Finance Department
Frequently Asked Questions
Find the answers to frequently asked questions for the Finance Department.
Argos Questions
In the new fiscal year, why do I not see some or all of my budgets listed in the dropdowns?
Student Account Services' Office Quick Links
How do should I request reimbursements for small purchases that I have made on behalf of the College?
What do I do if I receive a fraudulent check from Rollins College?
Additional information regarding Student Payment, Form 1098T, Education Tax Credits can now be found on the Student Account Services' Office website. Visit Site
Chrome River Questions
How does Cash Advance Work?
The note at the bottom says Total Pay Me Amount as 0.00.
Where do I find the New Vendor Request Form?
How can I amend a transaction in Chrome River after it has been submitted?
What are the different statuses of expense reports in Chrome River?
How can I tell if an expense has been paid?
I have already prepaid for some or all of my expenses before my trip can I be reimbursed?
Finance/General Accounting Quick Links
How do I gain access to Argos view a specific Fund and/or Org?
When and how do I request a new fund code?
When and how do I request a new organization code?
What is the difference between a permanent budget vs a temporary budget?
What does the “Encumbrance Activity” column on the Budget Viewer Report mean?
What is an endowment?
What are endowments used for?
How are endowments recorded in the College’s accounting system?
How is the amount of endowment spending determined?
Argos Questions
In the new fiscal year, why do I not see some or all of my budgets listed in the dropdowns? When the college transitions to a new Fiscal Year (FY), we begin to allow users to see their activity for transactions in the new year. However, your fund, org, or accounts will not populate in the report viewer within Argos until there has been activity within the respective locations. More specifically, once you begin to spend money from those budgets, you will see these transactions and the fund org and account will populate within the report viewer.
Student Account Services' Office
How should I request reimbursement for small purchases that I make on behalf of the College? Non-travel related reimbursements for expenditures made on the College’s behalf with an aggregate total less than $200.00 should be requested in petty cash. This includes meals and entertainment that involve only Rollins students and/or employees, as well as local mileage, parking and tolls (totaling $50 or less). Fill out a Petty Cash Voucher, tape original receipts to the back, have it signed by a supervisor and bring it to the Student Account Services’ window in the Warren building. You can receive cash reimbursement the same day (up to $200.00) if you bring your voucher to the Student Account Services’ window by 4:00 p.m. You may send an administrative assistant or a work/study student to submit the voucher and pick up your cash.
What do I do if I receive a fraudulent check from Rollins College?
- If you have received a check that appears to be from Rollins College, but you have no affiliation with Rollins or do not know why you are receiving the check, it is a fraudulent check.
- If you would like to report a fraudulent check that was delivered via the United States Postal Service, please visit the postal inspectors’ website and click on mail fraud. Visit Site.
- Rollins College does not need copies of the check or further information, but the postal service may ask for details. Otherwise, please destroy the check.
Finance/General Accounting
How do I gain access to Argos to view budgets for a specific fund/org?
Please submit a Budget Access Request ticket through the IT helpdesk using the link below:
Budget Access Requests
If you are having trouble logging in? Contact IT Helpdesk for assistance at helpdesk@rollins.edu
When and how do I request a new fund code? Fund codes are established to track expenditures from a specific funding source – i.e. the College receives a gift or grant to be used for a specific purpose or project.
New fund codes for gifts or grants are submitted to Finance by the Advancement Services department. Please provide the original documents from the donor along with the check to be deposited. Original documents may include a signed Letter of Intent, a letter from the donor, or a grant agreement. Please also provide the name of the new fund’s financial manager.
New fund codes may also be established for student organizations, certain activities that generate income such as fundraisers and charitable campaigns. To create a # code, please submit a New Fund Code Request. Please contact the Finance Department if you have questions about establishing a new fund code.
Once a new fund code is assigned, you will be contacted by the Finance Department with the new code.
When and how do I request a new organization code? A new organization code is requested to track expenditures for a new activity, typically when a new “department” is added to the College – i.e. the College of Arts & Sciences adds a new program for Earth Science. If in doubt as to whether you need a new organization code, please contact the Finance department for assistance.
To create a new organization code, please submit a New Org Code Request. This form should include a description of the purpose and need for the new organization, its restrictions, funding, etc. and state the financial manager. It should include a budget by account code of projected revenues and expenditures. Your Vice President should approve the request before submitting to Finance. Once a new organization code is assigned, you will be contacted by the Finance Department with the new code.
