Service Centers & Other Income Accounts Policy

Service Centers at Auburn University are budgeted in the same way that soft funds with income are budgeted. A Service Center will estimate how much money it anticipates spending and earning in the following fiscal year. As with all budgeted income-producing accounts, Budget Services offsets the anticipated expenses with some form of revenue. The form of revenue could be actual true revenue brought in from the outside or as interdepartmental credits within the university. The net effect of any account budgeted in this manner is zero. The report total for the adopted budget column in Banner will always equal zero on these accounts. No budget is loaded on a Service Center FOAP. Budgets are prepared for presentation to the BOT, only.

With that in mind, the only effects on the available balance are revenues (interdepartmental credits) brought in, expenditures, and any budget transfers. If the service center spends more than they take in during the year, this results in a negative carryover to the following year.

Budgeted income (or interdepartmental credits) is not money to spend. It is a guide to follow in order to determine where your collections stand versus projections for the year. Budgeted income has a negative effect on your available balance. A department or Service Center should not spend more than what they collect unless budget is transferred from another area to cover the differences. A shortfall in collection versus what is budgeted will result in a negative carryover against the available balance.