Accounts Payable Procedures

There are four forms used by Accounts Payable, other than the Purchase Order. They are the Finance Office Request Form (for payment approval), Finance Office Request for Partial Payment, Transmittal Slip and "Due Early" Request Form. As always, extensive explanations on payment procedures and exceptions may be found in the Financial Accounting Manual.

A permission form is required prior to entering into agreements with consultants, regardless of dollar amount. The following are examples where a consultant permission form is required:

• Guest Speakers
• Guest Conductors
• Authors

Please note that the form must be completed prior to the dates of service. The account code will be 2-18 or 2-99. For work in excess of $300 a Professional Services Contract will be required. Please refer to the Purchasing manual for the form and instructions.

School Reporting Forms

The following forms are used when completing the monthly Financial School Report. This report, due on the 15th of every month, records the financial transactions which occurred via the school-based checking account. By utilizing this reporting format, the school based financial transactions are input into the central finance system. All monthly transactions are verified, approved and reviewed using this process. A more detailed directive for the completion of the monthly Financial Report can be found in the Finance Department's Accounting Manual.

All these forms are updated and available on the shared drive or via e-mail attachments for the school based personnel. If problems or questions should arise, please contact Jessica Schindler, Staff Accountant, in the Finance Office.

Cash Receipts Form
Used to report the amount of money received via receipt tickets and the checks written, using the school based checking account for the month. (Cash. S.F.)

Summary of Cash Receipts & Disbursements
This form creates the actual journal voucher which is used by the Finance Dept. to input the transactions for the month into the central financial system. (RecDis S.F.)

Bank Reconciliation Form
The Bank Reconciliation form verifies the amount of cash on hand via the school based checking account, petty cash (if applicable) and outstanding checks. (Bank S.F.)

Disbursement Voucher
This form is used when it is necessary to write a check from the school's checking account. The voucher and the check should be dated and signed at the same time. Have the appropriate receipts or back -up attached to the voucher. The check should never be dated and/or approved before the voucher has been signed and completed. This constitutes approval after the fact. That is not a procedure accepted by the audit team. (DV.S.F.)

Guidelines
School Based Finances

1. School Report is due on the 15th of each month; or Friday if the 15th is a Saturday; Monday if the 15th is a Sunday.

2. Checks are to be written from the school checking account, only when it is not possible to have bills paid from the Central Office Finance Department or not feasible to use the procurement card.

3. Have disbursement vouchers signed and approved on or before the date the check is written. (It is a good habit to have the disbursement voucher clipped to the check, so when the principal or assistant principal signs the check they can also sign the disbursement voucher at the same time.)

4. Make your bank deposits daily. DO NOT KEEP CASH - maximum of $100 (other than Petty Cash) ON HAND.

5. Report any thefts, vandalism, etc. immediately. Follow up with a police report for insurance purposes. Be sure the Risk Management/Insurance Officer, Superintendent, and appropriate Director/Supervisor receive a copy of this report. Accident reports for employees, please refer to Human Resources section of Payroll; for students, refer to Pupil Services. This saves any future misunderstandings and possible legal ramifications.

6. Make sure to get receipts from the teachers, etc. when issued a check for field trips, purchases etc. All disbursement vouchers require written documentation, as do all petty cash reimbursements. The procurement card program should eliminate the need for many of these checks and reimbursements.

7. Verify your Petty Cash monthly. The total cash plus receipts (issued for reimbursement) should total the amount of the Petty Cash on hand.

8. When in doubt about any procedure, call Jessica Schindler, Staff Accountant, in the Finance Office at 410.386.1814.

9. All receipts are to be deposited and all expenses are paid by check.

Note
Never Pay From School Checking Account:

• Bus Contractors (not even the deposit)
• Reimbursement to teachers, etc. for items purchased
• Reimbursement for conferences, dues, mileage, etc.
• Reservations for hotels, airlines, etc. If a teacher is going to an In-Service it must be prior approved by their supervisor and principal. (1 day/not overnight.) Procurement card may be used for this if appropriate approvals have been received. If the In-Service or conference is overnight or out of state, it requires approval from their supervisor, principal, Central Office Supervisor and Superintendent in advance. The procurement card may be used for expenses, instead of obtaining a cash advance from the Finance Dept. if the party in question has the use of such a card.
• Permission forms are available for these In-Services.
• Only use the school based checking account when it is not possible to pay through the Finance Dept. or by the use of the procurement card.
• Before writing checks from a school checking account, contact Finance for approval.

