During a virtual demonstration, LDOE staff and EdLink representatives walked school system business managers through the portal and validation checks used to submit the Annual Financial Report (AFR) via EdLink. The session covered required file formats, pre-submission checks that will block progress, the attestation step, security-role requests, and how districts and charter schools should submit reports.

The demonstration was led by Amar, a presenter from the demo team, who guided attendees step-by-step through the AFR upload and review workflow in EdLink. Amar showed that users can upload either the department-provided Excel templates or vendor-produced text files and that the system validates template accuracy, key-punch code accuracy, and missing or invalid values before allowing users to advance. He demonstrated a negative scenario in which a file failed pre-submission validations and noted that the portal will prevent users from continuing until the template and data issues are corrected.

Why it matters: school systems must submit accurate AFRs and complete a digital attestation before the portal accepts final submissions. LDOE staff said systems may submit by the September 30 deadline and may save progress and return later to finish required review steps.

Key steps and validations
- File formats: EdLink accepts the department Excel templates or vendor-converted text files; legacy FileBuilder is being retired.
- Pre-submission checks: template accuracy, key-punch code checks, and missing/invalid values must pass. If any check fails, the "save and continue" flow is blocked until the file is corrected and re-uploaded.
- Numeric rules: EdLink accepts whole values only (no decimals). Blank numeric fields must be entered as 0; leaving fields blank can cause validation failures. Negative balances that are not appropriate must be corrected and the AFR resubmitted.
- Variance explanations: the portal surfaces a text box where explanations are required. LDOE requires districts to provide narrative responses for any key-punch code with a 24% or greater increase or decrease compared with the prior year, and the department will post an Excel template to the Business Manager Support Library to help collect those narratives.

Attestation and final submission
Amar demonstrated the attestation page, noting the business manager must apply a digital signature, select a position type, enter a full name and enter the current date; entering a date other than the current date will disable the submission control. After attestation and saving, the system marks the package submitted; files are then view-only and comments are grayed out.

Security and user roles
Robert, of the EdLink security team, walked attendees through requesting access and the AFR Business Manager role. He advised district users to choose "district" and their location when requesting the role; type-3 charter schools should request access at the local level and select the school location. The presenters said that if local staff experience role or account problems they should email the AFR admins and the help desk so the teams can resolve access issues or schedule a Zoom support session.

District vs. charter submission and deadlines
LDOE staff clarified that district AFRs should be submitted to include charter schools that fall under a district's jurisdiction; independent or separately reporting charter entities must submit their own AFRs. Presenters said systems may submit by the September 30 deadline and return later to finish review steps if needed, but once a package is marked "submitted" it is read-only until the department takes further action.

Questions raised and common causes of failed validations
Presenters and participants asked how the portal reports which key-punch code caused a failure. LDOE responders said EdLink does not identify the exact key-punch line in every pre-validation failure; the portal provides a descriptive reason (for example, a blocked revenue column or decimal values) and the business manager must inspect the uploaded file to identify and correct the affected lines. Other common causes cited were decimals in numeric fields (not allowed), revenues reported in blocked columns, and empty cells that must be 0.

Ending
Presenters said guidance documents and an Excel template to assist with required variance responses will be posted to the Business Manager Support Library. Attendees were directed to contact AFR admins or the EdLink help desk for security or upload issues. The demonstration concluded after a final Q&A about the portal workflow and role requests.