SECTION CD.2

BUSINESS AND SUPPORT SERVICES
CASH HANDLING PROCEDURES

Procedure

SCOPE

Navarro College departments that regularly collect cash, money orders, and checks are responsible for ensuring that adequate control procedures have been put in place in order to safeguard such collections and that the funds are timely deposited with the College cashier office.

All departments responsible for the collection of cash, money orders, checks, or processing of credit card transactions are subject to the standards set forth in this Administrative Procedure.

PURPOSE

This administrative procedure establishes the standards for the handling of cash, money orders, checks, and the processing of credit and debit card payments received by the College. In addition, the Procedure defines the roles and responsibilities related to the receipt, safeguarding, and deposit of cash, money orders, and other payments received by the College in compliance with applicable state and federal laws and industry standards for the protection of such assets.

DEPOSITORY BANK ACCOUNT

All cash, money orders, and checks collected by departments must be transferred to the College Cashier office for deposit in the College’s depository bank account, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this administrative procedure.

The authority to establish or make changes to the College’s banking and investment accounts is limited to the Vice President of Finance, or her/his designee. No other person is authorized to open or make changes to a College banking or investment account.

OBTAINING APPROVAL TO ACCEPT CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD PAYMENTS

Departments must seek prior approval from the Comptroller to accept credit or debit card payments in connection with the sale of goods or services. Departments seeking such approval must submit a written request to the Comptroller.

Contributions and donations made by credit card or debit card are processed only by the Cashier Office.

EMPLOYEE BACKGROUND CHECKS

New employee must undergo a pre-employment background check prior to assuming any cash handling responsibilities. Departments must arrange with Human Resources to schedule a background check.

PETTY CASH FUNDS

Petty Cash should only be used for making change for cash drawers. All requested reimbursements should be submitted through a travel and expense report (TA) or purchase requisition.

No department should maintain a petty cash fund without authorization from the Finance department. Semi-annual audits of Petty Cash will be performed by the Comptroller and or his/her team. Petty cash audits may occur between the semi-annual audits.

SEPARATION OF DUTIES

Departments outside of the Cashier's Office with cash handling responsibilities must ensure that no single individual is responsible for the collection, handling, depositing, and accounting of cash, money orders, and checks received by the unit.

Cash Handler – Collects cash, money orders, and checks; completes deposits for submission to the Cashier Office. Funds collected should be taken to the Cashier’s or Business Office by the next business day for deposit.
Ledger Reviewer – Reconciles departmental records of cash receipts to the general ledger monthly.

To the extent possible, a separate employee should be assigned to backup each of the individuals identified above when he or she is unavailable. If a location has limited staff where only one employee will be running all operations, the departmental director/manager should review sales reports and trends to ensure that internal controls are being properly followed, and no discrepancies have occurred.

HANDLING CASH

Cash (i.e., currency and coins) is the most liquid form of payment and the most easily misappropriated. Cash handlers, therefore, must immediately establish a record of cash acceptance in accordance with the security standards set forth in this administrative procedure. In addition, cash must be protected against loss upon receipt and at all points thereafter. To this end, departments with cash handling responsibilities must implement security procedures in accordance with this administrative procedure.

Departments shall not accept non-U.S. currency as payment.

ACCEPTANCE OF MONEY ORDERS AND CHECKS

All money orders and checks presented for payment should be made payable to the “Navarro College.” Checks issued to Navarro College with a department name is acceptable (i.e. Navarro College Bookstore). Checks should never be made payable to an individual employed by the College. Invoices and other notices used to request payment should instruct payers that checks should be made out to Navarro College. Checks should not be accepted if:

The check date is 90 days or more prior to the date of receipt.
The check has a future date.
The payment amount is not legible or the numerical dollar amount does not match the amount written on the check.
The check is signed by someone other than the holder of the account.

Checks received that are drawn on a foreign bank account may require special handling procedures. The Cashier's Office should be contacted to determine the correct procedures.

The person receiving the check must carefully examine every personal check for information that is essential for chasing the check:

Temporary checks will not be accepted as payment.
Personalization – The customer’s complete name and address must appear on the check.
Date – The check date must be current.
Bank I.D. numbers – The check must have a bank identification number, or routing transit number, that runs across the bottom, along with the customer’s account number and check number. This information is used by a bank to identify the transaction and resolve payment issues.
Payee – The “Pay to the Order of” section must indicate Navarro College.
Dollar amounts – Both the written and numeric amount must match.
Customer Signature – The check should be signed in your presence and verified with photo identification.
Always write down on the check the driver’s license or state ID number, phone number, and date of birth of the person signing the check. Never allow the check writer to tell you the ID number always look at it yourself and record it carefully.
Always obtain and verify a physical address for the check writer.

