Chapter 26 School Event Income and Ticket Seller Reports

Transcription

1 Chapter 26 School Event Income and Ticket Seller Reports Extracurricular activities, such as athletic games and school plays, are often attended by students, parents, and members of the general public. It is customary to charge admissions to patrons of these events, and the District has developed guidelines and procedures for schools to follow when collecting admissions at school events. At extracurricular activities, schools are permitted to charge different admission prices to students or non students. Other related campus activities, such as parking fees collected at school events, may also require the use of prenumbered tickets depending on the amount of revenue that will be collected. Schools are not permitted to charge admission fees to school sponsored events that take place on campus during the regular school day. TAXABILITY OF ADMISSION FEES Admission fees for school events where students or faculty members are the participants are considered tax exempt under Florida sales tax law. If the athletes, actors, or other participants are not students or faculty members, the school must remit Florida sales tax on the admission fees. USE OF PRENUMBERED TICKETS Prenumbered tickets must be used to account for admissions to campus events if the anticipated revenues at the event are expected to exceed $500 at the elementary level or $1,000 at the secondary level. Principals have the discretion to require the use of tickets below these mandated levels. At smaller events the ticket seller may also act as the gatekeeper, which eliminates the need to recruit another event worker for small dollar events. Soliciting donations at the door in lieu of charging an admission does not relieve schools of the requirement to use prenumbered tickets. If custom designed tickets are used, and if they are not prenumbered, then prenumbered tickets must also be used in conjunction with the customdesigned tickets to control entry to the event. Schools may not generate their own tickets; all tickets must be provided by an outside vendor to provide independent confirmation of the ticket numbers that are available for sale. Roll tickets are most commonly used, and they are available from numerous vendors in a variety of configurations (single tickets, double tickets) and colors. For a small additional fee, roll tickets can be customized with the school name or mascot to decrease the possible use of counterfeit Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 1 Chapter 26

2 tickets at school events. If schools pre sell tickets prior to the day of the performance or game, the school name or logo must appear on the ticket to authenticate the presale tickets and prove it was issued from the school s ticket inventory. To mitigate the possibility of counterfeit tickets, it is a good idea to use different colored tickets for different events. The goal is to make it impossible for patrons to anticipate (and duplicate) the color of tickets that will be sold at the door. All prenumbered tickets (standard roll tickets or custom designed tickets) must be inventoried by completing a Prenumbered Document Inventory Register (PBSD 0160) for each type of ticket that is used on the school campus. The document custodian for prenumbered tickets must be someone who is not engaged in selling tickets at school events, and a complete inventory of all tickets on hand must be performed on an annual basis. TICKET SELLER PROCEDURES When selling tickets for school events, the ticket seller will usually require a change fund to be used in making change for patrons who pay in cash. Follow the procedures in Chapter 10, Change Funds, to establish a change fund and sign these funds in and out to the event sponsor. At a minimum, it is advisable for ticket sellers to receive the following at the beginning of the ticket sales: 1. Cash box, money bag, or locking deposit bag to secure tickets and cash 2. Change fund 3. Prenumbered ticket roll(s) use multiple rolls of colored tickets if there is a different price for students and adults, using the color to designate each pricing category 4. Ticket Seller Report (PBSD 0157) listing the school, event, date, change fund amount, ticket selling price, ticket colors, and Beginning Number Issued 5. If multiple ticket sellers will be selling tickets, issue a Ticket Seller Report to each seller and label them 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3, etc. at the top of the form If there are multiple classifications and prices for the tickets (adult, student) enter the beginning number and ticket color for both classifications of tickets on the Ticket Seller Report. The ticket seller should verify the change fund and first ticket number and initial the Ticket Seller Report. As tickets are sold, money should be secured in the cash box or bag and the ticket seller should exercise care to maintain control of their ticket inventory. If the activity sponsor picks up excess cash before ticket sales are closed, the amount and time of those pick ups shall be logged in the Cash Collections section of the Ticket Seller Report and initialed by the Ticket Seller and the activity sponsor. If complimentary admissions are granted, the ticket seller can make a tic mark in the appropriate section of the Ticket Seller Report to track the complimentary admissions. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 2 Chapter 26

