Definition: Replenish refers to the action of refilling petty cash funds. In other words, it means reimbursing expenses made with petty cash.
What Does Replenish Mean?
Contents
The concept of replenishing is associated with petty cash funds, mostly managed through petty cash boxes. These funds are used for small day-to-day operations and expenses. As these funds run out, cash is taken out of the bank account and added to the boxes in order to replenish the fund. Petty cash boxes serve as a support system to keep small processes up and running since sometimes bureaucratic payment procedures may slow down productivity.
The employee in charge of the petty cash funds would also be responsible for issuing a replenishment order. The replenishment process starts by reviewing the expenses that were made and paid with the petty cash. Then additional cash is added to the petty cash box to increase the balance to the pre-established balance. The advantage of a replenishment process is that it ensures that the used funds are being properly audited.
Here’s a practical illustration.
Example
Mrs. Gordon is a personal assistant at Dr. Boldan’s dental practice. She’s in charge of setting appointments, handing prescriptions, issuing invoices, and managing the office’s petty cash box. The cash box was initially set with $1,000 and the purpose of the funds is to keep the office fully operational. Last week, Mrs. Gordon had to spend $250 in meals and $140 in office supplies. What would be the current balance of the petty cash box and how much should be replenished?
According to our concept, replenishment is the action of refunding the expenses paid with petty cash funds. In this case, the initial balance was $1,000, if we subtract all the expenses Mrs. Gordon made ($390) the remaining balance would be $610. That means Mrs. Gordon should ask her office manager or employee in charge of cash in the bank, to replenish $390 to the petty cash funds.
