UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTING

Cash Receipts

Cash Collection and Deposit Procedures

Responsibilities of Individual Departments

Each department is responsible for developing detailed written departmental operating procedures that comply with the University’s Cash Collection and Deposit Procedures. University Accounting is available for consultation and review of departmental procedures.

Segregation of Duties in Campus Departments

There should be a separation of duties between the person receiving/processing/depositing cash and the person responsible for reconciling and maintaining the accounting records. Cash receipt activity should be reconciled to Banner at on a monthly basis. The reconciliation should be reviewed and approved by someone independent of the individual handling the cash and preparing the deposit.

Safeguarding Funds

All forms of cash (currency, checks, money orders, credit card transactions) should be kept in a secure place. Access should be restricted to authorized personnel. Checks, money orders, traveler’s checks, etc. should be made out to “Mississippi University for Women” or “MUW”. Checks should be endorsed immediately upon receipt and should include the name of the depositing department.

Departmental Petty Cash Fund

Departments are not authorized to maintain petty cash funds. All purchases and refunds must be processed through Resources Management and University Accounting.

Department Change Fund

Permanent Change Fund

Departments can request a permanent change fund through University Accounting. Upon authorization, a change fund will be issued by University Accounting. The change fund should only be used to make change during cashiering operations and cannot be used for expenditures. Departments should assign a custodian responsible for the accountability of these funds. The custodian of the fund is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund and for its proper usage. University Accounting will make periodic audits to verify that all funds are accounted for.

Temporary Change Fund

If a temporary change fund is needed (i.e. Theatre Performances, Welty Symposium, Orientation, etc.), the request should be made on a direct pay form and signed by the departmental Budget Manager. These funds will be the responsibility of the employee requesting the money. The funds should be returned to University Accounting within 15 days of the event. The employee will have an outstanding receivable balance until these funds are returned.

Frequency of Deposits

Any money received should be deposited promptly to University Accounting. Deposits should be made at least weekly or when cash on hand reaches $100, whichever comes first. Departments are prohibited from making refunds, paying expenditures or creating a change fund from cash receipts. Postdated checks should not be held for future processing. Under no circumstance is it permissible for cash receipts to be used to cash a check. If your department accepts credit cards and has a credit card terminal, it should be settled daily unless your terminal is setup for automatic settlement.

Customer Receipts

In University Accounting

In Person

When payments are received in person, they should be immediately receipted into Banner. After the receipt has been entered, a computer generated receipt should be given to the payee. If an electronic receipt cannot be provided, a handwritten receipt will be issued to the payee.

Mail

When opening mail, all checks should be logged into the departmental “check log” and immediately endorsed. Checks for payment on a Student’s account should be given to the cashier to be receipted to accordingly. All other checks should be given to the Director of University Accounting or Senior Accountant, so that a Receipt Form can be prepared and given to the cashier for processing.

Phone

Credit Card payments taken over the phone should be immediately processed. After processing a credit card transaction, all handwritten credit card information should be destroyed. Upon request the receipt can be emailed to the payee.

In Departments

When payments are received in person, it should be immediately recorded on a pre-numbered two-part receipt. (The only exception would be in the case where pre-numbered tickets are sold.) One copy of the receipt should be given to the customer and one copy should be maintained by the department in the receipt book. Receipts should be issued in sequential order. If a receipt is voided, both copies of the voided receipt should be maintained by the department for sequence accountability and audit. This can be accomplished by stapling the original voided receipt to the departmental copy in the receipt book.

When opening mail, all checks should be logged into the department’s check log and immediately endorsed.

Once the payments have been receipted or logged, the funds should immediately be safeguarded until deposited with University Accounting. The receipt books and payment logs (rather than the checks), in conjunction with the receipt received from University Accounting, can then be used to reconcile cash receipts in Banner.

Deposit Form and Supporting Paper Trail

A Receipt Form must be used for all deposits made with University Accounting.

University Accounting Receipt Form

This form is used to communicate and document deposits made by departments and University Accounting to Banner. An itemized list of payments or a copy of the check(s) should be included with the form. The list should include payer, student name/id # or customer name if different than the payer, check number, amount, etc. A copy of this information should be retained in the department.  

How to Transport Deposits

Deposits should be hand-delivered by a department representative to University Accounting. Deposits should not be sent via interdepartmental mail. If the deposit contains cash, the department should bring a duplicate copy of the receipt form. 

What University Accounting Does With Departmental Deposits

Upon delivery of deposit, notify the cashier if the deposit contains cash. If it contains cash, the cashier will count/validate the cash received in the presence of the departmental representative. The cashier will compare the cash total to the amount of cash recorded on the Receipt Form and both the cashier and the Departmental Representative will sign off where indicated on both copies, signifying the amount of cash being deposited. If no cash is included in the deposit, the deposit can be left with the cashier for processing. The cashier will compare the total cash, checks and credit cards to the amounts that appear on the Receipt Form. Any discrepancies will be communicated via email to the originating department. Upon reconciliation, the deposit will be processed and applied to accordingly. The Cashier will send a transaction receipt back to the originating department.

Departments can generally expect to see a deposit post to Banner two business days after it has been receipted by University Accounting.

When University Accounting is processing the deposit following items are verified:

Checks

  • They are restrictively endorsed (i.e.– For Deposit Only)
  • Checks are not stale-dated or post-dated.
  • No two party checks.
  • Checks are made payable to “Mississippi University for Women” or “MUW”
  • Written and numerical amounts agree
  • Payer’s signature is not missing
  • Checks are drawn on a U.S. bank and in U.S. funds
  • Existence of a bank account and routing number

Cash

  • Make sure the count is accurate
  • Look for counterfeit currency
  • Look for altered currency
  • We do not accept foreign currency

Cash Receipt Form

  • Check for mathematical accuracy
  • Verify check, cash and credit card totals are listed properly
  • Verify that the fund, organization number, and account number are filled in
  • Verify that the funds received equal the amount on the deposit form.

Department Reconciliation

At least monthly, a person other than the person handling cash receipts should:

  • Reconcile deposits in Banner to the Receipt Forms submitted
  • Reconcile the Receipt Forms to the customer receipt trail (i.e. receipt book, check receipt log, ticket stubs, etc.)

Department Approval

Budget Managers should review and approve reconciliations. Review Banner along with detail activity and perform regular analytical review of balances for reasonableness based on expectations. Such reviews should be documented and signed by the Budget Manager as proof the procedure is being followed.

Returned Check Procedures

When a check is returned to University Accounting for insufficient funds, closed account or stop payment, the check will be charged back to the student’s account. Additionally, the student will be assessed a $20.00 service charge. If the check is not from a student, the depositing department will be notified that a check has been returned due to insufficient funds, closed account or stop payment and the returned check will be deducted from the department’s account. A receipt will be sent to the department confirming the transaction. It will be the department’s responsibility to collect returned checks in addition to the $20.00 service charge. If a department’s collection is successful, a Receipt Form must be submitted to University Accounting.

Credit Cards

Departments must receive approval from University Accounting prior to the acceptance of credit cards regardless of the method or technology used (e-commerce, POS device, in person, telephone, fax or mail).