The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. DEFINITION OF A BANNER FUND

Fund is the "F" in "FOAPAL"-- the set of elements that makes up an accounting string in Banner.

A Banner Fund IS:

• A Fund is a self-balancing set of accounts, grouped by major purpose in accordance with current accounting standards. The major fund groups are classified in accordance with activities or objectives, which include funds for university system operations--unrestricted and restricted--loan funds; endowment funds; plant funds and agency funds.
  • These fund groups are similar to distinctions you may make in your personal financial management--such as a checkbook for your regular income and operating expenses such as rent, food, gas; a savings account for accumulating money for big-ticket items such as furniture or a new car; an investment portfolio for longer-term items such as retirement.
• A Fund maintains a Fund Balance, which is a cumulative record of the monies that have flowed in and out of the fund--like your checkbook balance after you have recorded your paycheck and deducted the checks you have written.
• Funds are organized in Banner by "Fund Type” (general, internally designated, auxiliary, etc.). Fund types allow various processes to include or exclude major groups of funds. Banner’s rule codes also use the fund types to appropriately generate accounting entries.
• One use of fund can be to designate grant or other multi-year operations – each grant and each R&R project must have at least one fund unique to that grant or R&R project.
• Individual funds will be used for all grant and contracts, plant fund projects, and buildings.

A Banner Fund is NOT:

• An event is not a Fund. This may be an activity within a fund-org.
• A department is not a Fund. This is represented by an ORGN code in Banner.

B. QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE REQUESTING A NEW FUND CODE:

• Do the related activities need to maintain their own unique fund balance? (Example 1: Each UNH RC Unit has it own general operating fund in Banner. Example 2: Each grant must have at least one unique fund, and may have more than one unique fund in Banner).
• Is this a source of funds?
• Does this represent a one time or recurring event? If so, perhaps it is more appropriately represented as an Activity Code in Banner.

See Also:

2-021: USNH Fund Descriptions
2-022: General Coding Conventions
2-023: USNH Grant Fund Coding Conventions
2-024: Banner Fund Matrix

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. CURRENT FUNDS

1. Unrestricted Current Funds

Unrestricted Current funds include all funds received for which no stipulation was made by a donor or other external agency as to the purpose for which they may be expended. They include the general operating funds of USNH related to its primary mission as well as internally designated funds and auxiliary services.

a. Educational and General (E&G)

i. Undesignated E&G Funds: In Banner, these funds are designated with a "U" as the second letter and are included in the fund type "U".   Following are some examples of the general funds at each of the campuses:

1U0000 - University of New Hampshire (UNH) Institutional Educational and General
5U0000 - Keene State College (KSC) General Operating
6U0000 - Plymouth State University (PSU) Educational and General
7U0000 - Granite State College (GSC) Education and General
9UG000 - Chancellor's Office (SYS) University System E&G

Campuses may create additional E&G funds as needed.  In addition to specific general funds for each Responsibility Center (RC) unit, UNH has six Program Appropriation Unit (PAU) fund's associated with its general fund activities:

1UR020 - Industrial Research & Consulting Center
1UB022 - Agricultural Experiment Station - State Station
1UB023 - Agricultural Experiment Station - State Forestry Offset
1UR024 - Marine Research and Development
1UX026 - Cooperative Extension Service - State PAU
1UX028 - CES - Extension Work in Counties

Undesignated E&G Revenues are recorded according to their source. Examples include student tuition and fees; State of NH general appropriations; general sales and services of educational departments and undesignated investment income.

Undesignated E&G Expenditures include those incurred for goods and services used in the conduct of the institution's general operations which are supported by Unrestricted, Undesignated E&G Current Revenue.  Expenditures are recorded by natural classification in account pools representing the following spending categories: salaries and wages, fringe benefits, supplies and services, financial aid and participant support, grant subcontracts, capital equipment and construction related expenses.

ii. Internally Designated Funds:

The Internally Designated classification of E&G funds includes balances that are not restricted by an outside donor or agency but have been formally designated for a specific purpose by campus administration. Internally Designated funds are generally self-supporting and require full budgetary spending controls. All revenues are recorded in account codes relating to the type of revenue source, and expenditures are recorded in account codes related to the natural classification of the expense (salaries, supplies, etc).  For financial reporting purposes, Internally Designated funds are treated as a separate segment of Current Unrestricted fund balance. This is due to the fact that these funds are not viewed as being immediately available for general operating needs (although administration may remove their designation at any time and, thus, make them available for general operations).  Internally designated funds use a "D" as the second character of the fund code. 

b. Auxiliary Enterprises

An Auxiliary Enterprise is an operation that exists to furnish goods or services to the university community (students, faculty and staff) and which charges a fee directly related to the cost of the goods or services sold. Auxiliary enterprises are managed as self-supporting operations and, therefore, are allocated their appropriate share of administrative overhead, fringe benefits, facilities maintenance, etc. Auxiliary Enterprises require unique fund(s) to account for their operations. Auxiliary funds are coded with an "A" as the second character of the fund. Examples of Auxiliary operations include, but are not limited to:

  Housing
  Dining Services
  Telecommunications
  Student Union Services
  Printing Services

Note: Athletics are accounted for as an Auxiliary Enterprise at UNH only. KSC and PSU athletic programs are accounted for under other Unrestricted Current funds as Student Services.

c. Deferred Revenue and Prepaid Expense Funds

USNH no longer maintains separate funds for different types of balance sheet accounts. All assets and liabilities are recorded within the fund of origin, unless otherwise stipulated by the users. The exception to this is the use of certain funds for deferred revenues and prepaid expenses. These are holding funds during the fiscal year and related balances are moved to the proper balance sheet accounts weekly via an automated process

i. Prepaid Expense Funds
Examples of activity charged to these funds include supply purchases made during the academic year for summer session classes, etc. All of these funds are coded per the convention of their campus current funds. The last three characters must be "PPD".
ii. Deferred Revenue Funds
Examples of activity recorded in these funds include advance tuition payments, student deposits, summer session tuition revenues, etc. All of these funds are coded per the convention of their campus current funds. The last three characters must be "DEF".

2. Restricted Current Funds

Restricted Current funds are those available for financing operations, but which are limited by donors or external agencies, foundations, etc., for specific purposes, programs, departments or schools. Included in this group are grants and contracts, gifts externally designated as to purpose, and restricted endowment income payout funds.

Expenditures of amounts which are externally restricted for the support of specific operations are recorded in the specific restricted funds. In other words, if the source of the funds is restricted as to use, then the use is a restricted expenditure even though the benefit may be derived by an otherwise unrestricted department. For example, when UNH receives a gift from a donor for general support of the Biology department these funds are restricted for use by the Biology department and are recorded as revenue and expenditures within the Biology Department Restricted Gifts fund.

Within Banner, all restricted current funds related to sponsored programs used a numeric value for the second character of the fund code. All other fund types have an alpha character in this location. Sponsored program funds are assigned a Fund Type of "P1" or "P2". Restricted Current-Use Gift funds have a second character of "G" and are assigned Fund Type "G".

a. Sponsored Research and Sponsored Programs
Maintained for externally sponsored activities organized to produce research outcomes, support training activities and account for state and federally sponsored student financial aid funds. Organizations are established as "Multi-Year Project" or grant in Banner and are grouped into funds based on funding agency or source. These funds are included in fund type "P1". Separate funds are created and maintained in Banner for each grant award received.
b. Agricultural/Environmental Research, Public Service and Other
These funds are used by the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture and UNH Cooperative Extension Service units to maintain accountability for activities sponsored by agricultural research sales, and other governmental sources such as Hatch and Smith Leaver funds. These funds are assigned fund type "P2".
c. Restricted Current Gifts and Endowment Income
The annual payout for each restricted endowment fund, and most current-use restricted gifts require a separate fund code in Banner. These funds are included in fund type "G"

B. LOAN FUNDS

Loan funds have been designated by a donor, the institution, or other legal agreements to be made available for loans to students, faculty and staff. The activity in USNH Loan funds is primarily managed through each campus' student accounts office. In Banner these funds all have an "L" as the second character, and are assigned fund type "L" if created with restricted grant or gift funding or "LU" for unrestricted institutional loan funds.

C. ENDOWMENT AND SIMILAR FUNDS

Endowment funds function similarly to a trust. A sum of money is invested. The income from the investment is made available for use, and the principal remains invested and intact.

Unless there are additional gifts to an endowment fund, the balance of the fund will only change semi-annually when gains/losses on the investments are posted to the funds. Exceptions to this are: donor agreements requiring all income be added to the principal balance until it reaches some pre-designated level, or agreements stipulating any unused income be moved back to principal. In the latter case, the income becomes a permanent part of the principal.

Within Banner, all endowment and similar funds are recorded in funds with a second character of "T" or "Q".

1. True Endowment Funds (Fund type T1 = unrestricted, Fund type T2 = restricted)

These are funds for which donors have stipulated that the principal of the fund is not expendable. That is, the historic gift balance is to remain inviolate in perpetuity (True Endowment) or for an expressed period (Term Endowment) and is to be invested for the purpose of producing income to be expended for the stated purpose.

