Agencies receive revenue for a variety of reasons. The recording of a cash receipt is the recognition of moneys received from internal or external sources. Most cash receipts are recorded through the Accounts Receivable (AR) module in the Statewide Financial System (SFS) after a deposit is made to the State’s General Checking Account (GCA). The following types of cash receipts should be recorded in the SFS as an AR Deposit in the AR module:

• Agency operations – receipts agencies are responsible for collecting
• Reimbursements of accounts receivables
• Agency initiated bank transfer of moneys from agency sole custody bank accounts (sweeps)
• Revenue contracts or repayment agreements
• Federal Grant reimbursements
• Municipal and Public Authorities deposits
• Temporarily unidentified revenues (only when moneys cannot be classified upon deposit)

Revenue Collection Methods

State Finance Law §121 directs that, unless superseded by another law, all moneys received by the State shall be paid into the state treasury. On the first day of each month pay into the state treasury all such moneys received from the first through the fifteenth day of the preceding month and on the fifteenth day of each month be paid into the state treasury all such moneys received from the sixteenth day through the last day of the preceding month. There are very limited exceptions to this section of law which are detailed in §121.

• Agency Sole Custody Revenue Collection Accounts
  The majority of cash receipts deposited in agency sole custody revenue collection accounts are swept into the State’s GCA and recorded in SFS through the Cash Management Treasury Accounting module by OSC Bureau of Accounting Operations (BSAO) staff. The chartfield coding for these transactions is established in advance by the agency and BSAO and resides in pre-coded Treasury templates maintained by OSC BSAO – CMU. Any cash sweep initiated by the agency into the State’s (GCA) must be accompanied by the entry of an AR Deposit in SFS.

• Deposits made directly to the State’s General Checking Account
  Monies are often electronically deposited directly to the GCA from various sources. Arrangements for these types of receipts are made either by the Bureau of State Accounting Operations – Cash Management Unit or by the cognizant agency responsible for collecting the monies. Agencies must contact BSAO – CMU to obtain wire instructions for the proper bank account. For those State Agencies that collect checks and do not have an agency sole custody revenue collection bank account, checks can be mailed to the Department of Tax and Finance – Treasury (DTF – Treasury) following the instructions below.

Transaction Types

Deposit transactions are considered either a Direct Deposit or an Accounts Receivable transaction. Direct Deposits are receipts not related to any receivable item in SFS and are posted as a Direct Journal Payment within the AR module. Accounts Receivable receipts are moneys owed to the State by a customer and are posted as a Worksheet Payment within the AR module. These receipts are applied against an agency receivable item (invoice) in SFS.

As a general rule, each deposit should contain only one payment sequence. Multiple transaction lines can be entered on this single sequence so individual checks may have their own accounting line. A deposit should have separate payment sequences ONLY if there is a documented agency business need to track the payments separately.

Direct Journal Payment

SFS Navigation: Accounts Receivable > Payments > Online Payments > Regular Deposit

When entering an AR Deposit, the Deposit Control Total tab displays the summary data for the deposit. It displays the Deposit Unit, Deposit ID, Accounting Date, Bank Code, Bank Account, and Deposit Type. The Control Total Amount must be equal to the total amount of the deposit and is displayed as a positive amount (except in the case of a reversal). The Count should reflect the number of sequences (payments) an agency has entered. In almost all cases, this value should be “1”. The Control Total Amount must equal the Entered Total Amount in order for the transaction to be approved. The Payments tab displays the Payment ID, Accounting Date, and Amount. The ‘Journal Directly’ box must be checked in order for the transaction to continue.

Customer ID: when recording “Receipts from Public Authorities” (account codes 32001 thru 32004), a Customer ID must be included in the Customer ID field. In addition, this field may be used anytime an agency needs to capture and relate customer information to a specific deposit.

The chartfield values can be entered by navigating to Accounts Receivable > Payments > Direct Journal Payments > Create Accounting Entries. The dollar amount is entered in the column with the line header "Line Amount" and must have the opposite sign as what was entered for the Control Total. If the Control Total was a positive amount, the dollar amount must be negative (the revenue in the fund will be increased/credited). If the Control Total was a negative amount, the dollar amount must be positive (the revenue in the fund will be decreased/debited). This is the final screen needed to enter a Direct Deposit. Once the chartfield information has been entered, the agency must click on the lightning bolt to generate the additional accounting lines, check the ‘Complete’ box and then save. Once this is completed, the agency can send their checks to DTF-Treasury to be deposited into the GCA. If the user receives an error notification during this process, it must be resolved before the money is sent to DTF-Treasury. Agencies should not send checks to Treasury until all accounting entries have been successfully created and the Complete box has been checked.

