finance procedures manual
income and invoicing procedure
INCOME AND INVOICING
Date approved / 15/10/2013 / Date Policy will take effect / 15/10/2013 / Date of Next ReviewApproved by / Chief Financial Officer – Frank Laezza
Custodian title & e-mail address / Finance Shared Services Manager - Domenic Armenio
Responsible Division / Financial Services Unit
Supporting documents, procedures & forms of this procedure / How to set out tax invoices
Debtor Tax Invoice Request Form
Debtor Credit Note Request Form
Debtor Refund Request Form
Standing Delegations Of Authority
Key References & Legislation
Audience / Staff Intranet – UTS Staff Only
Expiry date / N/A
Contents
1Introduction / Background
2Scope / Purpose
3Definitions
4Flowchart
5Instructions
5.1Invoicing
5.1.1Manual invoices
5.2Direct Access to Oracle
5.2.1Other UTS Units
5.2.2Credit check
5.2.3Customer Creation and Amendments
5.3Requirements for specific income categories
5.3.1Rental income
5.3.2Student overpayments
5.3.3Grants
5.3.4Partnerships and sponsorships
5.3.5UTS subsidiaries and joint ventures
5.4Collection
5.4.1Debtors
5.4.2Payment
5.4.3Credit notes
5.4.4Collection of overdue debts
5.4.5Write off of debts
5.4.6Refunds
6Reconciliation and Reporting
6.1.1Reconciliation
6.1.2Reporting
7Roles & Responsibilities
8Version Control Table
1Introduction / Background
The University’s main source of revenue is that associated with teaching activities. However the University has other sources of income which requires invoicing and collection. These miscellaneous sources of income are referred to as sundry debtors.
2Scope / Purpose
- The aim of this procedure is to enable relevant staff to identify the appropriate procedures to invoice and collect all non student income. The main examples of this income are:
Income derived from the rental of University properties
Recovery of expenses
Income from grants
Income from partnerships
Income from sponsorships
Income associated with Access UTS
Income from short courses
Income from miscellaneous UTS activities.
- This procedure addresses both the invoicing of income and the collection of income.
Invoicing income in Oracle is essential in order to record the income and to allocate that income against the correct income account.
Invoicing income in Oracle also records the income as a sundry debtor (or receivable) and the income remains as an uncollected debtor until the income is received by UTS. Receipt of the customer payment extinguishes the outstanding debt.
This procedure does not apply to income or cost transfers within UTS. Where a faculty or business unit provides goods and services to another internal unit, an invoice should not be raised through the Accounts Receivable system. Any internal income or costs should be accounted for via an internal transfer, using a general journal.
3Definitions
Word/Term/ Abbreviation / DefinitionCustomer or client / Any person or organisation who acquiresgoods or services from UTS.
Debtor / An individual or organisation that owes money to UTS and which is recorded in the Oracle Debtors Ledger.
Dunning letter / A letter to a debtor requesting payment
HRU / UTS Human Resources Unit
Raise an invoice / The phrase refers to either:
Requesting an invoice be raised by Accounts Receivable Supervisor;
The preparation of a manual invoice( or invoice template); or
The keying of data into Oracle which will result in an invoice produced on UTS tax invoice stationary.
4Flowchart
5Instructions
5.1Invoicing
The recording of income in Oracle is mandatory. All invoices raised must be recorded in the debtors ledger. If a UTS unit provides a manual invoice, then that manual invoice must also be recorded in Oracle.
5.1.1Manual invoices
- This procedure permits the following units of UTS to raise manual invoices and distribute to their customer.
ASS - Assets
CLG - Centre for Local Government
IML - Institute for Interactive Media and Learning
ITD - Information Technology Division
JUM - Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning
PM - Property Management
RIO - Research Innovation Office
SAU - Student Administration Office
- Copies of manual invoices must be sent to Accounts Receivable at FSU who is responsible for the manual invoice being entered into Oracle.
- The originating UTS unit must provide to FSU:
Instructions for the mailing of an invoice.
If the originating UTS unit has already provided the customer with a copy of the manual invoice, then FSU will not send an official UTS invoice from Oracle.
It is the responsibility of any UTS Unit which issues a manual invoice to ensure that the manual invoice is a compliant tax invoice. The requirements of a tax invoice are available at
If the originating Unit has not sent a copy of their manual invoice then FSU will provide the customer with anofficial UTS invoice from Oracle.
Customer details to assist with collection of the debt created in Oracle, including:
Contact name, address, email, phone number and ABN.
5.2Direct Access to Oracle
The following have direct access to, and create their own invoices in Oracle.
Design, Architecture and Building;
Training and Development Services;
Facilities Hire.
5.2.1Other UTS Units
All UTS Units which are not listed at section 5.1.1, must complete a Tax Invoice Request Form, which is available at
The Tax Invoice Request Form includes instructions which must be followed and includes a list of income accounts to which the income must be coded.
After completion, the Tax Invoice Request Form is to be forwarded to the Accounts Receivable section where a Tax Invoice is issued from Oracle and mailed to the customer, or returned to the requestor to be sent out, as per instructions provided.
5.2.2Credit check
- It is the responsibility of UTS staff who provide goods and services to customers, to reasonably satisfy themselves that the customer will ultimately pay the debt. This check is to include such investigation that the UTS provider considers necessary. For example credit references from a potential tenant, may be necessary prior to letting a UTS property. By comparison, no credit check would be required for Government agencies and grant providers, Note that:
Where a credit check is considered necessary, it must occur prior to the provision of goods or services.
A credit check is not required for existing customers.