True Endowment funds may be either restricted or unrestricted. This is determined by the requirements placed upon the use of the income by the donor. As an example, one donor leaves $500,000 to be invested in perpetuity with the income available for general support of the UNH campus; and another donor leaves $100,000 to be invested in perpetuity with the income available to support the UNH College of engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS). Both are True Endowment funds. They both require the principal balance to be invested. This is a specific request of the donor, not an interpretation of the governing board. The first gift ($500,000) is unrestricted, and the second gift ($100,000) is restricted. In the first instance, the income is available for any use determined by the management. The second requires the funds be used to benefit CEPS. How CEPS spends the funds is determined by the College. However, it is still restricted for financial statement purposes.

The spendable income from endowment funds is recorded in Current funds called a "Payout funds." If the use of the annual endowment payout is restricted, the payout fund in Banner will be a current restricted gift fund. Alternately, if the use of the payout is unrestricted the payout fund will be a current internally designated fund.

2. Quasi-Endowment (Funds functioning as Endowments) [Fund type Q1=unrestricted, Q2=restricted]

These are funds that USNH Presidents (rather than a donor) have requested be retained and invested. Since these funds are not required by the donor to be retained and invested, the principal as well as the income may be utilized at the discretion of the governing board, subject to any donor imposed restrictions on use.

Similar to True endowments Quasi-endowments may be either restricted or unrestricted. The key distinction is that True endowments are binding legal agreements with a third party, whereas Quasi-endowments are designated by the USNH Board of Trustees or campus presidents; as such, they are subject to revocation.

To establish a Quasi-endowment of up to $1,000,000, the President/Chief Executive Officer of the campus should request such a fund in writing via the USNH Treasurer. Quasi-endowment funds greater than $1,000,000.00 must be approved by the Board of Trustees as noted in: http://www.usnh.edu/policy/bot/iv-financial-policies/g-quasi-endowments-also-known-funds-functioning-endowments. Each such request should include the following:

• A brief description of why management feels the institution is better served by investing the amount as a Quasi-endowment.
• An indication of how the income will be used (in accordance with the donor's wishes, if applicable).
• Signature of the President/Chief Executive Officer denoting approval.

3. Life Income and Annuity Funds

Life Income and Annuity funds have an "M" as the second character and are included in the fund type "M".

a. Annuity Funds:
These funds are acquired under agreements whereby money or other property is made available to the institution with the condition that it bind itself to pay stipulated amounts periodically to the donor. The payments terminate at a time specified in the agreement, and the remaining balance is retained by the institution.
b. Life Income Funds:
These funds are acquired under agreements where money or other property is available to the institution with the condition that it bind itself to pay the donor the income earned by the assets during their lifetime. Depending upon the agreement, the principal then becomes available to the institution as either Current funds or Endowment funds.

D. PLANT FUNDS

1. Unexpended Plant Funds

Fund balances of Unexpended Plant funds represent amounts earmarked for plant projects which remain unexpended at the reporting date. Additions to unexpended plant fund balances include State of N.H. capital appropriations and transfers from other fund groups to support specific construction projections. Reductions include disbursements for construction and plant operations. Unused unexpended plant balances are returned to the original source of funds upon completion of the related project.

Amounts budgeted annually for campus Renovation and Adaption (R+A) amounts reside in Unexpended Plant funds until expended on a related project.

2. Net Invested in Plant Funds

The Net Investment in Plant fund balance represents the excess of the depreciated cost of plant assets over associated liabilities. Additions to this fund arise from capitalization of plant project costs; purchases of buildings and capital equipment; or from gifts of plant assets (i.e., gifts in kind). Reductions in the fund balance result from the recording of depreciation; disposal, abandonment, or sale of plant assets; or the issuance of external debt to fund costs of new construction or renovation projects.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Procedure 02-024 USNH Banner Fund Matrix updated 05/30/2017

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

Campus Chief Financial Officers (CFO's) are responsible for resolving deficits. The USNH Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs is responsible for monitoring deficits and establishing appropriate deficit spending controls.

1. Definition of deficit spending. Each fund in the USNH general ledger (Banner) is a separate accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts for recording assets, liabilities, fund balance (i.e., net assets), revenues, expenditures, and transfers. Each fund has a source of funding, whether it be revenue from external or internal sources, or a transfer of funds from another fund. If the expenditures within a Banner fund exceed the funding sources, a deficit occurs. In other words, a deficit results when the sum of current year-to-date revenues plus the beginning fund balance is less than the current year-to-date expenses. 
2. Deficit spending is prohibited. At all times during the fiscal year, funds must maintain a fund balance of zero or greater. The funding source should be identified, secured and recorded in Banner before expenses may be incurred. To do otherwise would cause the cash balance in the fund to be negative, similar to an overdrawn personal checking account. 
3. Exceptions for deficit spending. Auxiliary enterprise funds may, with proper campus CFO approval, incur temporary deficits during the fiscal year due to the business nature of their operations, i.e., they must often incur expenses before generating revenue. However, auxiliary enterprises must end the fiscal year with a positive fund balance. Internally designated funds may, with proper campus CFO approval, incur temporary deficits during the year provided that the CFO notes when the deficit will be corrected and identifies a specific Unrestricted Undesignated E&G FOAPAL that will absorb any remaining deficit at year end. Restricted sponsored projects and Plant fund capital manifest accounts will typically run deficits since most contracts require USNH to incur costs prior to seeking reimbursement from the agencies. All other funds require specific written permission as defined under section B. below to be in deficit position.
4. Responsibilities regarding deficit spending. Each campus CFO is responsible for assuring compliance with this procedure for all funds at his/her campus. The USNH Controller is responsible for the monitoring and periodic reporting of deficit spending to the Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs. A periodic report of auxiliary enterprise activities and fund balance is also presented to the Financial Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees. 

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

This procedure details the establishment of appropriate deficit spending authorization.

1. Unrestricted, undesignated funds (Education/general funds with a U in the second character of the funds code) may be permitted to incur deficits with approval from the campus CFO or higher designee.
2. Auxiliary Enterprise Funds (funds with second character of A) may be permitted to incur deficits with written approval from the campus CFO or his/her designee. 
3. Internally Designated funds will generally be expected to maintain a fund balance of zero or greater. Exceptions may be allowed only when adhering to the following:
 

a. The requesting department will document the purpose of the activity in this fund and the level of deficit being requested.
b. A specific plan as to how the deficit will be eliminated prior to year end will be identified.
c. An Unrestricted Undesignated E&G FOAPAL will be identified that will absorb any open deficit remaining in the fund at year end.
d. The campus CFO authorizes all of the above, in writing, and submits it to the Controller's Office for annual monitoring.

It is the responsibility of the Campus CFO to make certain any outstanding deficit is cleared at year end. Any deficit not cleared by the end of 13th month will be journaled by the Controller's Office to the Unrestricted Undesignated E&G FOAPAL identified in 3.c. above.

4. Restricted current funds, other than gifts and endowment income funds, (P1 and P2 funds) will be permitted to operate at any amount (positive or negative) upon written authorization from the campus CFO or the UNH Sponsored Programs Administration Office. It will be these individuals' responsibility to ensure the prudent management of these funds, in accordance with all USNH policies and procedures. Adequate spending controls should be exercised through Banner budget mechanisms.
5. Plant funds including capital manifest accounts and certain auxiliary renovation/adaption (R&A) projects are allowed to carry temporary deficit balances. Capital manifest accounts are large construction/improvement projects funded by the state. USNH incurs the expense and "bills" the state for reimbursement, so these funds will always be in deficit during the life of the project. Some auxiliary R&A projects, funded by Housing, Dining, etc., must be encumbered prior to the beginning of the fiscal year, and therefore operate in a deficit during those times.
6. All other funds in Banner are not expected to have deficit balances.  These include loan funds, endowment funds, agency funds, and restricted current fund gifts/endowment income funds. Deficits in these fund groups require written approval from the campus CFO or his/her designee. 

A Banner Org is literally the institution's organizational structure. To be a Banner Org it more than likely will have personnel costs and be an identifiable organization that would be defined as a department or sub department of the institution.  As an example, a very rough structure for UNH might look something like this.

 

The Banner ORG may cross funds, and be associated with many aspects in the chart of account. The Banner ORG can be considered the center of the chart of account.

 

Banner supports eight (8) levels of hierarchy for the Org code. At USNH we have adopted a coding convention that uses the first four levels systematically for several reporting and routing purposes. Beyond that, each campus is at liberty to use the remaining levels as they see fit.

The Banner Org code is the primary value that is used to route transactions through approvals. The routing, with very few exceptions, is based on the level-3 org code which will route all dependent orgs to the same approval queue Because of this, changes to org codes at or above level-3 become much or cumbersome to manage.

Banner Organization (ORGN) Code Hierarchy

Level 1 represents each campus. As of this writing, there are 5 level 1 orgs at USNH. These orgs are not data enterable and are primarily used for reporting purposes.

Level 2 represents a Vice President or major organization structure.

Level 3 is designed to be the approval level for each department. At UNH this typically is the BSC responsible for the area. At KSC and PSU some additional granulation was required which places their routing at level 4. This is also the level where sub-campuses such as UNHF become identified.

Level 4 through 8 will allow for additional sub-groupings within the organizational units. Some uses of Level 5 through 8 could be for Principal Investigator orgs, programs, and other sub-departmental groupings.

Each of the lower levels is controlled or responsible to the org defined as it's predecessor. Ultimately, all orgs will lead back to one of the level 1 orgs. Approvals routing is based on a combination of level 3 and level 4 orgs.