What is the difference between a permanent (base) budget and a temporary budget?
Permanent (base) budget: This is the budget that carries from fiscal year to fiscal year. A permanent budget reallocation to another budget line is a permanent reduction; a permanent reallocation from another budget line is a permanent increase. The ending permanent budget will carry forward to the new fiscal year; it is not affected by temporary budget reallocations.
Temporary budget: Temporary budgets are only in effect for the current fiscal year, and don't carry forward to the next year. Temporary budgets don't affect permanent budgets. Most budget reallocations requested or initiated by departments should be temporary reallocations.
What does the “Encumbrance Activity” column on the Budget Viewer Report mean? The Encumbrance column contains purchase commitments made as the result of a purchase order. When the purchase order is established, funds are committed to cover the estimated amount of the purchase. When payment is made, the commitment of funds is reversed in the Encumbrance column and the payment is recorded in the Expenses column.
Occasionally a purchase order is not closed after final payment is made to the vendor. This can happen for several reasons. For example, the payment may have been made based on a Direct Pay/Check Request form so it was not matched with an open purchase order. If you see an encumbrance against your budget that should be closed, contact the Purchasing department.
What is an endowment? An endowment is a permanent fund that provides support for programs at Rollins College. Endowments are created by donors who may specify the purpose for which the endowment income may be spent.
Some common purposes for endowments include:
- Support for the College, generally. These are referred to as unrestricted endowments;
- Support for chairs and other distinguished faculty;
- Scholarships;
- Support for instruction and research, and for libraries, student services, and athletics;
- Support for other College programs such as Knowles Memorial Chapel and the Cornell Fine Arts Museum;
- Equipment acquisition and the maintenance of buildings and other physical assets.
Endowments are critical to Rollins because their purpose is to provide a predictable and growing income stream for College activities. The availability of these resources reduces the College’s dependence on tuition income and provides needed flexibility to direct unrestricted resources to areas of greatest need. It is no accident that the finest colleges and universities boast large endowments. These funds are an irreplaceable source of quality, stability, productivity, and creativity.
How are endowments recorded in the College’s accounting system?
When a new endowment gift is received, two distinct funds are established in the College’s financial records – a principal fund and a spending fund. The principal fund is comprised of amounts available for investment and includes the original and any subsequent gifts, along with accumulated earnings generated by the investment of those gifts. Amounts authorized for spending are transferred from the principal fund to the linked spending fund, where they are retained until they are needed for expenditure for the endowment purpose.
How is the amount of endowment spending determined?
A 20-quarter rolling average, lagged by one quarter is used to calculate spending at a rate of spending of 4.5%.
The spending amount for new gifts and other endowment additions will be determined by an average of the quarters in which the endowment had a balance and then pro-rated based on the quarter in which the gifts are received. Gifts received in the first quarter of the fiscal year receive 3/4 of the calculated distribution. Gifts received in the second quarter of the fiscal year receive 2/4 of the calculated distribution. Gifts received in the third quarter of the fiscal year receive 1/4 of the calculated distribution. Gifts received in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year will not be entitled to any current year spending, but will be credited with a full distribution the following fiscal year.
Chrome River Questions
- Advances are requested using the Cash Advance Report Type.
- Upon final approval the amount is placed in the requestor's cash advance bank.
- After completing and reconciling:
Reimbursement will be issued if amount used was above request and balance will be cleared. - Requestor will need to issue a check to Rollins College and deliver to Student Account Services’ office for any excess cash.
The note at the bottom says Total Pay Me Amount as 0.00.
The College paid the items.
Where do I find the New Vendor Request Form?
On the Chrome River Dashboard, follow the same instructions as FoxLink
How can I amend a transaction in Chrome River after it has been submitted?
- Select transaction.
- Recall listed on the top righthand corner of report.
- After recalling, it goes into your drafts. Open and amend item.
What are the different statuses of expense reports in Chrome River
- Pending Approval – report has been submitted but not fully approved.
- Exported – report is fully approved but has not yet paid.
- Paid – report has been paid or applied to outstanding cash advance.
How can I tell if an expense has been paid?
- Select expense needed on Dashboard.
- Below Payment Data the date, check or direct deposit number and amount paid is listed.
I have already prepaid for some or all of my expenses before my trip, can I be reimbursed?
If you can provide receipts showing items has been paid, a reimbursement can be requested.