Extension Transition Checklist
Administrative tasks to complete when transitioning between reporting periods for Extension organizations.
Reporting in PEARS is organized around reporting periods. For Extension organizations, each period may follow either the Federal Fiscal Year (October 1 -- September 30) or calendar year (January 1 -- December 31). When transitioning from one reporting period to the next, complete the following administrative tasks.
Update Open and Close Dates
Organization Administrators can modify when the current year's reporting closes and the next year's reporting opens. Some organizations allow additional time after October 1 for data entry and cleaning.
For example, you might set the current year's close date to October 14 and the next year's open date to October 15.
See Manage Reporting Periods for instructions on editing open and close dates.
Notify Staff of the Transition
Communicate the reporting period deadline to your staff, especially if the dates in PEARS differ from past practices.
TIP: The PEARS Team recommends notifying staff of the reporting period transition early and often.
Manage Lists
One month before the next reporting period opens, the following lists become available for updating:
Critical Issues
Direct Contact Date Ranges
Youth Programming Delivery Modes
Youth Programming Project Areas
Program Areas
See Manage Lists for instructions on editing list values.
Prepare Action Plans
Copy Action Plans forward and update their details for the new reporting period. Both State-level and Individual-level plans can be copied at any time.
Recommended workflow:
Administrators identify submission deadlines for State-level and Individual-level plans
Administrators copy State-level plans to the new period
Administrators update and review State-level plans
Administrators approve State-level plans
Staff copy existing plans for Individual-level plans
Staff update Individual-level plans
Copy Data to the New Reporting Period
Once the new reporting period begins, copy records from the previous year to the current year. The following modules support the copy function:
Program Activities
Indirect Activities
Partnerships
Coalitions
PSE Site Activities
Social Marketing Campaigns
TIP: The PEARS homepage displays a list of incomplete records within each module. This list can be a helpful guide as staff close out reporting for the year and mark records as complete.
Related Documentation
Manage Reporting Periods — Edit open and close dates
Reporting Period Transition FAQs — Common questions about reporting period transitions
SNAP-Ed Reporting Period Transition Checklist — Checklist for SNAP-Ed organizations
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