Policy: Cash Handling and Internal Controls

Body

Responsible University Official(s): Vice Chancellor of Administration & Finance
Procedure Owner: Controller
Procedure Contact: Bursar
Revised Date: MAY 11, 2015; March 23, 2017; February 19, 2018; June 30, 2019; June 2024

REASON FOR PROCEDURE:

The purpose of this procedure is to make University of Wisconsin Platteville’s departments and student organizations that handle cash aware of and show a commitment to strong internal controls for cash receipts. Supervisors in University Departments and Advisors of student organizations are responsible for establishing and maintaining the proper environment of internal controls and review and ensuring this procedure is part of employee training. Student organizations that deposit receipts into a state account need to adhere to the procedure. Other student organizations are covered under the section of University Bank/Department Accounts but can use the remaining procedure as a guide for best practice in cash handling.

SCOPE:

All campus units that receive cash and checks for operational activities.

BACKGROUND:

Internal controls are necessary to prevent mishandling of funds and to safeguard against loss/theft. Strong internal controls also protect employees from inappropriate charges of mishandling funds by defining responsibilities.

PROCEDURES:

Before handling cash, all Departments should:
1. First, have the approval of the Cashier's Office. If necessary, departments can request a temporary change box from the Cashier's Office in writing. On-going change funds can be requested through Auxiliary Accounting for Auxiliaries and Accounts Payable for non- Auxiliaries.
2. Obtain a blank receipt book unless a cash register is used.
3. Keep cash in locked cash box unless a cash tray or other secured device is available.
4. Have the ability to secure funds in a safe or locking file cabinet when not in use, which is located in a locked office.
5. Have a procedure in place for changing combination/keys of secured devices when there is an employee change.
6. Have at least one locking money bag for transporting money.
7. Designate one person to be responsible for the funds.
8. Departments are responsible for purchasing their own locking money bag and key. A copy of that key needs to be given to the Cashiers Office.
9. Have department stamp to endorse checks "For Deposit Only" with the department name on the stamp.

IMPORTANT: Checks and cash MUST NOT go through inter-office/campus mail!

Cash Handling
1. All transactions must be receipted. This is for your protection as well as the customer. Make sure when making change that you keep the money visible to customer until transaction is complete or verified.
  1. Receipts should be completed immediately when the transaction is made. Receipt numbers should be recorded on each check in the upper right portion above the signature.
    1. All receipts should be pre-numbered and used sequentially. The payer should be given original receipt if a receipt book is used. The carbon copy should be left in the book. If a receipt is voided the original receipt must be attached in the receipt book. Skipped receipts should be voided with the original kept in the receipt book.
    2. Cash registers should be placed to enable the payer to see what is being rung up. The machine printed receipt should be given to the payer.
    3. For ticket sales, the pre-numbered ticket given to the payer is the receipt and no other receipt is necessary.
    4. Concession vending sales are an exception to the rule and receipts are not required. In this case, cash is controlled through tight inventory control. New concession operations should contact the Cashier's Office to set up proper procedures.
2. Checks transacted should be made out to UW-Platteville, may be written for amount of purchase only, and should be endorsed with department's endorsement stamp as follows:

For Deposit Only
-Department Name-
University of Wisconsin - Platteville
**********This should be stamped in the endorsement section of the check. It is advised to always make certain the check is signed and making sure the preprinted name and signature agree. Verify the correct amount has been entered in the numerical portion and written portion are the same. Also check that the bank and address are noted on the check. *****************************

Requirements:
• INITIALS OF PERSON ACCEPTING THE CHECK, PREFERABLY UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER
• STUDENT ID # IN THE MEMO SPACE, IF APPLICABLE
• CURRENT ADDRESS
• CURRENT TELEPHONE NUMBER
• NO COLORED INK (BLACK OR BLUE ONLY)

Postdated checks should not be accepted for payment. Never agree to hold a check for anyone.
IOU's borrowed against starting cash or non-deposited receipts are prohibited.
Cash handling accounts are designed for transacting business and should not be used as a check-cashing fund for student or staff.
Refunds cannot be made out of receipts. If a refund is needed, a request for refund should filled out using the online form at https://shopuwplus.wisc.edu/.
Checks should be written on a US bank drawn on US currency. Foreign checks are not accepted, as well as foreign coin/currency. This includes Canadian currency.
Credit card numbers must be kept secure. Credit card numbers should never be emailed or stored on a computer or be kept in an unlocked area. Once processed credit card numbers must be destroyed using a cross-cut shredder and should not be kept for future use.
If the department receives bills $20.00 or larger, a counterfeit pen is required for use to ensure no counterfeit monies exchanges hands. The counterfeit pen can be ran across the larger bills; yellow means the money is genuine, and brown means the money is counterfeit.

Deposits
1. Receipts should be deposited within four days, depending on volume, daily if volume, safety or storage issues make this necessary. The following Wisconsin State Statue relates to the receipt and deposit of monies. You are reminded that this statue must be followed, under penalty of section (4).

S.S. 20.906

"(1) Frequency of Deposits. Unless otherwise provided by law, all monies collected or received by any state agency for or in behalf of the state, or which is
required by law to be turned into the state treasury, shall be deposited in or transmitted to the state treasury at least once a week..."

"(4) Penalties. If any state agency neglects or refuses to make such deposits of money or to make such reports as are required by this section, the department of administration, with the approval of the governor, shall withhold all monies due with; and upon such failure to make such deposits of money, the officer or official so failing shall be liable to the state treasurer for an amount equal to the interest upon the monies so withheld from deposit at the same rate as that the period for which such deposit is withheld; and such interest shall be a charge against said officer or official and shall be deducted from his compensation."

Please note that S.S. 20.906 (1) reads ".at least once a week." Departments, which collect larger sums of money, should deposit them more frequently than once a week.

All departments should complete the following standardized deposit form (below are instructions for completing form) when depositing cash with the Cashier's Office. Any variance should be noted as an over/short entry. These are available online at https://uwplatt.sharepoint.com/sites/CashiersOffice/SitePages/Forms.aspx
Exception: Should use unique deposit slip for small donations.

Deposits should be presented to the Cashier's Office, second floor Ullsvik Hall between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Cashier's Office records the deposits in QuickBooks and emails receipts to the departments. Deposits received prior to 10:00 a.m. will be deposited that day. Deposits received after 10:00 a.m. will be deposited the following business day. The funds are sent to the bank for deposit and the bank verifies the deposit with UW-Platteville's Financial Service Office. If there is a discrepancy, the Financial Services Office and/or the Cashier's Office work with the bank the resolve the discrepancy. The deposits can be viewed in WISER the day after funds are deposited at the bank.
1. When receipt books are used, they should be dated and stored for audit in the department.
2. When a cash register is used, the register tape should be dated and stored for audit in the department.
3. When tickets are used, a record of ticket numbers sold for each deposit should be on file in the department. Unused tickets should be stored in a secured cabinet.
4. Concession sales/inventory reduction reports for each event should be stored for audit in the department.
Incomplete deposit forms or incomplete back-up documentation for cash and check deposits may result in funds being deposited into the Cashier’s holding account #136-323695-0. Two attempts to contact the department and department supervisor will be made by the Cashier’s Office to obtain required information prior to depositing into the holding account. Once deposited to the holding account, it is the responsibility of the department to initiate a GL transfer. The Cashier’s Office will monitor the holding account and ensure the account is reconciled and cleared in a timely manner.
1. Deposit tickets for ACH deposits need to be submitted to the GLdeposits@uwplatt.edu email by 3PM of the day the money is received.
Backup Documentation. The Cashier's Office will scan all documentation and attach it to the journal entry within WISER.
1. Examples of documentation to include with the deposit ticket:
  -Invoice that is being paid
  -Report detailing transactions that comprise the dollar amount being deposited
  -Brochure/Price list identifying what has been sold to customer
  -WISER screen shot for expense refund
  -Agreement for rent payments/sponsorships
  -Cash register receipt
  -List of students who paid (varying rates or flat rate)
  -Explanation of how a flat rate was determined
2. Backup documentation instructions:
  -Print 1 sided
  -Submit full pages, rather than cutting the paper to 1/3 of a page, half pages, etc.
  *This will help save paper and time, as the Cashier’s Office has to re-copy and re-print any submissions that are double sided or aren’t full pages, so the backup documentation can get scanned in.
3. Exceptions: Repetitive Deposits (Example: Annual contracts and leases)
  -For backups related to annual contracts or annual leases: At the submitter’s option, the submitter may submit a reference to the original journal ID & date, as found in WISER, in lieu of the repetitive attachments of an annual contract or annual lease agreement. The initial deposit slip related to a contract or lease period must be submitted at the start of a new contract or lease period. This can save the submitter time as well as save on storage space required for multiple copies of pdf’s in WISER.

Deposit Form Instructions

When filling out the deposit form make sure information given is complete and accurate.

