Corporate purchasing card

Your first point of contact if you are considering a purchasing card or if you have queries regarding use of an existing card should be your support team in Children's Service's Finance.

The purchasing card is supported by a bespoke system called Barclaycard Spend Management (BSM).

All cardholders will be expected to log in to the system on a regular basis to review and code their transactions, and apply tax where applicable. Each cardholder must have a nominated approver who will also log into the system to approve the coding on the transactions.

We are updating our database all the time so if you have any changes regarding your card, email purchasingcards@norfolk.gov.uk.

Follow the Barclaycard Spend Manager (BSM) User Guide (PDF, 1 MB) for using BSM to code and reconcile your transactions.

Useful contacts for purchasing card queries

FES Payments Team - for administration queries, ie limit amendments, transaction declines, progress update on card applications/cancellations etc please contact the FES Payments Team. Contact details: Administration: purchasingcards@norfolk.gov.uk. Telephone: 01603 222852.
The Corporate Procurement Team - as the card is a procurement tool the monitoring of use of the card sits with the Corporate Procurement Team so if you have a query regarding what you can use your card for, which cannot be answered by your support team, the Procurement Team are the best people to ask. Email the Procurement Servicedesk at procurementservicedesk@norfolk.gov.uk.

Credit card limits

Currently all new cards are issued with a monthly limit of £250. A higher limit can be requested but this must be justified. The requested limit should reflect the expected monthly spend. Temporary increases for one off large spends or for a heavy spend month can be made on the day of request and this is a very simple process.

To do this we require an email from the cardholder's line manager, copying in the cardholder should be sent to purchasingcards@norfolk.gov.uk advising how much is required and how long for. Barclaycard works to the statement date so, for example, a temporary increase in December required until the 31st of the month would be end dated statement date 11 January. Please do not put card numbers in emails.

Please remember there is a monthly credit limit and a transaction limit on the card. These will be the limits you selected when applying unless they have been updated by you since. If you are making a temporary increase for a large spend item, you may need to think about the transaction limit as well as the monthly credit limit.

Applying for a purchasing card

To apply for a new card, you will need all of the following documents. These can be obtained from this Norfolk Schools website or by contacting the FES Payments Team. The documents will be emailed to you.

Please read all the documentation carefully as it may help you decide if the purchasing card is right for you.

Important notice

Cardholders will not receive paper statements from Barclaycard. Statements will be available via the card software, Barclaycard Spend Management (BSM). You will receive information about the system when you receive your card.

Amending an existing card

To amend the monthly and/or transaction limits on a card we require an email from the cardholder's line manager, copying in the cardholder, advising what is required. Please do not put card numbers in emails, we only require the name of the cardholder. Send the email to purchasingcards@norfolk.gov.uk. We will confirm via email as soon as the request has been processed. The email must contain the following information:

The cardholder name
Clear details of the amendment

If the amendment is temporary, please show the 'to' and 'from' dates. The 'to' date should always be to the 11th of the month, ie if you require an increase from today until the end of December, your 'to' date will be 11 January.

VAT

You may be able to claim back VAT on your purchases.

Always ask for a VAT invoice (over £250) or receipt from the supplier when you purchase goods. Even if no VAT is relevant, you still need a receipt for our records.

If you asked for a VAT invoice or receipt and did not receive one, check whether the supplier is registered for VAT and if the goods you purchased are VATable. If the supplier is registered and the goods are VATable, you can claim back the VAT.

If you purchase from any supplier outside of the UK, you must add an image on to BSM by the 19th for the period 12th to 11th of the month.