Northumbria University. Refund Procedure. Credit Control, Finance Department

Transcription

1 Northumbria University Refund Procedure Credit Control, Finance Department Laura Crammond 2/16/2015

2 Contents 1. Overview Refund categories Procedure for Tuition/External Refunds Procedure for Accommodation Refunds Procedure for GT Refunds Procedure for Federal Aid/Sallie Mae Refunds Refund Spreadsheet Processing of Refunds Raising Cheques ALTS What next? Stopped Cheques Filing Appendices Appendix A Home Bank Transfer Refund Appendix B International Bank Transfer Refund Appendix C Cheque Refund Appendix D Online Refund Appendix E Credit Card Refund P age

3 1. Overview Refunds are collected on a daily basis from the refund tray in Credit Control and submitted for authorisation on the same day. We advise customers that refunds will be completed within 7-10 working days but this could take longer depending on the value of the refund, the time of year the refund is requested and if there is any further investigation required. Refunds are returned back via the original payment methods, i.e. if a student paid by Bank Transfer the refund would be sent back to the bank account that the payment came from. There is one exception to the rule which is if a student has paid in cash then we would refund via cheque. We do not refund students with cash. International student cheques of 500 and over MUST ALWAYS be posted back to their home country via DHL. 2. Refund categories Refunds can come through to the refund administrator via a range of methods and depending on how it comes through will affect the way in which it is dealt with. Please see below: Tuition Tuition refunds are requested directly from the student via the IT Helpline, a member of staff from Credit Control will receive the original request from the student and will then submit a refund request form completed correctly to the refund tray. However, if a student asks for the refund at the counter, the Credit Control administrator on the counter will log a request on Supportworks and complete the refund form and submit to the tray. The refund administrator will pick this up and check before submitting to the authorised signatory. Refunds for International students who have not enrolled at the University will come from the International Office via Supportworks, they must then be checked to ensure all documentation is included i.e. copies of doctors notes, visa refusals etc. The refund must be signed by the International office authorised signatory. The refund administrator must complete the refund details section before submitting. Accommodation These are sent through Supportworks from the Accommodation office, they will be allocated directly to the Refund administrator who will check the accounts and submit the refund requests. External (Commercial/Sponsor) These are similar to the tuition refunds as they will come through Supportworks but the Commercial/Sponsor team will submit the refund request. GT Refund GT refunds will come from a faculty via the IT Helpline, they will be allocated directly to the refund administrator. They can be for transcripts, short courses, printing credits etc. These will always be Online refunds. Federal Aid/Sallie Mae Each year there is a batch of American students who are funded by the US Federal Government through a Federal Aid Loan. This loan can be split up over several instalments and their fees are paid through each instalment. In addition the funding provides money for living costs which is refunded to the students. There will be an advisor in Credit Control who receives all the information regarding the Fed Aid loans and they will process the refund. All refund requests should be logged on Supportworks and updated at every stage of the refund process. i.e. when sent for authorisation, if a cheque raised and when completed. 2 P age

4 3. Procedure for Tuition/External Refunds It is the responsibility of the refund administrator to ensure that all of the information on the refund request is correct before submitting it to be authorised. 1. The refund request should be checked to ensure the following information is on the form: The name of the account for Chinese students this must be their FULL name. Correct Faculty (or if commercial/sponsor just left as N/A). Account number. Contact details ensure that the full address, telephone number and address is on the form for all refunds. The reason for the refunds i.e. withdrawal, sponsor paying etc. The refund breakdown is fully completed. 2. The account in question must be checked to ensure that it has the correct credit balance. 3. Check the refund method stated: Ensure the original document number is correct. If the payment was made Online the refund MUST have the Online order ID, the date it was paid and the receipt number. If the payment was made by Credit Card the refund MUST have the original receipt number and the date the payment was made this is to help the Cash Office as they go through files of Credit Card receipts therefore if a date is given they can find the Credit Card slip and refund the payment quicker. Ensure that the correct GL indicator is stated: J for home student tuition fees M for international student fees Gen for where there is no specific GL When a home student is to be refunded via Bank Transfer ( 93 or Direct Debit) the full bank details MUST be included at the bottom of the form: Beneficiary Name Bank Name Bank Account Sort Code Confirmation of the bank details MUST be attached to the refund form i.e. from customer or print the payment which shows the bank details. If a CDL payment is to be refunded directly to a student we must receive an official letter from the bank authorising this. When an international student is to be refunded via Bank Transfer ( 68 ) just the original receipt number is stated. For examples of correctly completed refund request forms please see appendices. 4. Along with the refund form there must be a Supportworks job, a copy of the student account, and any other relevant information attached. This is to ensure that there are no queries and the refund can be processed quicker. If a student has outstanding fees on their account they will not be refunded unless in exceptional circumstances and agreed by the Credit Control Manager. 3 P age