Further stratification of detail may be obtained through the use of activity codes, rather than additional organizations.

A. Does this unit have both management & personnel? If yes, it could be a Banner ORG.

B. Is this unit considered a department? If yes, it could be a Banner ORG

C. Is this a program that, for accounting/management purposes, requires separate reporting? If yes, it could be a

• Fund
• Org
• Account, or
• Activity

D. Is this a restricted funding source (i.e. gift/grant)? If yes, then it could be a fund.

E. Is this a group of related expenditures that need to be reported for separately? If yes, it could be an activity.

F. Is this a revenue source (i.e. Biology fee, Admin fee)? If yes, this could be a "revenue" account code.

G. Is this a specific type of expense (i.e. financial aid contingency, bad debts)? If yes, then this could be an "expense" account code or an activity.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

General Coding

• All data enterable orgs will have 6 characters
• First character represents campus
• Second character represents campus division
• Remaining characters assigned by users/campuses/central offices

First character = Campus:

Second character:

For UNH

For KSC

For PSU

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This statement defines a mandatory transfer and provides specific procedures for processing mandatory transfer transactions in Banner.

1. Definition of a mandatory transfer. See Procedure 2-044, Inter-fund Transfers, Non-mandatory, for the definition of an non-mandatory inter-fund transfer.

a. Mandatory transfers arise out of binding legal agreements. They are required transfers of resources to other funds for the purpose of meeting these legal agreements. Examples include:
b. Transfers to Plant funds due to legal obligations specified in bond resolutions or indenture agreements, and Transfers to Plant funds for payments on capital leases (see Procedure 8-115, Leases and Rental Agreements.)

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

Generally it is not recommended that a mandatory transfer be created outside the Controller's Office. Please contact the USNH Accounting Services if you have any questions regarding new transactions which may require mandatory transfer codes.

1. Responsibility for recording mandatory transfers. The Controller's Office generally handles mandatory transfers for bonded debt service. Lease payments are generally initiated by departments directly. It is the department's responsibility to properly record payments as an operating lease expense or a capital lease mandatory transfer, after consultation with the USNH Accounting Services (see Procedure 8-115, Leases and Rental Agreements.) Persons responsible for entering and authorizing mandatory transfer transactions are also responsible for using proper Banner account codes.

2. Reporting requirements. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) require that all funds expended for repayment of debt related to property and equipment (including capital leases) be recorded as expense in the Plant fund. The source of funds for the payment of principal and interest is through normal current fund operations. The movement of these funds to Plant funds from Current funds for this purpose is a mandatory transfer. Mandatory transfers are reported separately from operations and non-mandatory transfers in the campus. These transactions are required by GAAP to be separate line items in calculating changes in fund balances. The financial statements required for monthly, quarterly and annual reporting in accordance with GAAP are totally dependent on the proper coding of inter-fund transfer transactions in Banner.

3. How to read the transfer code listing The proper codes are determined by the purpose of the transfer. Locate the purpose on the table. The account code listed under the first column labeled "DEBIT ACCOUNT CODE" is the  code you will use for the debit side of the entry. The account code listed under the second column labeled "CREDIT ACCOUNT CODE" will be used for the credit side of the entry - REGARDLESS OF THE FUND AFFECTED.

4. All entries for transfers must balance. Mandatory transfer debits must equal mandatory transfer credits and all lines must be valid mandatory transfer codes. The exception to this rule is capital lease payments generated by departments on INVs. The INV debits a valid mandatory transfer code and credits cash because it is generating a check. The credit side of the transfer code and the debits in the Plant fund will be recorded by the Controller's Office on a quarterly basis.

5. Banner documents to use for mandatory transfers. Most inter-fund transfers are processed on a JV document in Banner. Exceptions to this rule are mandatory transfers for debt service and capital lease payments, which can be processed on a INV.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This procedure describes the purpose of an inter-fund transfer and defines non-mandatory as opposed to mandatory transfers (see Procedure 02-043, Inter-Fund Transfers - Mandatory). Inter-fund transfers are subject to certain restrictions imposed by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Finally, this statement provides specific procedures for processing non-mandatory transfers in Banner.

1. Definition of an inter-fund transfer. An inter-fund transfer is an accounting transaction which moves fund balance (reserves) from one fund to another fund. By definition, transfers cannot occur within the same fund. There is never a net economic impact on USNH as a whole due to a transfer, since the transaction is entirely between funds. There is no external cash involved. A transfer does not increase or decrease total USNH revenues or expenses. Except for those transactions processed monthly on recurring feed entries made by central offices (for example, internal borrowing and debt service repayments, etc.), transfers should not be routine transactions. Fund accounting is the practice by which resources are maintained in separate fund accounts to provide proper stewardship over the resources entrusted to administration. If transfers among funds are routine, it means either stewardship is lacking or the funds were not properly established or budgeted.
2. Mandatory versus non-mandatory transfers. Transfers are classified as either mandatory (see Procedure 02-043, Inter-fund Transfers - Mandatory) or non-mandatory.

Non-mandatory transfers are authorized only by the governing board or administration. Unlike mandatory inter-fund transfers, there is no legally binding requirement to make the transaction. Examples include:

a. Transfers to a Plant fund for purposes of renovating or constructing fixed assets.
b. Transfers by campus central offices in support of departmental initiatives.
c. Transfers to internally designated funds to support research projects of new faculty members.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. All inter-fund transfers must be approved by the Accounting Services department of the USNH Controller's Office as detailed below:

a. Transfers to or from an Unrestricted Undesignated Educational and General (E&G) fund and any other fund require prior approval from the Campus CFO or his/her designee, unless:

i. the transfer was part of the original budget as approved by the Trustees, or
ii. the transfer is of a type which has received previous blanket approval from the Trustees, or
iii. the transfer is to fund a grant cost sharing commitment made at the time the award is accepted, or
iv. the transfer is from Unrestricted, Undesignated E&G to Internally Designated funds for Indirect Cost Revenue credited to the account of specific Principal Investigators (PIs) for future competitive research initiatives, or
v. the transfer (or the aggregate of similar transfers) is less than $50,000.

b. Transfers to Quasi Endowment funds require USNH Treasurer approval for amounts up to $1,000,000 and Financial Affairs Committee approval for amounts over $1,000,000.  In addition all transfers out of Quasi Endowment funds require trustee approval. 
c. Transfers from Internally Designated or Auxiliary Enterprise funds to Plant funds require campus CFO written approval unless included in the approved Original All Funds Budget (OAFBUD) for the year. Transfers to Plant for annual campus Renovation and Adaption (R&A) costs, if part of the original approved budget, are exempted from CFO approval.
d. Transfers to or from Restricted Current funds or True Endowment funds generally cannot be made. Please contact the USNH Controller if you feel such a transaction is warranted.

2. Transactions which are not transfers.

a. Budget moves are not accounting entries at all. When additional budgeted funds are required in a Banner account and are being used from another account within the same fund, this is a budget move, not an inter-fund transfer. The current budget and spending authority is modified through journal vouchers using budget class codes.  Increases and decreases in expense or revenue budgets within undesignated, unrestricted current educational and general funds do not usually require funds to be transferred by Accounting Services. If an inter-fund transfer is required in these cases, the USNH Budget Office or Campus Finance Office handles the budget move and the Controller's Office handles the inter-fund transfer.
b. Internal allocations (Internal Vouchers). These are instances where the actual expense incurred is shared by more than one department, fund or campus. In these cases, all costs are paid to vendors from one account to manage the cost of operating the department, project or event. Then periodic (usually monthly or quarterly) accounting entries are made to allocate the costs to the department benefiting from the expense. Examples of this type of activity are telecommunications, administrative service charges to auxiliary enterprises, and facility service support charges to auxiliaries. Transfer codes are not needed for internal allocations. Instead, the 76 series of account codes are used for both the debit and credit so the integrity of total USNH expenses within each expense grouping may be maintained.
c. Purchases with multiple sources of funding. Occasionally, departments charge an entire purchase to one fund, planning to recoup a portion of the cost from other funds at a latter date. When this accounting entry occurs, it is an allocation of costs not a transfer. It should not be accomplished with transfer codes. Instead, the journal entry (JV) should debit and credit the appropriate expense object code as charged on the original purchase order (PO) or invoice (INV). The PO/INV should be referenced on the JV either in the description field or in the document reference number field. This method should be used only in circumstances where it is not possible to charge each source directly on the original PO/INV.

It is far more preferable to charge the specific FOAPAL of the source(s) of the funds on the PO when the item is initially ordered. There can be multiple funds referenced including both restricted and unrestricted funds on a single PO. By charging the specific FOAPAL on the original PO/INV, USNH's fiduciary responsibility for the proper management and use of funds is more easily proven since payments to vendors for specific purchases can be readily seen by reviewing the Banner online invoice distribution accounting form (FAAINVE). By charging another account initially, the transaction trail is more difficult to follow.
3. Reporting requirements. Transfers are reported in summary and in detail as part of the year end financial audit work papers.  All reporting on inter-fund transfers is dependent on the proper coding of inter-fund transfer transactions in Banner. These transactions can materially misstate fund balances classifications if not coded correctly in Banner. Therefore, careful attention to the detailed operating procedures which follow is required.
4. How to use the transfer code listing. The proper codes are determined by the purpose of the transfer. Locate the purpose in the title of the account code. The "revenue credit account code listed under the first column labeled "ACCT CODE" under the title "Transfers In (Credit)" is the account code you will use for the credit side of the entry. The account code listed under the fourth column under the heading "Transfers Out (Debit)" labeled "ACCT CODE" will be used for the debit side of the entry - REGARDLESS OF THE FUND AFFECTED.

