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Requesting & Replenishing a Petty Cash Fund

• A department head or other individual with expenditure authority may request the Director of University Disbursements to establish a petty cash fund. The request must not come from the individual who will be the custodian of the fund.
• Requests for the establishment of a petty cash fund must justify the need for the account, indicate the amount desired, identify who the custodian and responsible person for the account will be, and describe the location in which the petty cash funds will be stored. The Petty Cash Application form may be used for this purpose.
• Upon review of the request and approval of the fund's establishment by the Director of University Disbursements, Data Control will establish the fund by assigning an account number for the fund under the responsible person's name, and by authorizing the disbursement of cash to the custodian of the fund.
• The Accounting Office will notify the responsible person, the custodian, the Director of Accounts Payable, and the University Auditor when the petty cash fund is established, outlining information about the account's amount, location, and purpose (see attached sample memorandum).
• The Accounting Office will provide a check to establish the funds and a copy of these procedures to the custodian.
• The custodian should place the petty cash in a locking cash box or drawer as soon as he or she cashes the check.
• Receipts should be returned to the custodian after the purchase is made, and the lower part of the voucher completed to account for the disbursement. The custodian must sign the voucher to acknowledge the proper accounting for the petty cash transaction, including the return of any cash from the initial amount disbursed.
• When cash in the Fund is low, the custodian should gather the Petty Cash Vouchers, summarize the expenditures on a Request for Check "Invoice" (University Form SR #60200), attach the vouchers and receipts to the check request, and make a copy of the check request to maintain in the petty cash box until the funds are replenished. The Request for Check is submitted to the responsible person for review of adequate documentation, propriety of expenditures, and correctness of account coding.
• The responsible person authorizes the Request for Check by signing it and submitting it directly to Accounts Payable, Box J. (It is a breach of proper internal controls for the custodian to handle the Request for Check after it has been approved.)
• Accounts Payable will process the Request for Check.
• When the custodian receives the replenishment check, he/she should cash it, place the money in the petty cash box, and remove the corresponding request for check copy.