Accounts Payable FAQ
Q: Why do my Budget Change Requests get delayed or returned to me?
A: The Budget Change Request is designed to be completed without phone calls or emails. Here are some of the causes of delayed Budget Change Requests:
Budgets are grouped using Fund and Course numbers so, generally, these cannot be changed. If your request was to move money from one Fund to another, or from one Course to another, it will likely be disallowed. Federal dollars are more restrictive and require approval from the External Programs Department before being moved.
The request is trying to take money from a line that has insufficient Budget dollars remaining, or doesn't exist at all.
The request is forwarded by unusual means. The form is recognizable and is immediately sorted by whomever processes mail or faxes that day. Emails, phone messages, and handwritten memos are subject to individual procedures and may even lack required controls.
Q: Some of my Budget rolls from one year to the next and some doesn't. Please explain.
A: Maintenance & Operations (001), Unrestricted Capital (610), and Soft Capital (625) are budgeted on a year-to-year basis. Any dollars remaining at year-end lose their identity and are considered for the District's needs for the following year. Taxpayers do not want to pay more than they need to and expect unused dollars to be returned to them through lower future tax rates, not accumulated by the District.
Federal and state Grant dollars (100-499) have different ending dates. Those that end on June 30 will not carry forward. Those ending in July, August, or September will carry into the new year only until they expire.
Special Revenue accounts (500-599, 955) are similar to checking accounts. They generally do not consist of local tax dollars and can be carried forward indefinitely, though sometimes they are restricted by the wishes of donors or grantors.
Q: How can I be sure my bills get paid?
A: Accounts Payable receives the Pink Copy of your Purchase Order. They file it by vendor and stand by. Invoices and Signed Blue Copies (or other signed Evidence of Receipt) of Purchase Orders stream into the Accounts Payable Department on a daily basis. These are sorted and clipped to matching Pink Copies of Purchase Orders. As soon as a Pink Copy has both an Invoice and a signed Blue Copy clipped to it, then it is pulled, posted, and paid on the next voucher, which is normally Tuesday and Thursday. Files are examined on a monthly basis for aging Pink Copies with Invoices or Blue Copies, but not both. The requestors or vendors are then queried for missing documentation. In the case of Blanket Purchase Orders, use photocopies of the Blue Copy as Evidence of Receipt. For the last invoice, sign the Blue Copy. Blanket Purchase Orders will be closed when the actual Blue Copy is signed and forwarded.
Q: How do Revenues such as Donations get into our Budgets?
A: When you receive a check, possibly as a donation, or to pay for a textbook, you first deposit it into the District's General Fund. Complete a Site Revenue Deposit Form and attach the Deposit Slip. The information on this form indicates to business personnel how these dollars are to be budgeted.
At the Business Office, a check is drawn from the General Fund in the amount of your deposit. The check is deposited into the County Treasurer who maintains our main account.
Upon receipt of a validated deposit slip from the County Treasurer, your new budget capacity is entered to your budget following the instructions on your Site Revenue Deposit Form.
Q: How can I keep my Requisition from being delayed or returned?
A: The Purchase Order System is designed to work without telephone calls or emails. Before you enter the Requisition System, establish a logical Account Code. If the logical code is already established and has sufficient budget capacity, then continue. If not, then submit a completed Budget Change Request
Consider what you will write in the Description field.
Someone unfamiliar with the situation must be able to understand what you are buying.
Travel must include names, dates, locations, events, and must be accompanied by the Conference Brochure.
The description must match the logic of the account code you have constructed.
Quote/Bid thresholds must be respected and appropriate documentation must accompany the Requisition and any bid number or Board Approval Date mentioned in the Description.
If these things are complete, then your Requisition will likely return to you shortly as a Purchase Order.
Q: How can I keep my Travel Reimbursement from being denied or returned?
A: Claim only meals for the time you were required to be away from home. Claim breakfast if you were required to leave home two hours or more before the start of your typical work shift. Claim dinner if you were required to be away from home more than two hours after the end of your typical work shift. Do not claim meals provided by the conference. Use an appropriate Account Code with sufficient Budget Capacity. The object code for travel is 6580. To be reimbursed, use the Travel Reimbursement Form.
Attach Receipts for any appropriate miscellaneous expenditures, such as a shuttle service. Meals are reimbursed on a per diem basis and receipts are not required.
Attach a complete Conference Brochure and Agenda. This is required evidence of dates, conference hotels, and provided meals
Q : What are some main points I should remember when using my Procurement Card?
A: For Travel, use a One Purchase Order, One Trip Approach.
Do not use the card to purchase without a Purchase Order that accurately describes your purchase, to buy Inappropriate Merchandise, to buy Capital Assets, to exceed your Budget, or for Personal Use, or at Vendors who will accept a Purchase Order.
Your Limit applies to your total spending from the 23rd to the 22nd of the following month.