ESE Grants Management Payment Center How to request funds and submit final reports for grants from the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Overview The Grants Management Payment Center (http://doegrants.wji.com) displays all active grants and their payments for each grant recipient. Two users per organization have rights to request funds for the grants each month and to submit the final report. All other users in an organization can view current and past (FY08 or later) grants and payments information at any time.

Reviewing Grants To review grants, go to http://doegrants.wji.com. Enter your email and assigned password, then select “Active Grants”. The grants list contains all grants that have been approved by the state Comptroller’s office since FY08. Grants stay on the “Active Grants” list until the signed final report is received by Grants Management, then they are moved to “Past Grants”.

Active Grants

Closed Grants – Displayed by Fiscal Year

Reviewing Grants The Grant Amount column is the amount that has been approved by the state comptroller. Amended amounts aren’t displayed until they are approved. For some federal grants (Title 1, Special Education, and Title II-A) the initial Amount will be lower than what was submitted, because these grants pay a partial award at the start of the grant year and the initial award amounts on the grants must reflect the reduced allocation. Once the balance on these awards arrives in October, the grant amounts are automatically adjusted.

Reviewing Grants Amount Paid to Date is the amount that has been approved for payment or actually paid to the grant recipient for this grant The MTRS Amount is the amount paid or to be paid to the MA Teachers Retirement System by ESE on behalf of this grant. Available to Draw is the balance that has not yet been paid to the grant recipient.

Reviewing Payments Click on View in front of a grant to see the payments for that grant. A line appears under the grants list and the payments are displayed under it. The grant project number is shown above the payment list, along with a date that indicates when this information was uploaded from ESE.

Payment Display when View clicked for 240-007-9-0049-J

Reviewing Payments Payment Type is either Payment, which is made to the grant recipient, or MTRS which is made directly to the MA Teachers Retirement System. Amount is the amount of the payment. Request Date is the date the Request for Funds was submitted. This date is not filled in for the first payment, which is paid automatically when the grant is approved.

Reviewing Payments Projected Payment Date is the date it is anticipated that the Comptroller’s office will make the payment. This date is empty until Grants Management submits the request for payment to the Comptroller’s office.

Reviewing Payments Click on the word Display in front of a payment to see the information that was submitted to ESE to request that payment.

How Payments are Calculated

Basic Payment Information As in the past, the first payment for a grant is sent when the grant is approved by the state comptroller’s office. The remainder of the funds are requested monthly by the grant recipient, using the Request for Funds Internet form.

Basic Payment Information Grants up to $5000 are paid in full when the grant is approved. The payment schedule for all other grants is determined by the following formula: grant amount minus MTRS payment made by ESE (if any), divided by the number of months in the grant

Basic Payment Information The exception to the payment formula occurs when a grant is approved after the grant start date: If the grant is approved by the state Comptroller after the grant start date and after the 15th of the month, the first Request for Funds will not occur until the next month. The number of payments is reduced by 1. Because there are fewer payments, the amount of each payment is increased.

Basic Payment Information The dollar amount of the first payment is the amount that can be requested monthly (i.e. amount of grant / number of months in grant). This amount remains constant each month, even if additional funds are requested or funds are not requested for one or more months.

Basic Payment Information The monthly amount is changed only if the grant amount is changed by amendment. When that occurs a new monthly amount is calculated using the formula: new grant amount – amount already paid – MTRS paid by ESE / number of months left in the grant

Request for Funds

Request for Funds Two users per organization are assigned rights to submit the Request for Funds for the ESE grants. Funds can be requested between the 20th and the last day of the month. During this time period, an extra line is displayed at the bottom of the payment list for those who have submission rights.

Click Request Funds on bottom line to submit RF-1

Submitting a Request for Funds The Request Funds line at the bottom of the list of payments is displayed only for users who have rights to request funds and only between the 20th of each month and the last day of the month. The Request Funds line indicates the dates in which the request can be submitted, the month the payment is for, and the default amount that can be requested.

Submitting a Request for Funds To process the Request for Funds, click on the Request Funds text in front of the proposed payment info. The Request for Funds form is displayed.

Request for Funds Form The Grant Total is the amount that has been approved to date by the MA Comptroller’s office. Recent amendments may not be reflected in this amount yet. Funds Paid to Date is the total paid to you to date. Payments that you have not yet received are included. If there is an MTRS line item, the MTRS payment that ESE makes to MTRS is not included here.

