Washington State University
BUSINESS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL

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Refunds

Departments follow the procedures discussed in this section to process refunds to individuals or organizations.

Departments generating refunds for purchases paid by cash or check complete and send a State of Washington Invoice Voucher to the Controller. The Controller's Office makes the refund payment.

NOTE EXCEPTION: To make a cash/check refund involving the Student Accounts System contact the Student Accounts Section of University Receivables, Controller's Office, for information.

A refund for a purchase charged to a credit card must be reimbursed to the credit card account charged for the purchase.

Departments generating refunds for purchases paid by credit card complete a Credit Card Refund Voucher. The voucher is the authorized invoice for processing the refund. See below.

Complete a State of Washington Invoice Voucher for refund of purchases paid by cash or check. (See the sample in the PDF version of BPPM 30.55.3. See also 30.45.)

The department enters the following information on the invoice. The numbered instructions are keyed to the numbers on the sample.

Enter the department name, address, and mail code.

Also enter the name of the departmental contact and the contact telephone number.

Enter the refund recipient's name and address under Vendor or Claimant.

Also enter the employee's or student's WSU identification number under WSU ID Number.

For refunds to an individual with no WSU affiliation-Enter "No WSU Affiliation" under WSU ID Number.

Enter the social security number or the employer taxpayer ID number for a non-WSU individual under Social Security No. or Employer Taxpayer ID No.

The intended refund recipient signs the Vendor's Certificate.

If the recipient is unavailable, indicate "Special Endorsement." The Controller's Office includes a special endorsement stamp on the check in such cases.

Indicate the reason for the refund under Description.

Enter the reference numbers of the original transaction documents under Description. Provide the original WSU Invoice Form number and the Controller's Receipt number.

Enter the amount of refund requested.

An individual with expenditure authority for the department's account signs the form. See 70.02 for an explanation of expenditure authority.

Indicate the coding from the original Controller's Receipt. Check AIS Account Balances to obtain this number. See 85.33.

Send one copy of the voucher to the Revenue Manager in the Cash Management/Accounting Section of the Controller's Office.

If Controller's Office personnel approve the refund, a check is sent to the individual indicated on the invoice voucher.

Complete a Credit Card Refund Voucher for each credit card refund. (See the sample in the PDF version of BPPM 30.55.5.)

Print or photocopy the blank master in the PDF version of BPPM 30.55.8 to obtain copies of the form.

The department enters the following information on the voucher. The numbered instructions are keyed to the numbers on the sample.

Enter the department name, address, and mail code.

Also enter the name of the departmental contact and the contact telephone number.

Enter the refund recipient's name and address under Claimant.

Also, enter the employee's or student's WSU identification number under WSU ID Number.

For refunds to a claimant with no WSU affiliation, enter "No WSU Affiliation" under WSU ID Number.

Enter the social security number or the employer taxpayer ID number for a non-WSU individual under Social Security No. or Employer Taxpayer ID No.

Enter the number assigned by the credit card company to authorize the purchase. NOTE: This number is required for refunds of Web purchases.

Indicate the reason for the refund under Description.

Enter the reference numbers of the original transaction documents under Description. Provide the original WSU Invoice Form number and the Controller's Receipt number.

Enter the amount of refund requested.

Each Credit Card Refund Voucher must be signed by two departmental individuals.

Enter the name and signature of the individual who completes the voucher.

An individual with expenditure authority for the department's account signs the form. See 70.02 for an explanation of expenditure authority.

Indicate the coding from the original Controller's Receipt. Check AIS Account Balances to obtain this number. See 85.33.

When the voucher has been completed and approved, the department submits the refund to the credit card company. Use the same method, either electronic bankcard processing or manual processing, that was used when the payment was received. See below.

For credit card refunds processed and submitted by the department, retain the Credit Card Refund Voucher in the department for six years. See 90.01.

See below for refund transaction types which are to be processed and submitted by the Controller's Office.

For refunds processed on a swipe-transfer credit card machine, the entered refund information appears on a receipt and is recorded in the machine as part of the day's transaction totals.

The claimant signs the receipt and retains the copy. The department retains the original signed credit card refund transaction receipt.

At the close of each business day, the transactions stored in the credit card machine are totalled. This closing process transfers the net total of the day's credit card transactions to the bank.

Retain the original transaction totals tape generated by the credit card machine and the original individual sales slips for six years. See 90.01.

Retain the Credit Card Refund Voucher for six years. See 90.01.

Attach the copy of the day's transaction totals tape to a Cash Deposit Report. Submit the report to the Cashier's Window, Controller's Office.

For refunds processed using a three-part credit card imprint form, the refund information is manually entered and the form is signed by the claimant. The claimant receives the customer copy of the completed form.

Submit both the original and remaining copy of the imprint form with a Cash Deposit Report to the Cashier's Window, Controller's Office. The Controller's Office submits manually-processed credit card transaction information to the bank.

Retain the Credit Card Refund Voucher for six years. See 90.01.

Send the Credit Card Refund Voucher to the Revenue Manager, Controller's Office, to make a credit card refund for any of the following transactions:

• Web purchases,
• Tuition, and
• Graduate/undergraduate application fees,

The Controller's Office processes the refunds with the credit card companies for these transactions.