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May 2023

01 May 2023

As the End of This Fiscal Year Approaches

Now would be a good time to take a look at the State and Federal receivable accounts in all funds. These accounts should have a zero balance. If there is a balance any of these accounts (B XX-121-XXX, B XX-122-XXX, and B XX-123-XXX), take a look at the entry in period 202213 that created the receivable and reverse it (or part of it). Any amount that remains in these receivables that cannot be explained can be written off against a current year revenue account in order to make the ...

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April 2023

03 April 2023

Entering Requisitions for Next Year (FY23-24)

If your district wants to create requisitions for FY23-24 in SMARTeR, the Accounting Calendar in SMART Finance needs to be opened through July (open the GL in both 202313 & 202314).To create a requisition for FY23-24, enter 07/01/2023 in the Date required field of the requisition entry screen. This will change the GL period to 202401 on the detail lines of the requisition (Note: Depending on the security level, the person entering the requisition may not see the GL Period).When the requisiti...

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03 April 2023

Purchase Orders for FY23-24

As you get ready to enter POs for next year, all the Periods on the Accounting Calendar need to be open through 202401. For Periods 202313 and 202314, open GL only. Contact someone in Finance if you need help with this. Once period 202401 is open, POs can be saved for the next fiscal year.

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03 April 2023

COVID Grants and Course Numbers

As districts receive COVID funds, make sure the correct course number identifying fiscal year is used. Visit MDE’s web site to see the latest flow chart for COVID accounts. Federal Relief Funds (mn.gov)Below as another version of the flow chart on MDE’s web site that you might find easier to follow. Fiscal Year (FY) FIN 140/640 141/641 142 143/643 144/644 159 FIN 150 162/662 163/663 165 FIN 151 152 ...

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March 2023

03 March 2023

Need to Change Expense or Revenue Accounts Because of UFARS Requirements?

Did you know...We have an Account Code Conversion program. If you have accounts that need to be changed (especially pandemic grant accounts), the account conversion program will allow mass changes with a single parameter line. The new accounts are built, the budget/actual is moved from the old accounts to the new accounts and the old accounts are shutoff. Region 1 runs this program for you. If you have a need for this, contact someone in Finance.

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03 March 2023

Revenue Budgeting for FY24

When the FY24 Revenue Projection Model becomes available, 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 FY24 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 FY24 Budget note the following: On ...

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03 March 2023

Using Budget Workpapers for the FY24 Budget

The SMART Finance Budget Workpapers can be a very useful tool for completing the FY24 budget. Here are some of the features that can be used: For both revenue and expense, as a starting point, copy the FY23 budget to FY24. For revenues, highlight the rows that have been addressed/changed by clicking the box in front of the account. This will cause the line to highlight in yellow. For expenses, increase all accounts or ranges of account by a specified percent. For example, incre...

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03 March 2023

Changes to Compensatory (Basic Skills) Revenue for FY24

A Pleasant Surprise! MDE added a new economic indicator for Medicaid eligible families. This means all Medicaid eligible families will automatically be eligible for Free/Reduced Meals which also means they will automatically generate Compensatory Revenue. We are seeing substantial increases in FY24 Compensatory Revenue for all districts.

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January 2023

05 January 2023

Federal COVID Funding Flowchart

MDE has updated the COVID Funding summary document that includes the latest finance dimensions. This document is very helpful sorting out the UFARS requirements for COVID financial reporting. Pay particular attention to the required course numbers for grants that cross fiscal years. Covid Grant accounts are good for only 1 year. New accounts need to be built with new course numbers each year.Here is the link for the MDE page that has the document: Federal Relief Funds (...

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05 January 2023

Student Activity Accounts

If you need a new Student Activity Account, you could recycle an old account that is not being used. Just change the descriptions in the Account Code setup window and Account Classification window. This is much easier than building new accounts, account classifications and fund balances.

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SMART Finance News You Can Use