Conference 7.286::digital

    	Check vtx travel, I believe, for specifics around the company
    credit card criteria...
    
    joyce

    In my opinion, we don't need to issue credit cards for external contractors.
    I am managing many external contractors.  The project administrator,
    if he/she is not a Digital employee, should talk to the cost center
    manager who collects the majority part of the revenue to provide needed
    office supplies to the project team members.  Even for people on site
    most of the time customers have no problem to provide us with supplies.
    In my own opinion, I don't think the project administrator is doing
    right job for this particular case.  

    There is no such thing as a "Digital credit card", at least not in
    the sense you are thinking.  What Digital generously (sic) offers is
    the opportunity for YOU to apply for a PERSONAL line of credit, for
    which YOU are wholly and entirely responsible for repaying.  The
    purpose of this line of credit is for the employee to make
    interest-free loans to Digital to pay its business expenses.  You the
    employee get no compensation for this risk you are taking - not even
    "frequent flyer miles" or other perqs you'd get if you used one of your
    existing personal credit cards.
    
    Ask the contractor if he'd be willing to front Digital the money -
    that's what the company asks (actually in many cases, demands) of its
    employees.
    
    					Steve

Steve,
	1st Bank makes the interest free loan, not the employee.  I charge an
average of $2000/month for travel expenses over the last 4 years, have yet to 
pay, or be charged interest.

Brad.

>> Steve,
>> 	1st Bank makes the interest free loan, not the employee.  I charge an
>> average of $2000/month for travel expenses over the last 4 years, have yet to 
>> pay, or be charged interest.
>> 
>> Brad.

If you paid a bill and waited any length of time at all for reimbursement from
Digital, that constitutes an interest-free loan.  It has nothing to do with
interest charges from the credit card company.

						Brian

It depends on how you look at it.  The employee is liable for the expense,
therefore in my view the employee has loaned Digital the money.  First Bank
in turn loans money to the employee.  If all goes well, there isn't a problem
(though you don't get any benefit to risking your credit and your job for
Digital's convenience.)  If Digital decides not to pay, say because the
expense report doesn't have all the Is dotted and Ts crossed, then not only
do you risk your credit rating, but you may also face disciplinary action.
Conversely, if you do pay on time, then there's no "paid on time" notation on
your credit history where there would be if you used a personal card.

The Digital card does make sense for people who keep an outstanding balance on
their own cards, or whose credit is poor enough not to qualify them for a
card on their own.  For fiscally responsible people, it has only drawbacks.

					Steve

    
    
      I also think it is absurd for a 13 billion dollar company to
    "require" an employee to front the money for hardware/software/supplies
    that they need to do their job.  I use my personal credit card, and
    then get reimbursed from tms.  
    
    But on a positive note, I file the tms account the day after I float
    the purchase, and I usually get reimbursed within 2-3 days, so I then
    have an "interest free" loan until the credit card company sends out
    the bill, provided I didn't have a balance at the beginning of the
    month.  
    
    So is the glass half full or half empty.  Seems like a tough call.
    
    /art

    Having just checked on this question last month, corporate policy does
    not allow contract employees to have corporate credit cards or to use
    tms to request reimbursement for expenses.   Since contract people
    generally have an IPR in the system to cover their costs, expenses are
    submitted via that system.
    
    Hope this helps.
    
    pat

>>> For fiscally responsible people, it has only drawbacks.

The *only* adavantage that I know that the "corporate" credit card provides is that 
it seperates your business and personal expenses on seperate statements.  This would 
be helpful if I had business expenses every month, however, I travel only once or 
twice a year, so I just use my own credit card.


								-Paul
 

    Recently I was shown a special type of corporate card which is
    specifically to be used for expensible items which would normally
    require a PO. apparently these types of cards aren't widely promoted,
    but can be used to purchase small (under $1000) items without the need
    to generate a PO. I'm sure these are limited to Digital employees as
    are the First Bank VISA cards used for corporate travel, but it might
    be something a Digital project manager might want to look in to.
    