3 Tracking complimentary admissions is a school based decision and is for informational purposes only. When ticket sales are closed for the event, the ticket seller will complete the Ticket Seller Report as follows: Enter the First Ticket Number Returned for each ticket classification Count the cash on hand and enter the total in the Cash Collections section of the form and initial the Amount Collected Tally the tic marks if complimentary admissions are being tracked Sign and date the form Submit the unsold tickets, the cash, and the completed Ticket Seller Report to the event sponsor After the event the activity sponsor will use the information on the individual Ticket Seller Reports to complete the Master Ticket Sellers Report (PBSD 0158) and summarize the total ticket sales for the event. Use the District s online form filler system to complete the form to take advantage of the form s automatic calculation features. Fill in the demographic information at the top of the form Using the first Ticket Seller Report, enter the following information in the appropriate fields: o Change Fund amount o Total cash turned in by the ticket seller o The ticket colors for each admission classification o The ticket prices for each admission classification o The first ticket number used for each admission classification o The first ticket number returned for each admission classification Repeat the process for each ticket seller that worked the event Count all the cash on hand (including the change fund) and enter the cash count in the field labeled Cash Counted by Event Sponsor Count out cash equal to the amount of the change fund and enter that total in the field labeled Change Fund Returned Explain any cash over/short in the space provided In the Distribution/Net Remittance section, identify the accounts and amounts that will be used to record the deposit on the Monies Collected Report Sign and date the Master Ticket Seller Report As patrons enter the event, tickets must be collected, by the gatekeeper torn in half, and turned in to the Teacher/Sponsor. After the event ten ticket stubs, selected on a random basis, should Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 3 Chapter 26

4 be attached to the Master Ticket Sellers Report and their numerical sequences should be compared to the ticket numbers listed on the report to confirm that counterfeit tickets were not used to gain entry to the event. Any discrepancy in the ticket numbers should be investigated and the results documented. All other tickets used at the event may be discarded unless directed otherwise by the Principal or District Auditor s office. GATEKEEPERS AT SCHOOL EVENTS As patrons enter the event, tickets should be torn in half. Retain one half and return the other half to the patron for possible re entry. If re entry is not permitted, the tickets may be taken in whole. Admission tickets should be kept by the gatekeepers to the event and returned to the Teacher/Sponsor when the event is over. If patrons need to leave an event and re enter, half ticket stubs should not be accepted for reentry since patrons could pass their ticket stubs to non paying patrons. In this situation, the patron s hand should be stamped for re entry or the gatekeeper can issue a re entry pass prior to the patron s departure. FINALIZING THE TICKET REPORTS AND DEPOSIT After the event the sponsor is responsible for securing the funds in the school safe and reviewing or completing the required paperwork to finalize the deposit. If the event occurs after normal school hours, the sponsor can secure the funds in the school safe using a locking deposit bag, then retrieve the bag the next business day to complete the paperwork. If exercising this option, log the deposit on the Drop Safe Log with an amount of TBD (To Be Determined) and note that the deposit needs to be returned to the event sponsor. The following business day the locking deposit bag will be returned to the sponsor, the sponsor will initial the Drop Safe Log to confirm the return of the bag and continue with the associated paperwork. The sponsor should count the cash received from each ticket seller and compare it against the Ticket Seller Report, initialing the report in the Cash Collections section. Complete the Master Ticket Seller Report (PBSD 0158) in the online forms system. Count out an amount of cash equal to the change fund, and return it to the bookkeeper or change fund custodian do not deposit the change fund with the event collections. Select ten ticket halves from the gatekeeper s stock and compare the ticket numbers selected vs. the actual ticket numbers sold to confirm that no counterfeit tickets were collected. Staple the ten sample tickets to the Ticket Seller Report. Any remaining ticket stubs may be discarded unless specifically instructed otherwise by the Principal or District Auditors. Complete a Monies Collected Report (PBSD 0180) and deposit the funds by entering the deposit on the Drop Safe Log and placing the funds in the school safe. Forward the completed ticket Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 4 Chapter 26

