Chapter 17 School Cash Catalog

Chapter 17 School Cash Catalog In Palm Beach County, schools have the ability to accept online payments from parents, guardians, other relatives, and members of the public. Acceptable methods of payment include VISA, MasterCard, and a VISA or MasterCard shielded debit card. Schools set up fees in the School Cash Catalog, the payors set up accounts in School Cash Online and establish their family by selecting their children, which gives them visibility to fees that were assigned to their students. Payors are then able to make payments on behalf of their students for internal accounts fees and school lunches. Public fees are not associated with any specific student since they are intended for a wider audience. When payments are made, they are processed through the merchant card system and are credited to the school s internal bank account. At the same time, a Direct Deposit entry is posted to the accounting system to record the receipt of funds. This automatic posting feature eliminates the need for the bookkeeper to make any manual entries to record the receipt of online payments. Numerous reports are available in School Cash Accounting to help the bookkeeper identify and track these online payments. WORKING IN THE SCHOOL CASH CATALOG Accounting Services has developed a worksheet to assist teachers and event sponsors who wish to collect fees using the online payment system; that worksheet is in Appendix 17A of this chapter of the Internal Accounts Manual. The teacher/sponsor should complete the form and forward it to the bookkeeper so the fee can be set up in the School Cash Catalog. From the Main Menu navigate to My School Store and select the School Cash Catalog menu item. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 1 Chapter 17

The VIEW ITEMS page shows a list of active fees on the left hand portion of the page and the first item in the list will be highlighted. Active Items include any items that are available for payment. The details of the highlighted fee will be displayed on the right hand portion of the page. As you scroll down the Item Name list, a new fee will be highlighted and the fee details for that fee will be displayed on the right hand side of the page. The VIEW ITEMS tab displays several informational components as shown below: A The gray tabs at the top of the page allow the bookkeeper to access other pages. B The dropdown menus allow the bookkeeper to find fees that meet specific parameters based on the available selection criteria that displays in the dropdown boxes. C The search window allows the bookkeeper to search for specific words or phrases in the Item Name field. D The item name list shows all fees that meet the parameters specified above. The system default is set to display all active fees for the current school year. E The fee details summarize the fee specifications that were established when the bookkeeper established the fee in the School Cash Catalog. The action buttons at the top of this section allow the bookkeeper to assign the fee to students or staff, delete the fee, issue a refund, or copy and modify a fee that was previously established in the system. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 2 Chapter 17

CREATING A FEE IN THE SCHOOL CASH CATALOG Select the tab labeled CREATE A NEW ITEM and fill in the items on the screen using the worksheet provided by the teacher/sponsor or use information from another source. Note: the items marked with an asterisk are mandatory. *Name: Enter the name of the item this is the name the payor will see when they go into the system to find the fee and make a payment. Examples of fee names are Yearbook, Washington DC Trip, Parking Decal, After School Fees, etc. If the item is a public fee, include the school name at the beginning of the Name field so the payor can search on the school name to find the fee. Description: Provide a more detailed description of the item. Examples of detail are instructions for picking up the item, field trip instructions, payment deadlines, etc. This is also an opportunity to inject some marketing incentives into the fee. *School: The name of the school will default into this field. *Year: The current school year will default into this field. This field determines the available student population for assigning the fee, and should always reflect the current school year. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 3 Chapter 17