Department name
Account manager name
Who is preparing the deposit
Date of deposit
Telephone number
Fund, Department, Program, Account code including athletic sub-class code, and project number if applicable.
Description of deposit (this is what will be uploaded into WISER)
Amount
Deposit Total
Deliver deposit form with money to the Cashier's Office in a locked bag. (Keep a copy for your records)

Image of Deposit ticket form

Donation Deposit Form Instructions

Small donations (under $500) may be deposited into non-233 fund accounts. The special donation deposit slip below is used that will include a transfer line. Donations greater than $500 should be deposited in fund 233 with account code 9500 with a regular deposit ticket. A donation receipt should be provided to the donor. You need to make sure to use specific donation language within this receipt: “No Goods or Services were provided in exchange for this contribution.”

When filling out the deposit form make sure information given is complete and accurate.

Department name
Account manager name
Who is preparing the deposit
Date of deposit
Telephone number
Fund, Department, Program, Account code including athletic sub-class code, and project number if applicable.
Description of deposit (this is what will be uploaded into WISER)
Amount
Deposit Total
Deliver deposit form with money to the Cashier's Office in a locked bag. (Keep a copy for your records).

Image of Donation Deposit ticket

University Bank/Department Accounts

University departments shall not possess an outside bank account.
1. All collections must be deposited to official University accounts by departments operating them.
2. Exceptions to this procedure are unofficial UW-Platteville activities (activities that are in some way connected to Platteville, but are not official University functions) such as faculty and student clubs and organizations.
3. These types of activities are encouraged to set up an Agency Fund Account with the Cashier’s Office located on the second floor of Ullsvik Hall, suite 2100.
Agency Fund Accounts are kept separate from State funds, and thus, are not regulated by State guidelines and restrictions as University accounts are.
1. There is no charge to the organizations, and each account is kept separate internally and accounted for as such.
2. This means that each account essentially receives free checking and "automatic bookkeeping." No interest will be credited to any account deposited within the Agency Funds Account.
3. Deposits to Agency Funds account are made directly to Financial Services Office (Suite 2100, Ullsvik Hall) and whenever a check is needed, it will be provided upon request with the check request form and proper documentation delivered to Accounts Payable (Suite 2200, Ullsvik Hall).
4. To set up such an account, fill out the Student Organization Account Signup Form which can be found at https://uwplatt.sharepoint.com/sites/FinancialServices/SitePages/Forms.aspx
5. For more information regarding the Agency Funds Account call extension 1211.

Security

Obviously, precautions should be taken when handling cash. Cash must be locked in a secure place if not deposited daily and whenever staff member leave the area where cash is kept. (Cash/Checks should be kept in a locked file or cabinet and inside a locked office if a safe is not available.)

Any department involved with handling cash is responsible for posting notice of procedures to follow to safeguard cash in the event of robbery, fire, or fire drills. For additional information please contact the Cashier's Office or the UW System Internal Auditor.

Some other considerations with regard to security are as follows:

A minimal number of people should be allowed to have access to cash; however, adequate separation of duties must be ensured.
More than one person should be present when cash is being handled.
Student "staff" members should be required to report receipts and any resulting variances to the Advisor on a daily basis.
Employees should be careful to not be lured away from the area where cash is kept.

IMPORTANT: No cash or checks or deposits are to be sent through inter- office/campus mail!

RESPONSIBILITIES

Position/Office: The Cashier’s Office is responsible for maintaining and updating this document as well as providing training to those involved in this process.

CONTACTS

Those designated to receive questions and feedback on the policy

Subject	Contact	Phone	Fax/Email
Primary Contact	Name	Phone	Fax/Email
Financial Specialist Senior	Hannah Seiler	342-1211	gldeposits@uwplatt.edu
Bursar	Nick Rauch	342-1107	rauchn@uwplatt.edu
Controller	Marie Wamsley	342-1435	wamsleym@uwplatt.edu

HISTORY

Original Issue Date: December 10, 2013 Revision Dates: May 11, 2015 Added procedure A.8 regarding volume of deposits
March 23, 2017 Added procedure B.9 regarding counterfeit pen and added form links
February 19, 2018 Added procedure C.3 regarding incomplete deposit information
June 30, 2019 Added procedure B.10 to limit $100 bills
February 17, 2020 Moved to procedure template format and added examples of backup documentation
June 5th, 2024 Removed procedure B.10 to allow $100 bills and updated Cashier’s Office location

SCHEDULED REVIEW

January 2025