A SYSTEM TO SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS FOR REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENDITURES ON-LINE USING THE WEB GRANTS SYSTEM ( Revised May " RFF-LITE "

What is RFF-LITE? Revised May Originally introduced in 2007, RFF-LITE is the preferred method for submitting a claim or request for reimbursement online using the WebGrants system. RFF-LITE was designed to reduce the amount of paperwork required and streamline the process for requesting reimbursement of expenditures under awards administered by the State Community Services Office.

Glossary of Acronyms and Terms Revised May RFF – A Request for Funds (claim or request for reimbursement of expenditures incurred) G/L Transaction Detail Report – A financial report generated from the organization’s automated accounting system, listing in detail the expenditures charged against a specific award Expense Summary – Basically a reconciliation tool to show how amounts from various accounts on the G/L detail report are combined for each budget line of the WebGrants claim form SCSO – State Community Services Office CSBG – Community Services Block Grant ESG – Emergency Solutions Grant HOPWA – Housing Opportunities for Persons With Aids PAHTF – Pamela Atkinson Homeless Trust Fund CNH – Critical Needs Housing EFN – Emergency Food Network EITC – Earned Income Tax Credit Assistance Program

What are the requirements for RFF-LITE? Revised May The RFF-LITE system consists of three basic components: A General Ledger Transaction Detail report listing the eligible current period expenditures to be reimbursed An Excel spreadsheet that summarizes and reconciles amounts from the G/L detail report to the amounts listed on each budget line item on the WebGrants reimbursement form The Claim/Request for Reimbursement form submitted on-line in the WebGrants system

What’s in it for me? Revised May Grantees/sub-recipients approved for and participating in RFF-LITE are not required to submit supporting documentation with each claim for reimbursement * Such as : Copies of vendor invoices and/or statements Copies of checks Payroll information (time cards, pay stubs, etc.) * unless specifically requested to do so

Expected Benefits Revised May Grantees/sub-recipients have experienced cost savings from a reduction in the amount of paperwork required to be submitted with each RFF/Claim: Reduction in cost of paper and toner Reduction in cost of postage to mail RFF to SCSO Reduction in employee time required to make copies of vendor invoices, etc. And, most importantly, reduction in turnaround time for reimbursement!

Does my organization qualify to participate in RFF-LITE? Revised May To participate in RFF-LITE, your organization must: Have a financial management system capable of producing a transaction level detail report (i.e., current period Profit & Loss or Revenues & Expenditures Report) listing the current period expenditures being claimed on each RFF submitted against a particular award, be it CSBG, ESG, HOPWA, PAHTF, CNH, EITC, or EFN

Other qualifications to participate in RFF-LITE Revised May If your organization posts payroll via a single, agency-wide journal entry, detail for personnel costs applicable to a single grant or award can be provided in an Excel worksheet. The organization’s financial management system must also be capable of producing a cumulative or Year-to-Date transaction level detail report at the end of the contract term which includes all expenditures claimed against the particular award. This report may be required as part of the contract monitoring and/or close-out process.

Submission of Financial Reports Revised May The current period transaction detail reports and Expense Summary can be submitted electronically as an attachment to your Claim/RFF using the WebGrants on-line system. Excel files are preferred. Please note that all files attached in WebGrants are automatically converted to “read-only” files. If your financial management software will not allow you to export the data to an attachable file, you will need to print and scan the reports to attach in WebGrants If you cannot create attachable files, you cannot submit claims via RFF-LITE. You will need to mail them along with the printed WebGrants Claim/RFF to your SCSO Program Specialist.

Create an Expense Summary Template to organize your various General Ledger accounts Revised May Carefully review the contract Budget and Scope of Work to determine the categories and sub- categories of expenditures allowed 2. Create an Excel spreadsheet (Expense Summary template) listing the main budget line items of the contract budget (see contract Attachment C) 3. Insert your G/L account titles as “sub-categories” under each main budget line item, and subtotal each group of individual G/L account totals that are reported under each budget category Note: an Expense Summary is not required for grants with only one budget line, or if expenses can be grouped and subtotaled by WebGrants budget line.

Preparing a Claim for Reimbursement Revised May Export a transaction detail report for the current billing period from your financial management system to an Excel file (or Word, PDF or other attachable file) 2. Enter the account totals from your General Ledger detail report under the appropriate category in the Excel Expense Summary template 3. Enter the budget line item totals from the Excel Expense Summary template to the Claim form in WebGrants 4. Attach the current period transaction detail report and Excel Expense Summary sheet to the WebGrants RFF Tip: Save the above files in a single Excel workbook to facilitate attaching to your Claim (Request for Reimbursement) through the WebGrants on-line system. Create a separate Excel folder for each grant then, as you prepare the reports your RFFs throughout the year, save each file as RFF #1, RFF #2, etc. within a single folder.

Check your Totals Revised May Before submitting: Ensure the total expenditures from the G/L transaction detail report agree with the total expenditures on the Expense Summary Ensure the budget line totals from the Expense Summary agree with the WebGrants claim totals

Supporting Documentation Revised May RFF-LITE does not change the requirement that your agency must maintain adequate documentation to support amounts charged against any grant or sub- award administered by SCSO: Expenditures must be supported by vendor invoices, statements, vouchers, receipts, etc. Personnel costs must be supported by time and activity records and based on actual after-the-fact activity. Records must be retained for at least the period of time specified in Attachment B of the Contract

Supporting Documentation Revised May The significant difference with RFF-LITE is that you don’t have to submit the supporting documentation (vendor invoices, etc.) to SCSO unless specifically requested to do so.

Periodic Requests for Supporting Documentation Revised May RFF-LITE has proven to be an efficient method for submitting claims. However, to ensure grantee compliance with the supporting documentation provisions stated in the grant agreement, SCSO may randomly select one or more RFF forms submitted during the contract period and request that supporting documentation for particular expenditures be submitted either electronically or by mail.

How will I know if I need to submit supporting documentation? Revised May The SCSO Fiscal Auditor or your SCSO Program Specialist will notify you by telephone and/or via Once notified, you will have ten business days to submit the supporting documentation for the specific expenditures selected

What happens next? Revised May The documentation will be reviewed by SCSO fiscal staff and/or HCDD accounting staff You will be notified of any deficiencies, and be given an additional ten business days to respond by providing any additional documentation requested.

What happens if adequate supporting documentation is not provided? Revised May Failure to provide adequate supporting documentation in a timely manner will result in disqualification from the RFF-LITE program. If disqualified, the organization may be required to submit complete supporting documentation with all future requests for reimbursement.

Expected Results Revised May RFF-LITE requires very little additional effort and saves valuable time & resources. RFF-LITE allows SCSO Program staff to review and quickly approve claims. The overall reimbursement processing cycle is more efficient and, if your organization is signed up for Direct Deposit*, expenditures incurred can be reimbursed in a matter of days. * Contact SCSO for information regarding Direct Deposit

Where to Get More Information Revised May Contact your SCSO Program Specialist: Stephanie Bourdeaux (801) Pema Chagzoetsang (801) Andrew Gray (801) Contact SCSO Fiscal Auditor: Douglas Lee (801) Contact SCSO Program Director Tamera Kohler (801)