Petty Cash Policy

Students, faculty, and staff may receive immediate cash reimbursement for appropriate out-of-pocket expenses totaling less than $30 by visiting the petty cash office and submitting a petty cash voucher complete with the necessary documentation. The purpose of the petty cash office is not to circumvent the travel and entertainment reimbursement process, but to allow for immediate reimbursement of small-dollar amount expenses.

All faculty, staff, students, and any other member of the University who incur expenses that are eligible for reimbursement should be familiar with this policy. Also, any employee who is involved with the administration of petty cash reimbursement should be familiar with this policy.

Reason for Policy

The goal of this policy is to provide clear guidance as to what constitutes appropriate expenditures for petty cash reimbursement, as well as to inform the various parties of their responsibilities associated with managing the process and obtaining the reimbursement.

In order to ensure that petty cash guidelines are being followed, it is important that all parties are aware of the following:

the faculty, staff, and students know what documentation is required to be reimbursed for expenses via the petty cash offices,
the department supervisors, and heads who authorize petty cash reimbursements are properly reviewing expenses before signing petty cash vouchers,
the petty cash officers understand their various responsibilities and are properly managing petty cash funds,
only reimbursable expenses are being disbursed by petty cash officers, and
Finance reviews the petty cash transactions before generating a check to replenish funds and processing a journal voucher to allocate costs to the appropriate index.

Reimbursable expenses for petty cash for appropriate out-of-pocket expenses totaling less than $30 will be reimbursed for the following expenses;

Emergency purchases of office supplies,
Small food purchases for office pantry use,
Necessary and reasonable food for meetings (such as sandwiches and beverages, NOT including alcohol),
Postage, and misc. classroom materials, local transportation, taxi, subway, parking, and tolls for in-town business purposes
Mileage reimbursement for occasional in-town business purposes (no more than 1-2 times a month below $30; approximately 50 miles)

Notes:

Under no circumstance should a transaction be split in an effort to bypass the maximum daily reimbursement.
All expenses should be submitted for reimbursement within 30 days of the date that the expense was incurred.
Business travel, such as airfare, lodging, travel by train and expenses such as cell phone, or internet, are not reimbursable via the petty cash offices. These items must be reimbursed by submitting a Travel and Expense Form to Finance or through Purchasing Card out of pocket process.

It is the responsibility of the faculty, staff, and students who are receiving reimbursements to accurately complete the petty cash voucher, obtain appropriate signatures approving the transaction, and present the voucher, along with all necessary supporting documentation to the petty cash office. A completed petty cash voucher contains;

correct account codes, which should be verified by the approver,
a description of the expense,
an explanation of its business purpose, and
a signature from the department supervisor, or head.

An original receipt reflecting the amount, the date of the transaction, and the vendor name will serve as the supporting documentation.

All faculty, staff, and students receiving reimbursement will be asked to sign the petty cash voucher as confirmation of reimbursement.

Before faculty, staff, and students can submit a petty cash reimbursement voucher to the petty cash office, they must have their department supervisor, or head sign the voucher, approving the transaction. By signing the voucher, the approver is acknowledging that the following has been confirmed:

the account provided on the voucher is valid,
the expenses are necessary and reasonable minor business transactions, and consistent with all college policies,
funds are available in the department budget for the expenses.

As the gatekeeper of the funds, the Petty Cash Officer has numerous responsibilities throughout the reimbursement process. This individual is responsible for:

reviewing petty cash vouchers, attached documentation, and Iona ID for accuracy,
verifying that the attached receipts sum to the total reimbursement request,
dispensing cash to faculty, staff, and students,
reconciling the petty cash drawer weekly, to ensure that available cash, reimbursed vouchers/receipts, and outstanding check requests equal the total authorized amount for the petty cash drawer,
completing a reconciliation form to Finance monthly, and submitting a check request to Finance when the cash is low to replenish the petty cash drawer after a number of disbursements have been made to faculty, staff, and students,
cashing the check to replenish the petty cash fund, and
confirming the deposit of the replenished funds into the petty cash fund.

Notes:

The title “Petty Cash Officer” is not an official College job title, but is used to describe the employees who perform the daily functions described in this policy.
The Petty Cash Officer is not permitted to cash personal or payroll checks for faculty, staff, or students.