*Bank Account: The name of the school bank account will default into this field. This is the bank account that will receive any online payments associated with this fee. *Effective From: These are the start and end dates for accepting payments. The Start Date is the first day the fee will be visible to the payors; the fee becomes visible at 12:01AM on this day. The End Date is the last day the fee will be visible to the payors; the fee becomes invisible at midnight on this day. Send Reminder Email: To send the parent/guardians a reminder email, check the checkbox and specify a date. The system will generate a reminder email to the parent/guardians of the students associated with the fee on the date specified. The email will be sent to the email address the parent/guardian uses as their user id for making online payments. *Quantity Available: For most items, take the default value and leave the Unlimited checkbox checked. If the school has only a limited number of items available for sale, enter the number available for sale and uncheck the Unlimited checkbox. For example, if there are 500 yearbooks available for sale, enter 500 as the Quantity Available and the system will stop accepting payments when the 500 th yearbook is sold. Schools have the ability to adjust available items up or down to reflect cash sales or inventory reductions. *Limit Per Person: How many items can each student purchase? The default value is 1, and the number can be changed to a different value or, if there is no limit on the number of purchases, check the Unlimited checkbox and the system will allow parent/guardians to make as many payments as possible. Use this field wisely to avoid having to refund duplicate or triplicate payments if the parent inadvertently makes an overpayment. Available to Public? If the school wishes to make the fee available to the general public, check this box. Remember to use the school name at the front of the Name field if this option is selected. Also remember that payments from the general public are not associated to any student. Most schools will not use this feature, because they generally want to know which student made a payment. *Add Category This is where the school specifies which account(s) will receive the funds when the Direct Deposit entries are posted in School Cash Accounting. Click the Add Category button to assign an Account, Transaction Code, and Amount to the fee. Schools can assign multiple categories to a fee by clicking the Add Category button again. All fees must specify at least one Category, Amount, and Transaction Code. Add Option If the parent/guardians need to select a size, color, date, etc. because multiple options are offered, this is where the school can set up those options. Each Option includes at least two choices. For example, if a school is selling school shirts, the Option may be SIZE, and the Choices may be Small, Medium, and Large. The parent/guardian will be required to select one of the choices when they make the payment. If multiple Options are available, parents will be required to select a Choice for every available Option at payment time. So in our example, if COLOR was also an option, Blue and Red might be the choices, and the parent/guardian would be required to select both SIZE and COLOR at payment time. Add Picture If a picture is available, upload it here and it will be visible to the payor. Add Permission Form Not used at the present time in Palm Beach County. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 4 Chapter 17

Click SAVE to retain the fee, then click the Attach button to assign the fee to everyone on campus or target specific segments of the school s student or adult population. ATTACHING STUDENTS OR STAFF TO FEES When you are viewing the fee, click on the Attach button to assign the fee to the students or staff. Fees can be assigned to ALL (students and staff), Grade Levels, Groups, Homerooms, Classes and Class Sections, or to individual students or staff members based on scheduling data from the District s TERMS Student database. Changes to TERMS Student (withdrawals, new enrollments, scheduling changes, etc.) are captured and uploaded each evening so the School Cash Catalog will reflect the most current version of the school s student and staff population. This will bring up the Create Attachment page shown below: Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 5 Chapter 17

When a radio button is selected, a list of selections will be displayed, and the checkbox to the left of the selection can be used to select members or segments of the school population for fee assignments. All Students allows the bookkeeper to assign the fee to all teachers and students in the school population. Grade allows the bookkeeper to assign a fee to one or more grade levels, or to just staff members. Course allows the bookkeeper to assign a fee to students enrolled in one or more course sections from the school s TERMS Student database. Homeroom allows the bookkeeper to assign a fee to students enrolled in one or more homerooms from the school s TERMS Student database. Group allows the bookkeeper to assign a fee to students who are members of a specific curricular or extra curricular student group. Groups are established by entering the School Name, Group Name, Student First Name, Student Last Name, and Student Number into an Excel template which is uploaded into the School Cash Catalog by the bookkeeper. The Excel Template is included in the appendix of this chapter. Individual Students will bring up a list of individuals in the database, and the bookkeeper can select one or more of those individuals from the list. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 6 Chapter 17

Using the STUDENT ATTACHMENTS Tab This tab allows the bookkeeper to see which fees have been assigned to students or staff, and also shows online payment dates and amounts, as well as online refunds. Use the criteria at the top of the page to search the database and review the students or staff members who have fee assignments in the School Cash Online system. First Name: Enter the first name of the student or staff member and click the gray SEARCH button. A list of matches will appear in the redacted area below. Select individual(s) from the search results and click on the View Attachments link to see fees and online payments. Last Name: Enter the last name of the student or staff member and click the gray SEARCH button. A list of name matches will appear in the redacted area below. Select individual(s) from the search results and click on the View Attachments link to see fees and online payments. Student Number: Enter the student or employee number and click the gray SEARCH button. That specific individual s data will appear in the redacted area below. Click the View Attachments link to see fees and online payments. Household: Enter the parent/guardian s name and click the gray SEARCH button. A list of matches will appear in the redacted area below. Click the View Attachments link to see fees and online payments. Grade: Use the dropdown menu to select students in a grade level, or select students in multiple grade levels. Grade levels are PK (Pre Kindergarten), K (Kindergarten), 1 12 (First grade through Twelfth grade), and T (Teachers and Staff). Selecting ALL will generate a list of all students and staff. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 7 Chapter 17

