A. Purpose and Scope

Non-student accounts receivable include reimbursements due from state and federal sponsors of military and veterans accounts, third party student sponsors, sundry debtors, financial aid over awards for non-active students, Sales and Services Agreements and all other miscellaneous campus receivables.

The management function consists of granting credit, billing accounts and timely collections.

B. Procedures

1. Granting of Credit
   1. Campus departments that are authorized to provide services or products may grant credit to the public (which may include students and staff); these services or products are normally provided as an adjunct to instruction or research activities.
   2. Implicit in the granting of credit by campus departments is the intention that payment will be made in full per the agreed-to terms upon presentation of an invoice.
      • Credit is automatically extended to:
      • • State and Federal agencies,
        • Foundations,
        • Educational institutions,
        • Medical facilities, and,
        • Museums.
   3. It is recommended that a review of potential customers that are not automatically extended credit as noted above, are screened to ensure they are active businesses and financially stable. One way is to screen commercial customers is by using the Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S Number lookup.
   4. Responsibility for credit screening of other types of customers resides with the initiators of documents including, but not limited to:
      • 1. Sales and Service Agreement,
           Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),
           University Contract, or,
           Purchase Order from the customer/company.
   5. Fully executed documents must be received by each department from their customers prior to the start of service or sale of products activities
   6. If a department does not have any of the agreements above in place prior to the start of services or sale of products, the University department may not start the sale or services requested.
2. Billing
   1. All University Invoices must be created using the Campus Billing System Online (CBSO) which produces the only approved invoice format for the University. Invoicing outside of CBSO causes misstatement of campus financials and is out of compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
   2. University Invoice
      1. An invoice is the proper method for notifying outside organizations and individuals of the obligation to pay for a service and/or product received.
      2. The University Invoice must be used by University departments to bill for goods and services, fines, claims for reimbursement, and other miscellaneous obligations due the University.
      3. The department providing the services and/or goods prepares the University Invoice in the Campus Billing System Online (CBSO). Reference to the Sales and Service Agreement Number, Purchase Order, MOU, or Contract reference must be included on the invoice.
      4. To accommodate recurring transactions with outside organizations, special arrangements may be made to establish credit and periodic invoicing. Billing in these cases should conform to normal commercial practice; regular billing cycles minimize credit risk.
      5. The department responsible for making such special arrangements is responsible for preparing the periodic University Invoices in CBSO. All invoices should be processed immediately upon fulfillment of the sales or service activity and supported by departmental expense records.
      6. The preparing department must send the invoice to each non-student debtor they bill, either in printed form or as a .pdf e-mail attachment. After the initial invoice is sent, Campus Billing and Collections is responsible for creating and mailing monthly account summary statements and late fee notices to customers.
      7. Claims to governmental agencies take the form of University Invoices, or as specified by individual governmental agencies, billed directly to the agency through an online portal.
      8. Departmental record retention of invoice copies is five years minimum or until paid.
3. Late Payment Penalties
   1. Invoices are due upon presentation per the agreed-to terms.
   2. The University may waive late payment penalty fees or not charge those that are immaterial.
4. Cancellation of University Invoices
   1. The department issuing the University Invoice will prepare and enter the cancellation of invoices in CBSO.
   2. The department issuing the University Invoice is encouraged to cancel part or all the invoice amount if the invoice was billed for an incorrect amount. The department also must cancel the invoice in full if an incorrect vendor/debtor/customer was selected in error.
   3. Departments cannot cancel invoices that have been coded as a WRITE-OFF in CBSO.
   4. Financial Services will download a weekly report of invoice cancellations and review both partial payments, and, partial and full cancellations to assure that the cancellation credit was applied to the correct invoice in the system, and, if necessary, transfer portions of the invoice to the student billing system.
   5. The issuing department must contact a Financial Services Analyst and consult with them about a correction needing to be made to remove a balance of a written-off invoice.
   6. Manual adjustments will be made as necessary by a Financial Services Analyst and approved by the Manager, Campus Billing and Collections.
5. Campus In-House Collections
   1. Departments are responsible for reviewing their past-due receivables monthly in CBSO. Past due invoices require the department to immediately follow-up with their customer.
   2. Campus Billing and Collections (CBC) will review the monthly non-student Accounts Receivable and Collections system (ARC) aging report. Campus Billing and Collections will advise departments to immediately cease all sales or service activity with a customer whose account is past due and notify their customer of such action.
   3. If a bill is not paid within 30 days, Financial Services sends a series of three monthly, progressively demanding, past due notifications and a final demand notice prior to forwarding to a collection agency or taking other administrative action.
   4. An uncollected account should not be referred to a collection agency before it is 180 days old.
   5. Unpaid invoices between 180 days and 360 days past due will be reviewed for potential write-off and assignment to a collection agency.
   6. Collection efforts cannot continue beyond the California four-year statute of limitation for collection activities.
   7. If the debt is still not paid in full, in addition to placing the debt with a collection agency, the account may be sent to The Interagency Intercept Collections Program.