Cheque Requisitions

Timing of Payments - Cheque Requisitions

Completeness - Cheque Requsitions

1. Prepayments

   Some suppliers require payment at the time of ordering, such as: subscriptions and University-related memberships.  (Prepayment for goods should follow the Purchase Requisition procedure.)

   There are two ways of accommodating prepayments to vendors.

   One way is to complete a Purchase Requisition with related information attached and forwarded to the Purchasing Department so that a Purchase Order may be created.  When the Purchase Order is created by purchasing staff, the related information will be forwarded to the Accounts Payable Department in Finance to process for payment.

   OR BY

   Completing a Cheque Requisition with appropriate account coding and signing authority in place with the related information attached which then can be forwarded directly to the Accounts Payable Department in Finance to process for payment.

   If the vendor is requesting a deposit and a final payment, then the Purchase Requisition procedure should be followed as this may become more of a contract situation where specific information should be considered and listed in the language of the agreement.

   For further clarification or questions, you may contact the Purchasing Department and/or the Accounts Payable Department.

2. Payment required without generation of a Purchase Order

   Any acquisitions of goods or services normally requires a purchase order, but situations may arise where the goods or services have been received and a purchase order was not issued. An example is when desk copies of textbooks are received. The invoice is sent with the goods and payment is required if you decide to keep them. These are normally small dollar amounts, and there is little reason for a purchase order to be done "after the fact" unless the Purchasing Department feels the order should be documented. For clarification of specific situations, contact the Purchasing Manager. Documentation in the form of an invoice is required with the cheque requisition.

3. Payments to employees for expenses other than travel

   Documentation in the form of original receipts is required with the cheque requisition.
   
   Please keep in mind that activities, such as professional development, must be paid for by funds in the same fiscal year's budget. For example, it is normally not possible to attend a conference in March and pay for it with funds from the new year budget which commences April 1, unless you can provide evidence of an application deadline, late penalty, etc.

4. Professional Fees

   Effective April 1, 2001, professional fees will be paid for all employees who are required by TRU to hold a professional certification as a condition of employment.

   The process for reimbursement is as follows:

   1. The faculty member must submit an original receipt for professional fees to the Dean/Associate Dean.

   2. The Dean/Associate Dean must verify that the professional certification is a condition of employment as determined by TRU.

   3. If approved for payment, a cheque requisition and the original receipt is sent to Accounts Payable for payment.

   IMPORTANT NOTES:  During the bargaining process, the parties had extensive discussions in regard to this article - the specific examples of a professional certification being a condition of employment, as determined by TRU were:

   1. RNABC registration for nurses
   2. Professional accounting designation for accountants (CA, or CMA or CGA)
   3. Animal Health Chair - required to hold a veterinary license.

   This article does NOT mean that every faculty member with association dues is reimbursed.

5. Payments to non-employees for expenses

   Documentation in the form of an invoice and/or original receipt is required with the cheque requisition.

Completion of Cheque Requisitions

1. Date - current.
2. Payee - complete name and address of individual/company to be paid. Note that this should match the backup documentation.
3. Payment description - general description of what is being paid.
4. Account to be charged - valid general ledger account number that may have to be provided by the Chairperson. If more than one, please list all accounts to be charged.
5. Details - invoice number (if applicable).
6. Amount - only one total amount is required if only one account is to be charged, less GST
7. GST - list if known.
8. Total - of all line amounts.
9. Requisitioned by - signature of employee generating cheque requisition.
10. Approved by - signature of AUTHORIZED PERSON within department, but must be approved by someone other than the person who generated the cheque requisition. Note that authorization is normally Chairperson/Manager level for amounts up to $1,000, or Dean/Director level for amounts up to $5,000. Some Chairpersons/Managers may have designated certain authority to subordinates, but this must have been documented with a Budgetary Authorization Form. Any requests for travel- oriented items for non-employees may be submitted on a cheque requisition and should have the Dean/Director level as authorization, regardless of amount.

The cheque requisition, with appropriate backup, should then be forwarded to the Finance Division.