ADMINISTRATIVE RULE NO: 5020-02

RELATED TO POLICY SERIES NO: 5020

TITLE: CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENT HANDLING PROCEDURES

PURPOSE
To provide direction for campus departments and any cash-handling employee in the collection, custody, and reporting of monies to the Business Office for recording in Banner, and to outline specific cash handling procedures. Provide timely depositing of monies for improved control of funds which reduces the risk of loss due to errors, carelessness, or theft.

STATEMENT
CASH HANDLING GENERAL POLICY

1. Persons/Areas Affected

   All campus departments and any employee receiving cash and cash equivalent payments will be affected.

2. Policy
   1. All incoming monies will be acknowledged by receipt when accepted or received by mail and forwarded to the Business Office (exception is Centers who deposit directly with the bank) for processing within one business day or at a longer interval if approved by the Business Office, using a CR05 Receipts form to indicate where the funds will be deposited.
   2. Cash or cash equivalent will never be unattended. This applies to cash registers, desk tops, and cash drawers. If an employee leaves his or her work station for any reason, regardless of how briefly, cash must be appropriately secured in a locked place.
   3. Unauthorized persons will not be allowed in areas where cash or cash equivalent is handled.
   4. Large sums of cash or cash equivalent will be counted and handled out of sight of the general public.
   5. Individuals will keep working cash funds to a minimum at all times. Excess funds will be in a locked device or deposited in the Business Office.
   6. Cash received must not be used for making change, petty cash purposes, etc. Expenditures or refunds cannot be made from cash receipts.
   7. For overnight storage and during other periods when cash is not being used, it will be kept in a safekeeping device, either a safe or locked container.
   8. Under no circumstances will an individual keep college cash with their own personal funds, deposit college funds in a personal bank account, or take college funds to one's home for safekeeping.

ACCEPTING MONIES AND PAYMENTS

1. Currency Payments

   All currency received from walk-in customers is to be receipted immediately on sequentially pre-numbered cash receipts or through a cash register. Currency will be counted in the presence of the person presenting it for payment. A copy of the receipt will be given to a walk-in customer. Foreign currency is not accepted.

2. Check Payments

   Checks of all types received in-person or through the mail will be restrictively endorsed immediately. Walk-in customers will receive a pre-numbered written or cash register receipt. All checks made out to LBCC must be deposited to LBCC.

   Every check or money order must be reviewed for completeness as follows:

   1. Verify that account holder's name, address, and phone number is included on the check. A daytime phone number is preferred.
   2. Verify that the check has a bank name listed, and that the routing number, customer's bank account number, and check number are encoded on the bottom edge of the check.
   3. Verify student or driver's license ID.
   4. Note the date. Do not accept a post dated check (a check with a date in the future), or agree to hold the check for future deposit.
   5. Verify that amount written in numbers matches amount written in words. If different and the check is presented in person, require the check writer to make the numbers and words agree. If different and the check was received in the mail, make special note on the cash receipt so that the Business Office can handle appropriately. In general, banks will honor the written amount over the numerical amount.

CONDITIONS FOR ACCEPTANCE OF CHECKS

There are several different categories of checks. They will all be handled as checks.

1. Cashier's Check
   A check purchased at a bank for any amount; the bank completes all information on the face of the check with a bank officer signing as the maker.
2. Certified Check
   A personal check that is written by the account holder and then stamped and signed by a bank officer on the front of the check.
3. Money Order
   An item purchased at a bank, post office, or other business establishment for any amount up to $1,000.00. The bank completes only the amount information.
4. Traveler's Check
   A special check supplied by banks or other companies for the use of travelers; these checks already bear the purchaser's signature and must be countersigned and dated in the cashier's presence.
5. Personal Check
   A written order payable on demand, drawn on a bank by a depositor; a personal check is written against an individual's checking account as opposed to a cashier's check, certified check, money order, or traveler's check, all of which are written against bank funds.
6. Starter Check
   A non-personalized encoded check that a person receives from a bank when they establish a checking account. These are for the person's use prior to receiving encoded checks from the bank. However, they will only be accepted if the bank has encoded the routing number and the account number on the bottom of the check. Verify that the presenter has written the name, address, and phone number on the face of the check.
7. Foreign Check
   A check written on a foreign bank, even if the check amount is written with "USD" following it, cannot be paid in U.S. currency unless it states on the front of the check it is payable through a U.S. bank. If a foreign check is accepted, make special note on the cash receipt so that the Cashier's Office can handle appropriately (see also Foreign Currency and Checks).
8. Chamber Dollars
   

   The Linn County Chamber issues Chamber Dollars to individuals for volunteer work. These are treated as a check, endorsed immediately, and included in regular deposit as a personal check.

