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I.   POLICY STATEMENT. 

This policy governs cash advances for payment of 17�Թ� business expenses.

II.  APPLICABILITY. 

This policy applies to all College employees seeking or receiving a cash advance for business expenses.

III.  DEFINITIONS.  

Budget Managers - Individuals who have been delegated the management of expenditures by their Department or Division Head(s). The Budget Manager ensures the information contained on the cash advance request and supporting documentation is accurate and accords with College policy.

Clear an Advance - Means the employee has adequately accounted for their expenses and submitted an Employee Expense Reimbursement through Chrome River with appropriate expense receipts attached

Receipt – a document that includes information about a purchase, including cost, and provides proof of payment by indicating that the payment was made in cash.  

Substantiation – means the written documents that support an incurred business expense. These include the original Receipt, notation of business purpose, names of persons in attendance and their relationship to the College (when applicable), and an approved expense report for the incurred cost. Additional information such as a brochure, a flyer, itinerary or an email can be helpful in explaining the nature of the expenditure. 

IV.  POLICY.

A. Eligibility and Restrictions

Only employees of the College may be given a cash advance.  Student workers are NOT eligible: NO cash advances will be given to any student. The College reserves the right to withhold cash advance privileges from any employee.

Cash advances should be rare. Cash advances are only available for anticipated expenses (estimated accurately and completely) over $100 and may be requested only after all other methods for obtaining goods/services have been exhausted. Employees with College-issued credit cards MUST use the MasterCard for ALL College business transactions and should not request cash advances. Cash advance requests should be kept at the minimum amount necessary and should not exceed $3,000 without prior approval by the Business Office.

An employee may have only request one cash advance per event. In extraordinary circumstances where a second cash advance is needed for the same employee, an approval must be obtained from the employee’s department head and either (a) the Controller or (b) the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Advances should not be used for petty cash needs. If your department requires petty cash, you should request a revolving petty cash fund from the Business Office.  Refer to the Departmental Petty Cash Policy for more details.

B. Making a Cash Advance Request

The employee whose name will appear on the check must submit a cash advance request through Chrome River. Requests made on behalf of other employee(s) will not be processed.  The request must include all required information, including the fund and organization code numbers, business purpose, and expected clearing date.

C. Approval Process

All cash advances must be approved as follows: 

• By the Supervisor: Supervisor ensures the cash advance is in support of the College’s mission. Supervisors may not delegate their role as approver unless pre-approved by the Business Office.
  • Supervisors must confirm the cash advance will be used for expenses that:
    • Will meet the IRS definition of a business expense by answering: Who? What? Where? When? Why?; and
    • Will be incurred while conducting College activities (any travel expense).
• By the Budget Manager: Budget Managers for each department are assigned by Division VP and may not delegate their role to someone else.
  • The Budget Manager must confirm that:
    • Budget is available; and
    • Substantiation matches and was submitted in accordance with this policy.
• By the Sponsored Research Office (if applicable): If the cash advance is charged to a grant, the Sponsored Research Office will review it for appropriateness.
• By a Vice President (if applicable): If the cash advance is flagged as a potential policy violation, the employee’s Vice President must approve.
• By the Controller or the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (if applicable): If an employee requires a second cash advance for the same event, the Controller or Vice President and Chief Operating Officer must approve.
• By the Business Office: The Business Office conducts the final review and approval before any cash advances are posted in Banner.

Approved cash advance requests will be processed by Accounts Payable (“A/P”) and will be processed according to A/P’s check processing schedule.

D. Timing and Deadlines

Generally, an advance will not be given more than 30 days prior to the date the employee expects to incurs the expense. For example, if an employee will be traveling on June 30^th, the advance will not be given prior to May 30^th. In cases of air travel, an advance will not be given more than 60 days prior to the airline travel.

Employees must clear their advance within 45 days after the expenses are paid or incurred.  For example, if you travel for College business from June 30^th to July 2^nd, you must clear the advance by August 16^th.  NOTE: The Business Office strongly recommends that advances be cleared within 30 days after the expenses are paid or incurred. Experience shows that the longer an advance remains outstanding, the more likely receipts will be lost, requiring that funds be returned to the College.

Per IRS regulations, cash advances that are outstanding more than 60 days after the expenses are paid or incurred are treated as taxable income subject to income tax withholding and payment of social security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes. The income and taxes will be reflected in the first pay period following the end of the 60-day period. Any advances treated as income will be charged to the employee’s department budget as salary and reported to the IRS on the employee’s W-2.

E. Clearing a Cash Advance

To clear a cash advance, submit an Employee Expense Reimbursement through Chrome River with appropriate Receipts attached. Return any unused cash to the cashier during normal window hours and attach the Cashiering receipt from the cashier to your Employee Expense Reimbursement Form. Do not return unspent cash to A/P.

F. Contact Information

For questions regarding cash advances, please contact Arlyne Lariosa, Senior Accountant, at x1418.

For status of payment, please contact Evelyn Hermosillo, Accounts Payable Manager, at x2808.

V.  POLICY HISTORY.

Responsible Officer(s): Controller

Effective Date: prior to July 2012

Last Revised Date: May, 8 2025

VI.  RELATED POLICIES AND RESOURCES.

Travel Expense, Credit Card, and Expense Reimbursement Policy & Procedures