Employees who will have infrequent need to use a pCard or travel infrequently should check out a building/department pCard from their Office Manager, Bookkeeper, or Executive Assistant.

For employees who make regular purchases or travel often, an individual pCard can be obtained by completing the following form: Request for Procurement Card – Individual. Once the request is completed and approved, the employee must complete all mandatory trainings and sign a Statement of Agreement. Employees should allow 30 days for receipt of their pCard.

Employees who will have infrequent need to use a pCard or travel infrequently should check out a building/department pCard from their Office Manager, Bookkeeper, or Executive Assistant.

Prior to checking out a p-card, employees must complete all modules of the online training, read the p-Card and Employee Travel sections of the Business & Finance Procedure Manual, and fill out the p-Card User Agreement form.

• Step 1: Complete DMPS Procurement Card Program Training (Checking out a p-Card):  Module 1   |   Module 2   |   Module 3
• Step 2: Read sections p-Card and Employee Travel from Financial Services Procedure Manual
• Step 3: Complete p-Card User Agreement

Please see the Out-of-District Travel document for step-by-step instructions on how to complete the Travel Pre-Approval form and Post-Travel Expense form in Employee Online.

The district has assigned a credit limit to each p-Card. This is an amount determined by the employee’s supervisor/administrator and is reflected in the Statement of Authority that was signed prior to receipt of the p-Card. If you need to temporarily or permanently increase the credit limit on a p-Card, complete the following form: pCard Change Request Form.

If you need to make a single purchase valued $3,500 or higher, per district purchasing guidelines, you must work the Purchasing department to complete the necessary bids/RFP process. Complete the necessary steps with the Purchasing department, then submit the change request form.

All district p-Cards are blocked from international purchases. If traveling outside of the United States for school business, fill out the pCard Change Request Form at least five business days prior to travel to have the p-Card opened for international purchasing.

The following items cannot be purchased on your pCard:

• Personal Items
• Money Orders or Gift Cards
• Drugs/alcohol/narcotics/OTC medications
• Furniture, fixtures, and equipment valued at $1,000 or greater
• DMPS salaries, wages, and benefits
• Monthly contracts and subscriptions
• Gasoline for personal vehicles

If you have a question about an item you are planning to purchase please contact Accounts Payable prior to making that purchase to confirm compliance.

All technology-related items must have a Technology Approval Form completed prior to making the purchase.

To cancel your pCard send an email with the last 4 digits of your card and effective date to pCard@dmschools.org

If there is tax on your pCard please first contact the vendor and provide them with a copy of the district’s Iowa Sales Tax Exemption Certificate. In the event the vendor will not refund the tax it is the employee’s responsibility to reimburse the district.

Yes, p-Card information should never be stored on a website or with any vendor. Items purchased online must be shipped to a district site – no items should ever be shipped to an employee’s home.

All Amazon purchases must be placed on the district Amazon Business Account. To request access to the district’s Amazon Business account, ask your supervisor to send an email to desmoines.purchasingdept@dmschools.org.

• Before making the purchase review the Central Stores Catalog to determine whether the item or a like item is available.
• If purchasing through a third party on Amazon, you must confirm that our tax-exempt status is honored before making the purchase.
• Personal items should never be purchased on Amazon Business and personal credit cards should never be used for district purchases on Amazon.
• The district does not pay for additional shipping. DMPS Amazon Business utilizes Amazon Prime because of this the district is eligible for two-day shipping on most items.
• Care should be taken when purchasing any chemical such as bleach by checking with Custodial Supervision to ensure the purchase and use in a class setting is acceptable by state code.
• Purchaser should always achieve the best value by balancing the advantages of quality, durability, delivery time and other non-price considerations against the price, to obtain the maximum combined advantage to the school or department.