ESE Grants Management Payment Center

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ESE Grants Management Payment Center

• How to request funds and submit final reports for
  grants from the
• MA Department of Elementary and Secondary
  Education

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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.

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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 Comptrollers 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.

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Active Grants
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Closed Grants Displayed by Fiscal Year
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Reviewing Grants

• The Grant Amount column is the amount that has
  been approved by the state comptroller. Amended
  amounts arent 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.

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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.

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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.

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

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Reviewing Payments

• Projected Payment Date is the date it is
  anticipated that the Comptrollers office will
  make the payment. This date is empty until Grants
  Management submits the request for payment to the
  Comptrollers office.

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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.

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How Payments are Calculated
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Basic Payment Information

• As in the past, the first payment for a grant is
  sent when the grant is approved by the state
  comptrollers office.
• The remainder of the funds are requested monthly
  by the grant recipient, using the Request for
  Funds Internet form.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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
  

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Request for Funds
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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.

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Click Request Funds on bottom line to submit RF-1
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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.

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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.

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Request for Funds Form

• The Grant Total is the amount that has been
  approved to date by the MA Comptrollers 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.

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Request for Funds Form

• Available to Draw is the amount of this grant
  that has not yet been paid to you.
• ltMonthgt 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.

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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 ltEntergt key.
• Cash Balance on Hand is automatically calculated
  and filled in. This is the cash you have received
  but have not yet spent.

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Request for Funds Form

• Compare Cash Balance on Hand to Maximum Cash
  Allowed on Hand, which is 10 of one months
  allocation.
• You are not allowed to carry more than 10 of one
  months 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 months allocation.

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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.

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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.

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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
  months expenses.
• Request only what you need for the next calendar
  month.

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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

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Request for Funds Form

• Click the Submit button.
• A summary screen is displayed. Review the
  information.

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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.

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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.

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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, dont click it
  again! Slower networks may take longer to
  process. Dont send a duplicate request.

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Final Report
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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.

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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 recipients currently active grants.
• The grant recipient will be notified of this
  action before it is taken.

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Submitting a Final Report

• After a grant has ended, Complete Final Report
  will appear above the grants 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.

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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

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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

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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.

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Error in Final Report

• If theres 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Additional QA
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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.

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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.

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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.

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Q What happens if funds are not requested some
month?

• Thats 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 dont need the
  money during the next month, dont request it.

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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 youve requested
  more or less than approved.
• You will be able to request the balance of the
  grant in the final request.

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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.

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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 youre entering letters as upper or lower
  case. You will need to enter the password exactly
  the same.

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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 havent already.
• You may not have rights to request funds.

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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.

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Q Can I access grant info after Ive 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.

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Q What if I forget some of these rules?

• Click Faq on the menu. You should find the answer
  to your question there.

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Q Who can I call with questions?

• For Final Report questions, contact either Susan
  Yee (syee_at_doe.mass.edu or 781-338-6509) or Susan
  OBrien (781-338-6572 or sobrien_at_doe.mass.edu).
• For all other questions, contact Susan OBrien
  using the contact information above.