Cash Handling Procedure

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All funds of any kind (e.g., cash, checks, stock certificates, etc.) or source (e.g., sales, gifts, deposits held for others, etc.), for which the College or College-related entity is responsible, must be deposited on a timely basis with Accounting Services or with the TMCC Foundation as appropriate.

  • College cash/check gifts must be deposited in Accounting Services.
  • Any check made out to the Board of Regents must be deposited to a College department account.
  • Any department depositing a College gift must complete and submit a gift report to the TMCC Foundation.
  • Checks made out to the TMCC Foundation must be deposited with the TMCC Foundation.

Handling cash is a very important responsibility. Every effort must be made to ensure proper receipt accountability, documentation for the transaction, secured transportation, accurate recording and safekeeping.

Individuals involved in handling cash must take extra care to ensure that cash is not misappropriated, is kept under proper security and that the transaction is properly recorded.

There should be a well-documented trail of evidence and accountability from the time of receipt to the time of deposit to the College bank account.

Requirements

  • All funds received by the department in excess of $50 cash must be deposited daily with Accounting Services. Funds received by the department of a lesser amount may be deposited less frequently, but at least weekly. Such funds must be kept in a locked storage cabinet or safe.
  • Pre-numbered receipts must be issued by the collecting department for all cash/checks received which are not subject to cash register, ticket sale or other appropriate control approved by Accounting Services.
  • Deposits of cash/checks must be received in Accounting Services or in the TMCC Foundation office prior to 4 p.m. daily.
  • All deposits received in Accounting Services or the Foundation Office must be counted and receipted in the presence of the courier. Under no circumstances are funds to be left uncounted. Funds left uncounted will not be receipted and credited to the department's revenue account until a department representative is present to witness the count.
  • Cash may be secured overnight or during the weekend with Accounting Services by delivering said funds in locked bags to Accounting Services. Arrangements for this procedure must be made through Accounting Services.
  • In no event are funds to be forwarded through College mail. The only exceptions are deposits for off-site locations that are picked up by the TMCC mail carrier and hand delivered to Accounting Services upon arrival on the TMCC Dandini Campus.
  • Neither Accounting Services nor the Foundation Office will assume responsibility for funds not handled in accordance with these procedures.
  • Under no circumstance shall any member of the faculty, staff or student body realize personal gain through the handling of such funds.
  • At no time may department personnel "borrow" the funds for future payment.
  • No bank accounts or investments other than those specifically approved by the Board of Regents are allowable for the College or any College-related entity.
  • Petty cash/change funds must be specifically approved by Accounting Services and recorded on the College books.
  • Timely transport of cash/checks to Accounting Services shall be the responsibility of collecting departments. Transport of deposits to the bank from Accounting Services must be made by a contracted private armored car company.

Petty Cash/Change Funds

A department may request establishment of a working cash fund. There are two types of funds:

  1. Petty Cash: used for small dollar or unplanned/emergency transactions, typically miscellaneous supplies or expenses which cannot be paid by a purchasing card.
  2. Change Fund: used to establish funds to issue change for sales transactions involving cash registers, ticket sales, etc.

Establishing a Petty Cash or Change Fund

  1. A request to establish a petty cash or change fund can be made through a written request, either by memorandum or email, addressed to Accounting Services by the department chair, dean, director or Vice President.
  2. The request should designate: a custodian who will be responsible and accountable for the fund, the purpose of and location of the fund.
  3. A cash transfer form for the amount of the petty cash or change fund amount requested should also be attached to the memo, listing the department's non-state, non-grant account in the "Transfer From" field and the appropriate signatures. Accounting Services will fill in the offsetting "Transfer To" account number.

Cash funds may not be established by withholding deposits or receipts for use by the department.

It is the general policy of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) to keep petty cash funds at a minimum; therefore the reason for requesting the establishment of a petty cash fund must be compelling.

Petty Cash Amounts

The petty cash or change funds will be maintained on an imprest basis; that is, the amount of the fund must remain constant.

Petty cash amounts paid out are replenished upon presentation of original receipts; any surplus or deficit must be recorded on the books of the College and the fund rebalanced to the original authorized amount.

Reimbursements

Petty cash reimbursements should be made on a timely basis.

When petty cash disbursements need to be reimbursed in order to replenish the amount of cash on hand, the custodian should:

  1. Complete a check request made out to the Board of Regents.
  2. Obtain a supervisor's signature.
  3. Attach original receipts.
  4. Detail the account number, expenditure object/subj-object code and amounts to be charged for the receipts.
  5. Route all items to Accounting Services.

Overages/Shortages

Any overages or shortages should be charged to the revenue source code over/short. The fund must be reconciled periodically, at least when reimbursed or on a monthly basis, which ever occurs more frequently.

Safekeeping

The fund must be physically safeguarded and secured in a safe or a locked box in a locked file cabinet. At no time will the funds held in a petty cash/change fund be used for personal purposes.

Purchasing Card (PCard)

Petty cash should not be used in lieu of a purchasing card when available.

Auditing

The petty cash/change fund will be subject to surprise cash counts/audits throughout the year by either NSHE internal audit or Accounting Services to review the security of the funds and verify the assets and appropriateness of any disbursements made. Any questions regarding cash funds should be directed to Accounting Services.