{"id":32222,"date":"2020-02-09T18:21:29","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T18:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e-ratepaorg.local\/?p=32222"},"modified":"2020-02-17T18:44:26","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T18:44:26","slug":"form-471-filing-guide-category-2-fy-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=32222","title":{"rendered":"Form 471 Filing Guide &#8211; Category 2 \u2013 FY 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #222222;\">February 9, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Attached:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Form-471-Category-2-Filing-Guide-FY-2020-.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Form 471 Category 2 Filing Guide &#8211; FY 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<p>~ Bulk Upload Guide Coming Next ~<br \/>\n~ Be Sure to Read Helpful Hints Below ~<\/p>\n<p>Category 2 is the E-rate funding mechanism designed to fund networking equipment and infrastructure\u00a0<strong>within<\/strong>\u00a0a school or library building.\u00a0 All eligible requests that have followed the proper bidding rules will be funded, regardless of E-rate discount, up to a building&#8217;s 6-year pre-discount cap.\u00a0 There are only 45 days left before the March 25, 2020 Form 471 Filing Window closes and the first funding wave is slated to be released in late April.\u00a0 So file early to be in one of the first waves!<\/p>\n<p><strong>CATEGORY 2 FILING GUIDE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Attached you will find the FY 2020 Category 2 Form 471 Filing Guide, containing 107 slides, that provides step-by-step instructions for three different types of funding requests as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wireless Equipment &#8211; 2 line items &#8211; WAPs\/Controller (starts on slide 20)<\/li>\n<li>Network Switches &#8211; 1 line item (starts on slide 53) \u2013 Note:\u00a0 most switch FRNs will have multiple FRN Line items.<\/li>\n<li>Structured Cabling &#8211; 1 line item \u00a0(starts on slide 76)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>WHAT\u2019S NEW FOR FY 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There have been no changes made to the FY 2020 Form 471 that I can tell.\u00a0 Obviously, the Category 2 budget multipliers have changed, but no changes to the forms or bulk upload template have been made.<\/p>\n<p><strong>HELPFUL HINTS FOR FILING THE CATEGORY 2 FORM 471<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Don\u2019t Exceed Your Category 2 Budgets!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whatever you do, don\u2019t request more Category 2 funding for a school than what remains in their budget.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Your application will likely be moved to the end of the PIA review list, and PIA will just make you reduce your funding request anyway.\u00a0 And while this sounds easy to do, it\u2019s not because you will have to explain exactly which component from which FRN Line Item must be removed in order to come in under budget.\u00a0 If a school\u2019s C2 equipment costs exceed the school\u2019s available C2 budget, you have two choices:\u00a0 1) list the amount that is \u201cover budget\u201d as ineligible on the FRN and then explain this in the narrative, or 2) remove components or reduce the cost of the components from the FRN entirely to come in under budget.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Calculating Remaining Category 2 Budgets<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To determine the amount remaining in each school\u2019s C2 budget for FY 2020, I recommend using Funds for Learning\u2019s C2 Budget Calculator Tool:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fundsforlearning.com\/FFLServices\/c2budgetcalculator.php\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.fundsforlearning.com\/FFLServices\/c2budgetcalculator.php&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1582050063911000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGAhlICToUbVQgf7uZ_fOlPpGmykQ\">https:\/\/www.fundsforlearning.com\/FFLServices\/c2budgetcalculator.php<\/a>.\u00a0 Additional instructions for performing these calculations can be found at:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=32064\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p%3D32064&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1582050063911000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHZq2VJej0wn4WLQHixfNmpYGNEbA\">https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=32064<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Multi-Year Product Licenses Eligibility<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Product licenses are E-rate eligible and should be requested as Internal Connections on the 471.\u00a0 The full cost of a multi-year license may be requested upfront in the year it will be purchased, even if the number of license years go beyond FY 2020.\u00a0 Under Type of Equipment, select \u201cLicense\u201d instead of Wireless Data Distribution (or other equipment type).<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Basic Maintenance Services Are Not Considered Licenses<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Be careful not to mistaken maintenance services as product licenses.\u00a0 Also, E-rate rules do not permit the requesting of multi-year maintenance services in a single year \u2013 these must be amortized and requested in the funding year for which the service covers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Ignore the \u201cView Category 2 Budget Information\u201d in the Form 471<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On the Main FRN Page of the Form 471, there is a link in the top right corner of the page \u201cView Category 2 Budget Information.\u201d\u00a0 The data contained in that link is inaccurate because it doesn\u2019t contain FY 2015 Category 2 commitments, or the FY 2020 C2 adjusted multipliers.\u00a0 Follow the guidance in # 2 to calculate the remaining budgets.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. Have Structured Cabling Contracts be Single Priced<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For structured cabling, try to have your vendor contracts be for a single price, by building \u2013 not broken down by widget.