WHAT IS A BUDGET TRANSFER?

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2 WHAT IS A BUDGET TRANSFER? A budget transfer moves available funds from one budget number to another. This should occur before expenditure in anticipation of spending needs. If you need to purchase supplies but the budget amount in the supply account is insufficient, then available funds must be transferred into the supply account from another.

3 WHAT IS A BUDGET TRANSFER? In the Datatel system, these funds are known as Allocated Budget

4 The budget transfer form is available on the Business Office website under Forms at: Please use available forms provided by the Business Office. This simplifies data entry and maintains consistency. The form can be filled out using Excel or by printing out a blank form and writing in the information. Budget transfers and journal entries share a common form, but the two transactions are mutually exclusive in other words, check one box or the other. You cannot submit both a budget transfer and a journal entry on the same form.

5 A budget transfer can be submitted multiple times during a fiscal year as needed. The expenditure accounts in your division or department should be regularly reviewed to ensure that no negative balances are showing in Datatel. Please note that budget transfers for the current fiscal year cannot be entered until after the Final Budget is approved by the Governing Board AND after the Annual Budget and Financial Report (CCFS-311) is reported to the State Chancellor s Office. This occurs in October. Any budget transfers received prior to this date will be held until then.

6 The Business Office will create new accounts that are necessary but do not currently exist; the budget transfer request will serve as authorization to open the budget number. Budget amounts should be in whole dollars only (no cents). The transfer amount should never exceed the amount available within that account including what has already been spent and/or encumbered by a purchase order. This means the transfer should not result in a negative balance in the account.

7 When transferring funds, the fund numbers and project numbers need to remain consistent: Within the same FUND: If moving FROM 11-0-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXX-000 then must be moved TO 11-0-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXX-000 Within the same PROJECT (grant): If moving FROM 12-0-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXX-816 then must be moved TO 12-0-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXX-816

8 A very common question is: Q - Should the entry be a Debit or Credit? A - Ultimately, the sum of all Debits should equal the sum of all Credits. The next screens provide samples of how a debit or credit affects expenditure and revenue accounts.

9 For an EXPENDITURE Account: a DEBIT increases the Allocated Budget a CREDIT decreases the Allocated Budget DEBITS & CREDITS The balance in an expenditure account should be a DEBIT (positive) otherwise it is overdrawn Debit Credit Credit

10 For a REVENUE Account: a DEBIT reduces the Allocated Budget a CREDIT increases the Allocated Budget The balance in a revenue account normally has a CREDIT (negative) balance Credit Debit

11 The left-hand TO/DEBIT column is for the budget number that you would like to move the funds into. The right-hand FROM/CREDIT column is for the budget number that you are moving the funds from. Note: The DEBIT and CREDIT are opposite for Revenue accounts Object: 8xxxxx

12 Each transfer requires a description for data entry. This description can be up to a maximum of 28 characters. The Business Office Excel form will prompt you if this number is exceeded.

13 Each comment corresponds to the budget number above it. Budget transfer entries will appear in Datatel detail reports with the code of BU for Budget Update.

14 The comment is the audit trail description that will remain PERMANENTLY in Cabrillo's financial records. Therefore, relevant information should be provided that will be as self-explanatory as possible. Ideally, anyone, now and in future years, should be able to understand what has occurred simply by reading the description. Keep in mind that the hard copy records are stored away at the end of each fiscal year and may be difficult to locate in subsequent years.

15 The NOTES area at the bottom of the form can be used to write a more extensive explanation about the transaction that will be helpful to the Budget Officer and fiscal auditor. This information will not appear on Datatel budget reports. Budget Transfers require Administrative Approval from the authorized Budget Officer of the funds. Submit the signed original form to the Business Office for data entry into Datatel. To save paper, keep an Excel online copy for your files instead of a hard copy. Budget Transfers are subject to audit approval by the Business Office before being officially entered into Datatel.

16 This is the end of this learning module. For additional information about Business Office policies and procedures, please refer to the Business Office Guide located at: