bluCard Documentation Requirements
- Pre-approval
- Transaction documentation form
- Receipt, invoice, statement, or other documentation from vendor
- Any other documentation required by your department
The bluCard cardholder must obtain evidence of pre-approval before placing an order or making a purchase. Documentation of pre-approval is required for all bluCard expenditures (no exceptions). The pre-approval can come in the form of an email, departmental pre-approval form, or one of the transaction documentation forms (such as the Single-Page bluCard Documentation and Entertainment and Event Authorization forms) found on the Forms page.
bluCard Pre-Approvals
If the requestor and cardholder are not the same person, then both should be identified on the pre-approval form.
You may use the pre-approval form to document multiple transactions for one event. But if using multiple forms for one event, mark them to show they are related (for example, 1 of 2, 2 of 2) and make sure all relevant costs are included in the per-person calculations for each event (if applicable).
In case actual costs are greater than originally estimated, consider including a not-to-exceed amount on the pre-approval form. Otherwise, the cardholder will need to obtain pre-approval for the additional amount before placing the order.
For the transaction documentation form, it is best to use the Single-Page bluCard Documentation Form or the Entertainment and Event Authorization Form, whichever is applicable to the expense. Both forms ensure all necessary information is provided to the approver.
If an expense is preferred or allowable on the bluCard and falls under the Maximum per Person Amount Limits related to events and entertainment or the expense is related to an event requiring host or approver signatures, then the Entertainment and Event Authorization Form should be used. Otherwise, please use the Single-Page Documentation Form.
There are two versions of the Single-Page Documentation Form and the Entertainment Event Authorization Form. Please use the version without the signature approval, unless your department requires you to use the signed version.
Receipts, invoices, statements, and any other documentation from the vendor, as well as the pre-approval and transactions documentation form, are all added to the transaction in BFS using the Add Comment feature.
Training Materials
How to Use the Single-Page Documentation Form
How to Reconcile bluCard and Travel Study Card Transactions in BFS
Travel Study Card (TSC) Documentation Requirements
- Pre-approval (required)
- Receipts, invoices, statements, hotel folios, or other documentation from vendors
- Any other documentation required by your department
The TSC cardholder must receive pre-approval for the entire trip (not individual transactions). This allows the cardholder to make purchases they need without seeking specific approval for each individual purchase, and reduces duplication of paperwork.
Travel Study Card (TSC) Pre-Approvals
Pre-approval documentation must include:
- Trip dates
- Trip location(s)
- Participants list
- List of expected expenses for the duration of the trip
The receipts, invoices, statements, and any other documentation from the vendor as well as the pre-approval are all added to the transaction in BFS using the Add Comment feature, after the conclusion of the trip. Although the pre-approval is for the entire trip, reconciliation is still done per transaction within the usual reconciliation timeframe. For more information about reconciling card transactions, please refer to the Reconciling Card Transactions page.
Training Materials
How to Reconcile bluCard and Travel Study Card Transactions in BFS
Travel and Entertainment Card (T&E Card) Documentation Requirements - Not Yet Available
- Pre-approval (only if required by department)
- Receipts, invoices, statements, hotel folios, or other documentation from vendors
- Any other documentation required by your department
The Travel and Entertainment Card (T&E Card) is not yet available.
Travel and Entertainment Card (T&E Card) Pre-Approvals
Although the T&E Card does not require pre-approval, your immediate supervisor should be aware of any trips or events that you are performing for the university and be able to approve that the business purpose and dates of the trips or events were correct at the time of reconciliation. Some departments do require pre-approval documentation or travel authorizations, so please check in with your immediate supervisor for the expected department documentation when making a T&E Card purchase.
The receipts, invoices, statements, and any other documentation from the vendor can be attached to its corresponding transaction in the BFS Expense Module in its expense report.