June 20, 2024

There has been lots of recent work happening behind the scenes on the purchase cards, including new program cards with the Karis logo. The following provides details of these activities, as well as some of the current challenges and successes with the program cards. Karis Disability Services has now been using these cards for over five years in Ontario and Saskatchewan!

New program cards

BMO cards with the Karis logo are prepared and ready to distribute. These cards will be sent by courier on June 24th to district offices for distribution to programs. When you have the new program card in hand, please send a request to purchasecard@karis.org to activate the card.

Once the new card is activated, the old card will no longer work and is to be destroyed. Access for these new cards is already set up in Spend Dynamics, so purchasing may take place as normal once the new cards are activated.

Here is an example of the front of the new cards (the reverse indicates program details and the card number):

Training materials

Current training materials for purchase cards are available on Karis’ intranet (CH Connect) under Tools and Resources, Finances and Budgeting. New training materials are currently being developed and will be available in the upcoming months through Karis’ Learning Management System.

Spend Dynamics Enhanced Security

BMO has instituted enhanced security standards for the Spend Dynamics login, which now requires a minimum of 12 characters for passwords. This will be a requirement for you on your next password reset date; you will be prompted for that password change by BMO Spend Dynamics. Password resets are required each 90 days by BMO.

Fraudulent Purchases

To minimize the potential impact of fraudulent purchases, please ensure that the cards are being appropriately managed through the card sign-out process and are used for purchases from reputable retailers. The program card number is not to be saved online (e.g., Amazon accounts) and is to be deleted if it currently is saved in any online platforms.

If you have a lost or stolen card, please contact Rai Madge, Banking Administrator or email purchasecard@karis.org. For situations where cards are lost or stolen on weekends or evenings, immediately contact the Bank of Montreal at 1-800-361-3361.

Mobile App

A number of employees have found the Spend Dynamics mobile app useful to upload and approve expenses. Instructions to download and use the app are attached, and also available on Spend Dynamics home page.

For Mobile app users that are having difficulty with their new username or password, they will need to log into Spend Dynamics using a computer, stay logged in, then log into the mobile app using the old username and/or password. The app will then synch up with the new login credentials and the new login and password would be used for the app for future logins.

Uploading invoices, entering GST/HST

A reminder that the detailed invoice showing items purchased and actual GST / HST paid is to be uploaded to Spend Dynamics. Accuracy entering the GST / HST is also important: please remind your teams to ensure that the GST / HST on the invoice is correctly entered, including the decimal between the dollars and cents. In Ontario, generally only the HST cell is used and Saskatchewan, the GST cell is used. Also, please note that there is no rebate for either Saskatchewan PST or any of the municipal taxes that are charged (e.g., on hotel invoices), and those taxes are not to be included in either the GST or the HST cells.

Approving purchases

Purchase card expense approvals are due by the 5th of the following month. This requirement provides for oversight of purchases and appropriate timing for charging these expenses to program budgets. There have been some challenges meeting these timelines, and options to better include updating and approving expenses on a more regular basis, rather than only once per month. A delegated approver may also temporarily be put in place if a Manager is not available to approve expenses by the 5th of any month.

Account #489 has been reintroduced to track purchase card charges awaiting approval. These transactions are initially recorded to your budget under this account, if not approved. Once approved, the expenses are charged to the appropriate general ledger account for your budget.

Spend Dynamics has recently introduced a new format for approving expenses, providing a better visual of expenses that need approval. Expenses may still be approved separately or, in a group, by selecting all. Even when selecting all expenses for approval, each expense item is available for reviewing separately by clicking on details of the expense (an example of a grocery purchase follows.) Approvals tab:

Password resets and Help Desk Tickets

The self-serve password reset function on Spend Dynamics continues to be troublesome, and we’ve been working with BMO to resolve the issue. If support is required with password resets, please set up a Help Desk ticket through the Karis staff portal. A Help Desk ticket may also be used for new card requests and approver changes.

Blocking table requests should only occur on an exceptional basis. Personal purchases for people receiving services are to be arranged directly using a person’s personal funds (per Reference Manual B.8.8.4).

For questions, please reach out to
purchasecard@karis.org.