About Law Fiscal Operations

This department is responsible for the accounts payable and receivable functions in the law school (except that student tuition and fee payments are made through the Student Accounts office in the Walsh Administration building). The department is also responsible for budgeting and procurement. Any law school department, individual, or budget manager of a law student organization with an authorized budget, submits invoices for payment and income for deposit through this office in accordance with the Law Fiscal Operations policies and procedures (see links below). Contact info for Law Fiscal Operations is here.

Mission Statement

Law Fiscal Operations is committed to providing excellent customer service and technically proficient support in areas of University Finance, purchasing, and financial reporting to all law faculty, staff, and students in accordance with the Santa Clara University School of Law’s mission statement.

Links to Services Provided by Law Fiscal Operations:

• Non-Travel Reimbursement Form
  (Information and forms for non-travel business related reimbursements). Please remember to include original itemized receipts for all expenses. The Accounts Payable Office's policy is to mail all checks, pick-up requests should be negotiated directly with that office.

   

• Payments to vendors/disbursements
  (How to process payments to vendors, membership dues, conference and event registration). The Accounts Payable Office's policy is to mail all checks, pick-up requests should be negotiated directly with that office. New vendors may be contacted by Accounts Payable and required to complete a W-9 before disbursements will be processed. Failure to complete and return the W-9 will delay payment.

   

• Contracts
  (Contracts must be submitted to the Manager of Law Fiscal Operations for review and approval prior to signing)

   

• Student travel
  (Information and forms for student travel) Click here for Travel Approval Form and here for Participant Agreement form required by the Student Services Office. Please also remember to include original itemized receipts for expenses and starting location and destination for mileage reimbursements. The Accounts Payable Office's policy is to mail all checks, pick-up requests should be negotiated directly with that office.

   

• Faculty and staff travel
  (Information and forms for SCU faculty and staff travel). Please remember to include starting location and destination for approved mileage reimbursements. For domestic car rentals, decline insurance. The Accounts Payable Office's policy is to mail all checks, pick-up requests should be negotiated directly with that office.

   

• WHERE'S MY CHECK?
  (Contact the University Accounts Payable Office for status inquiries). LFO is responsible for checking correct funding sources, that budgets have not been exceeded, and policies have been complied with. The University Finance Office is responsible for cutting and mailing your check (with the exception of payroll inquiries, which should be directed to Human Resources). Law Fiscal Operations has no information regarding the status of the Accounts Payable Office. However, that office generally takes 2-3 weeks to process payment. If needed, LFO can provide you with your voucher number and the date your disbursement request was processed in our office if you submit your request in writing to LFO (include contact information) or by email to: lawfiscaloperations@scu.edu) 

   

• Rush payments
  (Negotiate and coordinate rush payment processing directly with the Accounts Payable Office. LFO will not administer your rush request, but, if requested, will return approved paperwork to the budget manager for hand delivery to the Accounts Payable Office. The request must be in writing and accompany the paperwork. The budget manager must provide sufficient contact information in order to be notified when the paperwork is complete. No person other than the budget manager may pick up paperwork and paperwork not picked up by the end of the day will be re-added to the non-rush requests and delivered to Accounts Payable on the next campus mail run)

   

• Purchasing
  (Information about asset, technology, furniture, and everyday purchasing)

   

• Revenue processing
  (How to deposit cash, checks, and credit cards. Don't forget credit card signatures!! Click here) All donations are processed at Law Alumni. If your donor is expecting gift recognition, take the revenue to Law Alumni. See Donation Processing below.

   

• Student employment processing
  (Instructions for processing, timesheet due dates, and payroll schedules)

   

• Guest speakers and independent contractors
  (For Guest Speakers: Complete the Accounts Payable Office's form and submit to LFO.  Payments to Guest Speakers may require approval of the Dean. Independent contractors are independent service providers (no established business for what they are billing you for and no formal invoicing system). Complete the request form and submit to the Accounts Payable Office and wait for approval before ANY agreements are made with the independent service provider. When approved, contract must be completed by independent contractor and Dean of the Law School. Please direct questions regarding this policy and procedure to the Accounts Payable Office. All payments for services provided MUST be paid by the Accounts Payable Office. No individual will be reimbursed for any payments made to service providers.)

   

• Financial reporting
  (Please submit a written request or email to LFO (lawfiscaloperations@scu.edu) including your funding string and requested financial report: Budget Summary, Cash Balance, and/or Detailed Transaction Report. Financial reports will ONLY be released to authorized budget managers. Questions should be circled on the report and returned to LFO with comments. Transactions NOT managed by LFO will be returned. LFO will attempt to direct you to the party responsible for transactions not managed by LFO)

• Student Organization Budget Managers
  (Student Organizations must select one individual to serve as the sole financial representative of that group. Complete the training assignment and submit to LFO before financial transactions will be processed by LFO. Help us help you by checking the policies and procedures FIRST!)

• Planning an Event?
  Process revenue according to policies and procedures above in "Revenue processing".  Those with budgets available for purchasing tickets may be processed by "expense transfer". To process expense transfer tickets: The event organizer must collect the names of all faculty and staff (or students using external, not SBA budgets) and their funding strings. Submit the COMPLETE list (do not email this list) to Law Fiscal Operations' in-box. RSVPs sent directly to LFO by event participants will not be processed or acknowledged.

   

• SCU faculty, staff, and students who are responsible for coordinating visitors or SCU travelers must distribute relevant portions of the policies and procedures before financial commitments are made by those claimants and are responsible for ensuring strict compliance by those individuals.

   

Links to Services Not Provided by Law Fiscal Operations:

• Bursar's Office
  Responsible for the billing and collection of tuition, fees, campus housing, and other university related charges.

• Financial Aid
  Please contact the Law Financial Aid Office for questions regarding Financial Aid.

• Faculty/Staff Payroll and Hiring
  Please contact the Dean of Administration regarding all faculty and staff payroll related questions. No law school faculty or staff is permitted to hire a full-time or temporary staff (current SCU students do not apply) without the approval of the Senior Assistant Dean for Administration.

• Toner Recycle
  Used toner may by placed in inter-campus mail and sent to facilities with a sign "Please Recycle"

• University support service forms
  (Business cards, central stores, signs, letterheads)
  SCU Faculty and Staff ONLY (No Students). Please print the form and submit the completed form to LFO. LFO will approve funding sources and forward on to the University Purchasing Office.

   

• University mailing services
  Mailing services, including FedEx accounts are not managed by LFO.

   

• Student payroll
  Student payroll inquiries should be directed to the Office of Student Employment. LFO does not "process" your timesheet, but only collects timesheets to audit the funding sources wages are paid from.

   

• Donation processing
  Contact the Law Alumni Department before soliciting donations of any kind. Donation processing should be directed to the Law Alumni Office. Click here for the donation processing form. Processing your donations at Law Alumni ensures your donor receives donation recognition, which cannot be accomplished by depositing your donations with LFO.

   

• University Finance Office
  UFO is responsible for processing and mailing checks to claimants and vendors. LFO does not process or mail checks.

   

• Law Computer Services
  Need to order a computer or technology related equipment? Contact the Law Computer Services Department.

   

• Law building issues
  Do you have a building specific issue? Contact your building manager for furniture, heating/cooling, building access, and other related issues.

   

• University travel policy
  (Conflicting portions of this policy are governed by the Law Fiscal Operations travel policy and procedures)