Group: Use the dropdown to select a group After School Program students, Band students, Club members, etc. when a group has been established in the system. (This is accomplished by entering information in a specific format in an Excel spreadsheet, then uploading the information into the School Cash Catalog. The Excel spreadsheet format and Tip Sheets for establishing groups and assigning them to fees can be found in the appendix to this chapter.) Homeroom: Use the dropdown menu to select a homeroom. The students assigned to that homeroom will appear in the redacted area below. Select multiple homerooms if appropriate the homeroom number corresponds with the homeroom number assigned in the TERMS Student database. Class: Use the dropdown menu to select a specific class section. The students assigned to that class section will appear in the redacted area below. Select multiple class sections if appropriate the class section number corresponds with the class section number assigned in the TERMS Student database. Using the GROUP IMPORT Tab This tab is used to import a group spreadsheet into the School Cash Catalog. Here is a sample of the Group Import page: Prior to attempting a group import, the data for the group members must be entered into an Excel template. The template is included as Exhibit 17B of this chapter of the Internal Accounts Manual, and includes the following data elements: School Name must be formatted as it appears in the School Cash System Student Group Name the name of the group Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 8 Chapter 17

Student First Name the student s first name as it appears in TERMS Student Student Last Name the student s last name as is appears in TERMS Student Student Number the student number as is appears in TERMS Student The template must be saved as a CSV file and named with the four digit school number and a description of the group. In order for all the data to upload successfully, it must be properly formatted without any typographical errors so it will match up exactly with the student data from TERMS Student. Mismatched data will not upload successfully. Tip sheets outlining the process for group uploads are included as exhibits to this chapter of the Internal Accounts Manual as follows: 17C 17D 17E Create a Group Import File Manage Group Imports Manage Group Assignments SCHOOL CASH CATALOG REPORTS The REPORTS tab allows the bookkeeper to run a wide variety of payment reports. Here is a sample of the Reports page, which includes a graphical overview of the dollar amount and number of payments for the preceding month. The available reports are shown a blue links across the top of the page and can be accessed by simply clicking on one of the blue links: Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 9 Chapter 17

Category Report This report allows the bookkeeper to generate a report showing the account categories that have been credited with Direct Deposits. The default specification is to include all account categories for the entire year, but those parameters can be modified by changing the report specifications. Reports can be generated for one account category or multiple account categories and for specific periods of time, depending on the parameters entered. By specifying a date range and unchecking the Select All Categories checkbox, the report can be customized to include specific time periods and specific account categories. Multiple account categories can be selected by holding the Control key and clicking on individual category names or numbers as you scroll through the pick list. When the parameters are set, click the GENERATE button to process the report. Results can be sorted alphabetically or numerically. The report will appear beneath the criteria specifications. School Cash Catalog reports can be printed by clicking the printer icon or they can be exported to other formats, including PDF and Excel, which can be saved and emailed. Here is an example of the Category Report run control page: Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 10 Chapter 17

Item Order Report This report allows the bookkeeper to see the payment history for one specific fee. A selection must be made from the pick list in the Name of Fee field. The default specification is to show all students, whether they paid or not, for the specified fee. You can use the start and end dates and the filters to further refine the search results. This report is commonly used to generate a list of all the students who made an online payment for a specific fee by selecting the fee in the Item Name field, and selecting Fully Paid in the Show field. This generates a convenient list of all online payments that can be provided to the teacher/sponsor. Reports can be printed by clicking the Print icon or exported to other formats, including PDF and Excel, which can be emailed. Here is an example of a report showing all online payments for the Debate Team Dues: Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 11 Chapter 17

Item Option Report This report provides a list of options and choices that were made available for a specific fee. Specify a Fee Name and click the GENERATE button to process the report. If more restrictive search results are desired, use the date criteria and the Student Filters to further refine the results. The first page of the report summarizes the number of options and choices that were made by online payors and the following pages list the names of the students who made a specific option/choice selection at time of payment. The report can be printed by clicking the Print icon or exported to other formats, including PDF and Excel, which can be saved and emailed. Here is an example of a report showing the various sizes that were specified online when PE Uniform Shirt orders were purchased: Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 12 Chapter 17