Example: Assume a transfer is needed from the General funds to Plant funds to help fund a major new construction project. The purpose of the transfer is to fund a capital project. The correct codes are:

For Capital projects not R&R 

Debit - 8O1039 Credit - 8I1039

The JV should debit the account code 8O1039 and credit the appropriate plant fund using account code 8I1039.

5. Proper supporting documentation. As with all documents to be processed through Banner, proper supporting documentation is essential. This is especially true for inter-fund transfers since approvals are centrally held. To process the document as quickly as possible, all information a reader of the document should reasonably need to know to authorize this document should be included in the document text field or attached to the document through the Banner Document Management System. Simply put, proper supporting documentation means adequate (but not excessive) relevant documentation (e.g., document text, calculations, report totals, external invoices, contracts, etc.) that explains the transaction so an uninformed reader can understand the transaction.
6. All entries for transfers must balance. That is, the transfer debits must equal the transfer credits and all the lines must be valid transfer codes.
7. Banner documents to use for non-mandatory transfers. All non-mandatory transfer documents, except those processed as part of an automated Banner feed, should be prepared and entered into Banner via a JV document using a rule code beginning with JE. A non-mandatory transfer is not an original receipt of funds, therefore it should not be on a CR (Cash Receipt class code). Nor is it a legitimate expenditure, therefore it should not be on any kind of a purchasing or payment document.
8. Processing time required. Transfer transactions require time to secure approvals before they can be posted within Banner. This can only occur when these procedures are followed and proper documentation accompany the document. Omitting documentation of approvals outside of Banner or relevant documentation will slow the approval process. Please allow enough time. To facilitate the processing turnaround time required on these documents the following should be addressed prior to forwarding the documents to the Controller's Office:

a. Make sure there is sufficient available fund balance to process the document.
b. All supporting documentation must be attached. (See B.5 above)
c. All required approvals have been secured and documented in the available text fields. (See B.1 above)

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Definition of a Banner Activity (ACTV) Code

An Activity is the second "A" in FOAPAL - - the set of elements that defines an accounting string in Banner.

It is a 6 character user-defined alpha-numeric code.

The Banner Activity is used to aggregate revenues or expenses across funding sources by related purpose for reporting that cannot be captured in other elements of the FOAPAL. It is typically used to account for special activities or events.

It is possible to budget at the activity level, but spending is not controlled at this level.

The creation, use and maintenance of Banner Activity codes is decentralized, allowing users to add Activity codes as needed by directly updating the table in Banner.

Questions to ask to determine whether an Activity:

If the answer is "Yes" to one or more of the following, Activity will more than likely be needed-

• Is activity relatively simple or not ongoing?
• Is activity minimal?
• Are there little or no payroll expenses?
• Is little management required by the activity?
• Is activity an internal designation rather than an external designation such as a gift?
• Is the user trying to report on activity not already recorded in other elements of the FOAPAL? For example, segregating a travel budget by faculty member?
• Is activity related to a conference, workshop, event or function?

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version. 

Attribute Values General Coding

The attribute value is 8 characters long. Any number of these characters may or may not be used - at the discretion of the creator. The description associated with the value is 50 characters long, this is what will be printed on a report when this attribute type and value are used.

There are several guidelines to consider as one builds values for their attributes.

• Sorting
  • The attribute values will be what is sorted in the report. The user-friendly title related to the value will be printed, but the value is what is sorted.
  • When it is important that some value appear before another in a report, the values must sort that way or the report will not appear as desired.
  • The reporting uses an alpha-numeric sort, with numbers sorting before letters
  • Recommendation: use the first two characters of the value code as being numeric - then the remaining 6 characters to identify the value's purpose at your discretion.
  • Include a leading "0" when referencing single digit numbers. This will keep the sorting in proper order
  • Example:
    • 05SOMETH
    • 10SOMEEL
    • 15EVERMR
    • 20ATTOP2
• Leave room for expansion
  • When initially creating values - leave gaps in the numbering so that future needs may be met without significant effort.
  • Begin numbering at "05xxxxxx" or "10xxxxxx" and continue in increments of 5 or 10 respectively. When there is a need for an intervening value there are available numbers that will keep the report sorting correctly
  • If you have a type with a large number of values - you may want to use the first three characters for the number fields and the last five to identify the purpose
  • Example:
    • 005SOMET
    • 010SOMEE
    • 015EVERM
    • 020ATTOP
• Other Existing conventions
  • Maintain the use of existing conventions described elsewhere when codification involves campus or department identification
  • Such as:
    • Campus indicators of 1, 5, 6, etc.
    • Campus letter indicators of U, P, K, Y etc.
  • See
    • Procedure 02-022-USNH General Coding Conventions for FUND
    • Procedure 02-032-Organization (ORGN) coding Conventions
• Include "ZZNOTAPP" as a value that can be assigned to elements which are not to be included in your report.
  • The "ZZ" at the front will typically sort below anything else that has values which will include anything with these values in the report, but will confine them to the very bottom of the report until properly classified.
  • Doing this makes it possible to determine when there are elements that do not yet have values assigned.

The attributes provide significant flexibility and control over how a report can be generated. Proper coding of the values related to the types is critical to achieving the desired reporting outcomes.

Example

The example below helps to demonstrate the utility of the codes as well as the need to carefully code each type-value combination to each FOAPAL element.

In the following example, using the

FCAMPUS, FSUBCAMP and FDIVRCM types and the values assigned to the funds - a tiered report can be created and would also support subtotals for dollars at each level.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

Orgn Attributes

If a user has need of any additional Values for any of the attributes noted above, the Steward of the attribute should be consulted. If that is not possible, there may be need for a new Attribute, see Procedure 02-048, Definition of Attributes in Banner.

For a list of Values available for each of these items - please see Appendix G.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This policy explains the handling of Uniform Guidance defined unallowable costs in the accounting system. Costs that are disallowed by USNH financial and administrative policies are addressed in Chapter 8, Business Expenditures, of this Financial and Administrative procedures Manual.

1. Definition: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, commonly called Uniform Guidance, defines those costs that are allowable and which are unallowable. The tests of allow ability under these principles are: (a) the costs must be reasonable; (b) they must be allocable to sponsored agreements under the principles and methods provided herein; (c) they must be given consistent treatment through application of those generally accepted accounting principles appropriate to the circumstances; and (d) they must conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth in these principles or in the sponsored agreement as to types or amounts of cost items. Unallowable items fall into two categories: expenses which are by their nature unallowable (e.g., alcohol), and unallowable activities (e.g., fund raising).
2. Why is an Unallowable Costs Policy Necessary? Uniform Guidance defines which costs may be charged as direct costs to federal programs as well as which costs may be included as Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs (indirect costs). Since USNH engages in federally sponsored programs, all institutional costs must comply with Uniform Guidance.

Uniform Guidance requires USNH to maintain an accounting system that properly captures and eliminates from our F&A cost proposal all unallowable costs. Since all department expenditures are a part of the F&A cost rate calculations, it is important that all staff understand and consistently follow this policy.
3. Guidelines on the proper handling of Uniform Guidance Unallowable Costs: Non-employment Advertising, Bad Debts and Legal Costs must be charged to specific account codes as described insection B.1. Alcohol is an expense that is allowed only on specific accounts (see section B.1.). In addition, the activities listed in section B.2. have predefined FOAPAL's that were established to specifically account for these activities. All such activities must be in one of these FOAPALS and should not be charged to other kinds of accounts. Directly associated costs must be captured as well. A directly associated cost is any cost which is generated solely as a result of the incurrence of another cost, and which would not have been incurred had the other cost not been incurred.
4. Responsibility: Responsibility for following these guidelines lies with project directors; department chairs; and administrators charged with the financial oversight of the campuses, colleges, schools, and divisions. Sponsored programs administration offices at each campus, the USNH Controller's Office and other administrative offices are responsible for guidance, training and insuring compliance through periodic reviews. Questions on the allowability of costs should be directed to sponsored programs administration offices at each campus. As questions on allowability of certain costs can require interpretation and judgment, departments are encouraged to ask for assistance in making those determinations.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURE

1. Unallowable Expenses: Unique object code ranges have been assigned to properly track and eliminate specific types of expenses that may not be charged to federally sponsored agreements, either directly or indirectly. The one exception is alcohol, which is authorized only on specific accounts.

a. Advertising (Non-Employment), Selling and Marketing Expense (account codes 71C0%): These are costs of selling and marketing any products or services of the institution to the public. This includes radio, television and newspaper marketing costs associated with campus student recruitment. It also includes posters and pamphlets for recruiting graduate students, per Uniform Guidance §200.421. The only allowable advertising costs are those which are solely for recruitment of personnel, the procurement of goods and services, or the disposal of scrap and surplus materials, and program outreach and other specific purposes necessary to meet the requirements of the federal award. Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-002, Advertising.
b. Bad Debts and Collection Costs (account codes 71C3%): Per Uniform Guidance §200.426, any losses (whether actual or estimated) arising from uncollectible accounts and other claims and related legal and collection costs are unallowable.
c. Legal Expenses & Settlements, Fines and Penalties (account code 71C400): Per Uniform Guidance §200.435 and §200.441, all legal, settlement, and fine expenses (including the costs of legal, accounting and consultant services incurred in connection with any criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding commenced by the Federal, State, local or foreign government) are unallowable.
d. Alcohol for consumption: While alcohol is an item of expense, a separate object code range has not been established. Only specifically identified accounts (approved by the applicable campus president) may incur costs for alcohol, per Uniform Guidance §200.423. Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-003, Alcohol.