FOREIGN CURRENCY & CHECKS

Only U.S. currency (coins and bills) is accepted. Checks drawn on foreign banks or issued in foreign currencies require special processing by the Business Office. Collection on such checks can several days or weeks to receive. The initial deposit to the department's fund will be the amount reflected on the check, even though it is in a foreign currency. Any exchange rate differences will be charged to the depositing department as a reduction of the deposit (debit to revenue account listed on the original cash receipt).

MAKING DEPOSITS

1. Cash with Deposits

   Guidelines for sending currency and coin to Business Office for deposit:

   1. Bills will be sorted by denomination, and if the number of a denomination is enough, clipped or banded in the following bundle amounts:
      1. Ones = 25 or $25
      2. Fives = 20 or $100
      3. Tens = 20 or $200
      4. Twenties = 25 or $500
      5. Fifties = 20 or $1,000
      6. Hundreds = 10 or $1,000

   2. Coin can be accepted rolled with identifying department on each roll.

2. Deposit of Credit Card Batches
   Credit card payments are completed when a batch settlement is transmitted. All credit card payments must be settled and submitted for deposit on a daily basis. A Settlement Report must accompany a completed Cash Receipts Record. The Settlement Report (goes by various names depending on the credit card reader or machine used for processing) is a summary of transactions for a specific date or date range and lists the total number of transactions and the total dollar amount. Most Settlement Reports will subtotal by types of credit cards used and by charges versus credits/refunds. All credit card information needs to be properly secured.

3. Deposits Made Directly to a Bank Branch
   There are some departments that have been approved to deposit directly to a designated bank. Those departments use pre-encoded deposit slips. A copy of the deposit slip (yellow or pink or actual copy) is sent as back-up with a completed Cash Receipts Record to the Cashier's Office for processing and entry into Banner.

   Guidelines for completing a bank deposit:

   1. Date the deposit slip; fill in appropriate places on slip.
   2. Note the department on the deposit slip.
   3. List coin and currency separately in area provided.
   4. List checks, and include adding machine tape.
   5. Sort all cash in front of checks in order of denomination.
   6. Endorse all checks if possible.
   7. Include Traveler's checks with checks.

ACCOUNTING ON THE CR05 FORM

1. Monies as Income

   Monies may be deposited to:

   1. An operating fund by using the appropriate FOAPAL code. The account code will be selected from the 0xxxxx series.
   2. A general ledger fund. The general ledger account code will be selected from the Axxxx (Asset) or Bxxxx (Liability) series.

2. Monies as a Reduction of Expense

   Cash receipts which may be deposited as a reduction to expense are very limited. Vendor refunds may be the result of overpayment, returned prepayment, returned defective merchandise, credit for early payment, etc.

   Deposits which result in credits to account codes beginning with 2xxxx through 7xxxx will:

   1. Be credited to the FOAPAL code to which the original purchase was charged.
   2. Show the invoice number and/or check number of the original payment or Accounts Payable approval for refund, rebate, or overpayment.
   3. Include in the description the reason (refund, overpayment).
3. Returned Items

Non-sufficient funds (NSF) checks are checks that are returned from the bank to Business Office due to lack of funds in the individual account to cover the item. Business Office will record the lack of funds available for the department deposit, and a journal entry will be processed to reverse the payment (debit to department revenue account). The department fund could be charged for the NSF fee if the check was held on campus for an extended period.

DATE OF ADOPTION: 06/29/93
DATE(S) OF REVISION(S): 11/01/12; 10/31/16
DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 10/31/16; 10/21/2020