Item Attachment Report This report provides a list of students attached to specific fees as well as their payment status. Payments made by cash or check will not be reflected on this report. If online refunds were issued, they will appear on this report. Specify a Fee Name and click the GENERATE button to process the report. If more restrictive search results are desired, use the payment status, date criteria, or Optional Filters to further refine the results. This report is useful if you want a list of all payments for a specific period of time for all fees or for a specific fee. The example below shows an Item Attachment Report listing the students with unpaid FCCLA Dues; the criteria specified Fee Name FCCLA Club Dues and payment status of Not Paid. The teacher can take this list, cross off the names of the students that paid in cash (per their Monies Collected Reports), and remind the unpaid students that they need to make a payment. The report can be printed by clicking the Print icon or exported to other formats, including PDF and Excel, which can be saved and emailed to teacher/sponsors or other interested parties. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 13 Chapter 17

Student Balance Report This report shows the unpaid fee total for a specific student, grade level, or homeroom. Payments by cash or check are not deducted from the student s balance due, and fee details are not shown on this report. Use this report with care due to the fact that (a) many fees in Palm Beach County are not mandatory, and (b) any cash or checks that were received will not be included on this report, which could result in an inflated balance due. Here is an example of a Student Balance Report for the current school year for student Jose Garcia: Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 14 Chapter 17

Batch Report This report allows the bookkeeper to generate the online payments for a specific processing date. Each Direct Deposit entry is assigned a unique batch number when the transactions are posted to the School Cash Accounting general ledger, and the payment details for that batch number are shown on the Batch Report. A sample Batch Report run control for payment batch 94866 dated 06/24/13 is shown below. The report can be printed by clicking the Print icon or it can be exported to other formats, including PDF and Excel, which can be saved and emailed. The batch report actually generates the data in three different versions: 1. General Ledger Summary Shows which account categories were credited with payments: Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 15 Chapter 17

2. Item Summary Shows payment totals for each item purchased online: 3. Student Summary A list of students who paid fees as part of the payment batch: Permission Form Report Permission slips are not tracked and processed online in Palm Beach County. IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN SETTING UP ONLINE FEES School bookkeepers should be aware of several important points when they are setting up fees in the School Cash Catalog: All fees should be OPTIONAL if a fee is set up as a required fee, it will never disappear from the parent s fee list in School Cash Online, and it cannot be expired or deleted if the parent makes a cash or check payment. With public fees remember to (a) include the school name at the beginning of the Fee Name and (b) keep in mind that public fees will never be associated with a specific student on any reports. The Effective Date determines the time period that the fees will be visible to the parents in School Cash Online. The fee becomes visible at 12:01AM on the Start Date and becomes invisible at midnight on the End Date. To disable a payment immediately, select Expire Now blue button on the item. To increase productivity, fees can be copied. Find the fee you wish to copy, select the blue Copy button, and modify the fee as needed. The system will automatically insert the word COPY in the Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 16 Chapter 17

Item Name. Delete the word COPY, and verify that all other information (dates, school year, account categories, amounts, etc.) is correct before saving the fee and assigning it to students. Remember that Limit Per Person establishes how many times a parent will be permitted to make a payment. For example, if the limit is set as one, after the parent makes one payment, the fee will disappear from the parent s payment list in School Cash Online. This is desirable if the parent is only required to make one payment, but it will need to be changed if parents need to make multiple payments. NSF Checks can be collected online by assigning a fee to an individual student. The payment amount should be the check amount plus a $2 administrative fee. Try to assign fees to the appropriate grade levels, class sections, or other segments of the student body. If a fee isn t payable by the entire student population and faculty, it shouldn t be assigned to ALL when it is set up in the School Cash Catalog. All fee parameters can be edited until a payment is made but once an online payment is received, some of the parameters are not eligible for changes. In those instances, it is recommended that the bookkeeper consider copying the fee (thus creating a new fee and correcting the erroneous data element), then expiring the original fee. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 17 Chapter 17