2. Unallowable Activities: In addition to the account codes used to track unallowable expenses noted above, specific FOAPALs are used to track the costs of activities that may not be charged to federal programs. Some of these activities are explicitly unallowable under other USNH policies (see cross-reference below). Other items, such as alumni activities or public relations, are entirely appropriate and permissible activities of USNH. However, none of these costs are allowable for the purpose of calculating indirect costs based on Uniform Guidance. These items are noted below (followed by their Uniform Guidance section reference):

a. Commencement and convocation costs, per Uniform Guidance §200.429.
b. Contributions to a contingency reserve or any similar provision made for events, the occurrence of which cannot be foretold with certainty as to time or intensity, per Uniform Guidance §200.433.
c. Costs in excess of normal severance (e.g., golden parachutes), per Uniform Guidance §200.431(i).
d. Costs incurred for, or in support of, alumni/ae activities, per Uniform Guidance §200.424.
e. Costs of investment counsel and staff and similar expenses incurred solely to enhance income from investments, per Uniform Guidance §200.442.
f. Costs of organized fund raising, including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitations of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions, per Uniform Guidance §200.442.
g. Donations and contributions made by USNH to benefit other individuals or organizations, per Uniform Guidance §200.434. (Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-006, Contributions - Charitable and Political.)
h. Entertainment costs, including amusement, diversion, and social activities and any costs directly associated with such costs (such as tickets to shows or sports events, meals, lodging, rentals, transportation, and gratuities), per Uniform Guidance §200.438.
i. Excessive recruitment costs, per Uniform Guidance §200.463. (Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-001, Introduction to Business Expenditures.)
j. Goods and services for personal use of the institution's employees, regardless of whether the cost is reported as taxable income to the employees, per Uniform Guidance §200.445. (Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-001, Introduction to Business Expenditures.)
k. Housing allowances and personal living expenses of the institution's officers, regardless of whether the cost is reported as taxable income to the employees, per Uniform Guidance §200.445.
l. Interest on borrowed capital or temporary use of endowment funds, however represented, per Uniform Guidance §200.449. (An exception exists for the costs of interest paid to an external party which is associated with the purchase, construction or replacement of buildings or equipment §200.449(b) of the Uniform Guidance outlines exception conditions in more detail.
m. Legal Counsel Office costs, per Uniform Guidance §200.435.
n. Lobbying costs, per Uniform Guidance §200.450. These are specifically not allowed at USNH. (Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-006, Contributions - Charitable and Political.)
o. Losses, where expenses exceed income under any other sponsored agreement or contract of any nature, per Uniform Guidance §200.451. (This includes, but is not limited to, the Institution's contributed portion under cost-sharing agreements and any under-recoveries resulting from the negotiation of flat amounts for F&A costs.)
p. Memberships in civic organizations, country or dinner clubs, per Uniform Guidance §200.454. (Further guidance is contained in Procedure 8-001, Introduction to Business Expenditures.)
q. Non-coach travel, under normal circumstances, per Uniform Guidance §200.474 (These costs are also specifically prohibited in Procedure 7-005, Air, Travel, Domestic and Foreign.)
r. Public relations costs, per Uniform Guidance §200.421.
s. Student activities costs for intramural sports, student publications, student clubs, and the like, unless specifically provided for in the sponsored agreements, per Uniform Guidance §200.469.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This policy applies to UNH, UNHM, and UNHL only. KSC, PSC, and GSC should follow the spirit of the policy to ensure the appropriate handling of costs in their indirect cost calculations.

This policy explains the handling of "departmental" costs funded by a central office. The policy is designed to ensure that all costs are captured in the appropriate cost pool for the Facilities and Administrative (F&A) cost calculation. This requirement exists, irrespective of the source of funds for a cost, because all current fund expenses are included in the development of the F&A calculation. Good accounting practices dictate that costs be charged to the benefiting department.

The policy provides partial definitions for each cost pool (e.g. Instruction, Organized Research, Departmental Administration, etc. - see Appendix 1) and speaks to appropriate budget and expense transactions. The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions, provides federal guidance as to which cost pool a given activity or cost belongs.

1. Definition: A centrally funded cost is any cost paid for or funded by a central office, such as a dean's office or vice president's office.
2. Why is an Allocation of Centrally Funded Costs Policy Necessary?

a. Costs must be charged to the account that benefits from the expense. When a department budget is insufficient to cover a cost, centrally maintained funds may be used to meet this need. The correct method to accomplish this is to transfer budget authority to the departmental account rather than charging the expense to the central account.
b. OMB Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions, requires USNH to maintain an accounting system that ensures direct and indirect costs are included in the correct cost pool.

3. Responsibility: Responsibility for adhering to this policy lies primarily with deans, vice presidents, and administrative personnel charged with financial oversight of the campuses, colleges, schools, and divisions. For clarification, interpretation, and further information, call UNH Finance & Administration Office.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. Cost Pools: At UNH, UNHM, and UNHL, all costs fall into one of twelve cost pools. The cost pool of a given FUND/ORGN is identified within Banner in the program codes of the FTMACCI table.Appendix 1 summarizes the kinds of costs included in the pools.
2. Incorrect Accounting: Costs are charged to the wrong cost pool when an expense is charged to a central office account rather than the benefiting department. If funds are expended out of a central account, the expense could be charged to the wrong cost pool (e.g., General Administration instead of Instruction).
3. Correct Accounting: Costs must be charged to the benefiting department account whenever possible. At a minimum, costs must be included in the correct cost pool. Central departments that fund various cost objectives or activities, such as dean's or a vice president's offices, must either transfer spending authority or establish separate accounts.

a. Transferring budget authority:

i. For accounts within the same fund, transfer the budget from the central account to the departmental account. This allows the costs to be charged directly to the benefiting department.
ii. For accounts from different funds, the transfer of budget authority is via a non-mandatory transfer journal from one fund to the other (such as from the general fund dean's account to an internally designated fund account or from the general fund to a plant fund). The journal would be a debit to the source of funds side and a credit to revenue for the receiving account. The expense budget can then be increased in the recipient fund to allow the additional spending.

b. Establish separate accounts: A separate account can be set up within the central area for each cost pool that will receive centrally allocated costs (i.e., create separate Area/Org for Instruction, Departmental Administration, Organized Research, etc., expenses). In these cases, costs must be posted to the appropriate account.

4. Examples on the handling of certain kinds of costs:

a. Visiting Professor: Assume the main dean's office account is coded as Departmental Administration for F&A cost purposes, and the expenses of a visiting professor are properly charged as Instruction expenses for F&A cost purposes. If the cost of a visiting professor is expenses against the dean's office account, the cost is included incorrectly in the Departmental Administration cost pool, rather than in the Instruction cost pool where it belongs. The cost should either be charged to the academic department's instruction account, or an instruction account would need to be established under the deans' area.`
b. Associate Deans: Associate Dean positions are often held for a year by tenured senior faculty. A significant portion of the work of these individuals can be for student advising. These costs should be captured as Student Services, not Departmental Administration. Other Associate Deans serve in a more purely administrative role. Those individuals would appropriately be coded as Departmental Administration.
c. Faculty Advising: In addition to their regular instructional role, faculty members may advise students for a few hours a month. Since the salary costs allocable to advising are immaterial, an adjustment to transfer a portion of the cost from Instruction to Student Services is not necessary.
d. Release Time and Faculty Fellows: When a central office covers a portion of the salary of faculty, there is no single answer as to which cost pool should be used. A review must be made of the specific duties that are to be performed under the agreement.

i. The cost should be captured as Instruction if the faculty member is to be developing a new course, if they are working in their generalized scholarly interest area, or if they are using the time writing a new book.
ii. The cost should be captured as Departmental Administration (within a Dean's Office) or General Administration when they are serving as the manager of a unit or if they are assisting the Dean or Vice President in administrative duties.

e. Internal Research Support: Internal research support accounts represent a funding by the University of on-going faculty scholarly activities, not for a specific research project. As such, it does not meet the definition of Organized Research. It should be charged to Instruction.
f. Gift fund accounts: Many gift accounts are used for Student Financial Aid. As such, these costs would be captured in the Unallowable cost pool. If, however, the purpose of a particular Gift fund is for miscellaneous department or college instruction activities, the account should be coded Instruction.
g. Cost Sharing: In those circumstances when a general fund, internal research support fund, or a Gift fund is being used to match a portion of an active Organized Research project, a 15C% cost sharing fund should be established.  The cost shared expenses should be charged to the cost share fund and a transfer in from the appropriate department should be credited to the fund. The actual expense would be charged to the cost share fund.

