The Cashier Function

Cash Defined

Cash refers to currency, personal cheques, certified cheques, money orders, traveler’s cheques, and bank drafts.

Cashier Function

The University cashier function incorporates two key responsibilities:

• depositing cash
• recording cash received in the University’s accounting records

This function is officially resident in:

Accounting Services
Financial Services Department
2nd Floor, 215 Huron Street

Direct Deposits

In some cases cashier responsibilities have been delegated. All deposits made directly with the University’s bank by a department other than the Cashiers Department are referred to as “Direct Deposits”.

Direct deposit arrangements can be made for any department. Refer to Subordinate Bank Account for more information, or contact the Financial Services Department. Also, see Direct Deposits for detailed responsibilities related to direct deposits.

The Processing Department

The accurate recording of receipts involves verification and classification of the amounts.

These procedures are carried out by various departments which also prepare the document from which the related information is input to the accounting records. These departments are referred to as the processing departments.

The following summary identifies the processing department. In the normal course of events receipts will go directly to the processing/verifying department. If receipts are received in a department other than the processing / verifying department, please forward as indicated below.

Receipts referred to as miscellaneous include those not specifically identified and for which the recipient department is the processing department.

Type of Receipt	Processing Department	If your department receives cash but is not the Processing Department, do the following:
Government operating & capital grant instalments	Planning & Budget Department, Simcoe Hall, 27 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1	Forward to processing department with all related documentation
Payments of U of T invoices	Accounts Receivable, Financial Services Department, 215 Huron St., 2nd Floor Toronto, ON M5S 1A2	Forward to processing department with copy of invoice, if available
Donations	Division of University Advancement 21 King’s College Circle Toronto, ON M5S 3J3	Forward to processing department with completed Gift Processing Form (see GTFM Monetary Donations)
Research grants or contract instalments	Research Financial Reporting and Audit, McMurrich Building, 2nd Floor 12 Queen’s Park Crescent West, Toronto, ON M5S 1S8	Forward with all related documentation to Research Financial Reporting and Audit, including all backup information. [See Research Contacts]
Miscellaneous receipts	Various

Maintain Security of Cash

All money received in a department is the responsibility of that department until it is delivered to the Cashier’s Office, to a bank or to the processing department. It should be kept locked in a safe location.

Log Book

To provide assurance that all funds received are deposited to University accounts, departments which regularly handle cash should have a log in which to record all receipts and the subsequent deposit of those receipts.

To facilitate the recording of the deposits in the log book it is advised that each deposit form be sequentially numbered and the number entered in the log book opposite each cash entry after the signed receipt is received back from the Cashier.

Segregation of Duties

Where feasible, duties involving the receipt and recording of cash should be segregated in order to minimize the risk of error and/or theft. The extent of segregation will be dictated by the size of the unit. At a minimum, the cash-handling functions (ownership of cash float, deposit preparation, etc) should be segregated from the reconciliation/review functions (reconciling cash deposits to logs/register tapes, deposit forms and FIS).

For more detailed information on recommended controls over cash receipts, please refer to the Recommended controls by Business Process – Cash Handling.

In addition, an Interactive Control Questionnaire is available to help in assessing the effectiveness of your unit’s systems of internal control and to facilitate making changes that improve it.

Confirm Cash Received

A receipt should be issued for ALL cash received, identifying the date, the amount and the payee. Cash on hand should balance to these receipts.

Where cash register or credit/debit card customer receipts are not system generated, consideration should be given to issuing pre-numbered receipts. The numerical continuity should then be verified periodically by a person independent of cash handling and receipt issuance. The frequency of verification should be based on the level of receipting activity.

Verify Cheque Details

Before acceptance of cheques, money orders, bank drafts or traveler’s cheques, verify the following details:

• Date – Personal cheques are valid only for six months. Tip: A cheque that says Certified Service is a personal cheque, not a certified cheque.
• Pay to – Must be payable to the Governing Council of the University of Toronto. Cheques made payable to a department within the University are also acceptable. If a cheque is payable to a person, that person must endorse the cheque over to the University of Toronto by writing on the back of the cheque ” Pay to the University of Toronto – for deposit only “, and sign it.
• Body and figures – The written amount (body) must agree with the numeric amount (figures). If the body and figures disagree in cents only, the cheque may still be deposited.
• Signature – All personal cheques, certified cheques and traveler’s cheques must be signed. Bank drafts and money orders do not require signatures.
• Currencies – The currency of the cheque must be the same as the currency used by the bank from which it is drawn. If they differ, the bank must send the cheque for collection at a service charge, which is approximately $30 – $50. It is preferable to have the cheque reissued as an international money order in Canadian dollars.
• Do Not Alter Any Cheques – Any changes must be made and initialed by the person who signed the cheque.

Restrictively Endorse Cheques

Immediately upon receipt, all cheques must be restrictively endorsed. Stamp or write on the back of each cheque:

For Deposit Only Governing Council of the University of Toronto

Preparing Cheques for Deposit

Where feasible the University departmental account number(s) to which the cheque will be credited should be entered on the back of the cheque. This expedites tracing the cheque back to the processing department should there be any problems with cheque clearing, e.g. NSF situations.

Prepare Deposit Report

It is the processing department’s responsibility to prepare the deposit report and send it along with the cash to the Cashier. (see GTFM Deposits with the Cashier)

Deposit Intact

Cash received in the department represents income, expense recovery or a deposit, e.g. key deposit. It should be deposited and appropriately recorded in the accounts. Accordingly, it should not be used for expenditures, e.g. to supplement petty cash or to cash personal cheques.

Enter Deposit into FIS

Once the deposit report has been created, the deposit information must be entered into FIS. For detailed instruction, please refer to Reference Guide: Create Cash Receipts or the General Ledger resource page which includes additional resources.