5 4. Procedure for Accommodation Refunds Accommodation refunds are usually sent on a weekly basis directly from the Accommodation office via Supportworks and this will be assigned to the refund administrator. Be aware that the Supportworks job may have numerous lists attached to one job. The refund list MUST be signed by an authorised signatory from Accommodation. The lists must have the name and student number of each student on the list. Check the amounts requested match the credit balance on the account. Accommodation will note the original payment method on the form but this must be double checked that this is correct and all the relevant information for each refund method on the form should be completed (as per the tuition procedure). If the refund is to be returned to a third party i.e. Unite, the refund will always be completed as a cheque to the third party. A list of commonly used ALTS for Accommodation cheques can be found on the refund spreadsheet. If a refund request on the Accommodation list does not have a credit or the credit amount does not match then the Accommodation office must be informed and they will either rectify the issue and submit on the next weeks refund list or will advise the student that no refund will be processed. Once the Accommodation refunds have been completed the approval list should be scanned and sent to Michael Tweed or to the member of staff from Accommodation who logged the job. 4 P age

6 5. Procedure for GT Refunds GT refunds will be submitted via Supportworks and assigned directly to the refund administrator. They will have Business Refund Request Form attached which should be fully completed and authorised by the Faculty. 1. The form should be checked to ensure the following information is on the form: The Faculty/Service. Name of the person submitting the refund request. The GT order number. Address, phone number and address of the person requesting the refund. The transaction date. The refund reason. The amount to be refunded. 2. The authorised signatory for the Faculty/Service must sign, print name and date the form. 3. The Business refund request form needs to be printed off along with the Supportworks job. 4. A copy of the payment in SAP must be attached. To do this go to FBL3N Display G/L Accounts and select G/L Account , choose All Items and put in the transaction date and the date after. i.e and P age

7 5. Then Execute this. The screen will need to be sorted by the document date so that the GT Batch can be found (as per below picture). 6. Once the GT batch has been found, double click on the batch and click on the icon that looks like mountains and a sun then search through the list until the GT number is found. Make a note of the GL account, the Profit Centre, Internal Order number and the Tax code. This needs to be written on the Business refund request form because when the refund is being processed the Cash Office use the codes for the original payment. 7. Go back to FBL3N Display G/L Accounts (as in step 3) and instead of inputting GL input the GL account from the GT payment. Again, put the transaction date plus the date after and execute. 8. A list will appear of GT payments on that GL. Select the text and then filter and click on the drop down list and find the GT number for the refund and click execute. (see below picture). 6 P age

8 9. The below screen will appear. This needs to be printed off and attached to the back of Business refund request form and the Supportworks job. 6. Procedure for Federal Aid/Sallie Mae Refunds There will be a dedicated Credit Control advisor who will ensure the SAP accounts are correct and they will pass the refund spreadsheet to be authorised. The International Office provides the details to Finance of how the payments should be split between tuition, accommodation and how much is to be refunded to the student. The Credit Control advisor who receives this information will split the payment on the account. The refunds will then be passed for authorisation; once they have been signed copies are passed to the Cash Office to process. They are always processed as Bank Transfers and marked as 3 day payments unless specifically requested. Sallie Mae refunds follow the above procedure relating to signing off and the refund being passed to the Cash Office. 7 P age

9 7. Refund Spreadsheet Once all of the information has been attached to the refunds they will then need to be entered onto the refund spreadsheet. This can be found at: Z:\Credit Control\Financial Accounts\Credit Control\Income\Refunds Ensure all fields are completed on the spreadsheet. Date this is the date the refund batch is being processed NOT the date on the refund form. Account. Account name. Value. S/NS this is to show if it is a student or non-student refund GL Indicator this should be on the refund form. Refund method. Progress this will show the progress of the refund. If it has been passed for authorisation, if it is has been completed etc. Completion date this will not be filled until the refund has been authorised, processed and appropriate action is taken. Advisor this will be the name of the refund administrator NOT the name on the refund. Reason This will be used for Accommodation refunds. This can also be used if the refund has been cancelled. 8 P age

10 8. Approval Once the refunds have been checked and entered onto the refund spreadsheet they need to be submitted to the Credit Control Manager. A cover sheet must be printed which lists all of the refunds which are to be signed. To do this the spreadsheet needs to be filtered by the date. Refunds over 5, must be separated from the refunds under 5, A separate list must be made for any Accommodation refunds. The refunds will then be taken to the Credit Control Manager, or in the absence of the Credit Control Manager they must be passed to the Deputy Credit Control Manager, to be authorised. Once authorised, the next step depends on the value of the refund: Under 5, the refund, which has been authorised by the Credit Control manager, can be processed immediately. Over 5, the refund must be authorised by the Deputy Finance Director. The Credit Control manager will obtain the Deputy Finance Director s signature. 9. Processing of Refunds Different procedures apply to the different types of refunds as follows: Online and Credit Card refunds a copy of the refund request form must be taken and passed directly to a member of staff within the Cash Office to complete. Bank Transfer (Home - 93 or Direct Debits) a copy of the refund request form and the confirmation of bank details must be taken, stapled together and passed directly to a member of staff within the Cash Office. Bank Transfer (International 68 ) a copy of the refund request form and the students account must be stapled together and passed directly to Gail Quinn or, in Gail s absence, Christine Iceton. Cheques the refund administrator will raise the cheque. 9 P age