Once notified by Treasury that the funds have been received and deposited at the bank, BSAO – Revenue will review and approve the transaction. If errors exist in the transaction (e.g. chartfield values, documentation, amounts, etc.) they will immediately reach out to the agency contact for prompt resolution.

Worksheet Payment

The process for recording accounts receivable transactions starts with the agency entering the deposit and payment information in the ‘Regular Deposit’ screen, similar to a Direct Journal Payment however, agencies should not check the ‘Journal Directly’ box for a worksheet. Accounting entries do not need to be created as the entries are already included on the AR item the deposit will be linked to. A worksheet then needs to be created.

SFS Navigation: Accounts Receivable > Payments > Apply Payments > Update Worksheet

Agencies will retrieve the appropriate deposit and then “Build” the worksheet.

Agencies should never select “Batch Standard” for worksheets depositing to the GCA. Doing so will cause the worksheet to post to cash before the money is deposited in the GCA and will result in reconciliation discrepancies within SFS. This discrepancy will exist until the cash is deposited into the GCA. If this occurs BSAO will notify the agency of the error and ascertain if a deposit is in transit to DTF. If a timely deposit is not received, the agency will be directed to reverse the AR Worksheet transaction.

Once the Worksheet is built and the appropriate Items are selected, agencies should submit their checks to DTF – Treasury to be deposited into the GCA. When notified by DTF – Treasury that funds have been received and deposited at the bank, BSAO Revenue will review and approve the Worksheet transaction.

Chartfield Coding and Reporting

State Finance Law §8 requires the State Comptroller to operate and maintain and at his discretion, revise and modify a state accounting and financial reporting system which accurately and systematically accounts for all revenues, receipts, resources and property of the state resulting in accurate financial information in annual and interim financial statements. To this end, an effort should be made to classify revenue in a timely manner if the nature of the revenue cannot readily be determined at the time of deposit.

A revenue account code is used to denote the particular revenue type. Product code is used to further define the revenue type. Legislation that creates a specific fund and SFL §4(6) regarding the authorization to deposit revenue to specific funds must be considered when depositing and classifying revenue as funds are often restricted to receiving certain types of revenue.

See Chapter IV, Section 3.B - Miscellaneous Receipts for a complete list of revenue account codes, product code requirements, titles and descriptions for all miscellaneous receipt types.

When entering revenue deposit transactions in SFS the following chartfields are required:

• Business Unit
• Department Code
• Fund Code
• Account Code
  Note: Deposits using account code 32207 – refund of lapsed appropriations, or 32209-32213 - Lapsed Cash Advances, are to be done as an Accounts Payable Adjustment Voucher (see Section 3 - Refund of Appropriation / AP Adjustment Vouchers of this Chapter).

• Product Code (is required for specific revenue account codes See Chapter IV, Section 3.B – Miscellaneous Receipts)

If recording receipts from public authorities (account code 32001) the program code and budget reference chartfields must be completed.

If Federal funds are received, the following additional chartfields are required:

• PCBU
• Project ID
• Activity
  Note: For reimbursements received from the Federal Government, revenue account code 36101 must be used. For a refund received from a payee, where the appropriation has lapsed, or the grant award is closed, revenue account code 36121 must be used (Chapter IX, Section 8 - Federal Grant Refunds).

Other chartfields can be used to assist in agency specific reporting. For example, program can be recorded to enable agencies to account for revenue deposited for a particular program within a fund. The deposit amount on the AR transaction submitted in SFS must equal the amount deposited in the bank. If there is a discrepancy in the amount, the AR transaction will be investigated by BSAO. The agency will be contacted for verification of the correct amount. BSAO will adjust the transaction amount to equal the actual amount of the deposit.

It is important that the chartfield coding be correctly completed and posted to ensure the proper accounting entries are generated in the SFS.

Obligation Date for Deposit Transactions

Every deposit requires a valid obligation date. See Chapter XIV, Section 2 – Obligation, Accounting and Budget Dates of this Guide for specific guidance.

Documentation Requirements

All AR Deposits are required to include OSC form AC 3312-S filled out in its entirety. This form will assist BSAO – Revenue Deposits in the review and posting of the transaction and is also used by DTF – Treasury to match to bank deposits. In addition to selected accounting data including chartfield string, the form also requires agency contact information; a contact person who can answer specific questions about the transaction and a detailed description of the revenue being deposited that clearly supports the chartfield values (e.g. fund, account) used in the transaction. Additional backup may be submitted at agency discretion. On-line agencies upload the form AC 3312-S and any optional additional backup via the Payments tab. Bulkload or Direct Entry agencies must email the form and any optional additional backup to [email protected].