5 reports to the bookkeeper and return any unsold tickets to the document custodian for prenumbered tickets. ATHLETIC EVENTS SPONSORED BY THE FHSAA The Florida High School Athletic Association has their own handbook that governs district, regional and state playoff games, preseason and postseason games, and tournaments. Athletic Directors must acquaint themselves with the FHSAA handbook, ticket guidelines, reporting requirements, etc. and follow FHSAA rules when engaged in FHSAA sponsored events. For example, the FHSAA requires the use of prenumbered tickets at all their games, regardless of the expected collections, and specifies the ticket prices. In addition, there are time sensitive reporting requirements and strict revenue sharing guidelines for FHSAA games, as well as specific rules about who may receive free admittance to FHSAA events. ONLINE BOX OFFICE SERVICES The District has entered into a contract with an online box office management vendor that allows schools to reach a wider audience and accept payments by credit and debit cards. The current provider is Seat Yourself, and details regarding pricing and setting up an account are outlined in Bulletin P COO/P entitled Online Ticket Sales and Services dated April 5, The vendor adds a surcharge of 50 cents per ticket and a convenience fee of 25 cents per payment transaction to the patron s payment total at the time of checkout. At the conclusion of the event, the school will receive a check for the ticket sales, less a 3% commission that is retained by Seat Yourself. Several reports are available to summarize the ticket sales for the event, and those reports can be used in lieu of completing the Ticker Seller Report (PBSD 0157) and the Master Ticket Sellers Report (PBSD 0158) for the online ticket sales. If the school has additional ticket sales at the door, Ticker Seller s Report(s) will need to be completed to document the cash collected for the face to face ticket sales and a Master Ticket Sellers Report should be used to consolidate the online and face to face ticket sales for the event. With Seat Yourself, schools have the option to set up an event for general seating (by establishing a maximum number of tickets to be sold) or reserved seating (by uploading a seating plan) and make the event visible to members of the general public for a specific time frame. School webmasters can add the vendor s link to their school webpage to provide easy access to members of the school community. CONCESSION STANDS OR CONTRACTED CONCESSION OPERATIONS Concession stands may be operated by the school, by outside PTO/PTA/Boosters, or by outside vendors working under a contracted revenue sharing arrangement. The concession stand operator is responsible for ordering food, supplies, following any guidelines that apply to the safe Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 5 Chapter 26

6 preparation and service of food, remitting any sales taxes due to the Florida Department of Revenue, and obtaining a sanitation certificate from the Department of Health. It is recommended that schools review the Insurance and Loss Prevention Guide for Special Events on the Risk and Benefits Management Department s website prior to operating any concession stands at If the concession is operated by the school, the funds must be deposited into school internal accounts. In addition, the sponsor must complete the necessary fundraising paperwork that is required to operate a fundraiser on behalf of a school organization. If the concession stand is operated by an outside PTO/PTA/Booster club, the organization must enter into a lease if they are operating the concession stand on school grounds. The principal has the option to waive all or part of the lease fees for outside PTO/PTA/Boosters but any labor charges or insurance coverage required under the leasing guidelines may not be waived. Some schools prefer to contract with an outside vendor for their concession stand operations. This usually involves some kind of revenue sharing or commission arrangement. It recommended that the contract be reviewed by Legal Services and that schools consider including a clause to establish a minimum payment amount based on expected attendance at the event to establish a minimum earnings level for the concession operation. PARKING COLLECTIONS AT SCHOOL EVENTS Schools have the option to charge for parking at after school events where attendance is not required such athletic events, plays, and other similar events. If a school elects to charge for parking at school events, the standard rules for the use of pre numbered tickets apply: At elementary schools, if the anticipated parking collections exceed $500, the school is required to sell prenumbered tickets to the parking patrons. At secondary schools, if the anticipated parking collections exceed $1,000, the school is required to sell prenumbered tickets to the parking patrons. Calling the parking collection a voluntary donation does not relieve the school from the requirement to use prenumbered tickets. If parking fees are charged, unpaid parking patrons may be tracked on the Ticket Seller Report in the Complimentary Admissions section. Whenever prenumbered tickets are required, a Ticket Seller Report must be completed by each person selling tickets. After the event the event sponsor must complete a Master Ticket Seller Report to consolidate and calculate all the ticket sales for the event parking. All funds collected as a result of school sponsored parking charges must be deposited in the school s internal accounts and listed on a Monies Collected Form. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 6 Chapter 26

7 If a school elects to permit an outside PTO/PTA/Booster group to operate a paid parking lot after hours, they must lease the parking lot under the district s standard leasing policies. The principal has the option to waive all or part of the space rental payments for the outside PTO/PTA/Booster group, but any additional labor charges or insurance coverage required under the leasing guidelines cannot be waived. Internal Accounts Manual (7/16) 7 Chapter 26