Request for Funds Form Available to Draw is the amount of this grant that has not yet been paid to you. <Month> Allocation is the total grant amount divided by the number of months in the grant. This is the starting amount that can be requested each month.

Request for Funds Form Fill in Funds Expended with expenditures from inception to date for this grant. Include expenses that will be paid by the end of this month. Press the <Enter> key. Cash Balance on Hand is automatically calculated and filled in. This is the cash you have received but have not yet spent.

Request for Funds Form Compare Cash Balance on Hand to Maximum Cash Allowed on Hand, which is 10% of one month’s allocation. You are not allowed to carry more than 10% of one month’s payment from one month to the next. If the cash balance is more than the maximum cash allowed, the difference is automatically entered into Cash Balance Adjustment and deducted from this month’s allocation.

Request for Funds Form If more has been spent for the grant than has been received so that Funds Expended are more than Funds Paid to Date, the overspent amount is reflected in Overexpenditure Amount and is added to the monthly allocation.

Request for Funds Form If Funds Expended is less than Funds Paid to Date and no more than 10% of the default monthly allocation is unspent, the allocation for this payment is unchanged.

Request for Funds Form Allowable Adjusted Allocation is the maximum amount you can request without supplying justification of need for requesting additional funds. Fill in the amount that is required to meet next month’s expenses. Request only what you need for the next calendar month.

Request for Funds Form If the amount you enter is more than the Allowable Adjusted Allocation amount, a box will drop down. Enter the reason why you need additional funds next month in the box. Examples: Major supply purchase next month Computer equipment purchase Three payrolls rather than the usual two

Request for Funds Form Click the Submit button. A summary screen is displayed. Review the information.

Request for Funds Form Click the Edit button to return to the Request for Funds form and change information. Click the Submit button to send your request to Grants Management.

Certification By submitting a request the grantee certifies that the request is in compliance with the "Cash Management Act" (31CFR part 205) and EDGAR regulations (34 CFR part 80.20 and 80.21), which allow for cash advances provided grantees maintain procedures to minimize the time elapsing between the receipt and disbursement of grant funds. Additionally, the grantee certifies that the obligations incurred under this project for which funds are requested, were made within the period of availability (project duration) stated in the grant award notice. The grantee further certifies that they will have complete and current records in support of each request, in sufficient detail to properly substantiate all claims for payment and expenditures made under the grant. The grantee understands that these records must be maintained for audit purposes and made available upon request.

What Do I Do Next? Click Active Grants on the menu to go back to your list of grants. Click View in front of the grant you just processed to display the payments. The RequestFunds payment will now say Display. This is the record of the information submitted to ESE for that payment. If it still says RequestFunds, don’t click it again! Slower networks may take longer to process. Don’t send a duplicate request.

Final Report

Final Report Overview A final report is due for a grant 60 days after the grant ending date. All final reports (FR-1) are now submitted on the Internet via the Grants Management Payment Center. After submission, the FR-1 must be printed, signed, and sent to ESE along with the check for unspent funds, if any.

Final Report Overview If a Final Report is not submitted for a grant on a timely basis, funds may be held up for the grant recipient’s currently active grants. The grant recipient will be notified of this action before it is taken.

Submitting a Final Report After a grant has ended, Complete Final Report will appear above the grant’s payment list. Click on the words Complete Final Report to access the report form. Final Reports can only be filled in by those with control user rights, but the completed form can be viewed by all users.

Click Complete Final Report above the payments list to fill in and submit the final report form for the selected grant.

Top half of Final Report form

Bottom half of Final Report form

Submitting a Final Report The form is populated with the current approved budget information. For each line item, fill in the Funds Expended column with the total amount spent. Press the Tab key to move to the next line.

Submitting a Final Report Informational messages will appear in the following situations: If the expended amount is more than 10% or $10,000 over the current approved budget for the line item. If the current approved budget for the line item is $0 and the expended amount is more than $100

Submitting a Final Report The Balance Unexpended column recalculates as each expended amount is entered. Fill in the name, title and phone number of the person completing the report. Fill in the name and title of the authorized representative who will sign the report. This will appear on the printed copy.

Submitting a Final Report When the information is complete, click the Submit button at the bottom of the screen. You will be able to review the information before it is submitted.

Submitting a Final Report If funds expended is greater than funds received, the final report cannot be submitted. Follow the instructions to resolve.

Submitting a Final Report If there are funds left to draw, the final report cannot be submitted. The message varies, depending on whether it is still possible to request funds for this grant.

