Introduction
While most districts and schools submit the annual report electronically, printing the paper copy (or printing to screen) allows you to review the data before creating the electronic submission file. This article will help you navigate the process of generating the Annual IFARMS Report accurately and efficiently.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Clear Previous Adjustments
If you made any fund adjustments for the prior year's Annual Report, make sure you clear the adjustments before reviewing your Annual Report.
- In ABReport, use the top menu and select Fund Adjustments.
- In the Fund Adjustments window, press the Clear All Adj button to clear all adjustments from the previous year.
- Press the Save button.
Step 2: Map Account Numbers
After clearing fund adjustments, make sure to map your account numbers. Our Map Account Numbers article contains in-depth information about mapping accounts.
- In ABReport, select Map Account#'s
- Press the Create button to generate a new account mapping table.
- When prompted, select Yes to overwrite the existing table and add new accounts.
- Look for any Warnings in the last column correct them by entering a valid IFARMS fund-account number.
- Press Save.
Step 3: Print the Annual Report
When printing the full Annual Report, we recommend printing the report to a PDF file so you can quickly review the report without needing to send the report to a printer. Change your Printer to Microsoft Print to PDF to create your Annual Report as a PDF file.
To print to screen, you must change the Funds Range section to a single fund or use the Print Comb Bal/Fund Bal Only option.
- In ABReport, press the Print Reports button or in the top menu.
- On the Print Reports screen, change the Report Format to Annual Report (IFARMS).
- Enter the fiscal year dates in the Mo-Yr Range section.
- Beginning: 07-2023
- Ending: 06-2024
- Press the Print Ann button to print the Annual Report.
Step 4: Review and Adjust
Carefully review the printed report for completeness and accuracy. On the Annual Report Fund Balances page the Differences line (Line 11) should be zero. A difference of more than $5 or $6 indicates a problem with one or more funds. If the imbalance is in one of the “combined” funds, use the full Annual Report to determine which fund is causing the difference and resolve.
If there's a difference between the two printed fund balances due to rounding errors ($5 or less), use the Fund Adjustment tool to correct the discrepancy.
- In ABReport, use the top menu and select Fund Adjustments.
- Select a fund that needs adjusted.
- To increase a revenue total, enter a negative (-) for a credit amount.
- To decrease a revenue total, enter a positive (+) amount.
- To increase an expense total, enter a positive (+) for a credit amount.
- To decrease an expense total, enter a negative (-) amount.
- Press Save
- Reprint the Fund Balances page to confirm the two fund balance lines are equal.
Step 5: Finalize the Report
Print the combined actual amounts for the current fiscal year. These amounts are used on the Annual Budget Report for your Prior Year Actual Amounts. Manually enter these amounts in the Prior Years Actual Amts screen or follow the steps below to automatically save the amounts to Prior Years Actual Amts.
- In ABReport, press the Print Reports button or in the top menu.
- On the Print Reports screen, change the Report Format to Annual Report (IFARMS).
- Check the Print 'Actuals' Summary Page Only box.
- Review the summary page to ensure all amounts are correct.
- Create a backup of your ABReport data.
Once you're confident in the report's accuracy, including the Combined Balance Sheet and Fund Balance pages, automatically save your actual amounts with the following steps.
- In ABReport, press the Print Reports button or in the top menu.
- On the Print Reports screen, change the Report Format to Annual Report (IFARMS).
- Check the Print 'Actuals' Summary Page Only box.
- Check the Move to -1 Prior Yr Amts box. (This will save the current actual amounts to the -1 Prior Year Amount column on the Prior Years Actual Amts screen.)
- Check the Move -1 Prior Yr Amts to -2 Prior Yr Amts box. (This will move the data that is currently in the -1 Prior Yr Amts column to the -2 Yr Prior Yr Amts column.)
- Press the Print Ann button.
Next Steps
After completing these steps, you'll be ready to Create the Electronic IFARMS Report.
Tips and Reminders
- Don't hesitate to reprint the report as many times as needed!
- Remember, it may not be necessary to print a physical copy.