Petty Cash Process
Guidelines for Petty Cash
In general, a department may have a petty cash fund to allow payment of small value purchases, for which the purchasing card or voucher is not feasible, and requisitions are not necessary.
If the reasons for maintaining the fund become unnecessary, the fund should be closed. The fund should not be used to cash checks or to loan money.
Petty cash funds are recorded as an asset on Baylor financial statement and are the responsibility of the department head. It is important to understand that expenses paid for by the fund are not recorded until the fund is reimbursed. Therefore, the fund should be reimbursed at least quarterly and at the end of each fiscal year to record the expenses. The account number used for Petty Cash is 11255, with a Purpose code of 000.
Administering the Fund
The cash on-hand plus the value of supporting documentation (receipts) for cash spent should always equal the original value of the fund.
Supporting documentation can include: sales slips, receipts, temporary receipts, etc.
A temporary receipt signed by the recipient should replace cash temporarily issued by the custodian of the fund. The transaction is completed by the return of the sales slip and/or cash.
Petty Cash administration is subject to the Purchasing Policies listed in the Baylor Purchasing Manual .
The department is responsible for retaining all original receipts.
The fund is subject to audit at any time.
Establishing the Fund
Access the Petty Cash Requisition Form from the Controller’s office website. Complete the form in its entirety, including all segments in the COA string. Missing information will cause the form to be rejected and returned.
Save the pdf form and add your Approval Stamp using Adobe Acrobat. Then forward to your Business Officer for review. They will also add their Approval Stamp, save, and forward the pdf to Financial_Services@baylor.edu.
The Controller’s Office will review, and upon approval, will forward the documented pdf form to Student Accounts for funding.
Once Student Accounts has processed, they will notify the custodian by email that funding is available and ready to be picked up.
The Fund Custodian will sign the bottom of the form when payment is received. The original distribution of funds must be picked up by the Fund Custodian.
Replenishing the Fund
Funds should be replenished no less than on a quarterly basis, and at fiscal year-end.
Access the Petty Cash Reimbursement Form and fill out all sections in yellow. Missing information will cause the form to be rejected and returned.
List each expense separately. If additional lines are needed, please use the Additional sheet provided. The form will calculate automatically and will include data entered on the Additional sheet.
Print the Reimbursement file to PDF and add your Approval Stamp using Adobe Acrobat.
Copy/Scan all Receipts, then merge to one file and forward the combined pdf to your Business Officer for review.
Using Adobe Acrobat, the Business Officer will add their Approval Stamp, save, and forward to Financial_Services@baylor.edu.
The Controller’s Office will review, and upon approval, will forward the documented pdf to Student Accounts for funding.
Once Student Accounts has processed, they will notify the custodian by email that funding is available and ready to be picked up. If a proxy will be picking up the funds, reply to the email with the name of the proxy.
The custodian (or proxy) will sign the bottom of the form when payment is received. Baylor ID will be required to pick up any funds. The responsibility of the funds remains with the custodian, even if picked up by a proxy. Any lost or misappropriated funds will be recovered from the custodian through University payroll deduction.
Closing the Fund
Before closing your fund, contact your revenue accountant to make them aware that your account is to be closed. If you have petty cash above the authorized petty cash amount that needs to be recorded as revenue, discuss this with your revenue accountant to ensure proper recording.
Enter a deposit log in your department’s Box folder that is shared with your revenue accountant. Be sure to enter the term "Close Petty Cash" in the description. Supply your revenue accountant with the correct COA information for the deposit.
Once all information has been supplied to the revenue accountant for your area, follow normal deposit procedures.
If you have any outstanding receipts, you will need to process a Petty Cash Reimbursement Form. Enter the term "Close Petty Cash" on the last line of the list of expenses and enter the Misc. Receipt # on the second to last line of the list of expenses. Submit the Reimbursement as directed in the Replenishing section above.