FUEL CARD
Policies and Guidelines
The Department of Administrative Services and the Office of State Comptroller have contracted with Voyager Fleet Systems, Inc./US Bank to provide a Statewide Fuel Card Program.
The state fuel card can only be used for official state business. The fuel card is not to be used for purchasing food, beverages, novelty items, or personal items.
The fuel card is to be used for business travel purchases of fuel for rental vehicles or state vehicles whenever state fuel pumps are not available.
This plan outlines policies and guidelines that are critical to the management of the fuel card program in order to ensure that a system of internal controls are followed to mitigate the potential for fraud, misuse, and delinquency.
This document is intended to be a living document and will be updated as changes occur within the State's fuel card program. The primary purpose for a statewide fuel card is to establish one fuel card provider with the largest fueling network across Connecticut and the United States. The use of this card allows for fuel to be charged and billed by one provider, eliminating multiple fuel card providers and billing companies. The use of one fuel card provider among all State Agencies allows better internal controls to mitigate the potential for fraud and misuse.
This section provides a list of key officials associated with the fuel card program within the Department of Administrative Services and the Office of the State Comptroller and Voyager/US Bank, along with their title, responsibilities, and contact information.
| Contact | Title | Responsibilities |
| Kerry DiMatteo 860-713-5072 kerry.dimatteo@ct.gov |
State Fuel Card Administrator |
Oversees State Agency's implementation, use and limit changes of Fuel Cards |
| Carolyn Mercier 860-702-3318 carolyn.mercier@ct.gov |
State Fuel Card Program Manager-OSC |
Oversees State Agency's implementation, use and limit changes of Fuel Cards |
| J. Carlos Velez 860-713-5092 Carlos.velez@ct.gov |
State Fuel Card Program Manager-DAS |
Oversees State Agency's implementation, use and limit changes of Fuel Cards |
| Richard Esten 860-702-3428 richard.esten@ct.gov |
State Fuel Card Program Specialist | Monitors monthly payments to US Bank by agencies. |
| Mark A. Hess 612-436-6544 mark.hess1@usbank.com |
Relationship Manager Public Sector |
Fuel Card Dedicated Relationship Manager for the State of Connecticut. Facilitates fleet card program and provide ongoing consultation and program updates, product enhancements and account performance. |
| Voyager Customer Service 800-987-6591 (p) 800-987-6592 (f) fleetcommander@usbank.com |
Technical Support FleetCommander Online (FCO) |
Technical Help Desk to assist with the special needs of State Government clients. Assistance with questions about Fleet Commander Online. Assist with special reporting request that may require a query. |
| The shared email address for all state inquiries is: voyagerstate@usbank.com | ||
| The Voyager customer service number is 800-987-6591 All questions regarding an account, billing, or merchant issues can be handled by dialing this number. |
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Each State Agency, Board, and Commission shall designate an Agency Fuel Card Coordinator who will request, setup, make account changes, assigns fuel card(s) to agency designated vehicle(s) and reconcile transactions, invoices, and authorize payment to Voyager/US Bank.
Agency Fuel Card Coordinators will assign fuel cards in accordance with their agency's established procedures for fuel cards. Agency Fuel Card Coordinators will complete and submit all requests for their Agency's fuel cards to Voyager/US Bank for processing.
State agencies are responsible for creating, monitoring and enforcing, within their agency, all rules, regulations, executive orders, policies, procedures and guidelines for fuel card account setup, use, assignment, tracking, replacement, account maintenance and updates.
To comply with these responsibilities each agency will identify certain minimum requirements that must be implemented within their agency. Because most state agencies have different organizational structures and operating procedures, agencies will be afforded as much flexibility as possible in order to meet these requirements. Agencies should conduct reviews and periodic audits to ensure the responsibilities are met.
Individual cardholders are responsible for knowing and applying their
agency's fuel card procedures and guidelines. The cardholder's agency is liable
for all charges made on individually held fuel cards. However, it is the
cardholder's responsibility to ensure that the card is used within State and
Agency fuel card guidelines. Intentional misuse or fraudulent abuse of the card
will be subject to the cardholder's agency disciplinary policy, and may result
in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.
The Cardholder must:
The State fuel card enables you to purchase fuel at any fueling location that accepts the Voyager fuel cards. Voyager is available at 200,000 gas stations nationwide "www.usbank.com/voyagerfleet/DetailedSearchController". All authorized personnel who will be using agency fuel card(s) must be trained by their Agency Fuel coordinator on how to use the card when operating a self-service dispenser. Personnel should be instructed on the entry of Personal Identification Number (PIN) when using the fuel card. All cards will require a PIN for transaction authorizations.
Fuel card users should be aware there are limits imposed by the fuel card provider and fuel distribution locations. A transaction will be declined if an incorrect PIN is entered.
Voyager's defaults:
Agencies have the authority to increase or decrease any of the Voyager fuel card limits (for example, the Agency Fuel Card Coordinator can increase the number of swipes per day or increase the monthly spend limit. However, the agency does not have any control over fuel distribution location limits.
