Cards and cash
Cards & cash holds the authority's purchase cards and petty cash boxes, matched to receipts before anything is paid.
The authority keeps whatever purchasing card program it already has, through its bank or a state contract. Housing records each card with its holder, limits and what it must not buy, and checks each month's statement against them. The bank's own card controls are separate.
Purchase cards
Add a card, or a card on the page, opens it.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Last four digits | Required. Only one active card can end in the same four digits |
| Bank or program | |
| Cardholder's email | Required |
| Cardholder's name | |
| What it's for | |
| Monthly limit | Required, above zero |
| Single purchase limit (optional) | |
| Not to be used for | Any of Fuel, Cash and cash equivalents, Gift cards, Alcohol, Restaurants and Travel |
| Active | On an existing card |
Each card shows its holder, what it is for, its monthly limit and what it can't be used for, with a bar of what has been recorded on it this month from card purchases.
Once any card is recorded, every card purchase has to name one. See Recording a purchase.
Statements
Each month's card statement is loaded and every charge on it matched to a purchase, or explained, before it is approved for payment.
Statements lists them: Month, Program (the bank or program, or the file name), Total, Due, Matched (how many of how many) and Status.
| Status | Means |
|---|---|
| Matching | Loaded, charges still being matched |
| Approved to pay | Every charge done, and approved by someone else |
| Paid | The payment to the card program is recorded |
Loading a statement
Load a statement opens Load a card statement.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| From the Plaid card feed / From a file | Offered when a card account is linked through Plaid in Settings › Finance. The feed is chosen to start with |
| Month | Starts at last month. Not a closed month |
| Bank or program | Such as "First National purchasing cards" |
| Payment due | |
| Choose the file | From a file only |
- From the Plaid card feed takes the month's charges on every card account linked through Plaid, matched to cards by their last four. With nothing in the feed for the month it says to link or sync the card account first.
- From a file takes the month exported from the bank's card portal as CSV or OFX (Quicken/QuickBooks). It needs the date, card number, merchant and amount; the merchant category code helps catch blocked purchases. A file is up to 2 MB and 2,000 lines. Rows that couldn't be read are listed at the top of the statement.
Matching the charges
When a statement loads, each charge is matched to a card purchase already recorded with the same card and amount and a date within five days. A credit is marked as one.
Each charge is checked against its card, and what an auditor looks for is flagged:
| Flag | Means |
|---|---|
| Card not recorded | No active card ends in those four digits |
| Not allowed | The merchant is in a category the card can't be used for. Read from the merchant category code where the file has one, and from the merchant's name otherwise |
| Over single limit | The charge is over the card's single purchase limit |
| Over monthly limit | The month's charges on the card have passed its monthly limit |
A charge is done when it is matched to a purchase that has been approved (and so has its receipt), or explained. A matched purchase still waiting shows "waiting for approval"; a charge with nothing shows Needs a receipt.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Record it | Opens the purchase form filled in from the charge. Saving it matches it to the charge |
| Match | Picks a recorded card purchase with the same card and amount that no other charge has |
| Explain | What it is: Credit or return, Personal, repaid by the holder, Disputed with the bank or Other, and Explain it, which is required. On a blocked charge it reminds you the holder usually repays it |
| Undo | Takes a match or explanation off |
A purchase and a charge must be for the same amount. Correct the purchase first if they differ.
Approving and paying a statement
Approve statement for payment is offered once every charge is done. It is refused to whoever loaded the statement and, with approvers named, to anyone who is not one. Once approved, nothing on it can change.
Record payment records the payment to the card program: Paid from (the bank account), Paid on (not a closed month) and Check or ACH reference. The bank reconciliation expects it on that account's statement.
Petty cash
A petty cash box is an imprest fund: the cash in it and the receipts in it always come to a fixed amount.
Add a box, or Edit on a box:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name | Required, such as Front office |
| Who holds it (email) | Required |
| Kept at | The fixed amount, up to $5,000 |
| Active | On an existing box |
Each box shows Cash that should be in it, Receipts in the box (the petty cash purchases from it not yet put back) and the Total, then the last count: Balanced, Over or Short, with when and who.
Once any box is recorded, every petty cash purchase has to name one.
Someone other than the holder does the count and writes the top-up. The holder's buttons are off.
Counting
Count now: count the cash only and type Cash counted. The dialog says what there should be. When it doesn't balance, What you found is required.
Topping up
Top up puts back exactly the receipts in the box, once every one of them is approved. It asks Paid from, the Check number and the Date (not a closed month), for a check to the holder covering those receipts.
The top-up is recorded on the box, not as a new purchase: the receipts are already the expense, and a second purchase would count it twice. One top-up covers at most 99 receipts.