For departments with a large number of ongoing minor expenses, if there is a need for cash payments, then establishing and using a petty cash fund is reasonable.
Alternative methods to petty cash listed below should be considered first:
- Using UBC VISA Card
- Paying an expense first, then requesting reimbursement through the Workday expense module
If, after considering these alternatives, it is determined that a new Petty Cash Fund is indeed required, proceed to the instructions below.
A petty cash fund may be used for:
- purchases not exceeding $50 in value per UBC's Cash Handling Policy (FM3)
- sundry office purchases
Petty cash funds cannot be used for:
- honorarium or other expenses including research subject payments which require the issuance of a tax form (e.g., T4, T4A, T4ANR or T5).
Petty cash balances do not have a dedicated organizational worktag and are instead recorded in local operating cost centres with an employee custodian worktag.
The dedicated ledger account for petty cash balances is 1080 Petty Cash
To find your petty cash balance, run the report in Workday called “Find Balance by Worktag – Distributed”.
Establishing a New Petty Cash Fund
Custodian Sign Off is required for a new Petty Cash Balance or to request an increase to an existing Petty Cash Balance.
- Review the How do I create an expense report for petty cash setup or replenishment? article in the Workday Knowledge Base.
- Please ensure you complete and upload the New Petty Cash Request Form into the Workday transaction to evidence Sign Off.
Cashing Petty Cash
Cashing petty cash up to $500 - UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan:
One time setup is required at one of three designated Scotiabank branches to cash petty cash cheques in person over the bank counter:
- Provide your name, department and phone number by email to Treasury Cash, 48 hours prior to cashing your cheque at the bank.
- Bring to the bank two pieces of identification — one photo identification (driver's license or passport) and your UBC Faculty/Staff card.
Scotia Bank Branch addresses:
- 5960 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3
- 999 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1K5
- 1940 Kane Rd - Unit 108, Kelowna, BC, V1V 2J9
Increasing the Petty Cash Amount
- Follow the "Establishing a New Petty Cash" procedure.
- Enter the amount you want the petty cash increased by.
- Explain in the memo field that this is a petty cash increase.
- Please review the How do I create an expense report for petty cash setup or replenishment? in the Workday Knowledge Base.
- Provide an explanation in the memo field if the total of the initial petty cash and the purposed increase amount exceeds $200. You may also attach your explanation on a separate memorandum signed by a departmental authorized signatory.
Decreasing the Petty Cash Amount or Closing Petty Cash
- Deposit the excess amount into the bank using the Cash Sale function in Workday.
- Please ensure the ‘Petty Cash’ revenue category is selected and add the custodian’s name as an employee "Worktags". Submit.
For more details review the Decreasing Petty Cash Amount/Closing Petty Cash article in the Workday Knowledge Base.
Replenishing Petty Cash
To replenish the Petty Cash, the custodian needs to go through the same Expense Report business process in Workday for establishing or increasing the Petty Cash Fund. The key difference is that the custodian will be required to select the actual expense item specific to the transaction (instead of ‘petty cash’ expense category). Also the custodian should ensure ‘petty cash’ is added in the memo line for reporting purposes.
For further details, review the How do I create an expense report for petty cash setup or replenishment? article in the Workday Knowledge Base.
Changing the Petty Cash Custodian
Departments should periodically run reports of their petty cash balances by employee worktag to ensure all employee custodians are current.
When a custodian passes responsibility to another, the original petty cash balance must now be recorded under the new employee worktag. There are two options:
- The department may close the existing Petty Cash and open a new Petty Cash balance under the new Custodian.
- The department may use an Accounting Journal. When creating the accounting journal:
- Select Petty Cash as Spend Category and Revenue Category
- Select the employee "Worktag" for the new custodian and old custodian to be replaced
In addition, if the original custodian was on the Scotiabank list, the department must notify Treasury Cash so that the original custodian's name can be removed from the Scotiabank list.
Custodians are not recommended to receive petty cash reimbursements as direct debits to their bank accounts. Instead custodians may receive a cheque that can be cashed at Scotiabank branches at the Point Grey campus, VGH site, and downtown Kelowna.
Reporting Stolen or Lost Petty Cash
- Report the incident to Safety & Risk Services, Assistant Manager
- Report the incident to your Department Finance Director.
- To replace the Petty Cash, refer to the How do I create an expense report for petty cash setup or replenishment? article in the Workday Knowledge Base.
Annual Verification of Petty Cash
- A local petty cash count and reconciliation must be executed at least once annually and a record of the reconciliation retained to evidence the count.
- The manager and the custodian should both sign the reconciliation to confirm the balance is correct.
- Each unit must complete the Annual Finance Certification Questionnaire in which units are asked "If your unit has a Petty Cash balance, has there been a 'petty cash count' at least once during the year together with confirmation that the custodian is actively managing the security of the cash?"
- If a count is not performed annually, or appropriate records are found to be lacking, the petty cash balance will be closed immediately.