Volume 8 Issue 9 - September 2025
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Recent Changes to Forecasting Requirements
With the passage of House Bill 96, several important changes have been made to the timing and content of school district financial forecasts, beginning with the FY26 forecast period. A summarization of those changes include:
Forecast Format:
School districts are now required to submit the current budget year plus three projected years, rather than five-year projections of operational revenues and expenditures.
Note: Historical data will continue to include the prior three years of actual financials.Line Item Change:
The description for Line 1.050 has been updated from "State Share of Local Property Taxes" to "State Reimbursement for Property Tax Credits"Forecast Column Headings:
Column headers for forecasted years have been updated to reflect Current Year Budget, followed by Forecast YR1, YR2, and YR3Forecast Submission Deadlines:
For FY26, the initial submission deadline is October 15, 2025.
To support these changes, the USAS application has been updated as follows:
Menu Change:
Under the Periodic menu, the forecast option has been renamed from Five Year Forecast to Financial Forecast.On the Financial Forecast option, updates have been made to the Excel Format Type:
Instructions Tab: Revised to reflect the new forecast requirements.
Forecast, Summary View, and Percentage View Tabs:
Line 1.050 description updated
Column headers now indicate Current Year Budget, and Forecast YR1, Y2 and YR3.
Parameters Tab: A new field added to include the District IRN.
Output Tab (New):
The data in this worksheet is auto-generated from the Forecast tab data.
It can be saved as a CSV file and uploaded directly into the EMIS-R Data Collector, as the Data Collector now accepts properly formatted CSV files. The format of this output meets all EMIS-R requirements for direct submission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I still need to use EMISFFE?
A: If you're using the Output tab from the USAS-generated Excel file and saving it as a CSV file, you do not need EMISFFE. The file is already in the format needed for the EMIS-R Data Collector.Q: I plan to continue using my third-party software to create my forecast file. Can I upload that file directly into the EMIS-R Data Collector?
A: It depends. If the third-party vendor has updated their software to produce a CSV file in the format accepted by the data collector, you can upload it directly. Please reach out to your third party vendor for confirmation. If the third-party software is still dependent on EMISFFE formatting your CSV file, you will follow the steps you have used in the past to import your forecast spreadsheet into EMISFFE.Note: While EMISFFE’s QF option will eventually be phased out, it is still available for the initial FY26 P period for districts who need to import and format their forecast data via EMISFFE before loading it into the EMIS-R data collector.
New Employer Distributions Report Option
How many can relate to the following scenario?
You post your payroll, move on to running your Employer Distributions Report, create the Employer Distribution Submission file, only to find when you go to submit the file to USAS, you receive a severe error indicating there are account issues.
Never fear, a solution is here!
Now, once your payroll is posted, the Employer Distribution Report can be run and any account issues will be listed in a new section of the report called Expenditure Accounts Invalid For USAS Posting. These expenditure account errors include:
Expenditure Account is not active.
Expenditure Account not found.
Running the Employer Distribution Report at this time in the payroll process provides the ability to resolve these accounts issues - before the point of no return. The corrections necessary depend on the error and the situation. Some of the common scenarios include:
When viewing the account listed, it is determined to be associated with a pay account that was charged in error during the payroll.
The payroll can be unposted and the pay account changed to the correct account. Review the Pay Report to assure the correct pay account is now being charged. The payroll can then be posted.
Run the Employer Distribution Report and verify the changes are listed as expected.
An account is listed as not being active.
In USAS, go to Core>Accounts and to the Expenditure tab. Locate the account and click the Edit option. Mark the Active checkbox and click Save.
In USPS, go to USAS Integration>Account Synchronization. Select the Synchronize Accounts with USAS option. Watch as the Synchronization Status starts as Submitted to USAS, then to Account synchronization in progress - XX out of XX processed, and finally to Account synchronization completed.
Run the Employer Distribution Report and verify the changes are listed as expected.
An account is listed as being not found.
If the account is correct, the account can be created.
In USAS, go to Core>Accounts and to the Expenditure tab. Select the Create option. Once all the account information has been entered, click Save.
In USPS, go to USAS Integration>Account Synchronization. Select the Synchronize Accounts with USAS option. Watch as the Synchronization Status starts as Submitted to USAS, then to Account synchronization in progress - XX out of XX processed, and finally to Account synchronization completed.
Run the Employer Distribution Report and verify the changes are listed as expected.
If the account is not correct and it is determined to be associated with a pay account that is not correct (charged in error) during the payroll.
The payroll can be unposted and the pay account changed to the correct account. Review the Pay Report to assure the correct pay account is now being charged. The payroll can then be posted.
Run the Employer Distribution Report and verify the changes are listed as expected.
If the account is not correct and it is determined to be associated with a pay account that is correct, but the benefit account should be different than what the system is charging, account mapping can be used.
In USPS, go to Utilities>Account Mapping. Select the + option. In the Original Account fields (the left side), enter the account the system is charging. Remember, the Obj value entered should be the benefit (typically a 2XX) value. In the Mapped Account fields (the right side), enter the account you would like to be charged (the existing active account). Click Save.
Run the Employer Distribution Report and verify the changes are listed as expected.
With the first quarter of the new fiscal year coming to a close and with all the account changes happening, the ability to run this report ‘sooner’ than ‘later’ can be a lifesaver - and a perfect addition to any payroll checklist!
Useful links:
In August, SSDT held a session with ITC staff covering the new W2 digital delivery setup and acknowledgement in both USPS and ESS. A recording of the training is available for viewing. To assist with your implementation, we developed a W2 Digital Delivery Checklist with a FAQ section to help address common questions. NOTE: Since the recording, we have made a few updates regarding W2 Digital Delivery in both USPS & ESS. Most notably, ESS now requires all users to complete the W2 Acknowledgement upon login, even if they have previously opted in or out of receiving an electronic W2. This is a one-time requirement and once completed, users will no longer be prompted at login. We plan to do a more in-depth article on W2 Digital Delivery Checklist and FAQs in our November newsletter, so stay tuned!
Join Our Team: SSDT Fiscal Support Position Available
The Management Council of the Ohio Education Computer Network (MCOECN) is seeking an experienced and enthusiastic individual to join the SSDT fiscal support team! For more information, click here and select ‘Learn More About This Position.'
State of Ohio Tax Updates
The State of Ohio has released changes to their employer withholding tax tables that will be in effect beginning October 1, 2025. Rest assured the software has been updated to accommodate these changes and any payrolls with a pay date dated October 1, 2025 and beyond will use the new tax tables. To view the State of Ohio’s employer withholding tax tables effective October 1, click here.
ESS-Leave Request Status & Roles
Want to know who’s boss when it comes to Leave Requests? Meet the full cast of roles and discover their superpowers—just follow the link and explore the complete breakdown.
2025 W2 Changes
The IRS published an announcement on August 7, 2025 that contains important information regarding the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, specifically how this impacts 2025 W2’s. For more information, click here. SSDT will continue to monitor all other IRS releases for changes that may affect W2 reporting.
Fall SSDT Direct Reminder
Just a reminder if you haven’t signed up yet for one of the Fall SSDT sessions, there is still time! Registration is required to attend one of the in-person sessions. Topics to be covered as well as how to register for a session are provided here. When registering, you will be able to select the session you would like to attend (USAS, USPS, or both)!