In all other cases, a summary page is displayed. Review it carefully In all other cases, a summary page is displayed. Review it carefully. If there are errors, click the Change Values button to return to the previous screen.

If there are one or more line items that are over-expended as indicated below, the Final Report is submitted on a provisional basis. There will be more information on provisional submissions later in this presentation.

Submitting a Final Report When everything is correct, click Submit Report. The information is sent to Grants Management. Final instructions are displayed. Click on Click Here to Print the Final Report in step #1. Print as many copies as you like. Have one copy signed by the Authorized Rep.

Submitting a Final Report If the final report was not provisional, send the signed copy and reimbursement check, if applicable, to: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Grants Management 75 Pleasant Street Malden, MA 02148 Attn: Financial Analysis and Reporting

Submitting a Final Report Click on the Active Grants menu item to return to your grants list. Click on View in front of the grant you just processed. When the final report has been submitted, two new options are displayed above the payment list: Print Final Report and View Final Report.

Error in Final Report If there’s an error in a Final report, notify Grants Management at 781-338-6509 or 781-338-6572. When the next upload of grants is made to the Grants Management Payment Center, the grant will be moved back to Active Grants, the incorrect Final Report will be deleted, and a new Final Report form will be available to fill in and submit.

Provisional Final Report The following situations result in provisional acceptance of the final report: If one or more line items are overspent by 10% or $10,000 If more than $100 is expended in a line item that has no approved budget When this occurs, the Final Report can be submitted but its acceptance is not assured.

Provisional Final Report You must follow up by submitting an amendment to change these line items. The program unit may or may not approve this amendment. If program approval is denied, the report will be accepted as is, however the over-expenditure amount(s) will be subject to audit exception and return of the funds in excess of the 10%, $10,000, $100 rules.

Provisional Final Report If the amendment is approved, a new final report form based on the revised budget will be attached to the grant at the Grants Management Payment Center website. It will need to be completed and submitted. A grant will say PROVISIONAL FINAL REPORT after the grant information on the website until the provisional status is resolved.

Additional Q&A

Q: How do I access my ESE grants? In your Internet browser, go to http://doegrants.wji.com. Enter the login and password that you have been assigned. You will then enter the site that is scoped to your ESE grants. Click on Active Grants to display your currently active grants.

Q: How often is the grant/payment info refreshed on the Internet? Current information will generally be uploaded each workday. The upload date is indicated at the top of the payment list.

Q: How will I remember to request funds during each request period? An email reminder is sent to each control user when the window opens. Another reminder is sent 3 days before the window closes if there are active grants where the Request for Funds has not yet been submitted.

Q: What happens if funds are not requested some month? That’s fine. The purpose of the monthly drawdown is to meet the federal regulation that funds be given to grant recipients only when they need them to meet expenses. So if you don’t need the money during the next month, don’t request it.

Q: Does the monthly allocation change if a month is missed? No. The monthly allocation only changes when an amendment is submitted to increase or decrease the grant amount. The final request will be for a higher or lower amount, depending on whether you’ve requested more or less than approved. You will be able to request the balance of the grant in the final request.

Q: Do we receive payment notices for grant payments? Yes. A payment notice is generated for each payment and emailed to control users, who should then forward it to the proper people within the organization.

Q: How do I change my email or password? Click Profile on the menu. If you change your email, be sure to use the new email the next time you log in. Passwords are case sensitive, so be aware of whether you’re entering letters as upper or lower case. You will need to enter the password exactly the same.

Q: Why is there no RequestFunds record for some grants? The grant may be fully paid. Check the Available to Draw column. The grant may have been approved this month and the first Request will not be until next month. You will receive the first payment this month, if you haven’t already. You may not have rights to request funds.

Q: Why is a grant still in Active Grants after the Final Report has been submitted? Grants are moved from Active Grants to Past Grants after the signed final report and refund check (if applicable) are received by Grants Management.

Q: Can I access grant info after I’ve submitted the Final Report? Yes. If the grant is no longer in Active Grants, click the Past Grants tab and enter the fiscal year of the grant you want to view. All information that was accessible when the grant was active is still accessible.

Q: What if I forget some of these rules? Click Faq on the menu. You should find the answer to your question there.

Q: Who can I call with questions? For Final Report questions, contact either Susan Yee (syee@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-6509) or Susan O’Brien (781-338-6572 or sobrien@doe.mass.edu). For all other questions, contact Susan O’Brien using the contact information above.