IFT Guidelines and How to Request an IFT

When our campus is due funds or owes payment to another CSU Campus or the Chancellor’s Office money, a process called Interagency Financial Transaction (IFT) is utilized. This is the process used to move funds back and forth between CSU campuses and the Chancellor's Office, eliminating the use of invoices and checks. 

  1. What is an IFT? 
    • Stands for Interagency Financial Transaction – Mechanism to move SWIFT dollars to settle inter‐campus  transactions. 
    • SSU receives and remits payments to other campuses as well as receives and issues  payments directly to the CO. 
    • This is the process used to move funds back and forth between CSU campuses and the  Chancellor’s Office, eliminating the use of invoices and checks.
  2. Why do we issue IFTs?
    •  IFTS: 
      • Consistent Accounting  
      • System wide Elimination  
    • Checks:​
      • Slow
      • Costly 
      • Inconsistent Accounting 
      • Timing Delays 
  3. Where can I find the IFT Request page and historical IFTs?  Full IFT guidelines from the Chancellor’s Office are also available at the CalState website.

 

**Requesters/Approvers for SSU – only in Accounting Department

  4. Who (what campus) should request a IFT?

  •  General Rule: Receiving Campus requests IFT (Accounts Receivable Department)
  •  Exception Being: remitting to multiple Campuses
  •  Examples:

    • Conference Registration dues to be paid to another campus. – Host campus will initiate IFT.

    • Chancellor’s office will reimburse travel expenses – Sonoma would initiate IFT.

    • Our campus hosts a conference ‐ Sonoma would initiate IFT.

  5. When to request a IFT?

  •  In the same accounting period
  •  After obtaining payment approval
  •  After obtaining supporting documents
  •  After ensuring all campus participants are included on a single IFT request

   6.  Providing IFT Chartfield coding:

  •   SWAT or Budget related IFTs with corresponding 572xxx or 672000 account series are managed by the Budget Team (Hayley Ross), who will notify you of incoming funding.

  •   If remitting payment to another campus, you will need to provide a FIRMS Object Code along with campus unique Chartfield information. Accurate campus unique Chartfield information provided on supporting documents avoids the need of the journal reclass team contacting you for fund and department coding.

  •   Keep in mind ALL IFT requests have outlined accounting instructions. We strictly adhere to the provided instructions unless there is a strong accounting related reason to post elsewhere.

  •   Some IFTs include instructions on account and CSU Fund requirements. Example being, lottery funding must be posted to CSU 481.

   7.  Additional IFT Information:

  •   All incoming and outgoing IFTS are processed by the journal reclass team.

  •   If campus unique Chartfield coding is not provided on supporting IFT documents, we

    will reach out to you for an approved fund and department.

  •   Auxiliaries cannot use IFT transaction process.

  •   Other times when a C IFT may be used:

i. Awards/Grants

ii. Release Time

iii. Cost Recovery iv. Training

iv. Training

v. Allocation of centrally paid expenditures (i.e. Fire Marshall charges, library subscriptions, etc.)

To request a IFT - Complete a Smartsheets IFT Request and include any communication regarding chartfield approval from other campuses.