Complete Student Club Package

Overview

This form is used to tell the Business Office who is allowed to access your Business and Finance accounts. In essence, who controls your money? Without this form, the Business Office has no authorization to perform any transactions for you or your club.

This form must be filled out and turned in as quickly as possible after Officers are appointed or at least once a year in the fall and should be updated whenever changes are made.

All financial requests to the Business Office must have two signatures. All Student Senate funded regulated organizations must get both of the Senate officer’s approval on all transactions. The Student Senate advisor can approve transactions in the summer months.

To Complete the Form

Fill in the Name of your Organization and the Fund ID number. If you do not have the fund ID number, the Business Office will have this information.

List the Name & Title of each individual followed by the individuals’ signature and the Start and End date for this authorization (including your advisor).

The following is a list of students and/or advisor eligible to sign bills and check requests. It is suggested that no more than three people be eligible to have signing rights, this would be the organization president, the organization treasurer, and/or the organization advisor.

The two club officers must sign all financial requests. Only the advisor can sign a bill or check request without another officer's signature. This is due to the need to pay bills during academic recesses. At all other times, two Officers signatures should be obtained. In the case of Senate regulated clubs, only the Senate Advisor can approve transactions in the summer months.

Your group and organization will have various needs financially. Determining what is necessary to obtain funding is the first step. Some guidelines apply no matter what the situation, they are

• Any request requires two signatures, groups & organizations under the Student Senate will also need Senate approval. The only exception to the two-signature rule is the signature of the advisor, or in the case of Senate funded, regulated organizations the signature of the Student Senate Advisor. This is only so bills can be paid while school is not in session.
• Proper documentation must be provided
• All requests must include the FOAP to be charged. The FOAP is the Fund, Organization, Account and Program numbers

Requests for Funds can be broken down into the following groups

• Request to have an Invoice (Bill) paid
• Request for a check to pay an upcoming expense without an invoice
• Request for Reimbursement of expenses already paid
• Request for a cash advance

If you have received, a bill for goods or services provided to your group or organization the Business Office will process payment. In order to do this you must:

1. Provide the Business Office with the original invoice. The invoice must include:
2. Two signatures authorizing payment.
3. The FOAP to be charged
4. Keep in mind that invoices can take up to 10 days to process; remit your invoice to the Business Office as soon after receipt as possible to avoid late charges, etc.

If you have questions concerning payment of your bill after you have sent it to the Business Office, questions should be directed as follows: businessofc@alfred.edu.

Please allow minimum of 10 days for check processing.

Overview

Many times a group or organization will need a check from the Business Office. This may be to pay for an award, a donation, a talent fee, etc., in which case you may not have an invoice. This is when a check request should be used.

Note: This form is to be used for purchases under $1000 only.

For those individuals wishing to make purchases from a vendor over $1000, please go to the Procurement Office in Greene Hall.

If the person you are requesting a check for is not a member of the AU student body, staff or faculty you will also need a Vender Registration form, if you are not sure contact the Business Office. This form can also be obtained at the above website and must be completed by the vendor before your request can be processed. All vendors that provide a service should be paid directly by Alfred University Business Office due to tax purposes.

To complete the Check Request form:

• Enter the date
• Enter the Organization/Group Name
• Enter the complete FOAP to be charged (Fund, Organization, Account, Program)
• Enter the complete name and address of the Payee
• Have the form signed by two authorized signers
• Give a complete explanation of what this check is for (If available attach documentation)

The check will be mailed to address (including Powell Campus Boxes) provided unless:

• The recipient has direct deposit
• You have specifically requested that the check not be mailed, in which case it will be available in the Business Office and you will receive an email when it is ready to be picked up

To check on processing of any check request, contact the Business Office and ask for Sheila Decker.

A group/organization may request a cash advance to make purchases for said group or organization.

To complete the Check/Cash Request form:

• Enter the date
• Enter the Organization/Group Name
• Enter the complete FOAP to be charged (Fund, Organization, Account, Program)
• Enter the complete name and address of the Payee
• Have the form signed by two authorized signers + Senate Signatures if required
• Give a complete explanation of what this advance is for

The entire amount of the advance will be charged to the Business Office cash advance account. Once you have completed your purchase(s) you will need to return to the Business Office with your receipts and at that time, the amount spent will be charged to your organizations account. This process should be completed, as soon as possible, but definitely no more than 30 days from the date the advance is given. If the advance is not cleared in a timely fashion, the following actions will be taken

• An email will be sent to the individual who accepted the advance as a reminder to clear the advance
• If the advance remains outstanding, a second email will be sent to the individual and copied to the group advisor
• If the advance is still not cleared, the entire amount of the advance will be charged to the payee’s student account
• If multiple advances are open and un-cleared for a long period, the Business Office has the right to refuse a cash advance request

Things to remember:

• You must keep and return all receipts for all purchases you want applied to the advance
• Alfred University is tax exempt; take your tax exempt form with you as taxes paid will not be deducted from the advance
• If the advance is given in your name, you are the responsible party, do not leave it up to someone else to return your receipts

A reimbursement request is made when someone connected with your group or organization has paid for goods or services.

