Agency/Custodial Funds
What is an Agency Account?
An Agency Account is a special University account, available to officially registered student organizations which do not receive state or student activity fee funding. Income for the organization is usually generated from dues, donations, fund raising activities, and ticket sales.
Agency Accounts are given a ChartString (also referred to as an account number) to identify each account. The ChartString includes Fund 60000 and a Department ID starting with 5715. ChartStrings should be protected by each organization and they should only be shared with essential organization members as they contain sensitive financial information.
Who is eligible to have an Agency Account?
Registered student organizations are eligible to have a University agency account through the Dean of Students Business Office. Organizations must register each year with the Department of Engagement, Leadership and Service located in Tate Student Center.
Many registered student organizations at the University of Georgia receive no direct funding from the University or Student Activity Fees. These organizations raise money in a variety of ways including the collection of dues, soliciting donations, and sponsoring fundraising promotions and activities. The Dean of Students Business Office can maintain a University agency account for some of these organizations’ funds, these organizations are basically private associations registered within the University of Georgia rather than functional entities of the University. The Dean of Students Business Office is not involved in the collection, deposit or maintenance of any funds beyond those in the University account. The Dean of Students Business Office does encourage any student organization having funds outside the University to follow sound business practices.
Organizations affiliated with schools and colleges are permitted to have both an allocated account and an agency account through the Dean of Students Business Office. Organizations must have written approval from the academic dean of their school or college in order to have both an allocated account and an agency account.
Unless otherwise approved by the Vice President for Student Affairs, organizations that receive Student Activity Fee funding from All Campus Allocations Committee are not permitted to establish an Agency Account.
How do you make purchases with an Agency Account?
There are several ways to make purchases using a University agency account:
- Intra-University Charges – Many University services (Tate Print & Copy, Campus Reservations, Event Management, and UGA Food Services) will allow a student organization to make purchases via a direct transfer of funds from the organization’s agency account. The UGA service provider will ask the organization to provide their agency account’s ChartString and the account will be charged through a GL Journal.
- UGAMart – UGAmart serves as the University’s primary resource for purchasing goods and services. Many vendors have integrated stores within UGAmart including Amazon for Business, Staples, Apple, and more. All purchases for promotional items, tee-shirts, apparel, uniforms, items with logos, and/or anything over $2,500 must be purchased through UGAmart. The Procurement Office can take competitive bids from vendors and award a purchase order to the vendor with the best price. Please contact the Dean of Students Business Office to place an order through UGAmart.
- Payment Requests – Payment requests can be processed by the Dean of Students Business Office to pay an invoice from a supplier. The goods or services received by the organization must be an allowable purchase and under $2,500 to be paid with a payment request. Student organizations can submit original invoices from suppliers to the Dean of Students Business Office to initiate the payment request process.
- Individual Reimbursements – Organization members can make a purchase with their personal money, and they can be reimbursed for the purchase. Purchases must comply with University policies to be reimbursed (e.g. no alcohol). Detailed information about reimbursements can be found here: https://studentaffairs.uga.edu/dos/business-office/reimbursements/
How do you deposit funds into an Agency Account?
All deposit of funds must be made with Dean of Students Business Office at the Ticket & Deposit Window. Bring the cash or checks you would like to deposit and account information (detail deposit code or Department ID or account number) for your agency account. Deposit forms will be provided at the window. A receipt of deposit will be furnished to the student organization indicating the date, amount, and source of funds.
Each agency account will be given a Detail Deposit Code which is a 4 digit combination of letters and numbers. The Detail Deposit Code is used to identify the ChartString (also known as account number) that funds will be deposited to. Detail Deposit Codes should be protected by each organization and they should only be shared with essential organization members as they contain sensitive financial information.
Does sales tax apply to Agency Accounts?
Student organizations who have an Agency account with the Dean of Students Business Office will be required to pay applicable sales tax on purchases.
How do organizations with an Agency Account sell tickets to events?
More information about ticket sales can be found here. All ticket sales, as well as goods and services sold by Dean of Students Business Office Cashier Window on behalf of the student organization, are subject to sales tax. The Dean of Students Business Office will deposit the net ticket sales into the agency account.