Meaning & use
imprest basis
Last updated
Meaning
nounsingularbusiness
A way of managing a small cash fund by refilling it periodically with exactly the amount that has been spent, so it returns to a fixed starting level.
Grammar: Usually with on: the petty cash is run on an imprest basis.
Patterns
- on an imprest basis
- operate on an imprest basis
The office keeps its petty cash on an imprest basis of two hundred dollars.
On an imprest basis, the cashier is repaid only what was spent that month.
Branch managers must run their float on an imprest basis so audits are simple.
Common combinations
- on an imprest basis
- Travel advances are handled on an imprest basis.
- operate on an imprest basis
- The school's tuck shop operates on an imprest basis.
- imprest basis system
- An imprest basis system makes missing cash easy to spot.
- fixed imprest basis
- A fixed imprest basis keeps the float at exactly one hundred pounds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- imprest system
- Imprest system is nearly the same, but it names the whole method, while imprest basis names the terms under which it runs.
- petty cash fund
- Petty cash fund is the pot of money itself, whereas imprest basis describes how it is topped up.
- float
- A float is the starting cash held, and imprest basis is the rule for restoring it.
Word family
Commonly confused: imprest basis or impress?
imprest basis vs impress
Impress means to cause admiration. Imprest is a financial term about advance funds.
Practice
A cashier keeps a 100 dollar float and is repaid exactly what was spent. This is operating ____.
Choose one answer.
Restoring a float to a fixed level by repaying spent amounts is the imprest basis. The other options are real phrases but have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “imprest basis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.