Please note there have been some modifications in the procedures for Short Term Operating Advances (STOA). Both ABLE and Training materials will be updated accordingly. Here is the revised procedure.

Definition
A short-term operating advance account is generally set up to accommodate short (six months or less) projects carried out by Harvard personnel where a petty cash fund is not appropriate. Funds are disbursed by check to a Harvard employee who manages the project. Every short term operating advance must be authorized by a Financial Dean. Each request will contain the name of the account manager, a specified termination date, and is accompanied by a departmental expense coding to be charged in the event that the account is not settled in a timely manner.

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Requesting a Short-term Operating Advance
The tub must submit a Short Term Operating Advance Authorization Form to the Travel Office. The Form must carry the name of the custodian, the termination date of the project, the departmental account to charge, the amount to advance, and the signature of the Financial Dean or dean equivalent in central units.

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Tub Responsibilities
Authorizes advance, determines termination date, and assigns responsible individuals.

Reviews expenses.

Maintains receipts subject to periodic review by Risk Management and Audit Services.

Creates Web Voucher for the advance.

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Central Responsibilities
Travel Office maintains record of authorized advances, authorizes web vouchers for replenishment and ensures advance accounts are settled in a timely manner.

Cash Receipts Office accepts Credit Voucher from Tubs, processes unused funds and credits appropriate STOA object code as recorded on Credit Voucher.

OSR reviews expenses related to sponsored activity.

Processes settlements via Journal Voucher.

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Funding an Advance
Checks made payable to the account manager are the only form of payment allowed.

The employee requesting the STOA should contact the vendor hotline to establish himself or herself as the site. STOA will be
the vendor.

The requesting employee must prepare a Web Voucher for the amount of the advance as follows:

Select STOA with correct employee site

Enter the responsible tub and org

Enter 0501 for object code

Enter all zeros for fund

Enter all zeros for the activity

Enter "STOA" for (name of project) in the description header

Assign the Web Voucher to the Travel Supervisor (currently Margarita Rivera) for approval.

Forward a printed copy of the web voucher along with a Short Term Operating Advance Request Form to the Travel Office

Returns unused funds to Cash Receipts using a University Credit Voucher.

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Settling an Advance
Settlement should be processed on a journal voucher.

The tub should keep a copy of the journal, detail of the expenditures, and all original receipts for auditing purposes.

If receipts are in foreign currency the settlement should be accompanied by a cover sheet itemizing the receipts and the
exchange rates used. Original receipts should be kept locally.

We recommend that settlements be reviewed by a program administrator who understands the research project and then by a tub-level financial administrator.

Short term operating advances should be settled by the termination date of the account, otherwise the Travel office will charge the outstanding balance to the departmental account provided by the Financial Dean on the STOA Authorization Form.

Unused funds must be processed on a credit voucher using the same coding listed above.

The tub is responsible for collecting the unused funds. The tub returns unused funds by attaching them to a University Credit
Voucher and sending the Voucher to the Cash Receipts Office. The STOA object code 0501 must be credited.

The Financial Dean should address any exceptions to this policy to the University Controller.

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