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Departmental Income Information

Policy
Purpose: 

Provide a uniform policy for the university regarding the required generation of sales receipts and record keeping for all sales transactions to be reconciled with monthly control totals.

Applies to: 

All University of Kansas Departments and Offices.

Campus: 
Lawrence
Policy Statement: 

University policy dictates all departments generate sale receipts in advance or at the time of sale. It is recognized that certain departments process transactions that do not allow for receipt of funds at point of sale and must maintain adequate records to fully substantiate the charges owed to the University by individuals or firms.

The receipts or records must include:

  • Name
  • Student ID number (for KU students)
  • Last four digits of the social security number or taxpayer ID number
  • Amount
  • Type; and
  • Date the charge was incurred

In addition, the department must keep a control sheet showing the total amount outstanding and post all new charges, payments, or adjustments to the control sheet daily.

The detailed records are to be reconciled monthly to the control totals. Any differences are to be investigated and any necessary adjustments fully documented. An aging of the reconciled accounts is to be prepared as of the last day of each month with the following categories: 0-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, and 91-120 days.

A report summarizing the monthly control totals and the account aging is to be forwarded to Financial Services within 5 days after the end of the month. A sample of the approved form to be used by departments when reporting accounts receivable to FInancial Services is included in the On-line Business Procedures Guide forms packet. If a department would like to request a different format, prior approval must be obtained from Financial Services.

If a department is having difficulty in collecting debts, or does not wish to collect the debts, they may request that Student Accounts & Receivables bill and collect the charge(s) on behalf of the department (except Parking & Transit). Student Accounts & Receivables should receive these charges within four months from the original sale/service date. The Student Financials System accepts students (past and present), faculty, staff, and non-university accounts with a social security number (provided by the department) or non-university accounts without a social security number. Student Accounts & Receivables will bill and attempt to collect the debt first then will send the debt to collection agencies as needed. In the event the debt is uncollectible, the debt will be written-off after five years. The department must retain back-up documentation for the debt. Reports will be sent to the department when the charge is paid or has been written off.

To turn accounts over to Student Accounts & Receivables Services for further collections, the department should send a list containing: name, amount of charge, student ID number and/or social security number, address, and department income number (org, fund, account code) to be credited. If the debtor does not have an ID or SSN, please enter "No ID/SSN found".

Payments collected are credited to the income account set by the department. If no payment or response is received from the billings, the account is reviewed for referral to a commercial collection agency and to either the Kansas Department of Administration Setoff Program or the Board of Regents Setoff. The State Setoff Program will initiate procedures to match the debts against state warrants issued to the debtor. Debtor accounts for current University employees are referred to Regents Setoff instead of to the State Setoff Program. Debts are then deducted from employee pay. If the collection agency or the State Setoff Program is able to collect the debt, the University department's account is credited with the amount of collection and charged with a collection fee for the services of the agency.

Management reports are made available to the departments that use the Student Financials System for record keeping on these accounts. These reports are generated daily for those accounts with activity. Departments may be charged a portion of the cost of operating the Student Financials System if use contributes significantly to the cost of operating the system. Once an account is turned over to Student Accounts & Receivables for collection, the department should no longer include these amounts in their monthly summary report totals on accounts receivables.

Departments are allowed to make adjustments to an account if necessary documentation is submitted to Student Accounts & Receivables including: date, reason, amount, department name, department income account number, and name of the person authorizing the adjustment. Adjustments to approved departmental deposits are submitted via the Departmental Deposit System using a Correction style deposit. Payments are not to be considered as adjustments.

A department may not write-off any accounts receivable without first sending charges to Student Accounts & Receivables for collection. The request to write-off accounts will be submitted by Student Accounts & Receivables when the debt is five years old, there has been no activity in the account for five years, and the debtor is not enrolled at The University of Kansas. The department must keep back up documentation for five years after the write off accounts are accepted by the State (approximately June of each year). For additional information, contact Student Accounts & Receivables at 785-864-3322.

Contact: 

Controller's Office
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Strong Hall
controllersoffice@ku.edu
785-864-3261

Approved by: 
The Board of Regents
Approved on: 
Wednesday, July 1, 1992
Effective on: 
Wednesday, July 1, 1992
Review Cycle: 
Annual (As Needed)
Keywords: 
sales receipts, receipts, record-keeping, transaction reconciliation, department income, debt collection
Change History: 

02/17/2023: Updated contact section.
04/15/2021: Updated Contact and owning unit sections from Comptroller to Financial Services.
06/27/2019: Updated contact section. 
03/23/2015: Updated to reflect current nomenclature of Student Account Services.
10/2010: Reviewed.

Financial Categories: 
Accounting
Financial Oversight

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