    As for the other comments regarding the "interest free loan" to Digital
    from the employee...I've said it before and I'll say it again...this is
    BULL! I am a fiscally responsible person (carry NO balance on any of my
    credit cards EVER) and I've used the corp. travel card for 8 years,
    with an average balance of $3000 per month. If for some reason I can't
    pay the bill before it is due (haven't returned from the trip yet or
    some other reason) I simply don't pay it. It DOES NOT show up on my
    credit report. If I get a "reminder" notice from petty cash or First
    Bank, I simply reply that I will pay when Digital pays me...end of
    story. No fuss, no muss, no loan to Digital. Personally, I don't
    subscibe to the conspiracy theory that others seem to have stuck in
    their heads like a mantra about this whole thing. Submit your expenses,
    pay the bill and get on with your life!  Geez!
    
    Debbie
    

Re: .10

It's not a "conspiracy theory".  Digital, like many other companies, has found
that it can shift more and more of what should be "corporate" expenses to
individual employees.  You may not have had problems getting reimbursements,
but many others have.

If the purpose of the corporate credit card is to charge business expenses,
then it should be issued on behalf of Digital, with Digital responsible for
the payments.  Read the section on "Delinquency" in VTX TRAVEL.

				Steve

My wife works for Chevron. Her American Express corporate card bills directly 
to Chevron, which in turn pays the bill. She just has to file an expense 
report to cover her expendatures. If she has any non reimbursable items on 
the card, she just pays the Chevron.

Our system is not quite up to this level. The employee gets the card bill, 
then must locate funds and pay it. Digital guarantees the card, but if 
Digital has to step in the employee is in serious trouble. If anything 
goes wrong in the expense filing/reimbursement process, then the employee 
is left holding the bag.

The official corporate card policy says that the employee must use the 
corporate card (yeah, I know that this is rarely enforced) and pay the bill 
on time, whether or not Digital has reimbursed the expense. Besides the 
ethical issue of Digital making employees fund business travel, if you're a 
frequent traveller the bookkeeping is a nightmare (especially when a trip 
breaks across card billing cycles).

Our travel and expense system is designed for the occasional traveller, not 
for the road warrior.

Digital USED to do it the "better way", but realized that they didn't have to.

				Steve

>The Digital card does make sense for people who keep an outstanding balance on
>their own cards, or whose credit is poor enough not to qualify them for a
>card on their own.  For fiscally responsible people, it has only drawbacks.

Where did you dream this up?  I never pay until I am reimbursed from Digital.
Also, here's a tip so you don't get stuck with paying for plane tickets  before
you make the trip.  Don't have Travel cut the tickets until the week before you
travel.  You still get the cheap rate, and it doesn't show up on your credit
card bill until you already have been reimbursed.

Again, I have never been charged or paid any interest.  If anything, we get the
interest free loan, not Digital.

Now if you really want to discuss Digital picking the employee's pocket,
talk to me about the 'home alone' program....

Brad.

Travel will bill you for the tickets if it is required that they be
purchased immediately, as most discount fares do.  I had a manager complain
that she had to fork out $600 for several months because of advance-purchase
requirements until she took the trip and could get reimbursed.

You may not be charged interest, but you are, in essence, loaning Digital
the money as soon as you make the charge to a card that you are responsible for.

I have learned that there is a second corporate card type, a "purchasing"
card, which is to be used for small business expenses (not travel, etc.).  It
is billed to Digital. 

				Steve

>I had a manager complain
>that she had to fork out $600 for several months because of advance-purchase
>requirements until she took the trip and could get reimbursed.

Then they didn't know what they were doing.  Advance purchase tickets can be
reimbursed prior to the trip.  This is specified in VTX TRAVEL as I recall, and
I never had a problem doing advance purchase and then submitting the expense for
the tickets prior to the trip.

ymmv,
--Scott

    Information was recently sent out regarding the need to purchase
    airline tickets far in advance to take advantage of low fares and how
    to handle it via TMS so that you aren't forced to use your own funds to
    pay for the tickets before your trip:
    
    Make a copy of the ticket.  Submit a TMS voucher for the airfare -
    including note in comments section that this is a trip yet to be taken. 
    When you actually travel and submit your voucher for the other
    expenses, include the actual ticket receipt with a note that it is
    enclosed, was claimed for reimbursement on voucher submitted week
    xxxxx, and don't include $ amount on voucher or number the receipt.  
    
    I have used this method several times and have not had any problems. 
    Guess worst case for this would be if you followed this plan and then
    had the trip canceled!  They didn't mention how to handle that
    situation....  if you could use the ticket on a subsequent trip, guess
    there wouldn't be a problem.  If you have to return the ticket, then
    you would have to work on also getting refund from airlines with which
    to repay Digital...  
    
    But at least there is a method to use.
    
    Pat