Training Resources for Administrators & Staff
Chart of Accounts - Internal Account Codes
Revenues: Cash Receipts, Deposits, Fees, Grants, Property Taxes, State & Federal
Expenditures: Payroll & Benefits, Cash Disbursements, Purchasing, Accounts Payable
School Activity Accounting - School Checking Accounts
Budgeting & Financial Management
Other Financial Procedures & Resources
Authorized Bank Accounts - The school uses only bank accounts authorized by the District Office. The principal ensures the school and staff members do not use unauthorized bank accounts.
Principal Responsibilities - The principal oversees and authorizes all financial transactions and activities in the school. The principal ensures all policies and procedures are followed. The principal SHALL NOT have access to QuickBooks records and file maintenance. The principal does not collect cash nor issue payments or checks. The primary responsibility of the principal is to authorize, oversee, monitor, manage & train staff, ensure accountability with staff and program funds, and control.
Secretary Responsibilities - The secretary oversees all QuickBooks records, cash collections and cash payments. The secretary never authorizes transactions. The secretary is responsible for making deposits with banks. Only one secretary is assigned responsibility for QuickBooks records and files. The secretary provides QuickBooks reports to staff members when requested. The primary responsibility of the secretary is to maintain accountability for custody of cash and accuracy and timeliness of QuickBooks records.
District Office Responsibilities – The district office shall perform monthly bank reconciliations of all school activity bank and investment accounts. Bank reconciliations may include sample review testing of disbursements for compliance to policy and procedures as well as a review of timeliness of deposits with banks and record keeping.
Fundraiser Policy - The principal is responsible for ensuring staff members and all school programs follow the district fundraising policy.
Staff Meetings & Training - The principal oversees all staff trainings and meetings regarding financial procedures at the school level. All financial transactions and activities occur under the direction of the principal. The principal routinely meets with and trains staff members--including secretaries, coaches, and regular staff members regarding financial related policies and procedures.
Bank Signature Cards - The principal is responsible for ensuring a current copy of the signature card for the authorized bank account is on file with the District Office no later than January 31st of each year. The signature card shall include the principal, secretary, one other staff member, District Board of Education President, and Business Administrator.
High School Billings to Parents - The school mails invoices/statements summarizing charges, amounts paid to the school, and unpaid fees to parents at least three times each year: at the end of the first quarter, at the end of the 2nd quarter, at the end of the third quarter.
Fee Waivers - The principal is responsible for ensuring all fee waiver laws are fulfilled and met within the school. Fee waiver laws and requirements are reviewed before school registration materials are mailed each year. The principal is responsible for ensuring the school keeps adequate records per legal and reporting requirements. Fee waiver laws and requirements can be found at http://www.schools.utah.gov/law/.
Insolvent Programs - The school secretary is responsible for immediately reporting programs that have expended more than has been collected in their programs to the principal. The principal responds right away by notifying staff members and develops a corrective action plan with staff members. All programs shall be solvent and have positive balances. The principal understands that programs should not be authorized to make expenditures without adequate funds on hand first.
Approved High School Fees - The principal and secretary ensure that all fees assessed and collected are pre-approved by the district Board of Education. All fees for the next school year are approved by the Board of Education no later than May prior to the next school year.
Monthly Review Meeting - The principal and school secretary conducts a formal financial review meeting at least once each month--preferably no later than the 15th. All of the following should be reviewed in this meeting:
o Program balances within the school, specific attention given to programs with negative balances
o Prior month’s checks issued
o Negative student account balances
o Open fundraisers in the school
o Fee waiver situations that may require specific attention
o Open purchases requiring bids/quotes and purchasing policy compliance
o Specific financial issues with programs and staff members
o Upcoming financial deadlines
o Other pending financial matters
Receipts from Students/Parents - Secretaries provide students with a receipt and retains a duplicate copy of each receipt for future reference.
State 3 Day Deposit Law - All cash receipts are entered into the school QuickBooks system no later than 3 days from the date of receipt. All cash receipts must be deposited with the bank no later than 3 days from the date of receipt. When possible, deposits are taken to the bank on a daily basis.
