Re: Splitting subscription invoices monthly in campus accounting system

*Posted on behalf of Beth Price*


*From:* Beth Price
*Sent:* Monday, November 1, 2021 2:03 PM
*To:* ACQNET_at_LISTS.CLIR.ORG
*Subject:* FW: Splitting subscription invoices monthly in campus accounting
system



Hi Laura,



We went through this. I claim no accounting expertise, but can share some
of what we’ve learned over the years. In the end it was for the best in my
opinion.



If your University follows Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
my understanding is that best practice dictates expenditures must be
reported in the fiscal year for which the services were rendered, not the
fiscal year in which you received the invoice. Most universities are
regularly audited and I believe this is something the auditors need to
review.



A few things we learned:



   1. My colleague, Paula Albers, developed a spreadsheet that we tweaked
   over the years as we better understood the info we needed to track and
   project. At the beginning of each fiscal year we enter our projected cost
   for each database and how many months, if any, will need to be “prepaid” to
   the next fiscal year. This lets us quickly calculate total expenses for
   current fiscal year vs next. The spreadsheet worked great the first year.
   Following years were trickier because we had to add in the “prepays”
   carried over from previous fiscal year. Thus, some formulas depend on data
   that needs to be manually entered in columns to their right - I’ve not yet
   made time to rearrange those, but the numbers work. We’ve successfully used
   it for a couple years now. I attached an abbreviated version of the sheet
   we use with formulas only, and one example, in case you want to play with
   it, or adapt it to your needs. If you notice any mistakes in formulas, etc.
   let me know. They are exclusively mine.
   2. We track all this in our Sierra accounting module also. The
   spreadsheet makes Sierra entry quick & easy. And there are things
   spreadsheet can tell us that Sierra can’t and vice versa.
   3. I regularly reconcile our expected prepays with our university’s
   central accounting reporting system (CARS) to be sure the amount they
   expended to next fiscal year matches the amount I expected. If there are
   discrepancies we work them out right away instead of waiting for fiscal
   close (ack!).
   4. Be sure you understand the invoice threshold amount requiring a split
   ($10,000+, $2500+, etc.) and ask Finance to notify you right away if they
   change it.



Most important is communication with your Finance or Accounting department.
Our Finance staff is amazing but their plates are as overfull as ours, so
communication takes patience and persistence.



Feel free to phone me if you’d like. I would love to hear what others are
doing if they’re able/willing to share.



Best,



Beth Price

Senior Resources Development Librarian

Webster University Libraries

314-246-6971

bethprice14_at_webster.edu





Any opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect any official stance
held by my employer.

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