N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9 § 1640-4.3
The obligation of the local agency to keep formal books of account with respect to a State-aided project becomes operative, technically speaking, only with the date of the contract for State aid. The local agency should, nevertheless, as a practical matter keep some formal records of expenditures made prior to that date, in order to support claims for their subsequent admission as eligible development costs and to facilitate the audit and review by the division. Such records may be in memorandum form, if the expenditures are being made on behalf of the local agency by some other agency, or they may be part of other accounting records of the local agency or they may be separate records, maintained on a cash basis, if the expenditures are being made by the local agency. Funds received by a local agency for indeterminate expenditures should be deposited in a bank account and disbursements made by check. All expenditures should be supported by vouchers or other evidence of authorization, in readily available form. Separate records, if maintained, should consist of, as a minimum, cash receipts and cash disbursements registers. If desired, a general ledger may also be set up. The use of the applicable general ledger accounts of the division's uniform system of accounts, in this event, is recommended, as follows:
N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 1640-4.3