To complete the Check /Cash Request form

• Enter the date
• Enter the Organization/Group Name
• Enter the complete FOAP to be charged (Fund, Organization, Account, Program)
• Enter the complete name and address of the Payee
• Have the form signed by two authorized signers + Senate signatures if required
• Give a complete explanation of what this check is for. (If available attach documentation)
• Receipts must accompany a reimbursement request and must match the total requested
• The University is tax exempt and will not reimburse for taxes (see tax exempt instructions)

Bring the completed request to the Business Office with all receipts. If the request is $300 or less, a cash reimbursement can be given to the payee at the time of presentation. If the request is for more than $300, then a check payment will be processed. If the recipient has direct deposit this is how the payment will be processed. If not, the check will be available for pick up in the Business Office or mailed to the address on file after processing.

There are several types of deposits your organization may make. You may have revenue to deposit, a donation, or dues and membership fees among others. No matter what type of deposit you are making, you will always use the same deposit slip.

Instructions on Deposit Slips

• Name – This should be the name of the individual or group from which you are depositing money
• Description – This is a short explanation of where the money came from and what it is for
• FOAP – Fund, Organization, Account & Program Number are all required
• Funding Source – Enter all applicable with correct totals
• Carry totals to bottom of page in each column
• Enter Deposit total
• Print the name of the person who prepared the form
• Enter the date the form was completed
• Bring to the Business Office for processing

Things to remember

• Deposits are made through the revenue account numbers. Your fund #, org # 17120, acct. #5815, program #10
• The only time you will deposit using your expense org # is when you are offsetting an expense

We understand this is confusing and occasionally there will be deposits that do not fall into either of these categories. Please do not hesitate to contact the Business office if you need assistance completing your deposit slip.

Alfred University is a tax-exempt organization in New York State. For this reason, we do not reimburse taxes on any purchase. On the next page, you will find a copy of our NYS tax-exempt form/certificate. We are also tax exempt for travel and purchasing in New Jersey.

States such as Massachusetts, Florida and Connecticut we are tax exempt for purchasing only. Please keep in mind there is a different tax-exempt form for each state mentioned online at our.alfred.edu, go to Business Office.

There are special tax-exempt cards/forms for Wal-Mart and Dollar General. Walmart and Dollar General tax-exempt cards can be signed out for use in the Business Office. Please be sure to keep these with you when making purchases for the University. Please note additional copies of the New York State Tax Exempt Form or the other states can be picked up in the Business Office.

Overview

The Alfred University Business Office must have a Vendor Registration Form on file for any business or individual receiving money. The Business Office should be reimbursing a vendor or service provided directly. No one should be paying for a service by someone else and then plan to be reimbursed for it.

This is information that we must produce upon demand during our yearly audit and therefore is mandatory. This goes for not only businesses but also individuals. If someone is receiving a payment from us, we need to be able to provide accurate record for the IRS. The form is online making completion easy for off campus or out of state businesses and individuals. The Business Office staff is always available to answer any questions that may arise when completing this form. As a rule, you will not be completing this form yourself, but should have one handy for distribution if necessary.

What is considered a gift, prize or award?

Prizes and awards are typically gifts of cash, gift certificates, or other items purchased (tangible property) given to University students in recognition of outstanding achievement in their academic performance, other performance-related activities, Honors Convocation award, or prize won at student club event.

Gifts are typically cash, gift certificates, or other items purchased and given to students in recognition of, or in connection with the holiday season, or some other purpose not specifically related to job performance.

Tax reporting rules require that gifts, prizes, and awards be treated as taxable income to the employee (student). The amount must be included on the employees (student) W-2 and is subject to all income and FICA withholding taxes.

How do I report any gift, prize or award?

Anyone that receives a gift, prize or award will need to fill out a Taxable Gifts Report Form found on the HR website. This will include their social security number and indicate the amount given as a gift to each individual. We will be unable to process the request for reimbursement if this information is not provided The taxable gifts form should be submitted to Payroll (along with any check request) they keep track of those receiving a gift, prize or award and they will make the decision on whether it is paid through Payroll (Greene Hall) or Accounts Payable (Jordan Hall).