POLICY MANUAL. Policy department: Financial Services. Legal References: Cross References: Policy Number: Adoption Date:

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1 POLICY MANUAL Legal References: Municipal Government Act, Section 6 Cross References: Cash Receipting Procedures (Schedule A ) Policy department: Financial Services Policy Number: C1 Adoption Date: October 19, # Revision Date: April 7, #CM Policy Title: Cash Receipting Policy Review Date: April 2017 POLICY PURPOSE: To provide a process to be followed by all departments within the County of Grande Prairie No.1 for properly recording cash received and issuing a cash receipt. POLICY STATEMENT AND GUIDELINES: All revenues received by the County shall follow the generally accepted accounting principles for local governments established by the Public Sector Accounting and Auditing Board of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Cash receipting procedures and processes are required for efficient operation and record keeping of the municipality, security of funds, to provide adequate internal controls, and comply with auditing standards. The Manager of Financial Services shall approve procedures for the proper handling of cash and cash receipting procedures. All County departments shall comply with these procedures. ATTACHMENTS: Schedule A Cash Receipting Procedures Schedule B Services for which VISA / Matercard payments are accepted Policy Number: C1 Page 1 of 7

2 Procedures for Cash Receipting 1. Cash Receipt Handling & Processing SCHEDULE A COUNTY OF GRANDE PRAIRIE NO. 1 CASH RECEIPTING PROCEDURES Cash receipt handling and processing (entry into the financial cash receipting program) will be assigned to specific individuals at the County in accordance with their job description. These individuals will be responsible for the proper handling and safeguarding of cash, cheques and other methods of payment. Any funds that are not deposited, by the end of the day, must be stored overnight in a location that is fire proof and secure from theft (i.e. safe, vault) 2. Acceptable Methods of Payment: The following represent acceptable methods of payment: a) Cash Payments Canadian currency accepted All funds must be carefully counted and change given (if applicable) before being placed in the cash drawer. If the funds are substantial, the funds must be counted twice to ensure accuracy. If an interruption occurs during the counting process, the count must restart when counting resumes. Any currency that is suspected to be counterfeit must be reported to the Accounting Manager or Manager of Financial Services. See section 8 regarding foreign exchange rates. b) Cheque Payments Canadian or American currency including personal/commercial cheques, certified cheques, bank drafts, or money orders. All cheques received must be endorsed immediately upon receipt, as follows: For deposit only To the credit of The County of Grande Prairie No. 1 Policy Number: C1 Page 2 of 7

3 & Account number All cheques received must be reviewed for the following: 1) Payee must be the County of Grande Prairie 2) Date must be current (unless the cheque was taken as a post dated cheque) 3) Cheque has been properly signed 4) Numeric and written amounts match Under no circumstances, will change be issued on cheques or other non-cash forms of payment. When a discrepancy exists between the numeric and the written amounts on a cheque, a request to issue a new cheque will be given to the customer and the old cheque must be returned upon receipt of the new one. Post dated cheques Post dated cheques can be accepted, provided that the date is no later than 60 days. An exception to this rule will be when the customer has agreed to provide a series of post dated cheques as part of a payment plan. NSF Cheques All cheques that are returned by the bank due to insufficient funds will be assessed a charge per the current schedule of fees. Occasionally, at the discretion of the Manager of Financial Services, a customer may be required to provide a certified cheque before payment is processed. Only the Manager of Financial Services and the Accounting Manager have the authority to waive the NSF charge under unusual circumstances. c) Electronic Payments Direct debit, Visa or MasterCard Every payment must be approved by the credit card issuer by providing an authorization number. The credit card number is entered in the terminal by swiping the card. If a payment by Visa or Mastercard is made over the phone it can be entered by typing the card number. All credit card slips must be signed by the customer or secure pin processed before transaction is completed. Payment of taxes & development levies by credit card are not accepted. Payments for these services will be accepted at the County Administration office ONLY by direct debit, cash or Policy Number: C1 Page 3 of 7

