appropriate BOCC has been assigned to each transaction and in the cases where merchant information is missing (such as convenience checks), supply accurate merchant names, addresses and Tax Identification Numbers.

Disputes

Q. Can duplicate check fees be disputed?

A. If you come across a duplicate check transactions, contact your LAPC and have him/her should contact Bank of America (BoA) at GCSUAC@BANKOFAMERICA.COM. Your LAPC should explain the duplicate transaction/check circumstances and request research to determine if a credit should be applied. If BoA determines credit is correct, you will be issued a credit which should be reconciled in PCMS.

Q. When an item is disputed, do you have to use "Resolved?" When do you use "Resolved?"

A. "Resolved" is used after you have gone through a formal dispute process and received money from the bank. When the credit appears in PCMS, change the dispute to Resolved and Approve the credit. NOTE: You should not use "Resolved" unless the transaction has been disputed.

Q. How do you dispute sales tax?

A. Under VISA dispute regulations, you cannot dispute sales tax. However you can contact the vendor to clarify that you are tax exempt and the vendor may agree to credit the tax.

Lost/Stolen Cards

Q. What do I do if my card is lost or stolen?

A. If your card is lost or stolen, immediately contact Bank of America at 1-800-472-1424 and notify your LAPC/APC. Depending on your agency's policies, your LAPC/APC may request a new card from Bank of America or Bank of America may automatically issue you a new card. Please check with your LAPC/APC on your agency's specific policies.

Q. I have a new account after my previous account was closed because of a lost or stolen card or security fraud. The transactions with my new card are not showing up in PCMS.

A. Generally after a new account has been issued, it can take up to 10 business days for the new account to be loaded into PCMS. If it has been more than 10 business days and you are still unable to see your transactions in PCMS, contact your LAPC and have them request that your account be loaded.