Extension Reporting Period Transition Checklist

Reporting in PEARS is organized around reporting periods. For Extension organizations, each reporting period may follow the Federal Fiscal Year (Oct 1 – Sept 31) or the calendar year (Jan 1 – Dec 31), as needed. When transitioning from one reporting period to the next, you may need to perform the following administrative tasks within the system:

Update Open and Close Dates

Organization Administrators have access to change the dates that reporting for the current year closes in PEARS and reporting for the next year opens in PEARS. 
 
Some organizations allow a few extra weeks to report data for the current year and/or allow for data cleaning, after 10/1. For example, you could set the current year’s Close date to 10/14 and the next year’s Open date to 10/15 (or other dates of your choosing). 
For instructions on updating open and close dates, see: Edit Reporting Periods.
Please reach out to PEARS Support if you have questions or would like assistance with this process.

Notify Staff of the Reporting Period Transition

Especially if the reporting period deadline in PEARS is different than it has been for your staff in the past, it is best to frequently communicate the dates PEARS will close and re-open for reporting each year’s data. The PEARS Team recommends notifying staff of the Reporting Period transition early and often.

Manage Lists

One month before the next reporting period is set to open, lists for the next year are available to update, including:
  • Critical Issues
  • Direct Contact Date Ranges
  • Youth Programming Delivery Modes
  • Youth Programming Project Areas
  • Program Areas
If updates are needed for these lists, changes can be made before reporting opens for the new year.

Prepare Action Plans

To prepare for next year’s programming, copy forward Action Plans and update plan details. All Action Plans can be copied forward to the new reporting period at any time. (This includes both State-level and Individual-level plans.)
Most organizations copy forward State-level plans to the new year. Once State-level plans are updated, staff copy down State-level plans to Individual-level plans, and update as needed. Please use the workflow that fits best with your organization’s needs.
As the new reporting year approaches, it can be helpful to identify submission deadlines for each level of Action Plans that will be submitted (State / Individual) and communicate these deadlines outside of PEARS.
The following list identifies steps that may be needed to prepare Action Plans for the upcoming year. If needed, adapt this list to better fit your organization’s workflow: 
  • Administrators Identify submission deadlines for State-level plans & Individual-level plans 
  • Administrators Copy State-level plans to the new Reporting Period 
  • Administrators Update State-level plans for the new year 
  • Administrators Review and approve State-level plans 
  • Staff copy existing plans to create Individual-level plans 
  • Staff update Individual-level plans for the new year 

Copy Data to the New Reporting Period

Some modules allow records to be copied in bulk from year to year. Once the new reporting period begins, records can be copied from the previous year to the current year. It may be helpful to remind staff to copy forward their records from the following modules:
  • Program Activities
  • Indirect Activities
  • Partnerships
  • Coalitions
  • PSE Site Activities
  • Social Marketing Campaigns