To protect the integrity and security of agency fuel cards, each agency shall establish a procedure to cancel and transfer card holders/users. The Agency Fuel Card Coordinator should ensure the card provider, Voyager, is notified and the employee's use / PIN is deactivated or switched to a different card or account in the event of inter-agency transfer.
Generally, all fuel card users, regardless of level or responsibilities should receive training from their Agency Fuel Card Coordinator prior to the issuance of a card. Training should include the State of Connecticut Fuel Card Policies and Guidelines, State of Connecticut Fuel Card Program Cardholder Work Rules, and agency procedures, including the reporting of lost or stolen cards, types of purchases, inappropriate and/or unauthorized charges and bank contact information.
Fuel Card Users also must have a signed State of Connecticut Credit Card Use Policy on file.
Training materials include:
For every fuel card delivered by Voyager to the agency is an accompanying
"Using Your Voyager? Fleet Card" instruction pamphlet. Fuel card user should be
instructed where to locate this card and of its instructions.
Voyager fuel card account setup provides a fast turn-around response. Voyager
reacts quickly and efficiently to agency needs. Voyager will provide agencies
with materials related to account setup, modification and online training
manuals to instruct users on how to make account modifications (card
cancellation/creation, transfer of vehicles, card addressing, etc.).
These materials include:
Voyager will provide the agencies with a Microsoft Excel account setup form that is pre-formatted to allow for direct input into Voyager's mainframe system. This process contributes to Voyager's ability to issue cards to large fleets of vehicles with a high degree of efficiency and correctness.
Please note upon processing of the Participation Agreement, a Federal Excise Tax Exempt form is auto generated and mailed to the Accounts Payable Contact. This form can be disregarded, as the Fuel Card Program has filed the necessary paperwork for those agencies under the administration of DAS and OSC.
Setup times are subject to the Account Profile approval response time of the requesting agency.
The designated Agency Fuel Card Coordinator can fill out and submit to Voyager the Account Maintenance Form to make the necessary changes or the designated Agency Fuel Card Coordinator can immediately make account changes online using the Fleet Commander secure web-base fleet management program located at: www.fleetcommanderonline.com
Fleet Commander Online provides total access so agencies can observe, update, track and manage fleet operations and fuel card accounts. Fleet Commander online allows designated Agency Fuel Card Coordinators the ability to manage fleet operations from any location at any time with the security of an encrypted, online portal. Some of the capabilities that enable effective control of fleet and fuel expenditures include:
Fleet Commander Online has several levels of access to allow for various department, division, and management personnel to create and review reports. The designated Agency Fuel Card Coordinator is ultimately responsible for the agency's fuel card program and must fill out the Fleet Commander Online Enrollment Form and submit as instructed on the form. Each additional person to have access to agency account information MUST submit a Fleet Commander Online Enrollment form to the designated Agency Fuel Card Coordinator. The designated Agency Fuel Card Coordinator will determine the level of access the requesting person will have and will then submit the request, as instructed on the form to the Fuel Card Administrator, who will review and forward to Fleet Commander for processing.
Voyager will work closely with the Department of Administrative Services and State Comptrollers Office to minimize the impact of the card renewal process. Voyager accounts are set to expire every three years, at which time every active card on the account will be reissued. The Voyager system is able to issue new expiration date cards 60 - 90 days prior to the expiration of old cards, thus giving the agency sufficient time to distribute new cards.
Furthermore, Voyager will contact the designated Agency Fuel Card Coordinators prior to the release of any new expiration cards. Voyager's dedicated Relationship Manager will discuss any desired account changes or modifications with designate agency coordinators, so that when new cards are issued, they are issued to the exact specifications and requirements of the Agency. To do this, Voyager will provide each agency with an account profile to assist with the renewal of cards. This will allow each agency to review their current account setup, vehicle, driver and PIN numbers for all cards and to request any necessary changes.
Voyager's dedicated Relationship Manager will also work closely with the agency to make the card issuance process as easy as possible. Voyager will sort cards in department and vehicle order in an effort to streamline the process for the agency. Voyager can also customize its card delivery process by enveloping and mailing out cards by department.
Managing the fuel card program is based on a risk management strategy. Risk management is a vital component of the fuel card program and on-going oversight is a priority. Agencies have an ongoing responsibility to evaluate the effectiveness of their actions taken to comply with the requirements of the fuel card program.
The Voyager fuel card provides a powerful and dependable program with fuel transactions. A unique Personal Identification Number (PIN) MUST be assigned for security of each fuel card. The following purchase controls can be assigned to drivers.
Card users will be required to enter:
Purchases can be limited by:
Exception Monitoring
Exceptions reports include:
Flexible Reporting Options
Comprehensive reporting is a vital component of effectively managing fleet operations. with Voyager's on-line reporting tools, agencies can turn raw transaction data into useful information for compliance management and strategic planning. Using Voyager's reporting options, agencies can run standard or create ad-hoc reports each month.
