3077.6 Refunding a Payment Procedure

Procedure # 3077.6; Rev.: 7.1.20 (Effective July 1, 2020)
Related Policy: UW-3077 Non-Sponsored Centralized Accounts Receivable Policy
Functional Owner: Director of Financial Information Management
Contact: Supervisor Central AR for Non-Sponsored Billing, (608) 890-1328 or uwmsnar@bussvc.wisc.edu


Contents

  1. Procedure statement
  2. Who is affected by this procedure
  3. Procedure
  4. Definitions
  5. Related references
  6. Revisions

I. Procedure statement

This procedure for refunding a payment is specifically for transactions that have been processed through centralized Accounts Receivable. Refunds may become necessary as a result of duplicate or over payments made by customers or adjustments and cancellations of invoices that result in over payments.

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II. Who is affected by this procedure

Any department that sells goods or services for non-sponsored activities should use this procedure.

The SFS Accounts Receivable and Billing System is currently being rolled out to UW-Madison departments for all non-sponsored accounts receivable, including internal and external customers. The use of SFS for non-sponsored billing and receivables was launched November 2018 and introduced to campus-wide in the following months/years – unless otherwise agreed upon with the Division of Business Services (DoBS).

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III. Procedure

The following steps represent the overall process for requesting a refund:

  • If the refund is a result of an adjustment or cancellation of a bill, clearly indicate on the Cancel_Adjust Form that a refund needs to be processed.
  • Any duplicate payments received by customers will be placed on account for the customer in SFS. DoBS will work collaboratively with departments to determine if the payment needs to be refunded or can be applied to other open invoices.
  • Weekly, DoBS will request refunds to be processed through Accounts payable.

The following journal entry is a sample of what will post when a payment is refunded:

Debit: Selling Department Accounts Receivable (#6200) XXXX

Credit: Central funding string for payments XXXX

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IV. Definitions

  • Cancellation – Canceling an invoice should only be used when an error has been made on the bill. An error can include the incorrect customer, contact or location identified on the bill. A duplicate bill for services already invoiced would be a good reason to cancel the bill.
  • Adjustment – Adjusting the bill should be reserved for errors in amounts invoiced. Such as charging the wrong rate for a service or the wrong quantity ordered.
  • Refund – The process of returning money to a customer as a result of over payment for goods or services.

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V. Related resources

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VI. Revisions

Procedure Number 3077.6
Date Approved July 1, 2020
Revision Dates Jan. 19, 2021 – Procedure number updated from 100.6 to 3077.6 in new numbering system.

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