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Completing an Annual Federal Financial Report (SF-425)

Learn how to create, fill out, and submit an Annual Federal Financial Report (Financial Report SF-425) for your DoWEA grant.

Last updated 5/28/2026

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Contents

Note on Reference Images: Throughout this user guide, the actions described are accompanied with screen captures of the corresponding areas of the ETAC website. Look for yellow text in the navigation menu and green buttons in the reporting portal. These colors signal which items have been hovered or selected.

 

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Reporting Cycle

Each year of the grant life cycle, the project director or financial staff member submits an Annual Financial Report as part of the Annual Evaluation Report package. This report is submitted via the Financial Reporting Dashboard.

Due Dates:

  • Years 1-4 (Planning and Implementation Years): due October 31st at 11:59 p.m. EST.
  • Year 5 (Closeout Year): due September 30th at 11:59 p.m. EST.

 

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Reporting Access by Role

Project directors and financial staff members can create and submit SF-425 forms through the Financial Reporting Dashboard on the DoWEA Evaluation Technical Assistance Center (ETAC) website. Other team members within a grantee school district can view but not edit financial forms. Evaluators do not have access to the Financial Reporting Dashboard.

 

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Creating a New SF-425 Form

Use the following steps to create a new SF-425 form or access an existing draft:

  1. Go to the ETAC homepage.
  2. Sign into your account using the Login button in the top right corner of the homepage.
  3. Select Reporting from the navigation menu to enter the Reporting Dashboard.

  4. Open the Financial Reports card to enter the Financial Reporting Dashboard.

  5. Select SF-425 from the side menu or open the corresponding dashboard card. Within this category, you will find a list of all grantees, grant projects, and grant years with which your user profile is associated.
  6. Find the desired grantee and grant year using the search bar and Award Year drop-down menu.
  7. Select the View button to access all SF-425 Reports for the selected grantee and grant year.
  8. Select the +New SF-425 button in the upper right corner to start a new report. To edit an existing SF-425 draft, find the desired form in the table and select Edit. 



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Filling Out the Form

General Notes

Before You Start: Review the Year, Award Number, and School District preselected in the first drop-down menu on the page. Double check that these reflect your desired combination. Information populates throughout the form based on this initial selection. 

Prefilled Items: For your convenience and to support reporting accuracy, some lines have been prefilled based on your user profile and the profile of the grantee and grant year for which you are reporting. If you need assistance updating a prefilled line that is locked for editing, contact ETAC at support@dodeagrants.org.

Mandatory Sections: As you complete the form, note that all items marked with a red asterisk are mandatory and must be completed in order to save and submit the form. If you click the Next button before completing all mandatory fields on a given page, an error message will prompt you to provide the missing information before moving forward.

Saving Your Work: To save the report as a draft, complete all mandatory fields and then click the Save and Calculate Totals button in the bottom left corner of the form. After this initial save, you can exit and return to editing the form as needed before submitting. 

 

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Cover Information (Items 1-9)

1. Federal Agency and Organizational Element to Which Report is Submitted: Prefilled with DoWEA. 

2. Federal Grant or Other Identifying Number Assigned by Federal Agency: Prefilled with the Grant Award Number based on your selections when you created the form. 

3. Recipient Organization Name: Enter the name and full address of the grantee organization. 

4a-b. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and Employer Identification Number (EIN): Enter the corresponding ID numbers for the grantee school district. Include the Recipient Account Number if available. 

5. Recipient Account Number or Identifying Number: Include this number if available.

6. Report Type: Prefilled with Annual.  If this is the grant’s closeout year, change to Final.

7. Basis for Accounting: Prefilled with Accrual and can be updated to Cash as needed.  

8. Project and Grant Period From/To Dates: Select the first and last days of the current reporting year from the calendar picker.

9. Reporting Period End Date: Select the last day of the current reporting year from the calendar picker.

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Transactions, Indirect Expenses, and Remarks (Items 10-12)

10. Transactions: Follow the form flow to enter transactions in the appropriate line within each category. Transaction categories include Federal Cash, Federal Expenditures and Unobligated Balance, Recipient Share, and Program Income.

Note: When you click the Save and Calculate Totals button in the bottom left corner of the form, boxes that have been grayed-out are updated with calculations based on inputs in other rows. Refer to the row's description for an explanation of the inputs that are being calculated. To change the calculation, adjust the numbers in the associated input row(s). 

11. Indirect Expense: Complete this section only if applicable.

12. Remarks: Attach any needed explanations or information required by the federal sponsoring agency in compliance with governing legislation. To enter remarks directly, type in the expandable text field provided. To attach remarks in a document from your computer, click Upload.

 

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Signature (Item 13)

13. Electronic Signature: To complete the electronic signature certification in your capacity as the Authorized Certifying Official, read the certification statement and then enter your name, title, signature, and contact information. Note that the submission date will be added automatically when you submit the form. 

Save and Calculate Totals: After you have completed all mandatory fields, click the Save and Calculate Totals button in the bottom left corner of the form. After this initial save, you can exit and return to editing the form as needed, or click Next to proceed with submitting the report to DoWEA for approval. 

 

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Submitting the Report

Approval Page

Current Status: This section displays the status of the form (currently Draft) and records the username or email address of the person who last saved the form. The status updates when the form is submitted.

Change Status: Click the Submit for Approval button once you have checked over your entries and are ready to send the completed form to the DoWEA program team for review and approval.

Note: Clicking Submit for Approval will lock the form for further editing and send it to the DoWEA program team. You cannot retract or edit a form after it has been submitted. Forms you create are not visible to the DoWEA program team until they are submitted.

Status History: After you click Submit for Approval, the status history will update with the timestamp of your submission, the new status, and the person who made the change. A new Timestamp row appears for each new status through which the form passes (Draft, Submitted, Rejected, Resubmitted, etc.).

 

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Next Steps

Update a Submitted Report: After submitting a report, if you need to make an update, please contact ETAC at support@dodeagrants.org well ahead of the annual reporting deadline.

Note: Making updates involves returning a submitted form to Draft status. After making your updates, you will need to resubmit your form before the reporting deadline to ensure you are in compliance.

View or Print Your Report: Return to the SF-425 area of the Financial Reporting Dashboard and use the filters to locate your report. Use the corresponding buttons to View the report, or Print a copy for your records.

Check Report Status: The submitter will receive an email notification when the DoWEA program team either approves or rejects the submitted report. To view details about the status change, use the filters in the SF-425 area of the Financial Reporting Dashboard to locate the report. Then, click on the Status button (Submitted, Approved, Rejected, etc.) to view the Status History table. 

Complete Revisions and Resubmit (if needed): In the event that the DoWEA program team does not approve the form as-is, follow the directions provided in the Reason column of the Status History table to revise and resubmit the form.

 

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Additional Guidance

Need support with another aspect of the Financial Reporting Dashboard or a different type of financial report? These articles can help: 

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