New, Time-Saving ‘Copy FRN’ Feature in 471

March 19, 2017

Attached: Copy My FRN Guide 2017

~ ‘Copy FRN’ Guide Attached ~
~ Will Demo During 471 Webinars ~

The FY 2017 Form 471 now allows you to Copy a previously created FY 2016 or FY 2017 FRN – to your FY 2017 application – a step that will save you time when submitting your FY 2017 Form 471s.   Copy FRN will be most useful for recurring service FRNs, such as Category 1 and Basic Maintenance, but can be used for Category 2 requests as well.

To use the feature, proceed through the beginning pages of the FY 2017 Form 471 as normal until you reach the Funding Request Section.  Click “Add FRN” and then enter the basic information for the new FRN.  At the bottom of that page, click on the “Copy FRN” link and enter the FRN number you want to copy (or enter the 471 # and it will give you a list of FRNs from which to choose).  Attached is a helpful Copy FRN Guide to walk you through the steps and show you what must be updated/changed.

The data in the copied FRN will be identical to what was previously submitted, but it can and should be changed as appropriate.  It’s extremely important for you to toggle through all of the FRN pages and FRN Line Items to update or change data to reflect exactly what you’re requesting for FY 2017.

What Must Be Changed on the Newly Created FRN?

• The Service Start Date will NOT update from last year.  Therefore you must change this from 7/1/2016 to 7/1/2017 (for recurring services).
  • Contract expiration date should be updated if the existing contract has been extended (if extensions were specified in the original contract).  For example, if the contract previously expired 6/30/2017, and you extended for 1 year, change the Contract Expiration Date to 6/30/2018.
• If any schools/buildings have been added or removed from EPC, these updates will not appear in the copied FRN.
  • Must click “Manage Recipients” then toggle Yes to No to Yes for the entity list to update.
• If a new contract has been signed, you must search for and add the new contract to the newly created FRN, replacing the old one.
• Check to be sure all of your data is still accurate:
  • Accurate Services and Accurate Answers to yes/no questions
  • Accurate Funding Amounts
  • Accurate Quantity of Lines/Circuits
  • Accurate Recipients of Service

When Can You NOT Use Copy FRN?

• Cannot use ‘Copy FRN’ if you changed from a Contract to MTM, or MTM to Contract.

I’ll demonstrate this new feature during the upcoming Form 471 webinars.  If you haven’t yet registered for one of these events, please do so at:  http://e-ratepa.org/?p=19111.

If you have any questions about the new “Copy FRN” feature, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

– Julie

Julie Tritt Schell
PA E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
717-730-9060 – f
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org

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