Year-End Closing for University Disbursement and Property Services, Including Certified Forwards, Fiscal Year 2000-01

John P. Kruczek, University Controller

It is time to begin planning for June 30, 2000, year-end closing. Departments are encouraged to submit invoices for payment as early as possible to ensure payment from current year funds. Outstanding encumbrances should be reviewed and any which are not needed should be closed. A useful tool for reviewing encumbrances is the Outstanding Encumbrance Report that is attached to your monthly Departmental Ledgers. We will begin sending out special Outstanding Encumbrance Reports in June. These reports should alert you to problems that need to be resolved before year-end. I would like to emphasize that it is your department’s responsibility to manage funds through the certification process.

On July 3, 2000, we will distribute Encumbrance reports to each department. The report will list all of the open encumbrances at June 30, 2000, for each organization code in funds that require certification forward. The only encumbrances remaining open at this date should be those which are to be certified forward. Please verify that these encumbrances should be certified forward and provide information regarding any goods or services that have NOT been received and not paid as of June 30. The completed reports must be returned to University Disbursement Services, 114 Elmore Hall, Post Office Box 115350, no later than July 7, 2000 in order to have these encumbrances certified forward. A preliminary run of this Encumbrance report will be distributed to each department by June 9. This will allow you to review all encumbrances and begin to prepare your information to be entered on the final version.

Please note that the Encumbrance Report for Certified Forward includes a receipt date of 6/30/00 for all goods or services that have not been paid for by June 30, 2000. You should identify any goods or services NOT received by June 30, 2000, as the receipt date is essential to determine the University’s Accounts Payable at year-end.

PURCHASING CARD
Purchasing Card – Purchases made on University Purchasing Cards against general funds and not paid before 6/30/00 may be certified forward if funds are available. In order to ensure that payment of purchases made on the Purchasing Card after June 15, 2000 are paid from Fiscal Year 1999/2000 funds, it is suggested that sufficient money be encumbered to cover these purchases. If unpaid purchasing card charges are not encumbered, they will be paid out of Fiscal Year 2000/2001 budgets.

BLANKET ENCUMBRANCES
As in previous years, blanket encumbrances (with the exception of maintenance contracts, encumbrances on sponsored contracts and grants, and recurring charges) will be closed at the end of May. Please remember to make arrangements for the timely establishment of any special encumbrances that you might need for goods or services purchased during the month of June. In addition, be sure to encumber sufficient current year funds to certify all charges through June 30 for such items as NERDC, Working Capital, maintenance and repair jobs, utilities, Suncom, toll calls, Printing, Motor Pool, copying charges, postage, etc. In cases where estimates are required because services have been rendered, but not billed, by June 30, please use the best historical information you have from prior months’ activity. Postage, Bookstore, and Printing will be processing invoices for the first two weeks in June; thus you will only need to certify forward the last half of June’s charges to these auxiliaries. Charges for basic telephone services and telephone maintenance for June will be paid early in June; please do not certify. However, Suncom charges for May and June should be certified forward. Telephone toll calls for the month of June should be certified forward.

TRAVEL ADVANCES
Travel advances cannot be granted during the month of June, as travel advances must be settled prior to June 30.

DEADLINES
The following deadlines have been established to assist you in the year-end process. Please note that these deadlines are tentative, since we have not received the official dates from Tallahassee.

Monday, May 1, 4:30 p.m.

• As of this date, in order to receive an Avis Rent-A-Car ACTO on a State account, special travel encumbrances are required.

Friday, May 19, 4:30 p.m.

• Last day to process disbursements from Revolving Fund.

Friday, May 26, 4:30 p.m.

• The following blanket encumbrances on all State, AEF, Auxiliary, Agency, Student Government, and MG & G funds will be closed:

1. Outside vendor blankets. Except maintenance agreements and standard monthly operating charges.

2. Travel blankets. Travel Reimbursement Vouchers submitted after this date on closed travel blankets, for travel occurring in May, will be processed for payment. However, please make arrangements for the establishment of any special encumbrances for travel, including ACTO’s (see May 1 above) and TR’s you might need during the month of June.

3. I.D. Blankets. Except for PPD (working capital, telecommunications, utilities, etc.), OIR, Postal, and NERDC. Please set up special encumbrances for purchases from auxiliaries in June.

Friday, June 2, 4:30 p.m.

• Submit the following to University Disbursement Services to ensure payment from Fiscal Year 1999/2000 funds:

1. Non-automated Inter-departmental (I.D.) invoices
2. I.D. expense refunds
3. Invoices from other State agencies

Monday, June 5, 12:00 NOON

• Cash Expense Refunds should be remitted to the Cashier, S-113 Criser Hall, as early as possible to ensure that refunds to State accounts will not be lost. In any event, all refunds should be deposited in a timely manner.
• Special auxiliary I.D. encumbrances should be submitted to University Disbursement Services, P.O. Box 115350, 114 Elmore Hall, for certification purposes. This does not apply to Sponsored Research Contracts and Grants that end after June 30, 2000.

Monday, June 5, 4:30 p.m.

• Deadline for submitting invoices for all purchases from State Surplus Property Division to University Property Services, P.O. Box 115300, 116 Elmore Hall, to ensure payment before the State Comptroller’s deadlines. Questions should be addressed to Randy Staples at 2-2556.

Friday, June 9, 12:00 NOON

• Revenue Refund requests should be submitted to the Bank Area, S-113 Criser Hall.

Friday, June 9, 4:30 p.m.

• Deadline for submitting to University Disbursement Services, P. O. Box 115350, 114 Elmore Hall, to ensure payment during the month of June:
  

  1. Payment Authorizations (PAs).
  2. Approved outside vendor invoices and freight invoices for all funds, including Agency funds.
  3. Travel reimbursement vouchers.
  4. Concession fund requisitions for payment.
  5. NRA payments to be paid from Fiscal Year 1999/2000 funds.

• Deadline for submitting grant invoices to University Disbursement Services, P.O. Box 115350, 114 Elmore Hall, to ensure processing during the month of June.
• Deadline for submitting Change Orders to outstanding encumbrances to be certified forward.

Friday, July 7, 4:30 p.m.

• Deadline for returning Encumbrance Reports for Certified Forward to University Disbursement Services.

If any changes occur concerning year-end closing deadlines or the procedures for Certified Forward, we will promptly convey them to you. Please note that we will continue to accept invoices after the “ensure” dates, but cannot guarantee that they will be processed before June 30.

If you have any questions concerning these procedures and cutoff dates, please call Dorothy Dykes at 2- 1241, ext. 307 on ID’s; Monica Thames-Lamar at 2-1245, on Travel; Debbie Anderson at 2-1241, ext. 309, on Outside Vendors; Linda Shreve at 2-0185 on Cash Expense Refunds; Patti Perkins at 2-0181 on Revenue Refunds. Health Center units should call Shirley Hatch at 395-8095.