REQUEST FOR CASH ADVANCE

Table of Contents:

• PURPOSE
• GENERAL INFORMATION
• EXHIBIT AND INSTRUCTIONS
• FORM REQUIREMENTS
• NUMBER OF COPIES AND ULTIMATE DISTRIBUTION
• WHERE TO SEND COMPLETED FORMS
• CONTACT INFORMATION
• CROSS REFERENCES

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PURPOSE

The Request for Cash Advance form is used to request cash advances which will be issued at the discretion of the Financial Officer or Director of Finance & Business (hereafter FO). If the advance is to be issued to the Financial Officer, the respective Director of Financial Officers - University Park or the Associate Vice President for Finance and Business Services, Commonwealth Campuses must approve the request. All advances must be issued in accordance with Policy FN04 Long-Term and Short-Term Advances and Procedure FN2016 Processing Long-Term and Short-Term Advances.

All advances create an accounts receivable in the name of the fund custodian receiving the advance, who must be an employee or a graduate assistant with a stipend. Undergraduate students are not permitted to receive advances. All advances must be reconciled when:

• the advance is no longer needed;
• the employee transfers to a different department;
• the employee retires or terminates employment with the University.

ALL advances must be reconciled within 30 days of the date listed on the advance form. Cash advances should be reconciled as part of the month-end and must be reconciled as part of the year-end close processes. If contract/grant funds are utilized, the advance must be reconciled and closed before the close date of the contract/grant.

General Information:

The Request for Cash Advance form is used for several different purposes. They are as follows:

• To establish Change Funds with prior approval (long-term or short-term)
• To establish a Petty Cash Fund with prior approval (long-term or short-term)
• To request a short-term (temporary) cash advance
• To request funds to pay research participants

In all instances, the advance is processed as a Non-PO Invoice in SIMBA, payable to the requester. The written approval and the completed Request for Cash Advance form are uploaded as supporting documentation to the transaction. The advance creates an accounts receivable in the name of the requester receiving the advance. The requester is responsible for maintaining the Request for Cash Advance for the duration of the open advance. When the advance is settled, the form is updated to indicate the advance has been returned.

Change Funds - Used to establish a fund for cash register operations or other areas where cash collections take place and the need for having change-on-hand exists. If the request is approved, the advance is processed using:

• GL 13010300 Short-Term Advance (less than 90 days), or
• GL 13010300 Short-Term Advance for research (365 days or less), or
• GL 13010800 Long-Term Advance

Petty Cash Fund - Used to establish a fund for minor local purchases for operational needs which individually do not cost more than an amount specified in Policy FN04 Long-Term and Short-Term Advances or BS14 Penn State Purchasing Card. If the request is approved, the advance is processed using:

• GL 13010300 Short-Term Advance (less than 90 days), or
• GL 13010800 Long-Term Advance

Short-term (temporary) Cash advance processed by Non-PO Invoice- Used to establish a temporary cash advance (less than 90 days). If the request is approved, the advance is processed using GL 13010300 Short-Term Advance.

The following are general rules surrounding cash advances:

• Expenditures must be in compliance with all University policies and procedures.


• Cash advance requests on sponsored funds must follow the most restrictive applicable policy (University policy or sponsor rules). If the sponsor has given prior written approval, expenses generally not allowed on non-sponsored funds may be allowed on sponsored funds.


• Business Areas must have in place local procedures for secure handling of cash and reconciliation of the cash advance. See Policy FN01 Cash Revenues and Procedure FN2016 Long-Term and Short-Term Advances for additional details.

The Request for Cash Advance form is NOT to be used for travel advances. Please see Procedure TR2005 Travel: Payment Methods and the Request for Travel Advance form for that purpose.

Exhibit and Instructions:

This form has fill-and-print form fields and digital ID (electronic signature) fields enabled. The PDF version has instructions provided for the type and/or format of information to be included within the fill-and-print form fields. Hovering the computer mouse over any form field within the PDF will display these instructions.

To step-by-step instructions for completing this form, click exhibit link below:

Request for Cash Advance Exhibit

Form Requirements:

No form may be used that substitutes for an approved official University form without prior review and approval by the steward of the form/central office, as facilitated by the Office of Systems and Procedures (designated representative of the Corporate Controller). Policy FN17 Required Use of Approved University Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility (GURU) requires that all form templates must be vetted and approved prior to being published on the GURU website and all such documents having gone through said established approval process must be password protected. See Procedure FN2017 Use of Approved Form Templates Appearing on the GURU Website. for complete details on the use of the Request for Cash Advance form.

If you encounter any difficulties, contact the GURU support staff by submitting a Technical Support Form request.

Number of Copies and Ultimate Distribution:

* Transitory Copies are University Records that have temporary value and, as a result, may be destroyed after they are no longer needed. In no event shall be retained longer than the official copy of the University Record as delineated on the Records Retention Schedule.

Where to Send Completed Forms:

The fully executed (approved) form is uploaded as supporting documentation to the transaction within SIMBA. The advance holder is also responsible for keeping the fully executed (approved) form until the advance is settled.

Contact Information:

For questions or additional detail pertaining to the Request for Cash Advance form, contact your Business Area Finance Office.

To request changes to the Request for Cash Advance Form, contact the Office of Systems & Procedures by submitting a GURU Technical Support Request Form.

Cross References:

• Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management
• Policy FN04 Petty Cash and Change Funds
• Policy FN17 Required Use of Approved University Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility