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October 2023
September GEARS Run Results
GEARS correctly processed the expenses and adjustments reported for August 16 through September 15, 2023. The resulting payments were issued October 2 after reviewing for accuracy. The reports were posted on-line after review with an Expense Processing Job (EPJ) date of 2023-09-22.
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Our Goal for GEARS
GEARS payments must be accurate, complete, timely, useful, and in accordance with the terms of the grant agreements between local agencies and DHS.
GEARS is meeting this goal. We will continue to verify this as we now move forward to retire CARS. CARS reports for payments through June 30, 2023 will remain on-line for a number of years to meet needs for CARS information.
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Advice on Preparing and Submitting Expenditure Reports
The expense reporting
The GEARS expense reporting form is found on Grant Enrollment, Application and Reporting System (GEARS) | Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Simply click on the Expenditure Report Form link on the left-side of that page and the Excel form will be available to download for your use.
It is important to fill in all needed fields
- Enter a checkmark the appropriate box indicating whether this is an Original Report, Additional/Adjustment Report, or Final Report.
- There should be only one Original Report per Agency Number, Agency Type, Contract Year and Report Period combination.
- Subsequent increases or decreases to expenditures after the appropriate original report has been submitted require submitting an Additional/Adjustment Report.
- A Final Report should be submitted as needed and in accordance with the terms of an agency’s grant agreement.
These must be on each report submitted
- Agency Number
- Agency Name
- Agency Type
- Agency Contact Name
- Agency Contact Email Address
- Agency Contact Phone Number
- Contract Year
- Report Period
This information is critical to assure accurate, timely entry of reported expenditures. Contact information is especially important to allow us to resolve any questions or issues timely.
For each Profile Number (Column B), where expenditures are reported, it is important that the Profile Short Name (Column C), the expenses being reported (Column D) and Contract to Date Expenses (Column G) be provided. The column for comments on additional expenses or corrections (Columns E & F, merged) is optional. However, including explanatory comments about this help ensure that we process the additional expenses/adjustments properly.
Submitting the GEARS expenditure reports
When submitting GEARS expenditure reports, formatting the subject line properly assures timely processing and improves our ability to respond to any questions.
The proper formats are shown below and are listed on the GEARS Expenditure Reporting web page CARS/GEARS: Expenditure Reporting | Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
- For Original Expenditure Reports, format the subject line as: Agency #-Agency Type-Contract Year -Report Period-Agency Name. Verify that the Agency Type, Report Period and those of the report submitted agree
- For Additional/Adjustment Expenditure Reports, format the subject line as: Agency #-Agency Type-Contract Year-ADDITIONAL-Report Period-Agency Name
- For Final Expenditure Reports format the subject line as: Agency #-Agency Type-Contract Year-FINAL-Report Period -Agency Name
When formatting the subject line, spell out the report month (for example “November” or “Nov”, instead of “11”) and provide the 4-digit year. This will help us find your report quickly when you have a question.
Updating Banking Information is Important
Because GEARS relies more fully on the State of Wisconsin’s STAR system for issuing payments, updating banking information for GEARS payments requires updates within the STAR system, including updates to the bank routing number due to bank mergers.
For questions or assistance on updating your agency’s banking information, including routing number or depository account number, please contact DHS DESBFSVendorVAL
Please allow 6 – 8 weeks from receipt for the update to take effect. Please maintain the current account until you verify that payments are being deposited to your new/updated account.
We Appreciate Your Questions and Suggestions
As with most new systems, we expect to continue to improve GEARS. Questions and suggestions to improve GEARS from local agencies help us assure the system meets both DHS and local agency needs. We very much appreciate the questions and thoughtful feedback we have received over the past few months and hope you will continue to contact us with questions and suggestions.
When submitting questions, please include your agency name, Agency Number, Agency Type Code, Contract Year, report period and if/as applicable, the profile ID number. This helps us respond more quickly and accurately to your questions.
For both questions and suggestions, please include your name and phone number.
And of course, stop by online any time. We're here to help!
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