Frequently Asked Questions for Accounting Department (FAQs)
The Accounting Department in Fiscal Services is responsible for paying vendor invoices, recording deposits of checks, cash and credit cards, and general ledger entries through journal entry in the District and ASCC books. The Accounting Department is also responsible for recording Department Chargebacks (Postage, Copier, Banquets, DOJ services, Media Production, and Shredding Services), approving Travel Requisitions, reclassifying expenses, Bank Reconciliations, Remitting Sales and Use Tax to the State of CA, issuing 1099s to Independent Contractors, Void/Cancel and Reissuing Warrants in the District and ASCC books. There are 3 functional areas in the Accounting Department – 1) Accounts Payable, 2) Accounts Receivable and 3) General Accounting.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:
Q. What is Accounts Payable?
A. Accounts Payable is responsible for processing all invoice and non-payroll payments. Typically, payments for supplies, equipment, service agreements, employee reimbursements and other purchases made to vendors.
Q. How can I see if a check has been issued to a vendor? Or the vendor says they haven’t received a check yet?
A. Please email or call the Accounts Payable Technician assigned to the vendor by vendor name (Last name) (see list of accounting staff). Please include vendor name, PO# and invoice number and amount in your communication.
Q. How can I see if a check has cleared the bank?
A. Please email or call the Accounts Payable Technician assigned to the vendor by alpha name (see list of accounting staff). Please include vendor name, PO# and invoice number and amount in your communication.
Q. What should I do if it’s getting close to the end of the fiscal year, and I have an invoice for goods or services that hasn’t been paid yet?
A. Approve the invoice and send to Fiscal Services immediately. We have a VERY short turnaround time to enter invoices to post to Fiscal Year End.
Q. What information is needed to get an invoice paid?
A. Fiscal Services Accounts Payable must have the approved invoice (can send to general ap email: accountspayable@cerritos.edu. The invoice must reference a valid PO# or Contract#, the goods or services must be received (or the service to have happened).
Q. When will the vendor invoice be paid?
A. Fiscal Services AP typically will process a check within 5-10 working days after receiving a completed, approved invoice.
Q. What would hold up payment on an invoice?
A. If Fiscal Services AP has not received an invoice from the vendor, no valid PO# or Contract# is listed, or the PO# or Contract# was spent where no funds remain on the PO, no receivers in the system (for PO3W) or approval signatures, no PO created prior to purchasing the goods.
Q. I see the invoice in the system, but it hasn’t paid yet. Why hasn’t it been paid?
A. Once an invoice is entered into the system, it must go through several reviews of validity and balances before a check will be issued depending on the type of PO that was issued and the object code being charged. Some situations that may cause a delay in payment are: PO is over-spent, Budget has Insufficient Appropriation, the Budget is Frozen, the object code or dollar amount causes the invoice to go through “LACOE audit”, the PO is a PO2W or PO3W which must go through an overnight “matching” process in the FIN/BEST system. Once those circumstances have been cleared, the system will generate a check.
Q. Who should I contact in Accounts Payable:
A. Accounts Payable invoices are distributed among the staff by Vendor Letter (Last Name) or Type of transaction:
| Vendor | Name | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor Letters A – J | Schellary Thomas | sethomas@cerritos.edu | 2262 |
| Vendor Letters K – Z | Lynda Glasgow | lglasgow@cerritos.edu | 2255 |
| ASCC Vendors | Phu Nguyen | hnguyen@cerritos.edu | 2260 |
| Measure G/CC Bonds | Gina Litonjua | glitonua@cerritos.edu | 2258 |
Q. I purchased some supplies for my department – how do I get reimbursed?
A.1. If your department allows reimbursements for supplies and the amount is LESS THAN $50, please complete the Petty Cash Reimbursement form Petty Cash Reimbursement Request (cerritos.edu), including the approval signature and all receipts to be reimbursed to: accountspayable@cerritos.edu.
A.2. if your department allows reimbursements for supplies and the amount is MORE THAN $50, please complete an XREQ in the FIN system and email a Claim Statement form CC Claim Statement (cerritos.edu), including the approval signature and all receipts to be reimbursed to: accountspayble@cerritos.edu.
Q. I never received my check, I think it’s lost or went to an old address, what do I need to do?
A. Contact the appropriate AP staff employee that you need a check reissued. They will send a form “Affidavit and Request for Replacement of Lost Warrant” to complete. Once the form is returned to them, we will begin the process of reissuing your check. If the check is more than 6 months old, it has been classified as “stale dated”. If the check has been stale dated, a $7.00 reissuance charge will be charged at the time of request.
Q. Can a payment be made from a statement or a quote?
A. No, Payment can only be processed from a detailed Invoice. Contact the vendor for an invoice and submit the approved/signed invoice to the appropriate AP staff member.
Q. Who should I contact to change a vendor’s address?
A. Send your request with documents from the vendor confirming the new address to the appropriate AP staff member in charge of that vendor.
Q. For ASCC payments - where should I go on the system to find out if an invoice has been paid?
A. If the invoice was paid from ASCC in SpendMap, go to Requisition Status to enter the requisition number then click on “Current Status”. If it shows an amount below the invoice, then it has already been paid.
Q. How can I get a report of my ASCC account?
A. Contact Student Activities at x2475 or Accounts Payable – Phu x2260
Q. How long does it take to deposit money into the ASCC club account.
A. It takes up to 5 working days to deposit funds into the club account.
Q. Are reimbursement checks or other payments paid to employees mailed?
A. Yes, at the time we are processing your reimbursement, we must have a mailing address on file. If we don’t have a mailing address in our vendor system, the Accounts Payable Technician will contact you for it.
TRAVEL:
Q. What is the difference between Object Codes 5210 and 5240?
A.
1. Object Code 5210 is used when travel is involved, such as attending a conference or seminar in person. When using 5210, a Travel Request form is Required.
2. Object Code 5240 is used when attending a webinar, a virtual meeting or other online conference. When using 5240, NO Travel Request form is needed.
Q. I need to travel to a conference; what paperwork do I fill out?
A.
1. Download the Request Form Conference and Travel, Microsoft Word - Request Form - Conference and Travel (cerritos.edu)
and complete the form with all applicable costs – include all estimates and complete the amount not to exceed on the form, all forms must be signed by the appropriate VP to be approved.
a. Need Special Approval – President’s Signature for:
1. Conference/Travel requests over $1,000.00
2. Travel outside the state of CA or beyond 500 miles
3. Forms submitted less than 30 days prior to the travel date
b. Need Special Approval – Board of Director’s signature for:
1. Travel outside of the United States
c. See these travel policies for more information:
d. BP 6900 - Cerritos Community College District BP6900
AP 6900 - Cerritos Community College District AP6900
2. A requisition needs to be completed for advance or prepaid District paid travel (ie, registration fees, lodging, airfare and car rental). Please see the Purchasing website for additional information: Purchasing Department - Cerritos College
3. Email the original, complete Conference and Travel Request form to accountspayable@cerritos.edu Fiscal Services with appropriate back up attached.
4. Attach a copy of the Conference and Travel Request form with backup to the XREQ for prepaid/advance payments for Purchasing.
Q. How do I get reimbursed for travel expenses?
A. Complete the Conference and Travel Claim form for any allowable out of pocket expenses paid Claim Form 2021 - Conference and Travel (cerritos.edu)
Refer to AP6900 for allowable travel expenses: Cerritos Community College District AP6900
All Travel Claim forms need to be submitted within 30 days of travel with all itemized, original receipts.
1. Complete the top portion with Employee name, department, name of conference, location of conference and dates.
2. Breakdown meals into Breakfast, lunch and dinner on each applicable day of travel. The form will subtotal your meals – meals must include itemized receipts.
3. Breakdown the other travel expenses, such as lodging, airfare, registration fees, parking, taxi and other allowable travel expenses by each applicable day.
4. Complete the mileage section only if you drove a personal car from the point of departure to a conference. Note: Mileage rates are directed from the IRS and change annually. Make sure you are using the most updated Travel Claim form to calculate the proper amount of mileage reimbursement.
5. The total amount of the Claim Statement and any prepaid/advance payments cannot exceed the total amount estimated on the Request Form for Conference and Travel.
6. Any deviation between the Travel Request form and Travel Claim form will need to be approved by the Vice President again. This includes dates of travel, destination city, exceed amount, etc. If the form requires Special Approval, the President’s signature will also be required.
Q. How is the mileage reimbursement calculated?
A. Cerritos Community College District AP6900 (Lines 46-58)
1. Mileage shall be calculated as the distance from the employee’s regular work location to his/her off-campus business destination and return to regular work location.
2. If the employee does not both leave and return to his/her regular work location, the total miles driven less regular commuter miles shall be reimbursed.
a. Example:
Home to work 10 miles (commuter miles)
Work to event 15 miles (business miles
Difference 5 miles (to be reimbursed)
If business miles are less than commuter miles, no reimbursement is allowed.
