A phased implementation approach for MAR is underway for the Columbia campus. Working with small groups at a time will ensure the most successful implementation. Your unit or department will be contacted at the appropriate time to discuss training opportunities.
Miscellaneous Accounts Receivable Services
The MAR staff approves and activates customers and applies invoice payments to record revenue and to clear receivables.
Benefits for Invoicing through the MAR:
- Invoice generation automatically records revenue and sets up a receivable
- Deposited revenue is applied directly to an outstanding invoice
- Invoices can be sent electronically by the system, or they can be sent manually – which allows for attaching documents
- Aging reports are available for tracking and managing payment status
- Statements can be generated upon request
Customers are created and housed in a shared system-wide database.
A Customer can be activated for invoicing when a Customer Contact has been successfully added.
When activated, customers can be invoiced.
Payments are deposited through the PeopleSoft depositing module.
The assigned Clearing Account should be used for all MAR deposits.
This job aid provides step-by-step guidance for completing key tasks within the MAR module, including customer setup, billing, and deposit processing. It is designed to support consistent, accurate, and efficient financial operations in accordance with Controller’s Office procedures.
ACH banking information is provided for customers at the bottom of the invoice.
Customers should be encouraged to use this information for electronic payments.
Columbia Bursar daily ACH emails should be closely reviewed each day so that potential MAR payments are identified.
If a customer pays through the Columbia Bursar ACH account, payments should be claimed using the campus/dept assigned MAR Clearing Account.
The MAR staff should always be copied on the Bursar ACH claim emails.
MarketPlace offers a secure environment for customers to submit online payments.
MarketPlace storefronts can be created for MAR invoice payments by contacting the Columbia Bursar’s Office.
Phone: 803-777-4233
Email: bursar@mailbox.sc.edu
If customers pay through MarketPlace, a JE will be required to move payments to the MAR Clearing Account.
Journal Entries are required when:
- Payments are deposited to a different chartstring than the assigned MAR Clearing Account
- Payments are submitted through MarketPlace/UPay/other
Journal Entries should always include:
- Brief, detailed reasons for the entry to include invoice numbers and methods of payment for the Long Description field
- The full invoice number in the Reference field in the Lines tab
- Attachments – as applicable:
- Invoices, GL Activity, Deposit Transmittals, emails, etc.
Write-Offs will be processed for invoices that are 180+ days past due.
Process
- After monthly Aging Report responses have been received, campus/dept. contacts will receive an email stating which invoices will be written off.
- Invoices will be written off through the MAR module.
Impact
- While the invoice will no longer be reflected on Aging Reports, the recorded receivable will be reduced, and an expense account will be debited to record the bad debt.
- The expense will post to the same accounting string used for the initial invoice with the account code of 54197 – Bad Debt Expense.
We strongly encourage collection efforts to continue for outstanding invoices.
If payment is received after an invoice has been written off:
- The payment should be deposited to the bad debt expense account – 54797- to mitigate the bad debt.
- NOTE: you must notify us before depositing to the expense account. It is a control/locked account we will need to open before you can deposit.
It is the fiduciary responsibility of university employees to ensure payments are collected for goods and services provided on behalf of the university.
MAR Aging reports should be consistently reviewed by campuses/depts to identify outstanding payments. Currently, Aging Reports are being provided to users monthly. Days aged ranges are: 1-30, 31-60, 61-90, 91-120, 121-180, 180+. Any outstanding payments falling within these ranges are past due.
It is important and expected for campuses/depts to monitor accounts closely and begin contacting customers when invoices are outstanding 30 days and beyond . Below are suggested methods for communicating with customers about invoices and past due payments.
- Initial call: Verify that a customer received an invoice. An invoice may have been sent to a contact who did not receive the invoice for one reason or another. A contact may have received an invoice and failed/forgot to initiate payment. In some cases, a department/campus may need to speak with someone other than the customer contact to ensure payment is processed (e.g., a supervisor, AP manager, director).
- Follow-up calls: Additional calls to customers may be needed to determine reasons for nonpayment. Follow up calls may require numerous and aggressive attempts to make contact, leave messages, etc.
- Letters: Send customers formal Past Due Invoice Letters. Multiple letters may be required
– to increase in strength of message up to a Final Notice.
- Examples for letters:
- First Past Due Invoice Letter Request – friendly reminder that an outstanding invoice exists. A statement and copy of the invoice should be included.
- Second Past Due Invoice Letter Request – stronger message conveyed. A statement, copy of the invoice, and copy of the first past due letter should be included.
- Third Past Due Invoice Letter Request – message conveyed communicates that this will be the final notice, and if payment is not received the account will be sent to collections. A statement, copy of the invoice, and copies of the first and second past-due letters should be included.
- Examples for letters:
Please note that the methods above should be accelerated for collecting on returned payments.
- It is best practice to use a combination of follow-up calls, emails, and letters. The best practices for debt collection should be implemented prior to placing an account with a collection agency. All communication regarding outstanding payments should be consistently documented. Reminder - documents can be added to any MAR invoice after it has been generated. See MAR Job Aid for guidance.
PeopleSoft queries for MAR reports have been created to provide customer and billing information. These reports can be used to review aging activity, accounting information, customer status, and invoice status.
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance on how credit is extended to customers and how Miscellaneous Accounts Receivable (MAR) is managed at the University. This policy applies to the billing and collection for goods and services provided by the University to individuals and organizations, except billings related to students and sponsored awards.
To cancel an invoice, complete the MAR Cancel/Reverse Invoice Request Form [pdf] and email it to miscar@mailbox.sc.edu.