Documentation
Petty Cash Funds
Petty Cash Funds define who holds cash, which GL account represents it, how much may be held and how recorded, reserved and available balances are monitored.
Purpose
Create one Petty Cash Fund for each independently controlled cash pool, such as an edition center or branch cashier. The fund connects physical cash operations to the correct Cash GL account and operating dimensions.
Tabs, Save and Close
General holds the fund identity, organization/branch, custodian, dates, Active status and description.
Controls & Accounting holds the Petty Cash GL Account, Default Replenishment Account, Currency, Imprest Limit, Minimum Balance and Maximum Single Expense.
Balances is read-only and shows Cashbook Balance, Reserved by Submitted Expenses, Available Balance and Imprest Limit.
Save validates and saves the fund. Close leaves the workspace without performing a new save.
Recommended structure
For distributed operations, separate funds make accountability clearer. Example fund codes can follow the operating center, such as HYD_EDITION_PETTY, VIJ_EDITION_PETTY or a comparable internal convention.
Fund fields
Fund setup
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Organization / Branch | Operating ownership and reporting scope. |
| Fund Code / Name | Stable identity and readable label. |
| Custodian | Employee responsible for the physical cash. |
| Currency | Fund currency. |
| Cash Account | GL account representing the Petty Cash asset. |
| Replenishment Account | Default offset/source account used for replenishment/opening where applicable. |
| Business Unit / Cost Center | Default financial dimensions. |
| Imprest Limit | Target/maximum controlled fund size according to business policy. |
| Minimum Balance | Threshold used by dashboard health/attention. |
| Active | Controls whether the fund is available for current use. |
Balances
Balance concepts
| Balance | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Recorded Cashbook Balance | Net of recorded operational Petty Cash IN/OUT movements. |
| Reserved | Eligible Direct Expense amounts committed against the fund but not yet consumed as a posted cashbook OUT. |
| Available | Recorded Cashbook Balance minus Reserved amount. |
How Direct Expense uses a Fund
A Direct Expense paid through PETTY_CASH selects the Fund. The settlement account must match the Fund Cash Account. Successful posting creates the GL journal and the linked Petty Cash OUT movement.
Reversal restores the operational cashbook with an opposite movement and creates the reversing Journal Entry.
Minimum balance and replenishment
The Expense Dashboard surfaces funds at or below their Minimum Balance. Review the actual cash need and record an appropriate Petty Cash replenishment transaction before posting replenishment accounting.
Good practice
- Reconcile physical cash to the recorded cashbook regularly.
- Do not share one fund across operating centers that have different custodians.
- Do not change a historically used Cash Account merely to fix a past posting; use proper accounting correction/reversal.
- Deactivate a retired fund rather than deleting its financial history.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
Why is Available lower than the cashbook balance?
Direct Expenses can reserve fund availability before the posted OUT movement is created.
Should each edition center have its own fund?
Usually yes when each center physically holds and controls its own cash.