3. Include mileage on a Travel Claim form if other travel expenses are incurred for a particular trip. If mileage is a the only expense being reimbursed, use the Mileage Claim Form: Mileage Form 2021 (cerritos.edu)
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE (BILLING AND CASH RECEIPTS)
Q. What is Accounts Receivable?
A. Accounts Receivable is responsible for billing customers on behalf of the District. They also receive payments for departmental charges and other non-student related payments.
Q. What is Cash Receipts?
A. Cash Receipts is the collection of money, typically from a customer, made to the District or ASCC, that are deposited to the bank. They can be cash, check, or credit card.
Q. What do I do if I need to issue an Invoice to a customer and need an Invoice #?
A. Contact Accounts Receivable at x2230 or email Claudia Santos at csantos@cerritos.edu and
she will send you a billing request form to complete.
Q. Can we receive Wire Transfers?
A. At this time, we cannot receive EFT/ACH or Wire Transfers per Los Angeles County Tax and Treasurers Office.
Q. How do I know if a customer paid an invoice?
A. Contact Accounts Receivable x2230 or csantos@cerritos.edu and provide the invoice#.
Q. I received an NSF letter? What is that?
A. An NSF letter stands for Non-Sufficient Funds for a check written to the District/ASCC. A $25/NSF check (or returned check) is charged in addition to the amount of the original check. If you are a student, a “hold” has been placed on your student account, until the debt is paid off in full. The debt must be paid for with cash or money order in person (we do not accept debit or credit card to pay NSF fees). Once the payment is received, any “hold” on a student account will be removed.
Q. What are the Fiscal Services window hours?
A. Due to Covid-19, the Fiscal Services staff are on campus with limited hours but the window is serviced from the hours of 8am-4:30pm Monday – Thursday. Due to our limited staffing, it is best to communicate via email with staff members.
Q. I lost a key. Where do I go pay for the lost key?
A. For a lost key payment, go to the Fiscal Services window and pay your fee with Cash (only). A receipt will be provided to you for your payment and facilities will be emailed that you have paid for your key.
Q. Will I get a new key at the payroll window?
A. No, once you pay your fee, Accounting will send an email to the Facilities Department stating you paid your key fee and Facilities will provide you with a new key.
GENERAL ACCOUNTING:
Q. Where can I get a W-9 form to fill out?
A. Form W-9 (Rev. October 2018) (irs.gov)
Q. What does General Accounting do?
A. General Accounting staff process journal entries to record transactions to the General Ledger. They also reconcile bank statements, analyze accounts, issue 1099s and other special projects.
Q. When will I get the Tax Form 1099?
A. 1099 NEC and MISC Tax forms are generated if the total reportable payment for the calendar year is $600 or more. 1099NEC and MISC tax forms are sent out by January 31st.
Q. Do I need to submit a W-9?
A. All vendors and Independent Contractors are required to submit a W-9 to the District or ASCC. We will review the corporate structure and what products or services the District or ASCC are receiving to determine if those goods or services are taxable in nature (reportable to the IRS).
Q. How can I get detail for an online Journal Entry?
A. Please email or call Claudia Santos at csantos@cerritos.edu, Ext 2230. Please include the JVA Journal Entry number.
Q. How do I know if a JVA has been entered for month end?
A. Contact Fiscal Services/Accounting at x2230 or email Claudia Santos at csantos@cerritos.edu
and provide the chartfield accounts and amounts. She will review the General Ledger and provide you with an answer.
STUDENT FAQS –
Q. For Students - Where can I go to ask about my student refund, if I didn’t receive it within the 4-6 week process?
A. Go to Admission & Records. They will advise you when the refund was submitted, and verify if the mailing address is correct. If the address is not correct, Admission & Records will update any mailing address and direct the student to the payroll window.
Q. For Students - What can I do if I never received my student refund check?
A. Email generalaccounting@cerritos.edu your name, student ID# and the approximate time frame a refund check was to be issued. We will review the system to see if the warrant/check was issued and/or cashed. If the warrant/check was not cashed we will ask you to submit an Affidavit & Request Form to replace the lost warrant. It will take about 7-12 working days to reissue a new warrant and mail it to the address we have on file.
Q. For Students - Can I correct my mailing address with Fiscal Services?
A. No, Admission & Records is the department that can update student information/addresses or you can go online to the portal and update the address yourself.
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