Deposits - A report for each deposit is printed from QuickBooks to match the amount of the deposit. The report is filed with a copy of the deposit slip for future reference.
Deposits - The amount counted for each deposit matches the amount on the deposit slip and QuickBooks report.
Deposits - The school principal verifies that the amount counted equals the amount on the deposit slip and QuickBooks report before the deposit is taken to the bank.
Deposits - The cash/checks/coins are placed in a security deposit plastic bag and 1) stored in the safe until the deposit is taken to the bank, or 2) taken to the bank on the same day. A copy of the deposit slip is always stapled to the QuickBooks report for future reporting and reference.
Deposits - Bank security plastic bags are always used to store and transport deposits to the bank. The school makes a request to the District Office for more bags when needed.
Collections at Office - Collections are never stored in classrooms or other areas in the school and are recorded at the office daily. Coaches and other personnel are instructed that all cash collections should occur at the office.
Collections by Teachers – When teachers accept cash from students (i.e. fundraiser, book drive, etc.), teachers should write the names of students and amounts on a list and turn the list into the school financial secretary with the funds collected. Teachers should never keep money in their desks, rooms, or on their persons, and should never take money home.
Safeguarding Cash - All cash/checks/coins are stored in the school safe when deposits cannot be made with the bank.
School Collections are not Co-Mingled with Food Service Collections – Food service collections are deposited in the district food service bank account and are not co-mingled with school checking account deposits.
School Activities - Cash Receipts - Dual Collection System - The school uses procedures that require at least two persons to verify accuracy of cash collections at each activity. This can be done through various methods such as using stamps, tickets, and other two-person systems.
School Activities - Counting Cash - Cash is always counted and verified by two individuals before leaving for the night and a form is signed by both persons involved with counting verifying the amounts.
School Activities - Safeguarding Cash - All cash/checks/coins are stored in the school safe when deposits cannot be made with the bank. Under no circumstances is cash taken home by school personnel.
School Activities - Night Bank Deposits - If night bank deposits are made, the deposits are made with two individuals traveling to the bank together for safety purposes.
Available Funds, Budget Compliance - No purchasing and payment procedures are done until program funds are verified and are available. Program expenditures only occur when funds are available to pay for each purchase.
2 Authorized Signatures on all Checks - There are always authorized 2 signatures on all checks. Authorized signers must be on signature card with bank.
Handwritten Checks - Handwritten checks are strongly discouraged. However, in rare exceptions, the principal may authorize a handwritten check for unique and functional purposes. The principal understands the check must have 2 authorized signatures and at least one of the signers must be present when presenting the check to the vendor. The school secretary shall work with the vendor and staff members to obtain an invoice/receipt to support the payment and record the payment in QuickBooks no later than 1 day after the transaction date. All purchasing/payment policy/procedures must be complied with before using a handwritten check, including principal authorizations.
Sales Tax Exemption - Principals ensure purchases in Utah, where law permits, do not include payment for Utah Sales Tax. The principal is responsible for ensuring staff members are routinely trained on this matter, and the school's tax exemption form is made available to staff members to help avoid paying unnecessary Utah Sales Tax.
W9s & 1099s - All vendors which payments are made to (except students) should have an IRS W9 form on file. All W9 information should be recorded in vendor records in QuickBooks for potential IRS reporting
Payments to Employees for Services – Under no circumstances shall principals authorize payments to employees for services performed—i.e. stipends for extra duties. All payments to employees for services performed must be processed through the district payroll department to ensure compliance with IRS regulations.
Reimbursements to Employees – Where employees pay for supplies and costs up front from their personal funds, principals may authorize reimbursements to employees for these costs.
Purchasing - Principal Oversight - Principal understands all financial transactions and purchasing policy/procedures compliance occurs on her/his direction.
Purchasing – Sole Source Approvals: All sole source purchases must be approved by the Superintendent or Business Administrator. This can easily be done by e-mail. However, these requests are rarely approved given competitive purchasing options available in most circumstances.
Purchasing - Purchasing procedures are the same for all district and school purchases. Please refer to the purchasing policies and procedures section.
Signature Stamps Prohibited - Signature stamps should never be used in place of obtaining an original signature.