Wherever possible, you should avoid using paper or cash based payment methods.
Before using petty cash, you should consider whether you can make the payment using one of the council's preferred payment options.
Electronic payment request tool (EPRT)
Paying for goods and services using My Oracle
When petty cash can be used
Petty cash is resource intensive and open to security risks. Where there is no alternative, for example when making a one-off allowance payment to an asylum seeker, guidelines for making a payment must be followed.
Petty cash guidelines
The guidelines for using petty cash are:
- petty cash accounts are not permitted to become overdrawn
- petty cash cheques may only be used to draw cash from the bank account
- a monthly reconciliation must be submitted together with a reimbursement claim or nil return
- payments must be supported by a petty cash voucher, pre-authorised by an appropriate budget holder
- a year end certificate must be produced at the end of each financial year to meet financial regulations
Petty cash account closures
A petty cash account may be closed where:
- there are no transactions for 3 months or more
- it is found that payments could have been made using another payment option approved by the council
Contact the Purchase to Pay (P2P) team
If you need support with a petty cash account, contact the Purchase to Pay (P2P) team on 033301 35888 or use the Assyst portal by selecting ‘Financial Services’ and then ‘Purchase to Pay (P2P)’.