The fuel card program uses an innovative reporting application called Fleet Commander, a web-based reporting system provided by Voyager. Agencies are capable of generate a large number of reports whenever the need arises. Reports can be generated in Adobe PDF, Microsoft Excel or text format.
Agencies have the ability to create as many reports and configuration of reports they deem necessary to provide ongoing monitoring of fuel card activity. Reports can be created to detect instances of abuse, misuse, and fraud. Reports can be created to query purchases that were made over a weekend, a holiday or a weekend in conjunction with a holiday. Reports can also be queried to detect cardholder activities, split transactions, and non fuel item purchases.
Fleet Commander on-line include the following reporting options (based on information provided to Voyager):
Inventory Reports
Card Report
Vehicle Report
Driver Report
Transaction Reports
Transaction Detail Report
Transactions by Vehicle
Transactions by Driver
Management Reports
Top Dollars by Merchant
Cards with High Dollars for Non-maintenance Transactions
Cards with High Gallons
Cards with Non-fuel Purchases
Cards with Highest Number of Transactions
Cards with Multiple Purchases per Day
Cards by Purchase Method
Fuel Economy by Vehicle ID
Fuel Economy by Vehicle Description
Organization Summary
Vehicle Cost Analysis
Exception Reports
Percent of Limit Report
Transaction Exception
Billing Reports
Invoice Report
Designated Agency Fuel Card Coordinators shall review the fuel card(s) monthly activity for all cards assigned to vehicles under their purview to identify potential areas of concern. They will notify the supervisor of the individual using the card of any questionable charges/transactions. If charges are identified as misuse/abuse or outside of agency policy, the employee's Supervisor is required to take action in accordance with agency discipline policy.
The designated agency coordinator shall review all invoices/bills prior to forwarding vouchers to their financial office for vendor payment.
Voyager receives payment from each agency within Voyager's standard billing terms, which are net 25 days.
The agency's accounting unit/business unit is responsible for processing payments to Voyager Fleet Systems. The following guidelines must be observed when processing payments:
Voyager will send billing statements to the designated person authorized by the account contact. Updates to billing recipients list can be made via email, fax or letter.
Voyager provides the following billing options:
All paper billing questions should be addressed to customer service and electronic billing questions should be addressed via the following email address or contact customer service and ask for the electronic billing department at: electronicbilling@usbank.com
Overview
The Fuel Card coordinators will create Core0CT vouchers to may Voyager Fleet
Systems for the full amount of the billing statement. This bill must be
paid on time for the entire amount. The voucher will be processed against
the P-Card Purchase Order.
Detail Procedures
1. Users/Coordinator can reconcile their Fuel Card transactions using Fleet
Commander On-Line for the appropriate billing cycle.
Issue an on-line purchase order monthly, quarterly or annually as best suits the budget management needs of the agency. Do not wait until a bill is received from the bank to establish the purchase order. To ensure statutory requirements regarding the encumbrance of funding, the purchase order should be established prior to using the Fuel Card in the new billing cycle.
2. Purchasing will submit the PO for approval. The Amount Approver and Budget Approver will approve the PO for processing. The PO will be Budget checked and dispatched through the batch processes.
3. The Voucher Processor will create a voucher copied from the Fuel Card PO from Step 2 for the full amount of the billing period. The receipt date on the voucher should be the last day of the billing period (23rd of the month). Agency Account number must be entered in the invoice number field.
4. The voucher will be processed through normal voucher processing.
5. To verify the Fuel Card PO balance after the voucher has been processed, run the PO Balance Report to view the balance left on the PO lines.
6. If chartfield adjustments need to be made to the Voucher from step 4, create a journal voucher to capture the new distribution date.
Any account with an outstanding balance may be subject to account suspension. Voyager will provide the Agency prior written notification of account suspension 30 days prior to suspension.
Bank representatives are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Cardholders are to report cards as lost or stolen via any of the following methods:
Agency Fuel Card Coordinators
Once your cardholder contacts you reporting their card lost or stolen, you have two things to do:
Voyager will work closely with the agencies to resolve any disputes. During a dispute process, all instruction should be provided by the designate agency coordinator based on the nature of the dispute. A timeline will be determined on a case by case basis. Typically, if a receipt is needed to verify the signature in the case of possible fraud, and the driver did not provide their receipt to the Agency Fuel Card Coordinator, Voyager would need to order a duplicate receipt from the Oil Company in question. This process takes 30 - 45 days to receive the copy of the receipt. Other disputes such as duplicate transactions can be managed expediently, settling the dispute within 24 - 48 hours. Voyager requires from the agency a copy of the invoice with the duplicate transactions listed, and charge backs are entered immediately (within 24 - 48 hours). The corrections will be visible to the agency on the following month's invoice.
Voyager will work closely with the agency to resolve any disputes. Following is the process flow for how dispute resolution occurs in the Voyager system:
Copies of expenditure documents are to be maintained on file in each agency for 3 years.