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March 2024

12 March 2024

Revenue Budgeting for FY25

When the FY25 Revenue Projection Model becomes available (anticipated early March), go to MDE’s website using this link to download a copy: https://public.education.mn.gov/MDEAnalytics/DataTopic.jsp?TOPICID=247.If you would like assistance working on next year’s revenue budget, send Stacy, Melissa, or Anthony your FY25 adjusted pupil estimates. We will use those pupil estimates to create a revenue budget using the Budget Workpapers in SMART Finance.If you begin working on the F...

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February 2024

05 February 2024

Miscellaneous Expense

It is HIGHLY suggested that if you are using Object 899 – Miscellaneous expense that you find an alternative object to code those expenses to. You may want to address this before we get into another year end. Please reach out to us if you need help with this.

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January 2024

05 January 2024

SMART Software Update

Our 23.3 Software Update will include the NEW MENU Enhancements: When SMART loads, it will now show a progress bar and the login page will stay until logged in so the user knows what is happening. System Wide- Modules Finance – Finance menu groups have stayed very similar. Reports have been split into two groups, SMART Finance standard reports and the District’s Custom reports to avoid confusion. Payroll – Payroll and TimeOff have been combined into the same modu...

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December 2023

07 December 2023

FY24 Revenue Budget

Now would be a good time to review your FY24 Revenue Budget. It starts by comparing current enrollment with the enrollment used for the original FY24 Revenue Budget. Also, all the new FY24 revenue categories have been added to the Revenue Projection Model. If you would like Region 1 assistance, send us your latest FY24 enrollment and we will use the Budget Workpapers in SMART Finance to prepare a revised budget for your review. To get a copy of the new FY24 Revenue Projection...

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07 December 2023

Coming Soon...It's 1099 Time!

We will be emailing 1099 instructions in the beginning of December. All 1099s must be e-filed by 01/31/2024! This leaves little time for corrections without jumping through hoops to e-file correcting 1099s. Initial accuracy is at a premium. In preparation, please review your initial 1099 balances by going to Accounts Payable > Vendor Setup > Vendor 1099 Balance. Enter 2023 in the Year column and click Find.

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October 2023

31 October 2023

Accounting for Compensatory Revenue...New Rules

FY23 legislation requires at least 80% of Compensator Revenue (Basic Skills and English Learner) be spent by site. At some point we expect MDE will ask for verification. You can track site spending with a spreadsheet, or, use Smart Finance. If you use SMART Finance, Region 1 recommends having a revenue account for each site and allowable expenditures for each site. We would be happy to help you build the necessary accounts.See the screen displays below that show you where to ...

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05 October 2023

It's Time to Review UFARS Reporting Errors!

After Region 1 submits your UFARS data to the State, it’s time to review and correct UFARS reporting errors. To see if you have UFARS compliance errors, go to the MDE MFR web site https://public.education.mn.gov/MDEAnalytics/DataTopic.jsp?TOPICID=9 See example below to find the UFARS Turnaround Edit Report.

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31 October 2023

UFARS Reporting

Just a reminder that the UFARS reporting deadline is Thursday, November 30th. Remember to check the Turn Around Reports on MDE’s website. Also, anytime you post journal entries for last year in period 202313, make sure you contact us to reclose and resubmit your data to MDE. Also, let us know when your UFARS data is considered ‘Audited’.

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05 October 2023

Budget Publication

According to MDE, the deadline to publish your Budget Publication report is November 30th or within one week of the acceptance of the final audit report by the board, whichever is earlier. There are four reports in Smart Finance to help districts complete this Budget Publication. These reports automatically separate restricted from unrestricted fund balances, revenues, and expenditures. They are located under Custom Reports > Finance Reports > Budget Publication….To get a ...

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September 2023

06 September 2023

New FY24 UFARS Codes

Region 1 recently added new FY24 UFARS codes (listed below) to SMART Finance. (Also, note the deletions.) The codes are now available to use in expenditure and revenue accounts. FY24 Chapter X of the UFARS manual is not available on MDE’s web site yet. If you need help setting up accounts, we have an Excel version of Chapter X available that has been loaded into SMART Finance. Contact someone in the finance department if you would like help setting up accounts. Fi...

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SMART Finance News You Can Use