Site Revolving Cash Fund

Definition

A revolving cash fund is a specific amount of money used to purchase inexpensive items. It is called revolving cash because as money is expended it is constantly being replaced.

Purpose and Guidelines

The purpose of the fund is to allow district employees to purchase inexpensive items directly from vendors and be reimbursed by the revolving cash fund directly at the site or department “immediately.” The Purchasing Department will no longer process purchase orders in amounts less than $75 with the sites being expected to use their revolving cash fund for these expenditures. Site or departmental revolving cash accounts shall be funded and replenished from Accounts Payable warrants. Only one revolving cash account shall be authorized per site or department. The only monies to be deposited to the site revolving fund bank account are checks from the district’s revolving cash fund issued to initiate/replenish the fund, or book replacement funds for transfer to ESC.

Minimum Account Balances

$1,000 – $3,000 Elementary schools
$1,000 – $3,000 Middle schools
$1,000 – $3,000 High school
$1,000 – $3,000 Adult school
$ 500 – $1,500 Budget managers (i.e., Corporation Yard)

Allowable Expenditures from Revolving Cash Funds:

  • A single item under $200.00
  • A number of items on one receipt under $200.00
  • Replacement supplies for Foss and Life Lab Science Program
  • Conference registrations under $75.00. (Must be preapproved on the Request to Attend Conference form).

Expenditures Not Allowable from Revolving Cash Funds

  • Membership dues of any kind
  • Mileage reimbursement claims
  • Meals and lodging
  • Flowers, trophies, prizes, etc. that may be considered a gift of public funds
  • Salaries, stipends, or independent contractor (consultant) fees to employees and others
  • Furniture and equipment without prior approval

Additional Administrative Guidelines

  1. The site administrator or budget manager shall be held directly responsible for ensuring that the guidelines offered here are consistently adhered to. All checks from the district office issued to the site/department and used to replenish the revolving cash bank account will be made payable to the specific revolving fund account. Any revolving cash expenditure that does not conform to prescribed regulations and procedures, or is not properly documented by receipts, must be disallowed. The burden of furnishing additional information needed will fall on the administrator who authorized the purchase.
  2. A separate bank account (one per site/department) shall be established by the Business Department for the revolving cash fund. Two signatures shall be required on all accounts.
  3. No monies other than reimbursement checks from the district may be deposited into this bank account.
  4. The revolving cash fund must always balance to the exact amount of the fund. In other words, if your fund is $500:
    • Reconciled checkbook balance $xxxxxx
    • Plus receipts reimbursed at site or department but not yet submitted to the district for reimbursement $xxxxxx
    • Plus reimbursement requests submitted for reimbursement to the district but not yet paid $xxxxxx
    • Total (must always equal the fund amount) $ 500.00
    • All deposits that are made for lost text books, etc. should be made as early as possible and soon after recording the transaction of the deposit, a transaction for a check made payable to NHUSD should be made to wash that deposit out. Many times schools have made deposits and have forgotten to issue a check to the district, ending up with an amount in excess of their fund balance.
    • Also a corresponding spreadsheet should be kept for all cash/checks received for lost books and reconciled with the deposits made and check made out to the district.
    • When requesting for reimbursement, a lot of sites include this check that is made payable to the district, in their request for reimbursement. It should be noted that any check made out to NHUSD should be a non-reimbursable check (except for the end of the year interest check). Checks payable to NHUSD should only be made if there is a corresponding deposit attached to it.
  5. Payments from the revolving cash fund shall only be for services or materials that are a legal charge against the district. No site charges will be reimbursed without a receipt or paid invoice to support the charge.
  6. A request for reimbursement form should be submitted to Accounting as often as necessary to avoid depleting the funds. For example, if your fund is $500, you may want to turn in your paid receipts and form requesting reimbursement after the fund goes below $200. If there are no problems with budgets once reimbursement requests have been submitted, Accounting should have a check available for pick up within one week. The original paid receipts/invoices are to be taped neatly to an 8.5 x 11″ sheet of paper, attached to the reimbursement request form, and clearly marked as to what was purchased. Copies of receipts will not be honored. Reimbursement requests received by noon on Friday will be processed within two weeks.
  7. Bank accounts are to be reconciled monthly. These bank reconciliations are to be forwarded to the Budget Analyst by the 15th of the month following the month-end bank statement. Failure to comply may result in the withdrawal of your authorization to have the revolving cash fund.
  8. It will be each site or department’s responsibility to ensure that funds are available in the budget before expenditures are made and at the time the reimbursement request is sent to Accounting.
  9. The “custodian” of the bank account is to be formally designated in writing by the principal or department head at the time the account is set up. This employee will have full responsibility for the accurate record keeping on the account. If the custodian changes, The Budget Analyst must be notified immediately.
  10. The account will be operated on a reimbursement basis only. In other words, the custodian of the account can only request reimbursement for the account from the Business Department after they have been given the original receipt for the purchase. Each receipt must indicate the following:
    • Date of purchase
    • Address and name of vendor
    • Unit price and quantity
    • Amount of purchase
    • Description of items (cash register tapes must be supported by quantity, unit price, and description of each item)
  11. Sites can use this account to order material from vendors by mail. In order to receive reimbursement, you will need an invoice or copy of the order form indicating what was purchased as well as the cost, including freight and taxes. (This dollar amount must match the amount the check was written for.) When the material is received, a packing slip will come with the product. This should be signed by the person receiving the material, indicating that all items were received and when, and included as part of your reimbursement package.
  12. Revolving cash accounts will be audited periodically by the Director of Fiscal Services who will also serve as a resource if questions arise.
  13. Any loss or theft of funds cannot be reimbursed by the district; however, the missing funds must be reimbursed to the district’s Revolving Cash Fund.