Appendix 1 - Cost Pools 

• Instruction: Normal classroom instruction and training activities, as well as department or unfunded research, and faculty scholarship (including the Internal Research Support accounts). The Instruction cost pool also includes grants and contracts specifically for training purposes.
• Agricultural Experiment Station: All AES accounts, primarily P2 funds.
• Organized Research: Research and development activities funded by grants, contracts, and other sponsored agreements, and other separately budgeted funds for research projects (such as College and University Research Fund grant funds). This pool also includes grants and contracts for activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques (commonly called research training) where such activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development activities and where such activities are not included in the instruction function.
• Other Sponsored Programs: Grants and contracts that involve the performance of work other than instruction and organized research. Examples of such grants may be workshops, surveys, or projects for the dissemination, outreach, program coordination, and services. Similar activities not covered by externally sponsored agreements are included in Other Institutional Activities.
• Other Institutional Activities: Auxiliary Enterprise funds (Fund type A), Athletics, University supported portion of Public Service activities (including the Cooperative Extension Service), Alumni/Public Relations, etc.
• Operations and Maintenance of plant: Facilities Services departments (repairs, maintenance, custodial, utilities, grounds and roads, refuse, etc.), Environmental Safety, Fire Services, and Public Safety.
• Library: Library operations, including the costs of collections, library staff, and associated costs.
• Departmental Administration: Administrative and supporting services that benefit common or joint department activities within academic departments, dean's offices, institutes, and research centers. The specific costs include clerical, deans' office administrative costs, and associated costs.
• General Administration: President's Office, the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and Financial Affairs and Administration, Personnel, Academic and Administrative Computing, Institutional Research, Purchasing, USNH Controller's Office, Chancellor's Office costs, etc.
• Sponsored Program Administration: Sponsored Programs Administration and the Vice Provost for Research and Public Service.
• Student Services: Vice President for Student Affairs Office, the Registrar's Office, the Financial Aid Office, Admissions, Counseling, Advising, Career Services, SHARPP, Health Services, etc.
• Unallowable: Student Financial Aid, the Loan funds, Endowment and Quasi-Endowment funds, etc.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This policy documents the process involved in establishing the need for and creating a Service Center at USNH.

Rates are developed to distribute direct and indirect costs associated with the service. The purpose of these rates is to recover the costs of providing the service. There are two types of Service Centers, as described below.

1. Definition of a Service Center: A Service Center is an entity that performs or provides, for a fee, specific technical or operational services primarily for internal users. A Service Center may provide services to external users, as long as this is not its primary purpose. USNH entities that do not charge a fee, or whose customer base is largely external users (excluding the Federal government), are not considered Service Centers for the purposes of this policy. Service Centers vary in size and complexity, as well as in the composition of costs included in their rate structures.

a. A normal Service Center provides services to a broad range of users throughout the campus. Examples are Telecommunications and the University Instrumentation Center. Operating costs include salaries and benefits of Service Center employees, materials costs, and all or part of the associated facilities and administrative (F&A) costs. See Procedure 2-071, Establishing a Service Center Billing Rate, for details on the development of Service Center billing rates.
b. A Recharge Center is a type of Service Center that reallocates materials costs only (excluding salaries and wages) within a department or limited area of accounts. Recharge Centers simply recoup, through a redistribution method, the materials costs relating to a particular activity. An example of a Recharge Center is a departmental copier. Please see Procedure 2-072, Creating a New Recharge Center, for the correct handling of this particular kind of Service Center.

2. Why is a Service Center policy necessary? It is good business practice to review internal costing and charging practices. USNH must use consistent and equitable cost accounting practices to ensure compliance with federal regulations and cost accounting standards. This is essential to ensure continued funding of federal programs. These federal regulations are outlined in detail in Procedure 2-071, Establishing a Service Center Billing Rate.
3. Responsibility: Departments make the initial determination that a Service Center is needed. The department forwards the request to the Controller's Office. The Controller's Office is responsible for approving the establishment of a new Service Center.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. Deciding if a new Service Center needs to be created: The following should be considered in assessing the need to set up a new Service Center.

a. Is the service primarily for USNH departments? If a unit such as the New England Center is principally for "external" customers (non-USNH departments) this activity does not constitute a Service Center.
b. Is it cost effective to perform the service in-house? A cost/benefit analysis must be completed to see if the Service Center is cost effective. It is unallowable per federal regulations to charge a federally sponsored program for a service that would have cost less if purchased from an outside vendor.
c. Will the Service Center bill most users for the service? Before a Service Center is established, a decision must be made that all the costs are going to be billed to all customers. If a Service Center is not going to bill for services to all users, adjustments must be made to the institutional indirect cost proposal, and cost sharing must be recorded for the unbilled portion of the service. See the University of New Hampshire Policy, Cost Sharing on Externally sponsored Programs, for a more detailed discussion of the handling of total costs of projects and centers.
d. F & A cost proposal: Some costs are traditionally charged as indirect costs rather than as direct costs through a Service Center. Before they are moved to direct charging, federal approval is required. An assessment must be performed to determine if the campus-wide cost reimbursement would be more appropriate via direct or indirect charging. Please contact the Asset Management and Cost Analysis group, at 862-3466, for guidance on any such change.

2. Service Center accounts: The development of a new Service Center requires the creation of a new Banner account to capture all costs associated with the Service Center. See Procedure 2-039, Account Coding Conventions, for detailed instructions on requesting new accounts.
3. Service Center rates: The development of a new Service Center requires the creation of Service Center rates. See Procedure 2-071, Establishing a Service Center Billing Rate, for the steps involved in developing rates.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

1. Purpose: This policy outlines the process involved in developing Service Center billing rates within USNH for internal customers (including federal grants).

The rates charged to "external" customers (non-USNH departments) may exceed the cost-based rate. The use of such a rate requires Controller's Office approval. If such approval is received, revenue generated through the higher rate must be captured separately.
2. Definition of a Service Center Billing Rate:

a. The internal billing rate is the dollar amount charged for each unit of goods or services provided and used for billing purposes, based on annual costs.
b. The rate must be constructed to neither overcharge nor undercharge internal customers. The goal is to break even on a cost basis. Campus CFO approval is required to subsidize a Service Center by charging less than cost.

Example: Estimated Total Annual Costs / Total Estimated Billing Units = Billing Rate per Unit

3. Why is a Service Center billing rate policy necessary? It is good business practice to review rates and costs on a regular basis. USNH must use consistent and equitable cost accounting practices to ensure compliance with federal regulations and cost accounting standards. These federal regulations are outlined below.
4. Responsibility: Departments are responsible for seeking annual approval of Service Center billing rates from the campus CFO upon initial establishment of the Service Center, and each year thereafter. In addition, departments must maintain documentation of this approval and detailed supporting calculations for 3 years after the close of the affected fiscal year.

B. GENERAL GUIDELINES

Federal Regulations Regarding Service Center Rates: All Service Centers are subject to the cost principles and cost accounting standards outlined in OMB Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions. In general, rates must be based on actual costs, applied consistently, and based on the actual use of the services.

1. Service Centers should recover costs over a reasonable period. A reasonable period is defined as one fiscal year.
2. The same rate schedule should be used for all internal users. This rate schedule must not discriminate against federally funded accounts for the benefit of other internal users.
3. Rates must be reviewed periodically for consistency with long-term costs by department staff administering the Service Center.
4. Service Centers must exclude federally unallowable costs from their billing rates and the rates must include the actual costs of performing the service to all users, see Procedure 2-060, Unallowable Costs per OMB Circular A-21, for more information.

C. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR SERVICE CENTER RATE DEVELOPMENT

Instructions for Preparation of a Service Center Rate

1. Identify all services provided. A separate rate should be calculated for each category of service, when there are different costs or user populations receiving services.
2. Determine direct costs of Service Center operations that are specifically identifiable with relative ease and a high degree of accuracy, such as:

a. Salaries and benefits of staff directly providing the service
b. Materials costs
c. Contracted services
d. Equipment lease or rental
e. Repairs and machine supplies
f. Other directly related expenses

3. Identify Service Center indirect costs incurred for multiple goods or services within the Service Center. These costs need to be included in the rate, but may not include costs that are part of the campus indirect cost rate.

a. Salaries and benefits of administrative staff who support the Service Center (such as directors and accounting staff)
b. Supplies
c. Equipment

i. Equipment includes items with a unit cost of $1,000 or more and a useful life of 2 years or more.
ii. Equipment bought with federal funds must be excluded from federal accounts rate.
iii. Allowable costs should include only the current year's depreciation, not the current year's purchases.

d. Debt Service

i. External interest on long-term debt or capital leases may be charged with prior approval from the campus CFO, USNH treasurer, and the cognizant federal audit agency.
ii. Principal payments should not be included in billing rates as they are equity purchases not a current year expense.
iii. Interest on interfund borrowing is not an allowable cost.

4. Identify campus-wide indirect costs to be included in billing rates (if any). Indirect costs are the facilities and administrative infrastructure costs of USNH. These costs are generally excluded from Service Center rates. Please consult with the campus CFO before including such costs.
5. Develop a method to allocate Service Center indirect costs to each service.

a. Allocations should be based on a causal and beneficial relationship. For example:

i. Percentage of Effort
ii. Usage (time)
iii. Costs
iv. Space - square footage

6. Accumulate or estimate usage for each service (such as number of units) to establish the distribution base. All usage must be included, regardless of whether discounts or free service is provided.
7. Calculate cost-based rate for each service.

a. Divide the total annual operating cost by the total estimated billing units to determine the billing rate per unit. For example:

i. For a Service Center that provides photocopies, the billing unit would be the number of copies.
ii. For a center that provides services, the billing unit would generally be the number of hours of service.