Procurement Card Forms

The Procurement Card Program is a more recent addition to the Financial Package. The following forms and regulations will be required when using the card, processing reports, verifying statements and/or billing for this Procurement Card Program . They are available by clicking on the link below and saving to your computer. Contact person for this program is Jessica Schindler or Ken Keith, Supervisor of Finance.

Billing statements will be received by the cardholder monthly directly from Bank of America. Duplicate copies from the bank will be received by the Financial Office. It is the responsibility of the cardholder to verify and initially approve the statement, using the activity log as a check off against the billing information on the bank statement. The cardholder then must submit to the appropriate Finance staff person for an allocation of charges via the journal entry form referenced in this manual. All disputes involving a credit cardholder and the bank, must be handled by the cardholder using the Cardholder Statement Dispute Form.

Application process and change of credit limits is submitted to Accounting Technician, after the initial approval by the appropriate Supervisor and/or Administrator. This can be done in written form and faxed or over the phone, with an e-mail approval as follow up.

Training is required prior to issuance of a procurement card. General guidelines, procedures, forms, and responsibility factors will be covered during this training process.

In-Service Forms and Policies

The Permission Form For Inservice/Professional Development (available in Word and Exel) is used by all staff when going to an in-service or meeting for one day, as well as overnight. Prior approval must be obtained according to the Professional Development Travel Guidelines. The form needs to be submitted with all approving signatures at least seven (7) days prior to the activity. It is required for non-duty days, including weekends. Multiple names, from same cost center, may be used on one form providing all expenses are the same. Estimate all expenses as accurately as possible. Obtain receipts and forward to Finance with request for reimbursement, or to document an advance no later than 30 days after the activity. The same policy applies when using the procurement card.

Professional Development Travel Guidelines
The Professional Development Travel Guidelines (GEN46.1) are effective immediately. The major change in the guidelines is how meal money is being handled. It is necessary for you to request the $45 per diem meal allowance prior to your trip. No food should be charged on your CCPS procurement card or to your hotel bill. You are no longer required to obtain receipts for food. We are asking that you please attach a copy of the registration/conference agenda to the permission form. Other required forms include:

• Permission Form For Inservice/Professional Development (also available in Word).
• Check Request Form
• Mileage Expense Voucher (new rate effective 1/1/05 = 40.5 cents/mile)
• Travel Reconciliation Worksheet

The attached forms have been revised so please use these forms. Using the revised forms will help us to be more efficient and will expedite your payment.

The A&S Professional Development Fund form is available here, or may be obtained from Barbara Bankard. The A&S Professional Development Guidelines provide detail on how the funds are to be used and the limits for same. Keep the following in mind:

1. An A&S Professional Development Fund request form, along with a copy of the conference registration form, should be completed and sent to Brian Wienholt for review and approval. Please also note that the A&S form now requires the signature of the person requesting the funds. It is not necessary for an inservice permission form to be completed when requesting A&S Professional Development funds. A&S requests should be submitted as soon as possible in order to insure funds are available.
2. The form will then be forwarded for the remaining necessary signatures. Once all necessary signatures are completed, the form will then be returned to Brian Wienholt. A copy will be made for our records, a copy will be sent to the person requesting funds, and the original is sent to Ann Mertens in Finance.
3. A check request for registration fees along with the original registration form as well as any meal advancement requested can be submitted to Brian Wienholt along with the A&S request form. These forms will be sent to Finance for processing with the original approved A&S request form. In the event all forms are not submitted at the same time, please note that it is necessary that the meal advancement request be received at least two weeks prior to travel. (Check request)
4. Upon completion of travel, requests for expense reimbursements should be outlined on the Travel Reconciliation Worksheet and submitted, along with a check request and receipts, to Brian Wienholt for approval. All documentation will then be forwarded to Ann Mertens in Finance for processing. **If expenses have been charged to a procurement card then it is necessary for the credit card journal form to be submitted for approval instead of the check request form.** (Travel Reconciliation form)

The permission form for the ATSP Fund may be obtained from Jimmie Saylor.

Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Ann Mertens. Thanks for your cooperation.

Forms for Payment of Professional Dues for A & S Staff:

• Dues form for Central Office Administrators, PPWs, Psycholgists, Guidance and Student Health Services.
• Dues form for Elementary, Middle or High School Administrators.

Presently each bargaining group requires payment of business related mileage. The rates fluctuates according to the annual IRS mileage rate, generally published and effective January 1st of each tax year. Traveling teachers (defined as teachers that regularly move between two or more sites) do not use the standard mileage form, but should contact Ann Mertens in the Finance office for instructions and the appropriate form. Please note that mileage forms should be submitted on a monthly basis for reimbursement. Mileage associated with inservice or professional development should note each instance for coding purposes. There are currently two mileage reimbursement forms. Please use the form that corresponds to the date of mileage use:

• Starting 07/01/2007 (FY 2008) (Word to print out to use as a mileage log - IRS reimbursement rate of $.485/mile)
• Starting 07/01/2007 (FY 2008) (Excel will calculate - IRS reimbursement rate of $.485/mile).

• Starting 01/01/2008 (FY 2008) (Word to print out to use as a mileage log - IRS reimbursement rate of $.505/mile)
• Starting 01/01/2008 (FY 2008) (Excel will calculate - IRS reimbursement rate of $.505/mile).

School Fund Balances
Pentamation Report # 27

This report is a summary of the individual school fund accounts which a particular school utilizes over the course of the fiscal year. It lists the key origin account number, a description, a revenue balance, an expenditure balance and the final account balance for the current year-to-date period. It is necessary to access the Pentamation System to run this report. Contact the Finance Office for assistance.

Sign onto Pentamation via your individual access code and complete the following steps:

1. Main Menu/Financial System Selection will appear.
2. Select # 1 Financial Accounting:
3. Select U. User Defined Reports
4. Select #1 School Reports
5. Select # 2, Report # 27
6. Fiscal Year Selection (two digits must be entered)
7. Cost Center selection (three digits must be entered)

Detailed Expenditure Status Report
Pentamation Report

This report will give detailed information on expenditures made from account. These reports are utilized by the financial personnel when auditing, researching, or verifying school or board account balances. Within your cost center, you can specify a category, project number or other criteria to retrieve only the relevant information. Contact the Finance Office for assistance.

Sign onto Pentamation via your individual access code and complete the following steps:

1. Main Menu/Financial System Selection will appear.
2. Select #1 Financial Accounting
3. Select #6 Financial Statements
4. Select #2 Expenditure Status Reports
5. Select # 2 Detail Expenditure Status Report for complete financial codes, or #1 Expenditure Status Report for summaries by category and account.
6. Fill in appropriate information according to the report requirements

Displays & Queries
Pentamation Information

Displays and Queries are primarily used to reference balances and track payment or receipt history for a particular account. In order to access displays and queries, a full financial code and account code will be needed. Often a detailed expenditure report is required first, in order to obtain the full financial and account codes. Displays and queries do not print out as a full written report. It is used as an on screen reference. The detail tracking can be printed from page to page as it appears on the screen. Contact the Finance Office for assistance.

1. Main Menu/Financial System Selection will appear
2. Select #1 Financial Accounting
3. Select # 8 Displays/Queries
4. Select #2 Display Expenditure Status (or #3 Display Revenue Status)
5. Complete the required financial code and press enter
6. Scroll (using arrow keys) up or down the screen to access the account code
7. Once the account code has been located press control/I for detail
8. For further drill down information using arrow keys, access the individual transaction and press control/I for more detailed information (such as check payment date, number, amount, etc).

A timely acknowledgement of the donation is required. An acknowledgement is considered timely if provided within thirty (30) days of the donation. Failure to furnish a timely acknowledgement will result in a minimum penalty of $5,000 by the IRS. Due to the short time frame, please forward the donation form directly to Ken Keith or Brad Martin, who will work with the Superintendent's Office to get the donation acknowledged.

The two (2) Career Tech Centers typically receive the donated vehicles in the past. For this reason, they are referenced in the last paragraph of the form. If you receive a donated vehicle and are not a Career Tech Center, it will be necessary to modify the last paragraph. Please contact Ken Keith or Brad Martin for assistance with the wording.