Treasurer Resources

Transitioning Into Treasurer

Two of the most important resources to ensure a smooth transition for a new treasurer are:

  • An in-person detailed overview of financial information between the outgoing and the incoming treasurers
  • Access to the University's financial information (Prime) for the student group

Ideally, the transitioning treasurers should meet to review finances as of the date of the transition and ensure that all outstanding financial items are flagged for the incoming treasurer to follow up. After this is done, the incoming treasurer should ensure that they are listed as treasurer in OSOPS and request access to Prime

General Information

  • Prime Prime is the financial system of record for the entire University including student groups. 
  • Fiscal Year The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30 (FY19 will run from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019). 
  • Main Reports The main reports that treasurers should review are the Spendable Balance Report and the Ledger Detail. 
  • Spendable Balance Report The Spendable Balance Report reflects the available balance for the group as of the current date (or an earlier date).  
  • Ledger Detail Report The Ledger Detail Report lists all the individual transactions for the current fiscal year.  Prime was implemented as of July 1, 2014. There are currently only 4 years of financial information available for review. 
  • Concur Concur is the University's reimbursement system for students, faculty and staff for allowable out-of-pocket purchases. 

Prime Transaction Chartstring

Chartstring is Prime's term for "account "  Each Prime transaction has a chartstring that must have 3 items:

  • a department number (15XXX)
  • a fund code (source of money-  Q0001, EXXXX or BXXXX)
  • an account code (the natural revenue and expense type- XXXX, i.e., miscellaneous deposits, catering, project expenses, etc.)

Most student organizations only have funding in Q0001-  Student Organization funds.  Groups may also receive BXXXX-Donation funds  and EXXXX-Endowment/Quasi Endowment funds. Groups generally do NOT use program codes, however, they may have site, project and activity codes assigned by other departments.   

Treasurers' Monthly Responsibilities

  • Spendable Balance Report The student group's Spendable Balance Report should reflect a positive overall balance.  This means that funds are available for your group's use. If there is a negative overall balance, your group is in debt. Debt balances should researched immediately to ensure that there are no errors or omissions. 
  • Ledger Detail Report The Ledger Detail Report lists the fiscal year transactions that contributed to the positive or debt spendable balance. As treasurer you should perform a detailed review of the transactions.
  • Help For help managing debt balances contact Karen Ehee, Financial Coordinator
  • Revenue transactions will be reflected as negative balances (credits) on the Ledger Detail Report. Review the sources to ensure all expected funding was received.  Sources of revenue include:
    • Projects Board
    • Alcohol Initiative
    • Academic or departmental support
    • ODUS conference fund
    • Alumni, parent or other donations
    • Corporate sponsorships
    • Dues, ticket sales, event income
  • Expenses transactions will be reflected as positive balances (debits) on the Ledger Detail Report.  Review all expenses to ensure to all transactions are accurate and related to your student group.  Sources of expenses include:
    • University departmental charges
    • Student out-of-pocket reimbursements via Concur
    • ODUS credit card charges via Concur
    • Prime payments to individuals/vendors for services and goods and/or individuals for travel expense reimbursements

Budgets

Budgets are an important tool for annual student group planning as well as large scale events and conferences.  A budget spreadsheet can be as simple or as complicated as needed for your group or event.  It should be helpful to you, as treasurer, to oversee the finances of your student group, monitor progress through out the year and track any outstanding revenue and expenses.

Concur Approval Process for Student Out-of Pocket Reimbursements

If a group does not pay for a group expense using the ODUS credit card, Prime or through a University department, a student will need to be reimbursed for an out-of-pocket expense made on behalf of the student organization. Below summarizes the approval process for an out-of-pocket reimbursement to a student when they make a purchase on behalf of a student organization.  Treasurers should ensure that spendable funds are available in the group’s Prime account before all purchases are made, including those made out-of-pocket by group members. 

  • Once a student has purchased an item using their own funds, that student will prepare a Concur expense report for reimbursement and submit it to the student group Treasurer for approval
  • The Treasurer reviews and approves reimbursements for group members after ensuring that spendable funds are available for the group  
  • After the Treasurer approves the Concur report, the report routes to an ODUS staff member (treasurer’s expense approver) for review and approval
  • After the ODUS staff member approves the report, it routes to Finance and Treasury for review and approval
  • The student will be reimbursed once all approvals are complete
  • Concur expenses will show in Prime once all approvals are done!

Additional Information 

  • Default Approver The student (including the President) should set their default approver to the student group Treasurer for the group. The President should be the default approver for charges incurred by the Treasurer.
  • Instructions This is under the Profile > Profile Settings button at the top of the Concur home page and the Expense Settings > Expense Approvers on the list at the left side of the next page. 

Contact

The following ODUS staff members approve reimbursements for student organizations as listed below:

Karen Ehee:  Band, Black Arts Company-Dance, Chess Club, diSiac, all E-Club groups,  Footnotes, Expressions, Fuzzy Dice, High Steppers, Katzenjammers, Kindred Spirit, Koleinu, Mas Flow, Mathematics, Naacho, Nassoons, Old NasSoul, Princeton Chinese Theater, PRE, Princeton South Asian Theatrics, Princeton University Ballet, Princeton University Players, Quipfire, Quiz Bowl, Roaring 20, Tapcats, Theatre Intime, Tigertones, Tigressions, Triangle, Wildcats,

Manisha Chotalia:  All other ODUS student groups

Concur Training and Help

There is a help button at the top right of the screen in Concur.  It links to a wealth of information. Please review this handy Concur Expense Reference Card which includes setting up a Concur profile, submitting an out-of-pocket reimbursement request and approving an expense report.