8. Determine the rate that will actually be charged.

a. Federal users must be charged no more than the cost-based rate. Excess revenues are allowed on non-federal external users only. A balance may be developed. The balance must be segregated, to allow for the calculation of a true unit price.
b. Discounts provided to non-federal users must not be subsidized by federal users. The subsidy must be quantified and excluded from future period billing rate calculations.
c. If market prices are used, they should be compared to actual costs to ensure rates do not result in overcharges to federal users.

9. Obtain approval of the billing rate from the campus CFO.
10. Review Rates annually and incorporate prior year deficit or surplus.

a. Revenues that exceed the actual cost of service can not be used to subsidize other services of the Service Center, unless user mix is similar.
b. Billings should be calculated for users that are not charged cost-based rates.
c. Any surplus should not exceed 60 days of working capital, per A-21.
d. Surpluses or deficits that exceed the established threshold should be used to adjust future billing rates or be credited back to users. This effort can exclude the balance created on external customers, so long as these surpluses can be documented.
e. Obtain annual approval of the billing rate from the campus CFO.

11. Document activities and maintain records for 3 years to support expenditures, rate calculation, published rates, usage statistics and billings, per OMB Circular A-21.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

This policy documents the process involved in creating a Recharge Center at USNH.

1. Definition of a Recharge Center: A Recharge Center reallocates materials costs (excluding salaries and wages) within a department or a limited area of accounts. Recharge Centers simply recoup, through a redistribution method, the materials costs relating to a particular activity. An example of a Recharge Center is a departmental copier.
2. Why is a Recharge Center policy necessary? USNH must use consistent and equitable cost accounting practices to ensure compliance with federal regulations and cost accounting standards. This is essential to ensure continued funding of federal programs. These federal regulations are outlined in detail in the Procedure 2-073, Establish a Recharge Center Rate.
3. Responsibility: Departments are responsible for the determination that a Recharge Center is needed. Please call your campus CFO or the Asset Management and Cost Analysis group in the Controller's Office at 862-3466, if you need assistance.

B. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES

1. Deciding if a new Recharge Center needs to be created. Will the Recharge Center bill most users for the service? Before a Recharge Center is established, a determination must be made that the costs are going to be billed to all customers.

If a recharge center is not going to bill for all users, cost sharing must be recorded for the unbilled research portion of the service. See the University of New Hampshire Policy, Cost Sharing on Externally sponsored Programs, for a more detailed discussion of the handling of total costs of projects and centers.
2. Recharge Center accounts: Recharge Center costs are generally handled as contra-expense credits against expense object codes, so a new account may not be required. See Procedure 10-001, Revenue Accounting.
3. Recharge Center Rates: The creation of a new Recharge Center requires the establishment of a Recharge Center rate. See Procedure 2-073, Establish a Recharge Center Rate, for detailed instructions.

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

1. Purpose: This policy outlines the process involved in developing Recharge Center rates within USNH for internal customers and federal grant accounts.
2. Definition of a Billing Rate: The internal billing rate is the dollar amount charged for each unit of goods or services provided and used for billing purposes, based on annual costs.

Example: Estimated Total Annual Costs / Total Estimated Billing Units = Billing Rate per Unit

3. Why is a Recharge Center rate policy necessary? It is good business practice to review rates and costs on a regular basis. USNH must use consistent operational costing practices to ensure compliance with federal regulations and cost accounting standards.
4. Responsibility: Departments are responsible for determining the Recharge Center rate, and for maintaining appropriate records.

B. GENERAL GUIDELINES

Federal Regulations Regarding Recharge Center Rates: All Recharge Centers, no matter how small, are subject to the cost principles and cost accounting standards outlined in OMB Circular A-21. In general, rates must be based on actual costs, applied consistently, and based on actual use of the services.

1. Recharge Centers should recover costs in the year in which they are incurred.
2. The same rate schedule should be used for all users. This schedule must not discriminate against federally funded accounts to the benefit of other users.
3. Rates must be reviewed periodically for consistency with long-term costs by department staff administering the Recharge Center.
4. Recharge Centers must exclude unallowable costs from their billing rates and the rates must include the actual costs of performing the service to all users.

C. DETAILED OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR RECHARGE CENTER RATE DEVELOPMENT

1. Determine direct costs of recharge center operations that are specifically identifiable with relative ease and a high degree of accuracy, such as:

a. Materials costs
b. Equipment lease or rental
c. Repairs and machine supplies

2. Accumulate or estimate total usage for each service (such as number of units) to establish the distribution base. All usage must be included.
3. Calculate cost-based rate for each service. Divide the total annual operating cost by the total estimated billing units to determine the billing rate per unit. For example, the billing unit for a recharge center that provides photocopies would be the annual number of copies.
4. Determine the rate that will actually be charged.

a. Federal users and other internal users must be charged no more than the cost-based rate. Excess revenue as allowed on non-federal external users only.
b. Discounts provided to non-federal users must not be subsidized by federal users. The subsidy must be quantified and excluded from future period billing rate calculations and the indirect cost rate.
c. If market prices are used, they should be compared to actual costs to ensure rates do not result in overcharges to federal users.

5. Document activities and maintain records for 3 years to support expenditures, rate calculation, published rates, usage statistics and billings, per OMB Circular A-21.

A. Summary of Administrative Procedure

This document explains the requirements for and purposes of keeping adequate supporting documentation for USNH accounting transactions.

1. Definition of adequate supporting documentation. Statement on Auditing Standards No. 106 defines evidence necessary to adequately support the assertions in the financial statements as underlying accounting data and corroborating information. Underlying accounting data includes journal entries (including cash receipts) and invoice documents. In the USNH environment the underlying accounting data is maintained within Banner Finance and the related subsidiary systems and can, therefore, be managed centrally. Corroborating information, on the other hand, is maintained within campus business offices and other centralized units and varies from unit-to-unit as well as from transaction-to-transaction.
2. Responsibility. UNH Business Service Centers and Campus Business Offices are responsible for the compilation and retention of corroborating information to ensure consistency and adequacy of support for the underlying accounting data across all units with the goal of addressing the 5Ws - who, what, when, where and why each transaction was processed. Documentation related to each transaction must adequately support the quantity of items received and associated costs, be easily retrievable for examination by authorized departmental and central administrators, auditors and other authorized individuals. In most cases, this can be accomplished by adding copies of the documentation into the USNH designated imaging system, BDMS.

B. Detailed Operating Procedure

1. Required Information:

For all document types the supporting documentation should include the following:

a. Evidence of approvals not applied electronically such as: Email correspondence or physical signature of approving official (for example an 'ok to pay' note on a vendor invoice)
b. Cost allocation/calculation sheets, if applicable
c. Other backup critical for third-party understanding of the transaction several years hence when the individuals involved may no longer be employed at USNH. In addition, if the business purpose is not readily apparent (for example, purchase of office supplies) it must be included with the documentation through one of the following:
d. Copy of internal email or other correspondence explaining the business purpose
e. Notation indicating who, what, when, where and why

2. Guidelines/examples adequate supporting documentation

a. Cash Receipts

i. Copy of deposit slip including:

• deposit date
• deposit detail
• deposit total (must tie to total of the detail)
• Banner document number notation
• Initials of depositor
• Bank deposit receipt

ii. Daily cash log(s)/batch posting sheet(s) and copies of receipts given
iii. Daily ledger from cash register(s) showing receipts collected for the day, or cash register tapes(s) if daily ledger sheet is not available
iv. Support for application of receipt(s) to outstanding receivables such as:

• Check stubs with notations of USNH invoice numbers
• Customer correspondence included with receipt(s)

v. If the individual receipt is being recorded as a reduction of prior expenditure (for example, a vendor refund check) a written explanation should be included on the check stub
vi. Copies of checks if receipt is over $50,000 or if significant to the individual transaction

b. Journal Entries

(including CSHR, IVEX/IVRV, JZRO, JE16, JE76 and JECO rule codes)

i. Appropriate narrative should be included in the document text section explaining the business purpose of each entry (in other words, why the entry is necessary)
ii. The document text should also include notation of any approvals not applied electronically

c. PCard/Convenience Check Transactions

i. One of the following should be attached to the account manager's copy of the monthly statement for each transaction:

• Vendor cash register receipt
• Supplier invoice
• Credit card slip (with itemized pricing)
• Copy of order/ registration form (that includes pricing)
• Packing slips are sufficient only when provided with pricing detail or in conjunction with one of the above

ii. If the business purpose is not readily apparent or the item purchased could be construed to be personal (for example, a television) the purpose must be noted on the above documentation
iii. Support for meals expense must include the date, time, location, names and titles of those in attendance, and business matters discussed. In cases where there are more than 6 people in attendance, the name of the committee or organization and the number of participants will suffice (e.g., Faculty Senate meeting, 12 in attendance).

d. Petty Cash/Imprest Checking Reimbursements:

i. Completed petty cash replenishment request including the following:

