Using the P-Card

The Procurement Card can be used for delegated departmental purchases of allowable goods and limited services from suppliers who accept Visa.

The P-Card program is not available to employees purchasing for Hospital (Chart H) accounts without exception approval.

Your first purchasing option should always be the catalogs in Aggie Enterprise, but the Procurement Card is a good option when items are not available there.


Allowable Purchases

Note: The Procurement Card can only be used up to the card daily limit ($9,999.99 for most users), regardless of a higher limit that may be set for a university agreement. Limit adjustments may be submitted using the Request process in AggieExpense (see the instructions on the Banking Card Program page for Processes for Changes to Card Accounts).

General Use

Use With University Purchasing Agreements

Use the Procurement Card to purchase items available on university supply agreements that are not available in Aggie Enterprise. The Procurement Card can be used to purchase against an agreement, if the commodities on the agreement are allowable Procurement Card expenses, and only within the card spending limit, regardless of the amount allowed on the agreement. 

  • If using a Procurement Card with a supplier with which a university agreement exists, you must identify yourself as a UC Davis employee and provide the agreement number to the vendor, so that the purchase will be properly covered under the terms of the agreement. 
  • Failing to disclose the agreement information at the time of the purchase may result in the purchase not being covered under the agreement terms and conditions.
  • When performing the P-Card reconciliation in AggieExpense, there is also an Agreement # field that should be used to enter the Agreement Number whenever the P-Card has been used to purchase against an established university purchasing agreement.

Unallowable Purchases

  • Online suppliers that require the cardholder to agree to terms and conditions in order to complete the purchase, except those suppliers whose terms have been approved by Procurement & Contracting Services
  • Travel-related expenses
  • Entertainment expenses, including food for business meetings
  • Items or services for personal use
  • Repairs and maintenance services not on an existing Purchase Agreement or Purchase Order
  • Software not on an existing purchase agreement. Software on an existing agreement may be purchased on the Procurement Card, following the instructions in the Allowable expenses section above.
  • Excluded Items (identified on the HOW TO: Buy page)
  • Capital Assets
  • Cash advances
  • Postage or mail services
  • Any items requiring the signing of a supplier agreement (e.g., customizable software)
  • Non-office furniture

More information on what can and cannot be purchased on the Procurement Card is in the Policy and Procedure Manual, section 350-22.

Visit the How To Buy page for a list of all acceptable purchasing options, including Aggie Enterprise and the Procurement Card.

See the Travel section for information on processing travel and entertainment expenses