Volume 8 Issue 8 - August 2025
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Fall SSDT Direct 
The SSDT support team is excited to head to the southern region of the state for the next round of SSDT Direct sessions! We are looking forward to hitting the road again and connecting in person with district staff who are using state software! With the support from our hosting ITCs, we have crafted an agenda tailored to the current needs of districts using the USAS and USPS applications. A special thank you to the ITCs who have generously provided a location for us to conduct our sessions.
Registration is required to attend one of the in-person sessions (listed below)! Topics to be covered as well as how to register for a session is provided here. When registering, you will be able to select which session(s) you wish to attend (USAS, USPS or both)! If you manage accounts payable at your district, you may choose to attend only the USAS session. If you handle payroll for your district, you may select the USPS session only. If you are the Treasurer or use both software applications, you may benefit from attending the entire day. Please note: While the sessions are being held in the southern part of the state, they are open to all districts. However, space is limited so we encourage early registration to secure your spot!
Date | Hosting ITC | Training Location Address | Session Order |
Oct 21, 2025 | META Piketon | Pike County Career Tech Center 175 Beaver Creek Rd., Piketon, OH 45661 | USAS Session in AM |
Oct 22, 2025 | Meta Dayton | Montgomery Co Educational Service Center 200 S Keowee Street, Dayton, OH 45402 | USAS Session in AM |
Oct 23, 2025 | SWOCA | SWOCA Offices 3611 Hamilton Middletown Road, Hamilton, OH 45011 | USAS Session in AM |
After our fall sessions, we plan to pause the SSDT Direct sessions for the next couple of years as we evaluate and explore new opportunities. We appreciate your continued interest and will revisit the possibility of bringing it back in the future.
The STRS Advance Sequel
In the blink of an eye, all of your summer pays have been processed and another STRS advance is in the rearview mirror. Now is the perfect time to verify your STRS advance balanced. These few quick steps will assure just that:
Go to Core>Organization>STRS Advance Configuration.
Is the Advance Amount value listed equal to 0.00?
Is the Advance Mode checkbox unmarked?
Is the Amount Paid Back value listed equal to 0.00?
Yes, hoorah you balanced! Not further steps are necessary.
Go to Core>Organization>STRS Advance Configuration.
Is the Advance Amount not equal to 0.00?
Is the Advance Mode checkbox marked?
Is the Amount Paid Back not equal to 0.00?
No, unfortunately you did not balance. Corrections will need to be filed with STRS and entered in the USPS system.
For help in determining your balancing issues, the Check STRS Advance Report can be run. The amount listed for each employee on the Check STRS Advance Report can be compared to the amounts listed on the STRS Advanced Positions Report. A copy of your STRS Advanced Positions Report can be located by going to Utilities>File Archive>2025 - Fiscal Year Reports. Any differences will require you to file a back posting with STRS and create Core>Adjustments in USPS.
To run the Check STRS Advance Report, go to Reports>STRS Reporting and select the Check STRS Advance option. Enter the following report parameters:
Start Date = Enter the Start Date of the first payroll that includes advance information (typically a July payroll).
End Date = Enter the Stop Date of the last payroll of that includes advance information (typically an August or September payroll).
Sort By = Select the same sort option that was selected when the STRS Advance Positions Report was generated.
Report Format = PDF (Excel and CSV are also available).
To assure the discrepancies don’t affect next fiscal year’s reporting, create adjustments. To create these adjustments, go to the Core menu and select Adjustments. Based on your balancing issues, use the below steps to create your adjustments.
