Family Resource Centers in ePlan August 2015 Adding a Budget in ePlan

What is ePlan? Tennessee’s online grants management system: Used to: Apply for federal funding Request reimbursements Process budget amendments 2

Family Resource Centers in ePlan Even though the Family Resource Centers program is not using ePlan to complete a funding application in ePlan: The budget must be completed in ePlan in order to draw those funds from the Reimbursement Request screens. The budget is located within the “Funding Application” portion of ePlan.

Working in ePlan In order to complete the Family Resource Centers budget in ePlan, you must be an ePlan user. Logging into ePlan requires a User ID and a password. Once you are set up in ePlan, your address will be your user ID. To receive a password, you must submit a User Access Form.

Where to Find the User Access Form The User Access Form is a Word document that is available for download in the TDOE Resources section of ePlan. To obtain a form, go to Go to TDOE Resources (you do not need to log into ePlan to obtain a User Access Form). The form is located at the very bottom of the page under the heading of “User Access Forms.” Download the form to your computer.

Completing the User Access Form Complete the top and bottom portions of the User Access form. Make sure to sign the form and obtain appropriate signatures.

The “Family Resource Center Director” Role Place an “x” in the space for the role of “Family Resource Center Director.” This role is located under the heading of “Funding Application Roles.”

The ePlan – Setting Up a Password Scan the completed form and follow the instructions at the top of the form to submit. Once you are set up in ePlan, you will receive an from ePlan at the address below: The ePlan will provide instructions on how to set up a password. Passwords are maintained within the online system and are not known by the system administrators. This is the only way to obtain an ePlan password. (Note: if you do not see an ePlan in your Inbox, check your spam folder.)

Current ePlan Users If you are a current ePlan user, you still need the Family Resource Centers access role to work on the budget. Even if you are an ePlan user, you must submit an additional user access form to obtain the role of Family Resource Centers Director. You do not need to list all of your other current roles in ePlan. If you are a current ePlan user, you will keep your same ePlan password to access this additional role.

Choosing a Browser Some ePlan features are not supported with older version of Internet Explorer. Users find good results using Google Chrome or Firefox, for example. When working in ePlan, users may not use the back button.

Logging In From the ePlan homepage, click “ePlan Sign-In." The address for the ePlan homepage is Enter your UserID (your address is your UserID) and Password.

This is the ePlan Homepage Click on the name of your district (active link) to enter ePlan.

The Funding Application Page The “Family Resource Centers” link is located on the Funding Application page in Year You may also get to this page by hovering over “Funding” and selecting “Funding Application.”

The Sections Page The first page you will see after clicking the link to enter the funding application is called the SECTIONS page. If you get lost while working on your budget, you can return to this page by hovering over FUNDING and selecting SECTIONS.

Click DRAFT STARTED To begin working on the budget, click the link “Draft Started.” You must have the role of “Family Resource Centers Director” in order to click Draft Started.

16 Links you will see on the Sections page: Allocations This is where you will see your awarded amount of funding. Budget This is where you will enter your budget. Budget Overview This page is VIEW ONLY. It provides a clear view of your budget. Plan Relationships Do NOT enter information here at this time Related Documents You will not need any Related Documents for this program.

Accessing the Budget Click the Budget link to begin working on your budget.

Click “Modify” Click on the word “Modify.” Note that if you do not see “Modify,” you may not have the appropriate level of access OR you may not have clicked “Draft Started.”

To Enter a Budget Item Click Add Item Note that you will need to click “Add Item” for each and every item you add to the budget.

The Budget Detail Page Choose the desired expense from the dropdown list. Note that only allowable budget line items will appear as options.

Adding a Budget Line Item Enter the Quantity Enter the Cost The row will total Do not enter anything in the box for “Optional Program Code.” SAVE OFTEN – For best results – save after each line entry.

Adding a Narrative Description You may add a descriptive narrative in the large narrative textbox.

Totals and “Remaining” As totals are entered, the system will show the amount remaining – budgeted amounts subtracted from the “Adjusted Allocation” (which is your allocation award). When you are done entering your budget, your amount remaining should be zero.

Clicking Draft Completed When you are done entering your budget, click DRAFT COMPLETED at the top of the SECTIONS page. If you cannot click “Draft Completed,” you may have a validations error. A validation error is an error designed to prevent users from submitting (a) a budget that has exceeded the allocation amount or (b) a budget with no dollars entered. If you have a validation error, ePlan will not allow your budget to go through.

Checking Errors To check for validation errors, go to the top of the SECTIONS page and click on the word “Messages” under the heading of “Validation” across form the word “All.” If there is a RED error message, you must correct the error in order to submit.

The Approval Chain Once you have cleared your errors, click DRAFT COMPLTED. Then you LEA Fiscal Representative (CFO) and your LEA Authorized Representative (Director of Schools) must approve your budget in ePlan before submitting to the TDOE.

Statuses of the Budget ePlan Workflow Steps The LEA Family Resource Centers Director clicks “Draft Started” The LEA Family Resource Centers Director completes the budget The LEA Family Resource Centers Director clicks “Draft Completed” An is sent from ePlan to the LEA Fiscal Representative The LEA Fiscal Representative approves the budget An is sent from ePlan to the LEA Authorized Representative The LEA Authorized Representative approves the budget The budget goes to the TDOE The TDOE Family Resource Centers Director reviews the budget and either approves the budget or returns it to the LEA as “Not approved.”

Comments If your budget is returned to you “Not Approved,” please check your History Log (located at the top of the SECTIONS page) for comments from TDOE reviewers. Make corrections - then re-submit by clicking DRAFT COMPLETED and re-send through the approval chain.

Questions Family Resource Centers Questions (615) ePlan Questions (615)