BOCES Financial

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Topics in BOCES Financial

2.Initial Upload Process

3.Edit Process

4.Revision Process

Entity Information

This is the same information as what appears on the ‘Reviewing and Updating the Entity Information’ screen on the Core Help File

Data Areas

Data Areas are used to logically separate data that is stored in the centralized BOCES SAMS database. There are two data areas in BOCES SAMS; the Official Data Area and the Revision Data Area.

The Official Data Area contains all of the BOCES data that was imported into the Official Data Area of BOCES SAMS and all changes to the data that have been accepted by NYSED. The data in the Official Data Area is used for aid calculations and official reports. A BOCES’ XML file should be imported into the Official Data Area any time before the BOCES District Superintendent certifies the data.

The Revision Data Area contains all of the BOCES data that has been imported into the Revision data area. The revision data area is used to submit changes to the data set after it has been certified by the BOCES District Superintendent, and to review those changes prior to submitting them to NYSED. Once changes to the data are accepted by NYSED, the revised data is incorporated into Official Data Area. A BOCES’ XML file should be imported into the Revision Data Area after the data has been certified by the BOCES District Superintendent.

Initial Upload Process – (Official Data Area)

To import an XML file into BOCES SAMS, perform the following steps:

1.From the BOCES SAMS main menu, run your mouse over the BOCES Financial option.

2.Click on the BOCES XML Import sub-menu option.

3.Select the Data Area into which your file should be imported. Note: You will only choose the Official data area for imports you perform before the District Superintendent (DS) has certified your form set.

4.Click on the Browse button. A new window will open that allows you to select the XML file from a location on your computer. Select the file name and click Open.

5.Click on the Import Button on the bottom of the screen. Importing XML data files into the BOCES SAMS system is a very processor and database intensive operation. It may take as long as 5 to 10 minutes after you click on the Import Button before you see the results of the import on the screen. Please be patient during this process. NYSED continues to work to improve the speed of the import process.

6.Confirm that the import was successful by reviewing the Import Results on the bottom of the screen.

7.Resolve any import validation errors displayed at the bottom of the screen and return to Step 1 above to begin the import process again.

The Official Data area will be used until the Superintendent certifies the Aid claim for the current year.

Edit Process

The edit process identifies potential problems with the data that is imported into BOCES SAMS. Each form set has its own Edit Exception Report. When a BOCES runs an Edit Exception Report, information about any potential problems with the data in the form set will be displayed. A form set’s Edit Exception Report must be in the “Ready” data state before the BOCES District Superintendent can certify the form set.

About Edits

Edits are used to identify certain data items imported into BOCES SAMS that do not fall within certain expected parameters. Edit Exception Reports alert a BOCES when there are potential problems with the data in a form set. A BOCES must take one of two actions when an edit exception occurs; either correct the data so that the edit exception no longer occurs when the edit report is re-run, or provide a substantive explanation in the comment area which will be reviewed by NYSED staff.

There are several types of edits in BOCES SAMS that appear on the Edit Exception Reports; trend edits, proportion edits, and total check edits.

•Trend edits are used to identify whether an amount in BOCES SAMS has increased or decreased more than a certain percentage or dollar amount between the prior and actual year and/or the actual and projection year.

•Proportion edits are used to identify whether the proportional relationship between two items changed significantly over time. For example, the proportional relationship between excess salaries and total salaries.

•Total Check edits are used to identify discrepancies between BOCES-wide totals and component allocations of the same item.

Some edits are at the PSN level and some are at the major COSER area level. In most cases, if an edit at the major COSER area level displays on the edit report, you will have access to the PSN level details by clicking on the “View Details” link.

Edit Exception Reports

Each form set has an Edit Exception Report associated with it. Edit Exception Reports can be accessed from the Form Tree just like the forms. You can run an Edit Exception Report at any point. In order to certify your form sets, you must first run the Edit Exception Report associated with the form set and ‘Ready’ the report by pressing the ‘Save & Ready’ button at the bottom of each report.

1.Select the Edit Exception Report you want to run from the Form Tree.