Agencies are no longer required to submit an AC909 form (Report of Moneys Received) as it is not considered an official source document. Agencies may choose to use the AC909 form as part of their internal process and/or as an aid in entering the transaction into SFS or as supplemental backup attached in SFS to the AR Deposit.

Document Retention

For documentation retention requirements see Section 5 – Document Retention Requirements of this Chapter.

Department of Taxation and Finance – Division of Treasury Requirements

Agencies must forward all checks, money orders, etc. and a printout of the SFS Deposit screen, showing Business Unit, Deposit ID and total amount to DTF Treasury who will deposit the funds into the appropriate State bank account.

Checks and documents must be properly prepared for deposit before being sent to DTF Treasury. If items are received that are not properly prepared, they may be returned to the agency. Agencies must also ensure that the complete box is checked on deposit transactions submitted in SFS. Failure to check the complete box causes delays in posting and can result in delayed payments.

Deposit Preparation:

• No more than 100 checks per deposit.
• For a deposit associated with a single check, submit only the check and a printout of the SFS Deposit screen. For a deposit associated with multiple checks, agencies may also submit a document listing the checks. Do not submit any other documents to Treasury.
• Checks must be ready to be deposited, e.g., no advice attached or staples.
• Limit fasteners such as paperclips, staples, rubber bands, etc. Best practice is to either use a single paperclip to group a check and printout together, or in the case of multiple checks, to fold the printout around the checks.
• Multiple deposits can be sent in a single envelope to DTF Treasury, but do not separate them in individual envelopes inside a larger envelope.
• The total of the checks and money orders submitted for each deposit must match the document total and the amount entered into SFS.

For Electronic (ACH or wire) funds, agencies must submit a screenshot of the SFS Deposit screen, showing Business Unit, Deposit ID and total amount to [email protected].

For bulkload agencies a hardcopy (submitted for checks) or emailed (submitted for electronic funds) form AC 3312-S is acceptable as a substitute for the SFS Deposit Screen.

Special Situations

• Revenue Contracts
  If an agency will be tracking miscellaneous receipts against a revenue contract, they must enter the contract number when inputting the deposit entry into SFS. Within the Accounts Receivable module go to: Payments, Online, Regular Deposit Payments tab. The Payments tab has a “Contract Reference” link for agency staff to enter the revenue contract number. Omissions and corrections for Revenue Contracts cannot be done through the General Ledger Module as there is no chartfield that exists for contracts. A correcting entry can only be done as a positive and negative AR Deposit, which requires special handling. Contact BSAO Revenue Deposits to coordinate such adjustment.
  
  Additional information regarding Revenue Contracts can be found in Chapter XI, Section 7.A – Revenue Contracts of this Guide.

• Settlements, Restitution and Fines
  The receipt of a payment by a state agency as the result of court ordered settlement, restitution, fine or other adjudication requires additional information to be included to properly document the transaction. In addition to the required form AC 3312-S, a copy of the settlement agreement, or similar document, should be attached or submitted. Settlements can be classified as a number of different types of revenue depending on the settlement agreement terms. Agencies should contact BSAO to coordinate proper classification of these revenues. A description of the nature of the fine or reference to the particular State statute under which the fine is being imposed is highly recommended to better document the transaction.

• Due to State Receipts
  When an employee owes the State a refund as the result of an employee expense report, the SFS creates an accounts receivable entry associated with the expense report for the amount due. The employee may use the Due to State Offset functionality in SFS or submit a personal check to the Agency to refund the amount. When an employee submits a personal check, the related expense report must be linked to the deposit in SFS in order to clear the receivable. This is done by entering a Direct Journal Payment into SFS with a Deposit Type of “E” and then selecting the correct Travel Due to State Transaction on the Payments tab.

• Sole Custody Account Sweeps
  On a daily basis, the Cash Management Unit (CMU) within BSAO, initiates transfers from agency sole custody accounts into the GCA and generates the related accounting entries in SFS. Agencies have previously provided BSAO CMU with a single accounting chartfield string for each sole custody bank account. This chartfield string is entered into Cash Management – Treasury Accounting module templates which will be automatically populated with sweep amounts. After notification from BSAO – CMU that funds have been swept, BSAO – Revenue Deposits will review and approve the accounting entries. If needed, agencies should then submit General Ledger Journal Entries to properly classify the revenues to the proper fund(s) and account(s).

Guide to Financial Operations

REV. 12/13/2022