11 Cheques are raised in SAP using the following process: XD-02 Change Customer Master Record 10. Raising Cheques Enter the student number to enter the Master Data Screen and the following will be displayed:- When raising a cheque for a Chinese student is it important that this screen is amended to show the student FULL name otherwise their bank may not accept this, the students also have R and T records which will need to be altered. Save the changes. Always go back in and check that the changed have been applied. 10 P age

12 F-18 Outgoing Payment + Form Print The following screen will show, sometimes the fields may not be populated. In which case the following details should be entered: Company code UNN Payment method C House Bank BARC Check Lot Number 1 Printer for Forms CHEQ Once these details have been entered click on Enter Payments and the following screen will appear: Enter the Amount, Customer Account number, Special GL and then click on Process Open Items. The next screen will then appear this brings up all the open items on the relevant account. Highlight the credit which is being refunded and click save: 11 P age

13 This will bring up the following screen. This gives the document reference number for the cheque; this must be written on the original refund request form. 12 P age

14 11. ALTS In some instances a cheque will need to be made out to an ALT payee. For example, if a student s parent or sponsor has paid the students fees or if an accommodation refund is to be made payable to a third party i.e. Unite. A number of ALT accounts already exist on SAP however if a new one is required then the refund request should be passed to a Credit Control Team Leader who will then set up a new account. For a new account to be set up the full name and address of the customer is required. To make a cheque payable to an ALT follow the below instructions: XD-02 Change Customer Master Record Click on Company Code Data and the following screen will appear. 13 P age

15 Click into Payment Transactions Enter the ALT number in the Alternative payer box and save. To raise the cheque follow the same process (page 10), once printed it will be made payable to the ALT payee. It is important that once the cheque has been raised the ALT payee should be removed from the customer account. 12. What next? The cheques are printed by the Cash Office on a daily basis and they will pass the refund cheques to the refund administrator. Once received each cheque should be checked off against the refund spreadsheet to ensure that all refund cheques have printed. If they are all present the refund administrator should sign one copy of the Post-Print report and return this to the Cash Office. The cheques should be sorted through to separate any cheques which are over 5, as these need to be signed by an authorised Finance signatory. Once all cheques have 2 signatures on them they should either be posted out to the student or the student will collect. If a student is collecting the cheque from the Cash Office it should be passed through with the 2 nd Post-print report attached and once the student collects the cheque they should sign and date the 2 nd Post-print report. This will be kept within the Cash Office. Remember, International student s cheques of and over should be posted to the student s home country via DHL. A DHL form must be completed and attached to the refund cheque, the post room will return this with a unique tracking number. Once the DHL slip has been returned this must be attached to the refund form in case of any future queries. The refund spreadsheet should also be updated with the DHL number. Accommodation cheques should be placed in the Accommodation tray in Credit Control along with the 2 nd copy of the Post-print report. Accommodation should be advised that the cheque is ready to be collected and when they are collected the member of staff from Accommodation will sign the Post-print report to say the cheque has been collected. This should be attached to the Accommodation refund list. 14 P age

16 13. Stopped Cheques Sometimes a cheque will need to be stopped at the bank. For example, if a student has advised that they have not received the cheque and it has been lost in the post. To do this a Stop Cheque at Bank form should be completed then scanned and ed to client.service1@barclays.com. This form can be found at: Z:\Credit Control\Financial Accounts\Credit Control\Income\Refunds\Refund Documents The bank will then advise once the cheque has been stopped. This will then need to be cancelled by a Credit Control Team Leader. A cheque to be cancelled form should be completed. This can be found in the same folder as the Stop Cheque at Bank. A new cheque can be raised once confirmation has been received that the cheque has been cancelled. If a cheque has been sent back because it was raised in the wrong name, for example, only a cheque to be cancelled form will need to be completed. The cancelled cheque along with both forms should be filed in date order in the stopped cheques file. 14. Filing All refund requests should be filed in their batches in date order with a label which shows the date and the name of the refund administrator. This makes it easier when trying to locate a refund. The refund spreadsheet should also be updated with the completion date. 15 P age