5.2.3Customer Creation and Amendments
Establishing a New Debtor
Before an invoice can be raised, the customer must exist within Oracle. If no customer details exist, then they must be created by completing a Debtor Maintenance Form (new customer). This can be found at . The form should be completed by the requestor and forwarded to Accounts Receivable who will allocate the customer identification and establish the debtor.
The Accounts Receivable supervisor will first check to see if the customer has a valid ABN and if applicable, it’s status with ASIC before creating the customer in Oracle.
Amendment to Customer Details
A debtor maintenance form must be completed to affect any changes to the debtor within Oracle. The form should be completed by the requestor and forwarded to Accounts Receivable for processing.
5.3Requirements for specific income categories
Listed below are the requirements for invoicing some specific categories of income. If a UTS staff member requires information on the procedure for invoicing other categories of income, which is not in this procedure, then they should contact the Accounts Receivable Supervisor whose details are provided at section 7 of this procedure.
5.3.1Rental income
Rental income is invoiced using a manual invoice.
5.3.2Student overpayments
Staff who are seeking the recovery of overpayments to students should initially consult with Student Services at to ensure that the overpayment is a genuine obligation and that there are no other offsetting student payments.
If the student or former student proposes an arrangement under which the debt is repaid over time, then that arrangement is to be approved by the Manager Shared Services and the Finance Manager.
5.3.3Grants
Grant income is not automatically supplied by grant providers. UTS must issue an invoice for the grant amounts and, at the times specified in the grant approval document.
An invoice request is to be forwarded to Accounts Receivable for the generation of the invoice from Oracle.It is the responsibility of the invoice requestor to advise accounts receivable if the invoice is to be returned to them for despatching. Otherwise, the invoice will be forwarded to the client with a copy going to the requestor for their records.
5.3.4Partnerships and sponsorships
Partnerships and sponsorships are similar to grants, except that UTS staff undertake research or provide a service for specific clients (partner or sponsor). The client may provide a contract or a purchase order, specifying amongst other details, the amount and timing of the sponsors payments to UTS.
It is the responsibility of the UTS staff member managing the contract, to submit Invoice Request Forms to the Accounts Receivable Supervisor, in order to raise invoices at the appropriate time. Where invoices are raised at the completion of specific milestones, it is the responsibility of the UTS staff member managing the contract, to provide attachments, reports or other verification, that milestones have been achieved.
5.3.5UTS subsidiaries and joint ventures
A tax invoice is required for all sales to:
Wholly owned UTS subsidiaries such as Access UTSPty Ltd and Insearch Ltd; and
Joint ventures such as Sydney Educational Broadcasting Limited
5.4Collection
5.4.1Debtors
UTS trading terms are that income is to be receipted within 30 days of invoicing.
The Accounts Receivable Supervisor is responsible for the collection of debts and maintaining unpaid debts within the University’s trading terms.
FSU will send a statement of outstanding debt to each debtor at month end.
5.4.2Payment
If payment is received in a UTS Unit then that Unit is to forward the payment to the Treasury Teamin FSU, along with details of the invoice to which the amount relates (such as customer letter or remittance slip).
It is the responsibility of the Treasury Team to ensure that all payments are correctly allocated to the appropriate debtor.
5.4.3Credit notes
When an invoice has been processed, adjustments can only be made by way of a Credit Note Request.
A credit note may be raised to:
- Record the return of goods or services
- Record a reduction in the amount of the invoice
- To cancel an invoice raised for an incorrect amount or other data entry error.
Requests for credit notes should be authorised by the requestor’s supervisor.
The Credit Note Request formshould be directed to Accounts Receivable for processing, together with a valid reason for the credit and details of the original invoice.
5.4.4Collection of overdue debts
The Accounts Receivable Supervisor is responsible for managing the debtorsledger and may:
Issue dunning letters whena debt is 90 days past due;
Request the assistance of other UTS staff in collecting the debt.
The Shared Services Manager may decide to:
Obtain legal assistance in recovery of a debt; or
Place the overdue debt in the hands of a collection agency
5.4.5Write off of debts
1.The Accounts Receivable Supervisor will review the collectability of debtors at the end of each quarterand a provision for doubtful debts will be assessed by the Shared Services Managerand approved by the UTS Finance Manager.
2.The write off of uncollected debts may only be approved by a UTS staff member who has been delegated at section 1.15 of the UTS Standing Delegations of Authority which can be located at
No other UTS staff have the authority to communicate with a debtor that their debt has been written off.
5.4.6Refunds
All refunds must be submitted to Accounts Receivable on a Refund Request Form.
The request for refund must be approved by a Financial Delegate with the appropriate approval level and should include details of the refund and the original invoice number.
Refunds sent to Accounts Receivable by email will only be paid once the signed original has been received. This is to eliminate any duplication.
6Reconciliation and Reporting
6.1.1Reconciliation
The reconciliation of the Sundry Debtors Control Accounts is the responsibility of Accounts Receivable Supervisor. The reconciliations are to be prepared on a monthly basis and approved by the Manager, Shared Services.
Under no circumstances should adjustment journals be processed to the Trade Debtors control Account.
6.1.2Reporting
An Open Items report is to be run on a weekly basis identifying outstanding debts. This report is to be used by the Accounts Receivable supervisor to manage the University’s debtors and collections.
A monthly aged debtors report is also produced for the faculties and divisions providing the relevant finance officer information required on outstanding debtors.
7Roles & Responsibilities
The administration of this procedure is the responsibility of the Accounts Receivable Supervisor who is contactable at:
Accounts Receivable Supervisor
Mary Seeto
Ph: (02)9514 2888
Fax: (02)9514 2890
email:
8Version Control Table
Version Control / Date Released / Approved By / Amendment1.0 / 15 October 2013 / Frank Laezza - Chief Financial Officer
Procedure Income and Invoicing v1 0.docxPage 1 of 10
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