Date Created:    April 24, 2024    Last Updated: Click here to enter a date.

Overview: 

Campus Life generates revenue with employees for Cornell Retail store purchases. All employee payroll deduction billing is processed through local systems and fed to the Payroll System. FTC reconciles NetSuite and the payroll transactions and the general ledger to ensure revenue is recorded accurately in the financial statements for the month that the income is earned.

Criticality:  High

Frequency:  Other

Turnaround:  Other

Employee:  The employee signs a contract for technology purchase at a retail location. This initiates an invoice in NetSuite that the employee is responsible for paying.

Unit Staff:  The unit staff are responsible for creating a contract with the customer and processing transactions in their local system.

Payroll Staff:  Manage payroll deductions and submit transaction details to FTC for reconciliation. Follow up on contract variances as needed.

Financial Transaction Center (FTC):  Responsible for the sending new contracts to Payroll and reconciliation of employee receivables in NetSuite and the Payroll Office transactions. Issues identified must be brought to the attention of the Payroll Office so they can be addressed appropriately and corrected.

  • NetSuite employee purchases
  • Kuali Financial System GL transactions
  • NetSuite
  • Kuali Financial System (KFS)
  • Admin Cornell Store Payroll Deduction site
  • OAS Reporting Dashboard (KDW)
  • Employment status, if employee leaves the university, the contract must be paid in full.
  • Collection of outstanding debts when employee terminated.

Cornell Retail Services Employee Payroll Deduction

  1. Employee signs up for the program.
  2. Store creates contract outlining terms and deliverables.
  3. Once both parties agree to the terms and sign the contract, the employee makes a purchase at the POS device in the store.
  4. Employee pays an initial payment equal to one pay period deduction, plus a $20.00 non-refundable processing fee due at the time of purchase.
  5. An invoice is created in NetSuite and the sale amount is added to clearing account.
  6. FTC manually clears clearing account and creates a receivable to contain customer/employee balance.
  7. FTC sends new contract details to the Payroll Office biweekly.
  8. Payroll reduces employee paycheck based on pay frequency and sends transaction details to FTC.
  9. FTC manually uploads payment details to NetSuite and reduces AR balance.
  10. FTC performs bi-weekly reconciliation to validate fully paid contacts or minor variances in balances. Email confirmation is sent to Payroll when AR is reduced to zero.
  11. Store recognizes revenue at the time of purchase as buyer takes full ownership of equipment immediately.
  12. If employee leaves Cornell prior to full payment the FTC moves the contract from employee AR to an AR collections account in NetSuite.
  13. FTC mails 30/60/90 day reminder letters to former employees to collect outstanding balance.
  14. If balance is paid the collections account is reduced to zero.
  15. If $500 or less is unpaid after 120 days FTC submits the invoice and collection letters to store management for write off approval. Once approval is received the receivable is written off to bad debt in NetSuite.
  16. If $500 or more is unpaid after 120 days FTC submits the invoice and collection letters to store management and University Controller for write off approval. Once approval is received from both parties the receivable is written off to bad debt in NetSuite.

Key Risks

Key Controls

Employee leaving university prior to full payment

1.       FTC mails 30/60/90 day reminder letters to former employees to collect outstanding balance.

2.       Low collection rate, typically less than 10%.


Risk of variances between payroll transactions and balance in NetSuite

1.       FTC performs bi-weekly reconciliation to validate fully paid contacts or minor variances in balances.

2.       Minor variances are written off and larger variances are researched with the store team.

Risk of the same individual collecting and authorizing approval for write off

1.       FTC submits the invoice and collection letters to store management and University Controller for write off approval.

2.       Back up documentation showing approval is required to be attached to the write off entry.

Data Security and Privacy: Handling sensitive customer information, such as payment details and personal data, exposes the university to risks of data breaches, and potential FERPA violations.

1.       Access to protected data is limited to only information needed by individual position.

2.       All staff who handle credit cards and managers who have staff that handle credit cards reporting to them must complete CASH 200 in CULearn annually for PCI.

  • Reconcile Accounts Receivable to the General Ledger monthly
  • Reconcile clearing accounts
  • Outstanding AR balance trend
  • Write offs of uncollectible receivables
  • KFS – Kuali Financial System
  • OAS – Oracle Analytics Server, financial reporting tool (formerly known as OBIEE)
  • GL – General Ledger
  • FTC – Student and Campus Life Financial Transaction Center that processes financial transactions for Cornell Store

Cornell Retail Services Payroll Revenue Process Flow Chart