Tips for Closing the School Year

Year-end instructions are available via the System Management component’s online help files as “Appendix A: Close School Year, Begin Next.” To access online help (in any module), click Help, and then “Content” from the menu across the top of the page. These instructions are also available in an easily printable format via the support page of MealsPlus.com.

This appendix will walk you through the steps you will want to take prior to closing the year in Meals Plus, as well as steps to start the next fiscal year. Please note that one of the requirements for closing the year is a backup of the Meals Plus database (within the last 24 hours). If you are notified during the process that a backup is required, we can assist. Please call the help desk with access to your Meals Plus database server, at (800) 541-8999, option 1. Hosted customers may also call at their convenience to request a backup when they are ready to close the year.

Please especially take note of the following:

1. We highly recommend that the end of school year database backup be saved offsite and not routinely deleted.

2. If you use our Free and Reduced component, and your Meal Benefit Expiration is set to 6/30/2017, and you do not plan on closing the school year prior to that date, please contact us at (800) 541-8999, option 1, with access to your Meals Plus database (or let us know if we host your data) so we can make sure your student statuses are not set back to full pay. This setting is found in the Free & Reduced module, under Administration, Meal Benefit Expiration.

3. We can disable LunchApplication.com over the summer if you do not wish to accept applications. This will give you time to update your contact information, Non-Discrimination Statement, FAQs, Site information and meal prices for the next school year as needed.

4. We recommend that you disable your automatic student imports when you close the school year so that your student information is not updated incorrectly. We recommend you not enable imports again until the Student Information System is updated with data for the new school year. This is done in System Management from the Administration menu. To disable, simply select “Auto Transfer Settings.” Note: If we host your data and your imports, please stop placing a file on the ftp server, OR call the help desk at (800) 541-8999, option 1, so we can disable the import for you.

  • For nightly auto imports of a flat files, uncheck the days of the week on the General tab. This function should be disabled until your Student Information System has been rolled over to the new year. NOTE: Please do not uncheck the box for “Enable K12PaymentCenter.com” even if you wish for us to disable payments – please call technical support if you need to disable the K12PaymentCenter (not recommended).
  • For PowerSchool Connector, uncheck “Enable PowerSchool Integration” until your Student Information System has been rolled over to the new year.
  • For VendorLink, uncheck “Enable VendorLink Integration” until your Student Information System has been rolled over to the new year.
  • For Aeries Connector, uncheck “Enable Aeries Integration” until your Student Information System has been rolled over to the new year.
  • For North Carolina customers using the Linker file import, uncheck the days of the week on the General tab prior to the “enroll until” date in the file. This function should be disabled until your Student Information System has been rolled over to the new year. NOTE: Please do not uncheck the box for “Enable K12PaymentCenter.com.”

For more detailed information, please see the System Management component’s online help files “Appendix A: Close School Year, Begin Next.” Also, there is an updated webinar on the Meals Plus Support website. To watch the webinar, login to the site and click the “webinars” tab. Scroll to “Close the School Year” and watch at your convenience.

Lastly, we can also disable K12PaymentCenter.com over the summer if you do not wish to accept payments. This is not recommended since many parents have recurring payments set up and wish to be able to fund their student accounts each month, but could be necessary in extreme circumstances, such as if your server will be down for an extended period of time, due to a move.

We hope everyone has a wonderful summer break! We’ll be here if you need us, getting ready for the 2017-18 year ahead.