2.After the Edit Exception Report page loads, click on the Run Report button to run a new report. You must have the default setting, ‘Run New’, set in the drop down list box. (To see previously executed reports, select one from the drop-down list, and click on Run Report.)

3.The results of the Edit Exception Report are displayed, identifying problem areas in your data before you certify and submit to State Aid. All exceptions that are found are listed. The Edit Exception Report should be run before you certify and submit to State Aid to be sure all problems with your data have been addressed.

4.To see data for the specific PSNs involved in an edit, click on “View Details.” This information will help you locate the source of the outlier data causing the edit exception.

You can associate a comment with each exception occurring in the Edit Exception Report. To provide a comment, simply insert text in the comment text field provided with each exception generated. Each Edit Exception Report also has a general comment area at the bottom of the report, where you can associate a comment(s) with the entire report. To save comments without setting the Edit Exception Report to Ready, click on the Save Comments button. When you click on the Save and Ready button, any comments entered are automatically saved. Comments entered for a particular edit will be displayed on subsequent runs of the Edit Exception Report.

Revision Process

BOCES can submit corrections and revisions to their BOCES Financial data sets after they have been certified and submitted to NYSED. Revisions can be submitted by importing a new version of the BOCES’ XML file into the Revision Data Area in BOCES SAMS. These revisions are reviewed by NYSED before they are accepted into the official data area. This unit provides an overview of how this process works.

As with an original data submission, users of the BOCES SAMS system must create the revision data XML file to be imported using their local financial system. Users must recompile ALL AREAS of their financial data every time a new file is prepared. This will ensure logical consistency in the financial data set and make certain that all local changes to financial data are submitted to SAMS.

Information on how to prepare this data file is available from your vendor.

Submitting Revisions to BOCES Financial Data

BOCES SAMS allows BOCES users to revise data that they have certified and officially submitted to NYSED. All revisions must be imported into the Revision Data Area in BOCES SAMS. Once accepted by NYSED, revision data is incorporated into the Official Data Area.

1.From the BOCES SAMS main menu, run your mouse over the BOCES Financial menu item and the BOCES XML Import sub-menu option.

2.Select Revision Data Area in the Data Area drop down box.

3.Click on the Browse button. A new window will open that allows you to select the XML file from a location on your computer. Select the file name and click Open.

4.Enter your e-mail address (SAMS will e-mail the Import Report to this address).

5.Click on the Import Button on the Bottom of the Screen.

6.Review the Import Results e-mailed to you from OMSSAMS@NYSED.GOV to confirm that the import was successful.

7.From the BOCES SAMS main menu, run your mouse over the BOCES Financial menu item and the State Aid Forms submenu option. Select the Revision Data Area menu option.

8.BOCES SAMS will open the form tree for the Revision Data Area.

9.Run the Edit Exception Report.

10.Address any edit exceptions generated by the data revisions you just imported, or re-import the data if the edit exceptions are the result of inaccurate data.

11.The Change Submission Summary displays how your data revisions, if submitted, will affect selected major areas of expense and aid. The form also gives you the ability to submit revisions to NYSED as a single request. The Change Submission Summary report for the BOCES Financial Form Set highlights changes to nine key data items. The report compares the current Official Data Area version of the item to the new Revision data area item for both the actual and projected years. Item # on this summary refers to the item on the listed report. After the item number, an “a” or “p” indicates whether the item refers to data for the actual or projected year. Note:please disregard the “school year” column on the right of the report, which is not functioning correctly and may conflict with the year indicated by the “a” or “p” designation.

If unexpected changes are displayed on the Change Submission Summary, the user should review the data carefully before submitting the revisions.

12.To submit pending revisions to NYSED, press the Submit Changes button and verify successful submission by checking the Activity Log. The log should show “Revisions Submitted” next to the name of the form set which was revised.

12. To clear pending revisions from the Revision Data Area, press the Clear Revisions button on the form.

13. NYSED will review the requested revision for acceptance into the Official Data Area.

Revisions submitted by the BOCES do not become part of a BOCES’ official data until they are accepted by NYSED.