To remove the Non-taxed Earnings (employee’s earnings), enter the following:
Payroll Item = 450
Type = Total Gross
Transaction Date = A date within the fiscal year
Amount = Enter the positive or negative amount needing to be removed
Description = Enter a description for future reference
To Date Options = Check the Fiscal Year To Date checkbox
Click Save
To remove Taxed + Non-taxed and Non-taxed Total (employee contributions), enter the following:
Payroll Item = 591
Type = Amount Withheld
Transaction Date = A date within the fiscal year
Amount = Enter the positive or negative amount needing to be removed
Description = Enter a description for future reference
To Date Options = Check the Fiscal Year To Date checkbox
To remove Taxed + Non-taxed and Non-taxed Total (employee contributions), enter the following:
Payroll Item = 691 (if applicable)
Type = Board’s Amount of payroll item
Transaction Date = A date within the fiscal year
Amount = Enter the positive or negative amount needing to be removed
Description = Enter a description for future reference
To Date Options = Check the Fiscal Year To Date checkbox
Click Save
You will want to report these discrepancies to your ITC. Your ITC will work with you to update the STRS Advance Configuration values.
You will now be ready for fiscal year 2026’s STRS advance processing !
IPDP User Procedures
With the recent release of the new IPDP application, ITCs are actively scheduling conversions from the legacy IPDP application to the new state software one. To assist with this transition, SSDT has provided end-user-focused training materials to help users become familiar with the new system. In the IPDP Appendix of our User manual, you will find a collection of User Procedures tailored to the different roles within the application. Here is a breakdown of what is included:
District Manager Setup Procedures: For users with the District Manager Role. Outlines how to create committees and manage activity options groups, activity verification methods, plan templates and users.
Standard User Plan & Activity Procedures: Applies to all users with the default standard User role. Included is step-by-step guidance for creating and submitting a plan for approval; viewing and editing your plan; creating, submitting and editing activities and archiving your plan.
Supervisor Approval Procedures: For users with Admin, District Manager or Supervisor roles. Explains how a supervisor approves their staff’s plans and activities, as well as view staff members' plans, activities and certifications.
Committee Member Procedures: For users with Admin, Committee Member or District Manager roles. Details how to view and approve employees' plans, activities and certifications.
Looking ahead, we plan to include short video tutorials that demonstrate how to complete these user procedures step by step, making it even easier to get up to speed with the application. Stay tuned!
Useful links:
This past summer, SSDT support staff provided ITC personnel with a deeper dive into the reporting features available in both USAS and USPS. The session was recorded and is available on our YouTube channel. Due to the length of the recording, we’ve divided it into chapters to make navigation easier. To view and select specific sections, open the video description and click on the chapter timestamps. This allows you to jump directly to the topics most relevant to you (see image below).
Fall into SSDT: Don’t Miss These Sessions!
OEDSA
Just a reminder that registration is now open for the 2025 OEDSA Conference, taking place September 17–19 at the Hilton Polaris in Columbus. SSDT is pleased to have the opportunity to present several sessions again this year—another great chance for us to connect with end-users and share valuable updates. For more information on SSDT sessions, as well as other sessions such as the AOS USAS Manual and SERS updates, please visit the OEDSA website. Click "View Details" to see the full conference agenda and "Register" to sign up. Registration closes September 10. We hope to see you there!
OASBO SupportCon
SSDT is excited to once again participate in the upcoming SupportCon conference! We are especially grateful to OASBO for generously providing separate rooms for our Learning Lab sessions this year—allowing us to offer dedicated sessions for both USAS and USPS.
If you're attending the conference, be sure to join us on Thursday, October 16th. These Learning Labs will feature live demonstrations (please note: they are not interactive or hands-on). It’s a great opportunity to discover powerful features and tools within the USxS software that you may not have had a chance to explore.
Come see what you've been missing—because sometimes a few minutes of learning can save hours of work!
Employee Dashboard - Employer Distribution and Leave Projection Flags
To enhance visibility and streamline payroll review processes, two new fields—Employer Distribution Flags and Leave Projection Flags—have been added to the Payment Highlight Viewer under the Pay Accounts Charged section of the Employee Dashboard. These indicators allow users to quickly determine whether an employee’s Expenditure Account was flagged for employer distribution and/or leave projection during payroll processing. This update improves transparency and helps payroll administrators verify account allocations more efficiently.