4 cheque, via online banking or payment at an approved financial institution, or through the tax installment plan (taxes only). d) Electronic Funds Transfers payments directly deposited into the County s general operating bank account. An agreement must be signed before a vendor can obtain access to the County s banking information. e) Internet Payments payments made through the County s website for specific services, using a credit card accepted by the County Other methods of payment, including but not limited to other foreign currencies are not acceptable. See appendix A for a listing of goods, services & fees which credit card payments are accepted. All funds must be processed the same day they are received. All receipts must be included in batches. 3. Receipt Modifications/Cancellations Only the Accountant, Accounting Manager and the Manager of Financial Services are authorized to reopen receipts in order to make corrections before receipts are applied in the accounting system. All receipts shall be sequentially numbered by the system and included in a batch receipt deposit report. Only the Accounting Manager and the Manager of Financial Services are authorized to cancel receipts. No receipt shall be cancelled unless the original receipt is obtained. Reasons for reopening and cancelling receipts must be properly documented as an electronic note on the receipt and back up documentation must be attached to the batch which contains the receipt, and be signed off by the authorized individual as listed above. The system also creates an audit log of all changes. 4. Issuing Refunds All refunds will be issued in the form of cheque payment by providing Accounts Payable with a properly authorized AP memo and back up. 5. Deposit Processing Deposits should be done daily unless minimum thresholds have not been met (bi-weekly at a minimum), using the approved cash receipt reconciliation form. Once a deposit has been prepared, it Policy Number: C1 Page 4 of 7

5 shall be taken to the Accountant for checking and approval before going to the bank. In the Accountant s absence, the Accounting Manager or designate will fulfill this responsibility. 6. Transportation of Funds All funds are to be transported to the bank by Armoured car service. Occasionally, the Accounting Manager or the Accountant will be required to take funds and directly deposit them into the County s general bank account. Under no circumstances, however, will deposits be made by mail. 7. Cash Shortages/Overages All cash shortages and overages must be reported the Accounting Manager. Details of incidents leading to shortages must be documented. 8. US Funds and Foreign Exchange Gains/Losses Payments are accepted in CANADIAN currency. Payments in US funds are accepted via cheque for tax payments only and the exchange gain or loss is applied to the property tax account. 9. Bank Account Reconciliations All County bank accounts owned by the County must be reconciled by the Junior Accountant and approved by the Accountant on a weekly basis unless otherwise authorized by the Accounting Manager or Manager of Financial Services. 10. Payments at Remote Locations Payments at remote locations, such as parks, which do not have access to the financial cash receipting system shall follow processes as established by the Accounting Manager. Procedure approval date Manager of Financial Services Attachments: Schedule B - SERVICES FOR WHICH VISA/MASTERCARD PAYMENTS ARE ACCEPTED Policy Number: C1 Page 5 of 7

6 SCHEDULE B SERVICES FOR WHICH VISA/MASTERCARD PAYMENTS ARE ACCEPTED ** ADMINISTRATION Cemetery plots Grazing land lease Fire calls County merchandise Photocopying/facsimile Formal FOIP request Land rental Postage Road allowance leases non oil A.S.B. Beaver Removal Rental of Equipment Magpie traps/general ASB Sales Chemical sales No spray signs Ag courses/supplies FINANCIAL SERVICES Tax certificates Assessment records Landowner names & addresses Assessment review board appeal deposits County maps Information Searches FCSS Homemaker services PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT Subdivision applications Subdivision endorsement fees Subdivision approaches Policy Number: C1 Page 6 of 7

7 Subdivision time extensions Condominium fees Development/Subdivision appeals Development permit applications New or amendment applications Development permit penalty Maps, etc. Area structure plans Real Property Reports Legal & engineering charges Building and safety services permit fees PUBLIC WORKS Road allowance lease Grader blades Utilities water & sewer, capital charges Equipment rental Permits administration fee Well site approach fees High pressure pipeline crossing fees Oil well drilling licenses Calcium Suppression (Dust Control) Landfill fees Garbage collection Misc. sales Signage charge Rural addressing PROTECTIVE SERVICES Fire hall charges Dog licenses **Some restrictions do apply. Policy Number: C1 Page 7 of 7