CPH Cash and Gift Card Policies and Guidelines Updated
CASHCash &and GIFTGift CARDCard HANDLING:Handling: Policies and Guidelines for Research Labs
POLICIES & GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH LABS
PURPOSE
To comply with Temple University rules and regulations around participant incentives provided as gift cards and petty cash; to assure adequate controls over petty cash and gift cards for prevention of loss or theft; and to tighten internal controls, ensuring that we are good stewards of sponsored project funds.
UNIVERSITY POLICY ON USE OF PETTY CASH
Please note that Temple University treats gift card handling with the same rules, regulations, and restrictions that are placed on cash handling. It is University policy to utilize gift cards for participant incentives. Gift cards must be ordered via TUMarketplace from the vendor National Gift Card Corporation.
The use of petty cash for participant incentive payments is considered an exception that must be authorized by the Dean’s Office through the Research Administration Office, Carol Tashjian (carol.tashjian@temple.edu or 1-6524) before a petty cash account is set up.
University policies and procedures as they pertain to petty cash set up and handling can be found at: https://bursar.temple.edu/faculty-and-staff/petty-cash.
The College expects that gift cards will follow the same storage and logging processes.
COLLEGE GUIDELINES ON PARTICIPANT INCENTIVES
Refer to the College’s “Guidelines for Participant Incentives” for guidance on:
- Deciding on incentive mechanism
- IRS regulations
- Travel Reimbursement for Incentives
- Chart of gift card options
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for knowing and following applicable policies, procedures and best practices, and for ensuring that all research personnel with access to petty cash and/or gift cards are familiar with the policies as well.
CASH or GIFT CARDS ON HAND
Per university policy, the amount of cash requested should be sufficient for a two week period. The same rule must be used for the purchase of gift cards.
OBTAINING GIFT CARDS
Temple University requires that all gift cards be purchased through the approved gift card vendor on TU Marketplace, National Gift Card Corporation (NGC). Department Coordinators will assist with ordering and receiving gift cards for participant incentive payments. Account code 7358 must be used.
When received, the lab must make copies of all gift cards, front and back, to be able to verify later that all cards are accounted for when compared to recipient logs. For electronic cards, a spreadsheet should be created for each batch of cards as noted under “Distribution.”
SETTING UP A PETTY CASH FUND
Contact Carol Tashjian to request permission to use petty cash for your participant incentives (carol.tashjian@temple.edu ; 1-6524). Your request should include the FOAP, the amount requested to fund the account, and the reason for using petty cash in lieu of gift cards. If you have more than one project needing petty cash, each request must be approved and set up separately with a unique account number.
When your request has been approved, please complete the Imprest Request Form with your signature and your supervisor’s signature, and send it to your Research Analyst in the Research Administration Office. You will be contacted by the Bursar’s Office when the funds are ready for pickup. Please refer to the Bursar’s website for further information at https://bursar.temple.edu/faculty-and-staff/petty-cash.
Per university policy, the amount of cash requested should be sufficient for a two week period.
STORAGE
Cash and gift cards should be stored on campus in a locked file cabinet, preferably with a lock box, or small safe with limited access, e.g. in a locked office, and should never be left unattended or unsecured. Desk drawers are not considered appropriate storage, whether locked or not.
Off campus storage is not allowed. Any exception to this rule must be approved by Sheri Ozard (sozard@temple.edu; 1-5396).
ACCESS
Access to petty cash and gift cards should be limited to the custodian and to those people whose job responsibilities require them to handle cash or cards when the custodian is unavailable. Keys to file cabinets and lock boxes should be held in a private area and the location not be made known to others.
DISTRIBUTION
Two logs must be maintained.
The first log must track the receipt of cash or gift cards by the lab staff. This electronic log should contain the full record of the gift card number. For electronic gift cards, the log must track the URL, raw code, PIN (if applicable) and SKU (if applicable), and it should be stored in a folder where only select individuals have access to it.
The second log must track the receipt of cash or gift card by the study participants.
Contact CPH ORA if you need templates.
If cash or gift cards are to be taken off premises for distribution, i.e. to another Temple building or off campus, the carrier should sign them out and return any balance along with the distribution log by the next business day.
Please see https://bursar.temple.edu/faculty-and-staff/petty-cash for further information on proper tracking and distribution of cash and gift cards.
RECONCILING & REPLENISHING GIFT CARDS
When a batch of gift cards has been used, the log sheet should be attached to the card copies made upon receipt, as verification.
New batches of cards should have separate card copies and distribution logs.
RECONCILING & REPLENISHING PETTY CASH
Complete the petty cash voucher and submit it along with all receipts to Bursar’s Office. Cash need not be depleted completely before replenishing.
CLOSING A PETTY CASH ACOUNT
Return the total amount of cash and receipts to the Bursar’s office with a petty cash voucher.
SURVEY & AUDITS
In order to maintain a comprehensive inventory of cash and gift card accounts, a member of the research administration team will conduct an annual telephone survey of petty cash custodians. To assure that policy and best practices are being followed, there will be random, in person audits of storage, logging, and reconciliation practices
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A custodian can be the Principal Investigator or a research staff member who has access to a lock box or safe which is located in a locked cabinet, in a locked office. Rarely is a student worker or an individual without access to the needed security measures selected as a custodian.
The Manager of Banking Services in the Bursar’s Office should be notified immediately, so that an audit may be performed and records properly adjusted. Custodial changes that are not communicated to the Bursar's Office do not relieve the custodian of his/her responsibility. To change the custodianship, please complete the Imprest Information Change Form (https://bursar.acquiadev.temple.edu/sites/bursar.temple.edu/files/documents/frmInfoChgeReqImprest%20Acct.pdf)pdf) and submit it to the Manager of Banking Services via e-mail.
If a gift card is lost or stolen, call National Gift Card Corporation (NGC) to cancel the card and request a re-issue. In addition, please report the loss or theft to the Dean’s Office Research Administration team so that we can notify the proper University units.
If there are gift cards left over after a study has concluded and/or a participant has not picked up their card (and does not intend to), please consider using the gift card to purchase supplies for the research project if allowable and allocable. If no applicable supplies can be purchased that are within compliance with the research study scope of work, please contact the Dean’s Office Research Administration team to discuss next steps.
It can be tempting to buy a large number at once to save on shipping fees. But remember two things: (1) Gift cards expire. (2) More cards equals greater temptation for individuals who might want to steal them. CPH labs should follow the same rule as petty cash – purchase enough cards for about two weeks.