17 Appendices Appendix A Home Bank Transfer Refund Date: Address: School: Name: HLS Ms Jane Smith Account: S Phone: REFUND REASON REFUND DETAILS Alt: j.smith@northumbria.ac.uk REFUND BREAKDOWN Withdrawal Tuition/Liability Overpayment Discount(s) Prompt Payment Discount Scholarship Alumni Discount PPD Scholarship Alumni Disc. Incorrect Fees Billed Total Due Sponsor Paying Student Paid Visa Related Other (please list) FINANCE DEPT USE ONLY Refund due Refund Method Bank Transfer Supportworks F Original Rec/Doc No Advisor Laura Online Order ID & Date - G/L Indicator(s) J < 5000 Approved Signatory > Approved Signatory BACS ONLY 3 Day Payment 1 Day Payment NOTES Beneficiary Name Jane Smith Auth by Finance Signatory Bank Name Barclays Bank Entered by Bank Account ********* Transmitted by Bank Sort Code **-**-** Date Transmitted Refund Document No. 16 P age

18 Appendix B International Bank Transfer Refund Date: Address: School: Name: HLS Mr John Smith Account: S Phone: REFUND REASON REFUND DETAILS Alt: j.smith@northumbria.ac.uk REFUND BREAKDOWN Withdrawal Tuition/Liability Overpayment Discount(s) Prompt Payment Discount Scholarship Alumni Discount PPD Scholarship Alumni Disc. Incorrect Fees Billed Total Due Sponsor Paying Student Paid Visa Related Other (please list) FINANCE DEPT USE ONLY Refund due Refund Method Bank Transfer Supportworks F Original Rec/Doc No Advisor Laura Online Order ID & Date - G/L Indicator(s) M < 5000 Approved Signatory > Approved Signatory BACS ONLY 3 Day Payment 1 Day Payment Beneficiary Name Auth by Finance Signatory NOTES Bank Name Bank Account Bank Sort Code Entered by Transmitted by Date Transmitted Refund Document No. 17 P age

19 Appendix C Cheque Refund Date: Address: School: Name: HLS Mrs Jess Smith Account: S Phone: REFUND REASON REFUND DETAILS Alt: j.smith@northumbria.ac.uk REFUND BREAKDOWN Withdrawal Tuition/Liability Overpayment Discount(s) Prompt Payment Discount Scholarship Alumni Discount PPD Scholarship Alumni Disc. Incorrect Fees Billed Total Due Sponsor Paying Student Paid Visa Related Other (please list) FINANCE DEPT USE ONLY Refund due Refund Method Cheque Supportworks F Original Rec/Doc No Advisor Laura Online Order ID & Date - G/L Indicator(s) M < 5000 Approved Signatory > Approved Signatory BACS ONLY 3 Day Payment 1 Day Payment Beneficiary Name Auth by Finance Signatory NOTES Bank Name Bank Account Bank Sort Code Entered by Transmitted by Date Transmitted Refund Document No. 18 P age

20 Appendix D Online Refund Date: Address: School: Name: HLS Mr Jack Smith Account: S Phone: REFUND REASON REFUND DETAILS Alt: j.smith@northumbria.ac.uk REFUND BREAKDOWN Withdrawal Tuition/Liability Overpayment Discount(s) Prompt Payment Discount Scholarship Alumni Discount PPD Scholarship Alumni Disc. Incorrect Fees Billed Total Due Sponsor Paying Student Paid Visa Related Other (please list) FINANCE DEPT USE ONLY Refund due Refund Method Online Supportworks F Original Rec/Doc No Advisor Laura Online Order ID & Date G/L Indicator(s) J < 5000 Approved Signatory > Approved Signatory BACS ONLY 3 Day Payment 1 Day Payment Beneficiary Name Auth by Finance Signatory NOTES Bank Name Bank Account Bank Sort Code Entered by Transmitted by Date Transmitted Refund Document No. 19 P age

21 Appendix E Credit Card Refund Date: Address: School: Name: HLS Miss Julie Smith Account: S Phone: REFUND REASON REFUND DETAILS Alt: j.smith@northumbria.ac.uk REFUND BREAKDOWN Withdrawal Tuition/Liability Overpayment Discount(s) Prompt Payment Discount Scholarship Alumni Discount PPD Scholarship Alumni Disc. Incorrect Fees Billed Total Due Sponsor Paying Student Paid Visa Related Other (please list) FINANCE DEPT USE ONLY Refund due Refund Method Credit Card Supportworks F Original Rec/Doc No Advisor Laura Online Order ID & Date G/L Indicator(s) J < 5000 Approved Signatory > Approved Signatory BACS ONLY 3 Day Payment 1 Day Payment Beneficiary Name Auth by Finance Signatory NOTES Bank Name Bank Account Bank Sort Code Entered by Transmitted by Date Transmitted Refund Document No. 20 P age