PREPARATION OF RECEIPTS

Departments must prepare a receipt for each collection of cash, money orders, and checks in accordance with the following administrative procedures:

A copy of the receipt should be provided to each payer making an in-person payment.
A receipt should be produced for a check payment received through the mail.

ELECTRONIC CASH REGISTERS AND POINT-OF-SALE EQUIPMENT

Electronic cash registers, micro terminals, and other point-of sale (POS) equipment used by department cash handlers must meet the following security and operational standards:

All cash registers and point-of-sale equipment must produce a College cash receipt for each customer.
The cash-recording equipment must be controlled by unique consecutive numbers generated automatically and recorded with each transaction, as well as imprinted on the customer receipt.
The numbering mechanism providing consecutive transaction number control must be accessible only to the manufacture’s service representative or appropriate College personnel who are independent of the cashiering function.
Each cash handler must be assigned a unique identifier that is not shared by or accessible to other individuals.

The purchase of electronic cash registers, micro terminals, and other Point-of-Sale (POS) equipment used for departmental cash-handling operations must be approved in advance by the Comptroller, Cashier's Office, or the Vice President of Finance, or their designees.

PROCESSING CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD TRANSACTIONS

All credit and debit card transactions must be processed in accordance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) adopted by the College (as PCI regulations change, procedures are updated). In accordance with those standards, credit and debit card payments may be processed for both “cardholder present” and “cardholder not present” transactions, as follows:

a) Cardholder Present – Under these circumstances, the cardholder is physically on site to present his or her credit/debit card for “swiping/inserting/tapping chip card” through the POS terminal. Identification Cards are requested for all methods of payment. The transaction is completed when the authorization code is received. The cardholder may or may not have to sign the receipt.

b) Cardholder Not Present – When the cardholder is not physically on-site, the cardholder’s data (i.e., name, card number, expiration date, billing address, etc.) would typically be collected via a College approved website (emailed card numbers are never accepted). All credit card transactions must be initiated by the cardholder in order to maintain PCI compliance, and credit card authorizations are forwarded to the cash handler.

When processing a debit card transaction, the PIN number should never be gathered or entered for the customer. PIN debit transactions are only allowed in a cardholder present environment where the customer enters the PIN directly into an approved keypad.
After a transaction has been authorized by the system, only the last four digits of the account number and the authorization code may be retained. All other information must be redacted or destroyed once a transaction has been authorized.
Departments should store cardholder data containing only the last four digits of the card and demographic information for payments to verify processing.

Donor contributions for non-scholarship items can be processed through either the President's Office or the Navarro College Foundation. Donor contributions for scholarship purposes should be processed through the Foundation or Navarro College Financial Aid Office.

SALE OF ADMISSION OR EVENT TICKETS

Administrative procedures for the safeguarding and sale of admission or event tickets must meet the same standards and security requirements as those set forth in this Procedure.

Each ticket is considered both a product and a receipt. Tickets shall be consecutively pre-numbered. When tickets are produced by electronic means, the numbering system must not be accessible to the ticket seller. All ticket sales must be balanced to recorded revenue on a daily basis by the department selling the tickets. The department must also develop adequate controls to safeguard the tickets and ensure that the number of tickets sold corresponds to the expected revenue from such sales.

A full accounting of all tickets sold and payments received must be taken to the Cashier office to receipt and verify the cash. The cashier is given the first and last ticket to verify the amount sold. Electronic reports for events are provided by Hometown Ticketing with a summary of all activity.

RECONCILIATION OF CASH COLLECTED

Cashiers should start their day’s business with a new beginning cash.
All checks and money orders should be made out to Navarro College.
All checks should be restrictively endorsed with “For Deposit Only Navarro College."
Each cashier should balance their business at the end of their shift.
Daily reconciliations (this includes regular, athletic, dining, bookstore, museum, departmental, and beautique deposits) should be performed by each accounting clerk and submitted to the Cashier's Office. Any discrepancies must be investigated.

DEPOSITING CASH PROMPTLY

The preparation of the deposits should not be completed by the person collecting and recording receipts. The person preparing the deposit should be the Office Manager or his/her designated backup. To maximize cash flow and safeguard assets, deposits will be made on a daily basis. All deposits are prepared in the Cashiers Office. For safety purposes, all transport of bank bags between Navarro College and financial institutions will be handled by the Navarro College Police department or a contracted security guard. If unavailable, then the Dean of the location must perform the transports of the locked bags.

Approved: 2015
Updated: 2020, 2024
Reviewed: 2022

TOOLS & RESOURCES

SECTION C: BUSINESS AND SUPPORT SERVICES