A facility is short any time it has less funds deposited at the bank than have been entered into PARKS DIRECT. This article will serve as a resource for Facility Directors to better understand, prevent, and resolve these issues. Before you begin troubleshooting a deposit issue, it's best to make sure the error isn't explained by a batch that was counted incorrectly. More information about reviewing batch counts and correcting that type of error can be found here.
Common Mistakes that Lead to Shortages
Any shortage will boil down to cash, check or money order payments being entered into PARKS DIRECT but not deposited at the bank. Here are a few common scenarios where that might occur:
- A user enters a cash, check or money order payment prior to receiving physical payment from the client, and that payment is never received.
- A user processes a refund incorrectly or does not process a refund after handing cash back to a customer from their drawer.
- A user enters a check or money order payment for a higher amount than the value written on it.
- A user gives incorrect change to a customer, giving back more than they actually should.
- Funds are stolen from a facility. (This situation should be treated differently than other shortages, and is addressed elsewhere in this article.)
Preventing Shortages
The bulk of the mistakes that result in shortages (including those listed above) are a result of users attempting to work faster than they reasonably can while remaining mistake free. As much as possible, staff should be encouraged to work at a pace that allows them to focus on the data they are entering into PARKS DIRECT. While slowing down at the front desk can seem like poor customer service, customers will benefit more in the long run from the hours a facility saves avoiding hours spent troubleshooting deposit issues.
Investigating Shortages
Note: This section describes "Deposit Over/Shorts", or troubleshooting situations where there are more funds on hand than have been correctly entered into PARKS DIRECT. It does not describe "Batch Over/Shorts", or situations where a facility's funds on hand are correct but a batch has been closed incorrectly. You can find more information on troubleshooting batches in this article.
Once they have occurred, shortages are in some ways easier to resolve than overages, since by definition there is a payment in PARKS DIRECT for which no actual funds are on hand. If that payment can be identified by receipt number, it can be canceled, refunded or reversed, to bring a facility back to even. The following methods are helpful for determining which payments have been entered into PARKS DIRECT:
The Cash Journal Report
The Cash Journal report will often be the best resource for finding payments entered into PARKS DIRECT, since it lists payments in an easy to read format and can be run based on whatever information is available. For example, if you only know that your facility is short for a deposit period, and not what day or user generated the shortage, you can run the Cash Journal report for your facility and that date range, and then compare the payments entered to what you have on hand.
More information on running the Cash Journal Report can be found on Screensteps here.
Reprinting Receipts
If you know the particular user and shift that are short, reprinting their receipts from that time period can sometimes be a quicker option than running the Cash Journal report, since they can be easily accessed and each individual receipt will provide more information about the transaction than it's line item on the Cash Journal report.
More information on Reprinting Receipts can be found here.
Resolving Shortages
Once you've identified a specific payment that was entered into PARKS DIRECT but should not have been, you'll proceed differently depending on the manner of payment.
Removing Cash Payments
- First, join the batch under which the original payment was taken (note: you will need Manager on Duty or Facility Manager permissions to do this.)
- Then, refund the cash payment using the "Refund Now" option.
- Finally, refresh and re-count the batch.
Information on joining and modifying batches can be found on Screensteps here, and information on processing refunds can be found here.
Removing Check Payments
To remove improper check payments, contact the Help Desk by e-mailing [email protected]. Include the Receipt Number of the original transaction as well as its batch number, and we will reverse the check payment so that it no longer affects your Bank Deposit Report totals.
When Funds are Stolen
When cash is received from clients but stolen before it can be deposited in the Bank, removing the payment from PARKS DIRECT is not a viable solution, since the payment should remain credited to the client's account. Instead, per cash handling procedures, a Police Report regarding the theft must be obtained, and that police report should be uploaded along with that week's Bank Deposit in lieu of the additional funds.