Accounts Receivable

Transaction Codes

Each account entry includes a Transaction code that identifies that nature of a debit or credit, such as tuition, course fees, a financial aid award, or a cash payment. Each transaction code is defined with attributes such as whether it typically represents a debit or credit, or if it represents financial aid. The relationship between transaction codes and an external accounting structure is also defined, conveniently isolating those details from account entries.

Transaction codes can be created as needed to represent various types of account entries. Decisions on how specific each code needs to be should seek a balance between the varying needs of business office staff (too many codes are difficult to remember), the value of distinguishing specific types of debits or credits (for reporting or analysis), and the external accounts associated with transactions (whether codes share the same external account structure). If revenue from all course fees is collected in a single external account, for example, having multiple transaction codes for each course probably isn't necessary. Campus-specific codes are not required; all account entries are recorded with campus, and the external accounting interface combines transaction code and campus to identify a specific account.

Accounts

Two forms are available for managing accounts. The Account form shows all entries on an account, while the Account by Term form displays entries for a specific term and is useful when reviewing only current term activity. Account by Term also has support for requesting a refund of a credit balance, or printing of the most recently assigned receipt number. Both forms show entries in the order they were posted to the account (by sequence number, shown in the first column of data), and can produce printable account summaries, showing all entries or a single term's entries just as each form does.

Entires are made by specifying a transaction code, campus, description (which defaults to a description of the transaction code but may be changed as needed), a debit or credit, and an optional effective date. The remainder of the information is generated automatically when the entry is submitted. Effective Date will default to the current date if not specified. Once submitted, account entries cannot be altered.

Balances shown at the bottom of each form are separated into FA (financial aid) and Other. The FA balance includes all transcations that are financial aid sources (credits representing financial aid posted to the account) or financial aid eligible debits. The Other balance represents all other entries. This distinction is made because of limits on what types of debits financial aid can apply to; the student may have a balance that cannot be covered by their financial aid award.

Receipts

All account entries made with a transaction code representing a non-financial aid credit are assigned a receipt number. They are numbered sequentially by campus, and are displayed on all printed account summaries and on cashier detail reports.

If multiple entries on an account are made on the same day, by the same cashier, and using the same transaction code, they will be combined on a single receipt.