How to Fill Out the NYC DOE SIPP Form: FAMIS Entry, Bids, and Approvals

To complete a NYC DOE SIPP form, a designated school initiator enters the transaction into the Financial Accounting Management Information System (FAMIS) with the vendor’s exact name, the dollar amount, the school’s District Borough Number, and the correct object code, then attaches the supporting documentation and lets FAMIS route the entry to the required approvers based on the amount.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. Audit Report on the Department of Education’s Controls over the Small Item Payment Process of Its Schools within Children First Network 603 The Small Item Payment Process is for non-recurring Other Than Personal Service purchases of up to $5,000 where issuing a formal purchase order isn’t practical.

Confirm SIPP Is the Right Process

SIPP covers one-time OTPS purchases: classroom supplies, outside printing, catering for a school event, or reimbursing an employee who picked up materials. It can also handle certain business expenses like travel reimbursements, which run through the TRAC component in FAMIS before posting as a SIPP payment.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. Audit Report on the Department of Education’s Controls over the Small Item Payment Process of Its Schools within Children First Network 603

Two limits matter before you open the form. First, if the school buys the same goods or services from the same vendor on a regular basis, SOP requires a purchase order instead of a SIPP. Second, the $5,000 cap is per transaction, and splitting a larger purchase into several smaller SIPPs to stay under the ceiling is prohibited and is one of the first patterns auditors look for.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. Audit Report on the Department of Education’s Controls over the Small Item Payment Process of Its Schools within Children First Network 603

Get Your FAMIS Access in Order First

You cannot enter a SIPP without an active FAMIS login. The initiator needs the school’s FAMIS User ID and PIN, along with the school name, BEDS number, and DOE location code.2New York City Public Schools. FAMIS-Related Resources Schools new to FAMIS, or schools with new staff handling transactions, have to submit both a System Access Request Form and a Mayoral Directive form before credentials are issued.

If the principal or building leader has changed, the level-200 approver FAMIS ID has to be updated by submitting a System Access Request Form to Clientservices@schools.nyc.gov.2New York City Public Schools. FAMIS-Related Resources The same person cannot be both the initiator and the approver on a transaction, so make sure the roles in FAMIS reflect two different people.

Fill In the FAMIS Entry Correctly

Each SIPP entry needs the school’s District Borough Number (DBN), which combines the geographic district number, the borough letter code, and the school’s individual number.3TeachNYC. What is a DBN (District Borough Number)? District 75 and District 79 schools use those district numbers regardless of their physical borough.

Three fields deserve extra care:

Check Whether Bids Were Required

SOP requires schools to solicit multiple bids for commodity purchases (school supplies, food, and similar goods) over $250. Bids may be written quotes from vendors or phone bids captured on the DOE’s Telephone Bid Summary Form.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. Audit Report on the Department of Education’s Controls over the Small Item Payment Process of Its Schools within Children First Network 603 Once total fiscal-year spending with a single vendor passes $2,500, bids are required even if each individual purchase was under $250.

If bids were needed, the written quotes or completed Telephone Bid Summary Forms belong in the same file as the rest of the transaction records before the SIPP is submitted.

Confirm the Tax-Exempt Certificate Was Used

NYC public schools are exempt from state and city sales tax on purchases for sanctioned school purposes. The school’s tax-exempt certificate has to be presented to the vendor at the time of purchase.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. Audit Report on the Department of Education’s Controls over the Small Item Payment Process of Its Schools within Children First Network 603 If the certificate wasn’t presented and tax was charged, an employee seeking reimbursement should not be reimbursed for the tax portion.

Attach the Supporting Documentation

Supporting documentation must be on file before the SIPP is processed and approved, not assembled afterward.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. Audit Report on the Department of Education’s Controls over the Small Item Payment Process of Its Schools within Children First Network 603 Required records include:

  • Itemized invoices or receipts showing date, goods or services provided, and total cost.
  • Proof of delivery, meaning signed packing slips or receiving reports confirming the school actually received the goods.
  • Bid documentation for purchases that crossed the bidding thresholds.
  • For travel reimbursements, the TRAC entry and the underlying expense records.

Missing documentation was the single most common deficiency flagged in Comptroller audits, with 38 percent of sampled transactions lacking receipts, invoices, or proof of payment.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. Audit Report on the Department of Education’s Controls over the Small Item Payment Process of Its Schools within Children First Network 603

Submit for Approval at the Right Tier

Once you submit, FAMIS routes the entry automatically based on the dollar amount:

  • Up to $500: approved by the designated school-level approver, typically the principal or assistant principal.
  • $501 to $2,500: approved at the school level, then routed to a designated official at the Borough/Field Support Center (BFSC).
  • $2,501 to $5,000: approved at the school level, then routed to both the BFSC and the Division of Financial Operations (DFO) at DOE central.

Because the principal cannot be both initiator and approver on the same transaction, confirm the entry was made under a different FAMIS user before expecting principal approval.2New York City Public Schools. FAMIS-Related Resources

Mistakes That Hold Up Payment or Flag an Audit

The deficiencies that most often appear in Comptroller reviews of SIPP transactions are predictable, and most can be caught at the data-entry stage:1Office of the New York City Comptroller. Audit Report on the Department of Education’s Controls over the Small Item Payment Process of Its Schools within Children First Network 603

  • Split transactions designed to keep each entry below a dollar threshold.
  • No invoices, receipts, or packing slips on file.
  • Bids not solicited (or not documented) for purchases that required them.
  • Wrong object codes assigned to the expenditure.
  • Duplicate payments for the same invoice.
  • Sales tax reimbursed because the tax-exempt certificate was not presented.
  • Using SIPP for recurring purchases that should have gone through a purchase order.

Keep the Records After Payment Clears

DOE rules require SIPP records to be maintained on file for at least six years.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. Audit Report on the Department of Education’s Controls over the Small Item Payment Process of Its Schools within Children First Network 603 For expenditures funded by a federal grant, the federal floor is three years from the date the final expenditure report is submitted, though the longer DOE requirement generally governs.4eCFR. 2 CFR 200.334 – Retention Requirements for Records Organize both digital and physical copies by fiscal year and vendor so they can be pulled quickly if an audit request arrives.