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Section Treasurer FAQs


Welcome to the SBM Section Treasurer FAQs section. You may click on the questions in order or click on a particular category of interest above.


rolodexInside the Financial Services Department

Who does what in the Financial Services Department?

General

What is the current mileage rate?

What is our Federal Tax ID number?

Are section purchases tax-exempt?

Where can I get a copy of the SBM tax exemption certificate?

Who should I contact when I have a financial question?

Bill Payment

What is the difference between an expense voucher and an invoice?

How do I get invoices paid?

How do I report meals for groups or council meetings?

How do section members get reimbursed for their expenses?

Where can I get blank expense vouchers?

Who is authorized to approve expenses?

Where do I get an IRS W-9 form and who should fill one out?

Section Revenues

How do I get checks from seminars, publication orders, etc. deposited?

Do we accept credit cards?

Where can I get the cash transmittal form?

Do we need to charge sales tax on products we sell?


Financial Statements

What financial reports will I receive?

When will I receive my section’s monthly financial statements?

What is a chart of accounts?

I found expenses on my financial statement that I didn’t approve. What are they?


rolodexInside the Financial Services Department

Who does what in the Financial Services Department?

Becky Hunter is the Accounting Coordinator. She is responsible for overseeing the accounts payable functions and for distributing the section financial reports. You may reach her at (517) 346-6321 or bhunter@mail.michbar.org.

Patti Schafer is the Accounting Specialist. She is responsible for the accounts payable, cash receipting, section seminar assistance, and section payment questions. She may be reached at (517) 346-6362 or pschafer@mail.michbar.org.

Carol Peterson is the Finance Specialist.  She is responsible for dues processing.  She may be reached at (517) 346-6377 or cpeterson@mail.michbar.org .

Jim Horsch is the Director of Finance and Administration. He has overall responsibility for the State Bar of Michigan’s financial function as well as facilities and other administrative support. You may reach him at (517) 346-6324 or jhorsch@mail.michbar.org.


General

What is the current mileage rate?

The State Bar of Michigan uses the I.R.S. standard mileage rate for reimbursing mileage. Effective 7/1/08 the rate is 58.5 cents per mile.

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What is our Federal Tax ID number?

38-6006823

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Are section purchases tax-exempt?

Yes, sections are tax-exempt under the State Bar of Michigan. We encourage you to provide the vendors that you do business with a copy of the State Bar of Michigan’s tax exemption certificate. If the vendors have this certificate, they will not charge sales tax on your invoices.

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Where can I get a copy of the SBM tax exemption certificate?

Call or e-mail Patti Schafer at (517) 346-6362 or pschafer@mail.michbar.org

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Who should I contact when I have a financial question?

Payment of bills: Patti Schafer at (517) 346-6362 or pschafer@mail.michbar.org

Financial statements:

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Bill Payment

What is the difference between an expense voucher and an invoice?

Vouchers are forms we supply for section members to use so that they can obtain reimbursement for expenses they have incurred – mileage, lodging, etc.

Invoices are bills from outside sources and should not appear on a voucher unless the section member has paid the invoice herself/himself.

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How do I get invoices paid?

Invoices must be submitted to the State Bar of Michigan with the section treasurer’s signature on it indicating authorization to pay. The general ledger account number(s) that you want the expense to be charged to should also appear on the invoice. If an invoice is submitted to the State Bar of Michigan directly from a vendor or from a section member other than the treasurer, you may e-mail authorization for payment and the general ledger account numbers to charge it to, to Patti Schafer at pschafer@mail.michbar.org. Please include in your e-mail, the vendor, invoice number, amount to pay, explicit authorization to pay, and account numbers to charge the expenses.

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How do I report meals for groups or council meetings?

When you send in a bill for a group or council meeting, you must include a list of attendees. There are three options for you to provide this information:

  1. An attendance sheet.
  2. A copy of the minutes.
  3. If the meeting is for the council, you may include a statement that indicates only the council present, the council except for named individuals, or the council including named individuals.

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How do section members get reimbursed for their expenses?

By filling out a voucher and having the section treasurer approve it. Receipts for expenses exceeding $25 must be attached to the voucher.

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Where can I get blank expense vouchers?

They can be downloaded here.

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Who is authorized to approve expenses?

All expense vouchers and invoices must be approved by the section treasurer. Expense vouchers to reimburse a section treasurer must be approved by the section chairperson.

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Where do I get an IRS W-9 form and who should fill one out?

All vendors (individuals and companies) must have an IRS W-9 on file with us before we can process payment to them. This form indicates to us whether or not the vendor should receive an IRS 1099. A W-9 is not necessary if the payment is for reimbursement (mileage, lodging, etc) only. This form may be downloaded at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf.

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Section Revenues

How do I get checks from seminars, publication orders, etc. deposited?

You will need to fill out a Cash Transmittal Form that can be downloaded here. Mail this completed form along with the checks and accompanying documentation (registration form, publication order form, etc.) to SBM, Finance Dept, 306 Townsend, Lansing, MI 48933. Please do not hold checks. They should be transmitted to us upon receipt.

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Do we accept credit cards?

Yes - VISA, MasterCard, and American Express.

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Where can I get the cash transmittal form?

That can be downloaded here.

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Do we need to charge sales tax on products we sell?

Yes, you need to charge 6% sales tax on pamphlet, books, videos, etc.

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Financial Statements

What financial reports will I receive?

Each month you will receive by e-mail two financial statements. One financial statement is a summary of your section’s financial activity. It shows the total amount for each revenue and expense account for the current month and for the year to date. Your ending fund balance is also shown. Your ending fund balance is calculated by adding your beginning fund balance on Oct 1st plus your year-to-date income less your year-to-date expense. Click here to see an example of this report. The other report is a detailed listing by account of all your section’s expenses to date. Click here to see an example of this report.

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When will I receive my section’s monthly financial statements?

You should receive your monthly financial statements approximately 10 business days after the end of the month. Sometimes this is delayed due to staff vacations and fluctuations in bank statement mailing dates. Also, the September financial statements will always be sent much later due to the year-end closing process.

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What is a chart of accounts?

Your chart of accounts consists of 11 digits divided into 5 segments. Click here for an example of a section’s chart of accounts.

The first segment is one digit long. The “1” indicates this is the company “State Bar of Michigan”. You will always use a “1” in the first segment for all your account numbers.

The second segment is also only one digit. Use a “7” to indicate revenue and a “9” for expenses.

The third segment is two digits and will always be “99” indicating “section”.

The fourth segment is three digits and represents the specific section. For example, “475” is the number for the Health Care section.

The fifth segment is four digits long and represents the activity. For example, 1050 is dues revenue and 1826 is copying.

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I found expenses on my financial statement that I didn’t approve. What are they?

The State Bar of Michigan provides some services for a fee. If someone else in your section requested this service, you may be unaware of the charges. For example, there may be costs associated with your newsletter - printing, postage, and label charges. Your section may also request seminar assistance from the State Bar of Michigan, which may result in labor, postage, and name badge charges. If you need help identifying the origin of an expense please contact Becky Hunter at (517) 346-6321 bhunter@mail.michbar.org.


Inside the Financial Services Department
| General | Bill Payment
Section Revenues | Financial Statements