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505.1 Establishing a Petty Cash Advance

Application (by email) to establish a Petty Cash advance must be made by the Business Manager to the Manager, Business Services. The application should detail:

• the level of advance sought;
• the expected types of claims to be reimbursed;
• the delegated custodian (name and position) of the advance (refer section 505.4); and
• details of the security that is available to ensure the funds are kept secure.

Once approval has been received from the Manager, Business Services, a vendor will need to be created by Financial Operations for the Petty Cash advance. A unique vendor is established for each School/Section. All Petty Cash reimbursements will then be processed against this vendor.

A claim can then be created by the Budget Unit to establish the advance. The cash advance will be available for collection from the National Bank agency on campus, by an authorised officer (refer section 505.5).

2. Transactions Through Petty Cash

2.1 What transactions can not be processed through Petty Cash

• cashing of cheques;
• temporary loans;
• purchase of goods readily available from University stores stock or other University sources;
• prepayment for goods and/or services (by either using cash or purchasing a cheque or money order for use in the prepayment of goods and/or services);
• allowances or payment for personal services (eg. lecture or seminar fees, living allowances, allowances for use of private motor vehicles etc) which may be subject to the PAYE provisions; and
• payment of creditors' accounts.

2.2 What transaction limit applies to claims through Petty Cash

It is the Business Officers discretion as to the most cost effective manner of paying a claim. However it is suggested that where possible, the use of the VISA Procurement Card should be considered prior to use of Petty Cash. Conversely, the use of Petty Cash should be considered prior to the raising of individual low value claims through the Accounts Payable system. Alternatively it may be feasible to establish an account with the supplier to accumulate small purchases.

2.3 How are claims for Petty Cash processed?

• date of reimbursement;
• amount of reimbursement;
• description of the goods / services purchased and the reason for the expenditure;
• account code to be charged; and
• name & signature of person requesting the reimbursement.

Please note that because the transaction limit is $75.00, a tax invoice is not required to claim back the GST.

If a cash advance is required for a purchase, but the exact amount is not known, the following procedures are to be followed:

• the initial voucher is to be prepared and signed by the recipient of the cash for the full amount of cash received;
• after the purchase has been made supporting documents and remaining cash shall be returned to the custodian;
• a new voucher is to be prepared and signed by the purchaser of the goods; and
• the original voucher should then be discarded.

A Register of Petty Cash payments is to be maintained listing all petty cash disbursements made and detailing:

• the date of disbursement;
• amount of purchase;
• description of the goods/services purchased and the related purpose; and
• account code to be charged.

A suggested 'register' summary is available here.

3. Reimbursement of Petty Cash

Once the advance has been reconciled, an accounts payable claim should be created as follows:

• the claim should be paid against the appropriate Petty Cash vendor;
• the value of the claim should be for the value of vouchers on hand as per the reconciliation;
• the pages of the Register of Petty Cash payments related to the vouchers on hand and showing the independent reconciliation should be photocopied and form the basis of the claim with the vouchers on hand (in the same order as recorded in the Register);
• the claim should be charged to the account codes as indicated in the Register; and
• the claim should be marked with  'C.A.' cash pickup at Bank (collect cash at The National Bank).

Petty Cash reimbursements are to be collected from the National Bank agency branch on campus after 2:00pm on the day the cheque is drawn. The National Bank will only provide Petty Cash reimbursements to officers that are authorised for collection and on presentation of suitable identification (eg Driver's Licence). To determine whether the cheque has been drawn, consult the 'Payment Information' inquiry and the 'created' date will indicate the date the cheque was created. The status field will show 'PAID' if the cheque has been drawn. The cheque date will indicate when the cheque was drawn.

Please allow sufficient time for processing the Petty Cash advance reimbursement claim. As a general rule, reimbursements should be sought when approximately half of the amount advanced has been expended.

A Petty Cash advance must never be reimbursed with funds from any other source other than the Petty Cash reimbursement cheque produced by the Accounts Payable system. Income from other sources must be receipted through the Receipting System.

4. Authorised Petty Cash Collection Officers

Details of authorised collection officers are to be detailed in writing to the Manager, Business Services. The memo should contain the name(s) of the authorised officer(s), together with their specimen signature(s) and is to be authorised by the Budget Unit delegate.

Finance and Business Services maintain a register of authorised petty cash signatories, and are responsible for forwarding details to the National Bank.

Any changes to previously authorised signatures (additions/deletions) are to be advised to the Accountant, Financial Operations, in writing. Please ensure that deletions are advised as soon as possible when authorised officers resign or transfer to another position.

5. Petty Cash Advance Custodians' Responsibilities

Custodians must ensure that:

• cash is kept in a lockable tin together with vouchers and the Register of Petty Cash Payments;
• cash tins are kept out of sight;
• outside normal business hours, cash tins are secured in a safe or security cabinet; and
• cash tin keys remain in the possession of the custodian.

In the event of theft of the advance, or any other material deficiency in the advance, the Business Officer must notify the Manager, Business Services.

6. What happens when a Petty Cash advance (or part thereof) is no longer required ?

If the level of advance established exceeds current requirements, the excess monies should be cleared. This may occur if, for example, if the area now relies on their VISA purchasing card in place of petty cash transactions. Again, the expenditure vouchers and cash on hand must be balanced and the reconciliation independently checked.

A copy of the relevant pages of the Register of Petty Cash payments should be attached to the vouchers on hand. This, together with the (excess) balance of the advance for banking, should be forwarded to the Accountant, Financial Operations. A covering memo, authorised by the Business Officer should accompany the clearance.