Instructions for Using the On-Line System

School-Level Reporting Project
February 2010

There are two ways that information may be entered into the on-line school level reporting system:

  1. Manually entering data directly into the system
  2. Uploading data from a .csv file into the system

Depending on which method districts choose, the following guidance will help with the process. All districts should follow the steps in Section I and Section IV. Districts that choose to enter data manually will also follow the steps in Section II. Districts that choose to upload data should follow steps in Section III.


  1. Initial Steps for Entering Data Into the On-Line System (All Districts)

    1. Log on to the NYSED Business Portal and choose “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Reporting System”

    2. On the home page, click on the “Expenditure Reporting” button. You do not need to change the “Period Ending Date” or Select a Fund.

    3. On the “Select Institution” page, check to ensure that all of your school buildings are listed and listed with the correct BEDS Code. If you do not see all of your buildings, or see a building that is not in your district or has an incorrect BEDS Code, contact the Office of Educational Management Services (518.474.6541).

  2. Entering Data Manually into the On-Line System

    1. Choose the school building you wish to enter data for by highlighting the row and clicking on it.

    2. Click either “General Fund” or “Special Aid Fund” to begin entering expense amounts for the particular fund. (If you do not have any Special Aid Fund expenses that need to be reported, you will not need to take any action for that fund.)

    3. For the appropriate account codes, enter expense amounts in the column labeled “Expenditure Amount”. Use whole dollars and do not use any commas or dollar signs.

    4. When you have entered an amount, you can use the Tab button on your computer to move to the next expenditure amount box needed. NOTE: DISTRICTS ARE ONLY REPORTING DATA ONCE FOR EACH ACCOUNT CODE IN THE EXPENDITURE AMOUNT COLUMN. THE APPLICATION WILL AUTOMATICALLY DISTRIBUTE THAT AMOUNT INTO EACH APPLICABLE PERSONNEL EXPENDITURE COLUMN WHEN YOU TAB TO THE NEXT BOX.

    5. When you have entered all data for a particular building, click on the SAVE button at the top of that building’s page. This is critical because if you navigate off the page before saving you will lose the data you have entered. You will see the total amount(s) you have entered for that building in the summary box at the top of the page, along with the automatic distribution by category.

    6. Click on the “Select School” button to return to the list of school district buildings and repeat steps 1-5 until all data has been entered. Each time that data is saved for a building, the “Expenditure Form Status” column (found on the Select Institution page) will read “Saved”. This will allow districts to ensure that data has been entered for all district buildings.

  3. Entering Data Via the Upload Function

    When using the upload function, you do not need to choose each building separately. Rather, on the “Select Institution” page, in the box above the listing of school buildings, districts will choose the file from their own computer that contains all of the data (you can use the “Browse” button to find the file), enter the file name in the empty box and then click on “Load”.

    HOW TO CREATE THE FILE FOR UPLOADING (NOTE: The file to be uploaded must be a “flat” file in .csv format as described below. Districts must use a .csv extension in order to create the correct type of file. Data in a different format must be modified to exactly match this format in order to upload successfully.)

    1. CSV format must be exactly as follows:

      12 digit BEDS Code[12 characters, no spaces]_comma_1 digit alpha Fund Type (A or F)_4 digit Function Account Code_decimal_2 digit Object Account Code[8 total characters, no spaces]_comma_Expenditure Amount [whole dollars, no commas, no spaces, no dollar signs.]

      Examples:

      140600010308,A2630.15,55123
      140600010308,A2630.16,125000
      140600010308,A2805.15,32000

    2. If created in Excel, use only 3 contiguous columns; format as Number, no decimal for column 1 and 3; 2 decimals for column 2 (account code).

    3. File, Save As, .csv , ignore error message of losing format in conversion from Excel to CSV file extension.

    4. Districts whose BEDS Code begins with a zero should check the CSV file to be sure the leading zero was not lost.

    5. When data has been uploaded, the “Expenditure Form Status” column (found on the Select Institution page) will read “Loaded”. This will allow districts to ensure that data has been entered for all district buildings. Districts are encouraged to look at the detail for at least a few buildings and the final calculated expenditure per pupil amounts to ensure that the correct data has been loaded.

  4. Final Steps for Entering Data into the On-Line System (All Districts)

    1. When all data is entered, the Superintendent of Schools will need to log into the system to certify and submit the data to SED. He or she will have a button to do this. Once the data is submitted, it can not be modified without SED approval. Districts may contact the Office of Educational Management Services if they need to request this (emscmgts@mail.nysed.gov or 518.474.6541).

    2. SED staff will review the data submitted to identify potential data entry errors that could affect the final expenditure per pupil amounts that SED will report on behalf of each district to the U.S. Department of Education. All changes to the data submitted will be performed by the district through a resubmission after SED approval.

Last Updated: March 15, 2010