\u00a0 Then just create 1 FRN Line Item in the Form 471.\u00a0 Vendor invoices, therefore, also should have just a single price, by building \u2013 not broken down by widget\/connectors.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. Break Out All Components into Separate FRN Line Items \u2013 Including Switches<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If your Category 2 request contains multiple components, you must create a separate FRN Line Item for each component (model), and then show the # of units, the cost per unit, and which schools will be using the equipment.\u00a0 For example, a common mistake applicants make is to request just a single FRN Line Item for switches, with a single SKU.\u00a0 Then during USAC invoicing, the invoices are denied because the individual components were not listed\/approved on the Form 471.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. Break Out Ineligible Costs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Firewalls:\u00a0 Only the actual appliance and basic operating software are eligible.\u00a0 Anti-virus, anti-spam, filtering, and DDOS features\/software are not eligible and must be removed or cost-allocated.\u00a0 If it\u2019s a bundled package, your vendor can provide you with the accurate eligibility percentage.<\/p>\n<p>UPSs:\u00a0 Network Cards are not eligible and must be removed from your funding request.\u00a0 Also, don\u2019t forget that only eligible equipment may be connected to the UPSs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. Category 2 Contract Requirement<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All Category 2 purchases require a signed contract\u00a0prior to\u00a0submitting the Form 471.\u00a0 This can be as simple as signing\/dating the vendor contract, and including the contract term and any funding contingencies.\u00a0 Before starting your Form 471, upload the signed contract into EPC. \u00a0Landing Page &gt; Name of District &gt; Contracts &gt; Manage Contracts.\u00a0 The Contract Module Guide can be found at:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=32156\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p%3D32156&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1582050063911000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEdUbM3d77eIm-mhpfP37D1AGxqGA\">https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=32156<\/a>. \u00a0\u00a0The PEPPM Contract Module Guide can be found at:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=32167\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p%3D32167&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1582050063911000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFqwG-yBqzYxRtK3rMglGNMgP4ovQ\">https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=32167<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. Wisely Allocate C2 Budgets for Shared Equipment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If a piece of Category 2 equipment is shared by two or more schools, the cost of the equipment must be allocated from the C2 budgets of the schools sharing the equipment (core switches and wireless controllers are good examples of shared equipment).\u00a0 Deciding which cost allocation method to choose \u2014 and making sure you do so correctly on your Form 471 \u2014 is important.\u00a0\u00a0You can either 1)\u00a0allocate the costs equally (the same amounts) from each school\u2019s C2 budget that is using the equipment, or 2) allocate the costs on a weighted basis.\u00a0\u00a0 The second option requires some off-line math to be done, but it allocates more funding from the schools that have larger C2 budgets which may be advantageous to you.\u00a0 Here is a Guide to help you figure out the cost allocation guidelines\/math for shared equipment &#8211;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=25001\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p%3D25001&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1582050063911000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH8MtkRZ1tC5IoicXsHR_3MDx47lg\">https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=25001<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11. Service Start Date Must Be 7\/1\/2020<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Service Start Date must always be July 1, not April 1.\u00a0 Equipment is allowed to be purchased on or after April 1, and vendor invoices also may be dated on or after April 1.\u00a0 But on the Form 471, where it asks for the Service Start Date, leave it populated to be 7\/1\/2020.\u00a0\u00a0<strong>Note<\/strong>:\u00a0 The Service Start Date is not the same as the Contract Award Date; the Contract Award Date is what you provide in the Contract Record as the date you signed the contract.<\/p>\n<p>If you have any questions as you&#8217;re working through your Form 471, please don&#8217;t hesitate to e-mail me at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:jtschell@comcast.net\">jtschell@comcast.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Happy 471 Filing!<\/p>\n<p>&#8212; Julie<\/p>\n<p>Julie Tritt Schell<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania E-rate Coordinator<br \/>\n717-730-7133 &#8211; o<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:jtschell@comcast.net\">jtschell@comcast.net<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.e-ratepaorg.local\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=http:\/\/www.e-ratepaorg.local\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1582050063911000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF0DhNZ1rchppc89CLGm0c6gPUhFA\">www.e-ratepa.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n<div class=\"twitter-share\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?via=eratepenn\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-size=\"large\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>February 9, 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-listserve_archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32222\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}