• Banner invoice number
• Supervisor's signature

ii. Petty cash vouchers with attached receipts or vendor invoices for all expenditures with business purpose noted
iii. Support for meals expense must include the date, time, location, names and titles of those in attendance, and business matters discussed. In cases where there are more than 6 people in attendance, the name of the committee or organization and the number of participants will suffice (e.g., Faculty Senate meeting, 12 in attendance).

e. Vendor Invoices

Each vendor invoice must be entered separately into Banner (i.e. not batched together).

i. Direct pay invoices:

• Vendor invoice with Banner document number noted
• Departmental approval signature
• Clear business purpose of the transaction including who, what, when, where and why

ii. Payments against POs²

• Vendor invoice with Banner document number noted
• Departmental approval signature (denoting receipt of goods or services only)

iii. Employee³ Reimbursements - Travel and Business Expenses 

• Completed USNH Personal Reimbursement Form with the following:
• Banner invoice number
• Business purpose including who, what, when, where and why
• Traveler/employee's signature
• Dean/Director/Department Head/Business Manager/Sponsored Programs review signatures as needed
• BSC/Campus Business Office review signature
• Receipts for all expenditures
• Support for meals expense except daily per-diem must include the date, time, location, names and titles of those in attendance, and business matters discussed. In cases where there are more than 6 people in attendance, the name of the committee or organization and the number of participants will suffice (e.g., Faculty Senate meeting, 12 in attendance).
• Taxi/bus/train/subway/toll/parking receipts required only when transaction exceeds $25

¹ If the IV document is applied to a PBOR/PBAD internal requisition entry that indicates the business purpose then the IV need not repeat that text. However, departments should make certain that names of attendees and business discussion are documented for all internal catering charges.

² Business purpose and appropriate approvals are recorded with the requisition/purchase order and, therefore, do not need to be filed with the actual vendor invoice

³ Nonemployees must have preapproval by their sponsor (including documented business purpose) before incurring travel costs

The official version of this information will only be maintained in an on-line web format. Any and all printed copies of this material are dated as of the print date. Please make certain to review the material on-line prior to placing reliance on a dated printed version.

A. OBJECTIVE

This procedure provides guidance on required retention periods for financial records to meet the legal, administrative and operational requirements of USNH. Note that approved methods for deletion of electronic documents are not covered by this procedure.

B. AUTHORITY

Per USNH Board of Trustees Administrative Policy BOT III.G.1.1, the Board of Trustees, under RSA 187-A:16, has the authority to manage the affairs of the University System and its component institutions. That authority includes the power to regulate the maintenance, retention, disposal and disclosure of the records of USNH consistent with state and federal law.

C. SCOPE

This procedure applies to all USNH financial records including those maintained by all USNH campuses and affiliates such as the UNH Alumni Association, the UNH Foundation, and the Keene Endowment Association.

D. DEFINITION

Financial records include all accounting, disbursement and tax-related reports and documents supporting the financial operations of USNH.

E. RESPONSIBILITY

Unless otherwise noted, the Campus Finance/Administration office or UNH Business Service Center (BSC) initiating a transaction is responsible for retaining documentation supporting the transaction. In most cases, this can be accomplished by adding copies of the documentation into the USNH designated imaging system. The retention periods described below would then be applied to the imaged document, and any paper copies can be destroyed following established procedures for the document type and sensitivity level.

F. EXCEPTIONS

1. USNH Financial Services maintains portable document format (pdf) versions of all Purchase Order and Change Order documents generated by USNH financial systems.

2. Campus Human Resources Offices are responsible for maintaining records or other information (including benefit selections and other items) per USNH On-Line Policy Manual OLPM - USY V.C.4.2.4.

G. RETENTION PERIODS

While this procedure prescribes the minimum period after each transaction date that USNH financial records should be maintained, campus finance/administration offices and UNH BSCs may, at their discretion, retain records for a longer period if there is a need to do so. See Section H below for retention beginning dates and retention periods of documentation related to grant activity.

1. Documents which must be retained permanently

• Annual audited consolidated financial statements (annual reports)
• Annual consolidated Uniform Guidance audit reports
• Detailed financial schedules by fund (USNH annual “Bigbook” representing the general ledger activity and balances)
• USNH and affiliate information and income tax returns filed with federal and state authorities (e.g., Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax; Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return; and related State of NH reports such as NH BET, Business Enterprise Tax Return, and Annual Report filed with NH Attorney General
• Memoranda of Understanding and other donor agreements for all endowment, life income, annuity, and trust gift funds
• Purchase and Sale Agreements for all real estate transactions

2. Documents which must be retained for 30 years

• NHHEFA Bond documents related to issuance (e.g., Blue Book) and related tax filings
• Construction invoices for all property financed with NHHEFA debt, capital leases or state capital appropriations
• Copies of bond/capital lease construction account bank statements and funds requisition schedules

3. Documents which must be retained for 7 years

• Accounts Payable (vendor) invoices and USNH Personal Reimbursement Forms with supporting documentation
• P-Card transaction documentation including images of all convenience checks with supporting documentation
• Timesheets for all personnel
• For campuses using the WISE (web-time-entry) system for time and leave reporting, the electronically-approved timesheet is the official record that should be retained for 7 years and there is no need to retain backup at the department level.  Note: Until a department has been on the WISE system for 7 years, processing units should retain paper documentation for prior years to ensure that the total retention period (i.e., paper + WISE) is 7 years.
• Biennial Equipment Inventory Reports
• Documentation to support current-use gift contributions to USNH as well as their purpose restrictions, if any, should be retained for 7 years after the funds are fully spent.
• Contracts and corresponding bid documents associated with Requests for Proposals and/or Quotes should be retained for 7 years after the expiration of the contract and any associated renewals.

4. Documents which must be retained for 5 years

• Copies of receipts issued for sales of goods & services for which payment is accepted by credit card, and all related backup should be retained in accordance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), and must not contain Personal Identification Information
• Copies of backup for all other cash/check receipts, provided that any customer banking information is appropriately redacted
• Investment subscription documents, agreements, approvals and other supporting records should be retained for 5 years after full divestment.

5. Documents which must be retained for 4 years

If not specified below these retention periods begin on the first day of the fiscal year that the form is filed.

• IRS Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement
• IRS Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings
• IRS Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements
• IRS Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. This special purpose IRS form must be retained for 4 years after the employee’s termination from USNH.
• IRS Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Withholding
• IRS Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification  -  This special purpose IRS form must be retained for 4 years after termination of the entity’s relationship as a vendor of USNH.  Following IRS best practices USNH will solicit new Forms W-9 from current vendors using self-service mechanisms on a cyclical basis such that current vendor data is updated every five years at a minimum.
• IRS Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return
• IRS Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax
• IRS Form 1042, Annual Withholding Tax Return for U. S. Source Income of Foreign Persons
• IRS Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U. S. Source Income Subject to Withholding
• IRS Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement
• IRS Form 8233, Exemption From Withholding on Compensation for Independent (and Certain Dependent) Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual
• IRS Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, and related appraisals
• IRS Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business

6. Documents which must be retained for 3 years

Grant and contract proposals, awards, agreements and related supporting documentation, should be maintained for a minimum of three years after the awards closing date as defined in section H below.

H. GRANT AND CONTRACT TRANSACTIONS

The retention period for federal grant or contract-related transactions is tied to the closing date of the award, including all extensions, rather than the date of each individual transaction. The retention period beginning dates for records under selected types of federal awards are noted below. These retention beginning dates apply unless the terms of the award specifically state otherwise or there is a pending audit or litigation matter.  In the case of the latter, the retention period begins on the date of resolution of all audit findings or all appeals related to any litigation. The USNH transaction retention schedule above should be applied from these dates in all cases for all documents listed in section G.1-7 above.

• For federal awards that are renewed quarterly or annually, the retention period begins on the date of the submission of the quarterly or annual financial report including the expenditure.
• The retention period for records of real property and equipment acquired with federal funds begins on the date of final disposition of the asset.
• The retention period for expenditures made under federal contracts begins on the date the final payment on the contract is received.
• The retention period for financial records and supporting documents for all other grant-related transactions begins on the date of submission of the final expenditure report including the activity.
• For federal contracts, the record retention period varies between two and ten years from the final payment. This includes books, documents, accounting procedures and practices, and other data regardless of whether such items are written, computerized, or in any other form and other supporting evidence to satisfy the contract negotiation, administration, and audit requirements of the contracting agencies and the Comptroller General. For financial and cost accounting records, payroll documents and acquisition, and supply records, the required retention requirement is two to four years.

Campus business offices are strongly encouraged to consult their Office of Sponsored Programs to determine the appropriate retention period for records related to specific grants or contracts and ensure that the records are not related to pending audits or litigation. In any case where the sponsoring agency’s retention period is longer than that dictated by this procedure, the longer period shall apply.

I. RECORDS DESTRUCTION AND DISPOSAL

At the end of the required retention period, records should be disposed of unless the records are required for a current audit, regulatory review or litigation. Records containing sensitive and/or confidential information should be shredded or incinerated and properly disposed. The Campus Finance/Administration office responsible for retaining documentation should maintain a record documenting all records that were destroyed. This record must include a brief description of the records, the dates the record originated, if available, the date of destruction and the reason why the record is being destroyed (for example, expiration of required record retention period).

J. DOCUMENT SCANNING

Campus business offices should be imaging and indexing their departmental documentation. See Imaging Invoice in BDMS, Imaging PCard in BDMS, and Imaging JV in BDMS for related imaging procedures.