With the move to a more paperless environment, many sponsors have shifted remitting payment from checks to Automated Clearing House (ACH) and wire payments. These forms of payment do not always provide the necessary supporting details to identify the payment without further research. The Controller’s Office maintains several tools to support departments in connecting incoming funds with the correct research project.
A new Identifying Unapplied Sponsored Research Payments how-to guide describes the lists maintained by Contracts & Grants Accounting and the Cash and Controls team to research, identify, and claim sponsored research payments. It is a best practice to review these lists at least once a month to look for any outstanding research funds.
Departments can help prevent ACH and wire payments from appearing on unapplied cash listings by ensuring that sponsors include the following key information when remitting payment:
- Proposal number or UCSF Award ID number
- PI name
- Paying on behalf of company name (for third party payment vendors)
- Award Title
- A breakout of the payment when multiple invoices or components are being paid with one remittance
This information helps CGA to apply payments to the correct award in a timely manner. For more information, review the how-to guide, Payment Remittance Procedures for Sponsored Projects.