What is a typical day like in your job?
Employees always ask what they can and can’t charge to a P-Card. I answer questions from campus throughout the day. Recently, I received a call from our bank about a possible vendor data breach. All cardholders who used their cards at this vendor had to be issued replacement cards and new account numbers. I verified all the data, contacted the cardholder and department for card and distributed about 90 replacement cards within a week. That happens more frequently now than it used to.
How does your job support Carolina’s mission?
I can use my experience to help employees. I have to step in their shoes to figure out a problem and solve it. We have opened up P-Card rules so it can be used for catering now, but a lot of catering companies don’t know their merchant code until they run into a problem. If I get a call from a department [P-card] user who asks, “Why is my transaction declined?” I will find out the reason, fix it and then they can run the transaction. Departments call me so I can find out the problem and fix it quickly.
I try to tell campus customers that the P-Card is a payment tool. Our services and contract team [in Purchasing Services] works with vendors, like hotels, on contract terms and conditions. A lot of times, for small amounts, the departments can create a zero-dollar purchase requisition for the contract review and return procedures, and then use a P-Card for the purchase, which saves their time.
What do you like most about your work?
I like helping people solve problems. We have a supportive and encouraging team here that helps if there are problems.
What do you think is most exciting about the new P-Card system being launched in September?
With the new Works system, campus users can log in and see if there is an issue with their P-Card transaction. If they see a problem, they can call me and I can troubleshoot it. They also can run reports and check their accounts in real time. It’s an almost paperless system, which is great because now I get big packages of campus mail full of receipts!
What is something people probably wouldn’t know about you, or another fun item you’d like to share?
I enjoy walking. I walk at least twice a day for a total of about two miles and have been doing that since I started working at Carolina.