From November 1995 through March 1996, the new program was tested by staff and faculty in various departments, Watters said. The card was well received. The Gardiner Symonds Teaching Laboratory and the Owlink Center could not have been completed on schedule and within budget without the card, said Kevin Long, formerly director of Information Technology Development at Rice and now an independent contractor. Only the buyer touches the transaction, Watters said. The buyer's supervisor will also be able to review each transaction shortly after it takes place.
Cards have to be approved by department directors or supervisors.
The merchant code groups allow each card to be programmed to fit a cardholder's needs so that a shop supervisor can use the card at a hardware store and the manager of catering can buy goods at a grocery store. The benefits of the card are numerous, explained Watters. Card users and their supervisors will receive E-mail that tracks each transaction, generally within one to two working days of when the purchase was made. There will be no middlemen between the buyer and vendor, and vendors will be paid within 48 hours without sending an invoice. Those small invoices are work intensive and costly, both for the departments making the purchases and in accounts payable, because of the paperwork involved.