CASH HANDLING REQUIREMENTS
Mail Received
Safeguards for the receiving and logging of mail into the Central Cashiering office shall be in place and maintained in order to provide for the protection of the University's cash receipts. The following procedures shall be followed for the processing of mail that potentially contains payments or other amounts belonging to the University:
- Inter-campus and postal mail shall be delivered twice a day, unopened to the Central Cashiering office.
- The Head Cashier shall open mail the same day as received and shall immediately restrictively endorse all checks, warrants, money orders and other negotiable instruments. This endorsement shall be done no later than the end of the day of receipt. The endorsement shall contain the bank information, including name and branch number, a statement which credits the deposit to the state, the name of the University (agency) making the deposit and a statement guaranteeing the validity of the endorsement.
- Payments and their supporting documentation shall be sorted according to type of payment in order that registration and other students' payments can be efficiently batched into the student system. All source documentation is retained for batch backup and mail-log backup.
- All payments, other than those that will be batched, shall be recorded on the daily mail log indicating date of payment, check number or other identification as to source of payment, payer, and amount.
- Mail log and supporting documentation shall be forwarded for receipt by cashiering staff. Generally, payments shall be receipted into cashiering system on same day as received in Central Cashiering. System generated receipts for payments received in the mail shall be issued for collections from payers who request receipts and may be issued for attachment to invoices or other supporting documentation that is forwarded to departments.
- Payments received in the mail that will be batch entered will be forwarded with supporting documentation to cashiering staff for batch receipt into the cashiering system.
- Any payments received in Central Cashiering that require forwarding to University auxiliaries shall be recorded on a pre-listing and sent to the appropriate auxiliary office for processing.
- Checks received not bearing a signature may be accepted and deposited with the regular bank deposit. If so deposited, the face of the check will contain a statement as to lack of signature and person guaranteeing payment.
- Once logged and receipted into the cashiering system, payments received in the mail shall be subject to the same policies and procedures for safeguarding and depositing of funds as all other University collections.
Go to Cash Receipt Policy Context
Endorsement of Checks
Checks Received for Deposit
All checks received for deposit must be restrictively endorsed by the end of the business day on which they are received. A log of such checks should be maintained. The log should include the name of the maker, the check number, date and amount, and the number of the cash receipt or other deposit reference number.
Checks Received on Behalf of Others or in Error
- Checks received on behalf of others or in error that are made payable to the university must be endorsed for payment to the order of the appropriate party by an appropriate official within the University Accounting Office. Such endorsements should occur by the end of the business day received if possible, or within five business days of receipt at the latest.
- A log of such endorsements should be maintained in the University Accounting Office. The log should include the date of the endorsement, the name of the endorsee, the maker of the check, the check number, the amount of the check, the initials of the staff member recording the endorsement, the initials of the endorsing official, and the reason for the endorsement.
The following are examples of checks that would be subject to endorsement:
- Checks received in response to a fund raising campaign in which an auxiliary organization was designated as the recipient of all related donations, or checks received as donations if an auxiliary organization has been designated and publicized as the recipient of all donations to the university unless otherwise stipulated. In these cases it is essential that the gift acknowledgment, or other official communication from the university, advise the donor that the auxiliary has deposited the gift. If, after being so advised, the donor requests that the university deposit the gift, that request must be honored.
- Checks that are made payable to the university or to the university and a student may be endorsed to the student if it can be determined that it was the intent of the maker of the check for the student to have custody of the funds. In these cases the financial aid office should be notified in order to avoid possible over-awarding of financial aid funds.
- Checks that are made payable to the university or to the university and a grant recipient may be endorsed to the grant recipient if it can be determined that it was the intent of the maker of the check for the grant recipient to have custody of the funds.
