FN02 Charge Sales and Billing

NOTE: The implementation of SIMBA requires the evaluation of all University Financial Policies and Guidelines.  After consultation with key constituencies, work will be underway to update, consolidate, and improve our policies to better serve you. Please be aware that due to volume, all policies may not be updated to reflect changes which have been communicated; however, policies will be updated with appropriate and applicable effective dates. Thank you for your patience as we work through this process.

Contents:

• Purpose
• Authority
• Guidelines
  • Billing Terms
  • Areas of the University Which Have NOT Been Authorized to Maintain Accounts Receivables
  • Areas of the University Which HAVE Been Authorized to Maintain Accounts Receivables
• Credit Adjustments
• Uncollectible Charge Sales
  • For Bursar's Receivables
  • Billed Under Approved Departmental Receivables
• Further Information
• Cross References

PURPOSE:

To outline the University's policy on the billing and recording of charge sales of materials and services by departments of the University to persons or organizations external to the University's budget system.

See Policy FN14 for services that are applicable for University billings. Refer to Policy FN16 for interdepartmental billings. For credit card charge sales, see Policy FN07.

AUTHORITY:

All areas of the University have the inherent authority to bill for materials and services rendered provided that published University criteria are followed. However, the authority to maintain accounts receivable and collect payments on such receivables is granted only when there is a justifiably compelling reason to do so.

Several areas have been granted an inherent right to maintain receivables. They are: Bursar (general receivables), Bursar (Student Financial System - student receivables), Financial Officers at Non-University Park locations, the Office of Research Accounting (receivables for sponsored activity), and Penn State Health Finance Office.

Other areas may be granted a right to maintain receivables by their budget executive and Financial Officer.

GUIDELINES:

The University has established general basic minimum performance criteria applicable to any area granted the authority to maintain its own receivables. These criteria appear in the University Procedure CR2066 - Guidelines for Accounts Receivable. That procedure also indicates the steps to be taken to procure the authority to maintain accounts receivables.

BILLING TERMS:

Billing terms of the University are `net payable upon receipt.'

Areas of the University Which Have NOT Been Authorized to Maintain Accounts Receivables

For areas of the University which have NOT been authorized to maintain its own accounts receivable, all materials and permitted services (per Policy FN14) that are sold on a charge sale basis must be billed via CARP (Central Accounts Receivable Portal).  Use the following link to request access to CARP (Email Subject - CARP Access Request) - CARP (Central Accounts Receivable Portal).

All checks received in payment of a billing must be made payable to The Pennsylvania State University.

Payment must be mailed (or taken) to the Office of the Bursar. In the event that payments for charge sales are received at the department initiating the Invoice, such payments must be taken to the Bursar at once, without preparing a Report of Cash Receipts

Areas of the University Which HAVE Been Authorized to Maintain Accounts Receivables

For areas which HAVE been authorized to maintain their own receivables, all materials and permitted services sold on a charge sale basis must be billed on the Invoice (or an invoice meeting the requirements delineated in Procedure CR2066 - Guidelines for Decentralized Accounts Receivable).

All charge sales are reported to the University by the area authorized to maintain its own receivables when the remittances are received and the ROCR is prepared by the department.

All checks received in payment of a billing must be made payable to The Pennsylvania State University.

Payments must be mailed (or taken) to the area designated for processing accounts receivables. An area may have various departments generating invoices and a central department maintaining the receivables. The payments are always to be remitted to the area authorized to maintain its own receivables.

CREDIT ADJUSTMENTS:

Credits covering the cancellation or adjustment of charges previously billed are to be reported in the same manner as the original charge sale. Details on the credit invoice should include the reason for the credit and a reference to the original billing.

UNCOLLECTIBLE CHARGE SALES:

FOR BURSAR'S RECEIVABLES

In the event that a charge sale processed through the Bursar is deemed uncollectible, the Office of the Bursar will request that the originating department issue a "CREDIT" to offset the existing charge. If a department refuses to or cannot issue a "CREDIT," the Office of the Bursar will initiate a Journal Voucher to charge back the corresponding department and fund number that was credited on the original invoice. An invoice will be considered uncollectible if:

• It was improperly addressed by the department which prepared the billing; or
• The account remains unpaid following 6 months of consecutive collection attempts by the Office of the Bursar.

BILLED UNDER APPROVED DEPARTMENTAL RECEIVABLES:

The area should make every effort to pursue all invoices in order to receive all the revenue due the department. However, if it is evident that there will be no remittance from a customer, all services should be withheld until all invoices (current, past due, and those which may have been written off of the local receivables) have been paid. Since these sales are not credited to the department's budget until a payment is processed, there is no central documentation to institute.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

For questions, additional detail, or to request changes to this policy, please contact the Office of Budget and Finance.

CROSS REFERENCES:

Other Policies in this Manual may have specific application and should be referred to, especially;

• FN07 - Electronic Payments - Credit Cards
• FN14 - Use of Tangible Assets, Equipment, Supplies and Services
• FN16 - Interdepartmental Transactions
• Procedure CR2066 - Guidelines for Accounts Receivable
• Central Accounts Receivable Portal (CARP)
• Invoice
• Journal Voucher
• Report of Cash Receipts (ROCR)

Most recent changes:

• February 1, 2023 – Editorial changes.  Changed all references to the Associate Vice President for Finance to the Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance, per the directive of the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business.

Revision History (and effective dates):

• January 5, 2023 – Editorial changes.  Changed all references to the Office of the Corporate Controller to the Office of Budget and Finance, per the directive of the Associate Vice President for Finance.  Subject Matter Expert (Director, Accounting Operations) added
• September 2, 2022 - Editorial change to change Policy Steward from Associate Vice President for Finance and Corporate Controller to Associate Vice President for Finance.
• January 21, 2019 - Editorial change - Penn State Health replaced Hershey Medical CenterNovember 8, 2018 - Subject Matter Expert added.
• September 20, 2018 - Editorial changes to update the GURU hyperlinks from html formatting to cfm format.
• September 10, 2018 - Editorial changes to update the Cross References section and to remove redundant Date Approved, Date Published, and Effective Date information
• September 23, 2014 - Revision to the AUTHORITY section, adding the Office of Research Accounting as one of the areas which has an inherent right to maintain receivables.
• September 25, 2013 - Editorial changes. Addition of policy steward information, in the event that there are questions or requests for changes to the policy.
• February 11, 2013 - Revisions made to the GUIDELINES section to reflect the arrival of the Central Accounts Receivable Portal (CARP) for the billing of materials and permitted services for areas of the University which have NOT been authorized to maintain their own accounts receivable.
• June 14, 2006 - Revision History added.
• May 9, 2005 - Editorial changes to eliminate "General Forms Usage Guide" reference, correct link and verbiage for what form is to be used.
• January 24, 2000 -
  • Major policy rewrite for better organization and for clarification;
  • New University billing terms of "net payable upon receipt";
  • Areas may now be granted a right to maintain receivables by their budget executive and Financial Officer rather than the Corporate Controller or designee (had been the Bursar);
  • Added cross references to other policies and procedures.
• July 16, 1996 - Substantial revisions dealing with "A" invoices, "B" invoices and write-offs.
• January 22, 1992 - Verbiage added to uncollectible charge sales clarifying when invoices are uncollectible.
• May 11, 1989 - Campus Title changes. Policy renumbered and relocated from old "Cash and Sales" section (cash and sales section new called "Financial")
• June 1, 1982 - Entire Policy revised.