Accounting is the backbone of your business. If you don’t keep up with it – or worse, ignore it altogether and only worry about it for a few weeks a year at tax time – then you are setting yourself up for some major problems in the future.

One of the most important tasks for an agency is to build a strong chart of accounts. It is best updated weekly (or monthly for smaller agencies) so that you always know where your money is coming from and going to. A well-built chart of accounts allows you to see trends in your client retention, revenue, and other critical metrics that can help drive growth.

The purpose of an agency account is to receive, hold and disburse funds on behalf of a non-university entity. These may be student, faculty, staff or appropriately recognized organizations. Funds received in agency accounts must be closely associated with or related to the university activity from which they are derived.

To set up an agency account, department sponsors should complete the Request for Agency Account form found in KFS and route to General Accounting for approval. If approved, the account will be set up as a non-reportable expenditure account in the 80xxxx account series. Services provided to agency accounts include the normal administration of cash receipts and disbursements, excluding payroll disbursements and Gateway procurement services. The university will also review the financial status of agency accounts periodically to ensure compliance with UC Policy, federal, state and local laws. If no future activity is anticipated, the agency account will be closed and any remaining credit balance will be transferred to the Chancellor’s campus-wide miscellaneous income account.