Missouri · DESE
K-12 accounting software built for Missouri districts.
Spire Ledgers ships pre-configured for Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Educationcompliance — the Missouri Financial Accounting Manual (MFA) (FY 2026 Edition (July 1, 2025)) chart-of-accounts code structure, fund codes, and every required report. The right configuration loads automatically when you pick Missouri during onboarding.
Account-code structure (DESE)
DESE requires a specific multi-segment account code on every transaction. Spire builds the right structure for you.
| Segment | Digits | Description | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fund | 3 | First digit = fund class (1 General/Incidental, 2 Teachers, 3 Debt Service, 4 Capital Projects, 5 Food Service, 6 Student Activities/Trust, 7 Internal Service, 8 Capital Assets group, 9 Long-Term Debt group); second digit = operating subfund; third digit = fiscal year. | MFA Section C.1 Code Structure |
| Function | 4 | Action, purpose, or program for which the activity is performed. | MFA Section F Function Codes |
| Object | 4 | How the service or commodity was obtained on an expenditure. | MFA Section G Expenditure Object Codes |
| Location | 4 | Individual campus or operational unit. Districts must use DESE's Core Data building codes for student-reporting campuses. | MFA Section H Location Codes |
| Source of Funds | 1 | Identifies the revenue source funding a specific expenditure (assigned to every expenditure). | MFA Section J Source Codes |
| Project | 5 | Identifies expenditures paid from a specific revenue source or grant; districts must use DESE-assigned project codes for ASBR-collected projects. | MFA Section I Project Codes |
Fund registry
Spire ships a complete, audit-ready fund registry for Missouri — including federal Title programs, state allotments, debt service, capital projects, internal service funds, and GASB 84 student activity custodial funds.
General (Incidental) Fund
MFA Section C.2; § 165.011 RSMo
Payroll Subfund (interim — merged into General)
MFA Section C.2
Operating Subfund (bulk of General Fund activity)
MFA Section C.2
Special Revenue (Teachers) Fund
MFA Section C.2; § 165.011 RSMo
Debt Service Fund
MFA Section C.2; § 108.140 RSMo
Capital Projects Fund
MFA Section C.2; § 165.011 RSMo
Bond Proceeds' Capital Outlay Subfund
MFA Section C.2
Regular Capital Outlay Subfund
MFA Section C.2
Food Service / Enterprise Fund (interim — merged into General for state reporting)
MFA Section C.2
Student Activities / Trust Fund (interim — merged into General for state reports)
MFA Section C.2
Internal Service Fund (large districts; merged with General if duplicative)
MFA Section C.2
Capital Assets Account Group
MFA Section C.2 (non-revenue/non-expenditure account group)
General Long-Term Debt Account Group
MFA Section C.2 (non-revenue/non-expenditure account group)
Required reports
Every DESE mandatory financial submission, generated from your live ledger and exported in the format the SEA accepts.
Annual Secretary of the Board Report (ASBR)
Annual (Aug 15)Year-end financial submission for every Missouri public school district and charter school. Submitted via the DESE Applications portal.
§ 162.821 RSMo
Core Data / MOSIS Submissions
Multiple cyclesStudent, staff, and operational data feeding state aid and APR; MOSIS data on the Schedule of Selected Statistics must reconcile to the ASBR.
DESE Core Data Manual
Annual Audit (Independent CPA)
AnnualGAAP audit performed under § 165.121 RSMo; includes Schedule of Selected Statistics that must agree with ASBR and Core Data.
§ 165.121 RSMo; 2 CFR 200 Subpart F
Adopted Budget
Annual (by Jul 1)Board-adopted operating budget required prior to the start of the fiscal year (July 1).
§ 67.010 RSMo
Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA)
AnnualSingle Audit federal award schedule when federal expenditures meet the Uniform Guidance threshold.
2 CFR 200.510
Tax Rate Hearing & Setting
Annual (Sep 1)Hancock Amendment / Truth-in-Taxation tax rate ceiling calculation and adoption hearing.
§ 137.073 RSMo
Foundation Formula Payment Reconciliation
AnnualReconciliation of formula entitlement to actual State Adequacy Target × Weighted ADA payments.
§ 163.031 RSMo
Indirect Cost Rate Plan
AnnualRestricted/unrestricted indirect cost rates for federal grants, approved by DESE.
DESE Indirect Cost Rate Procedures
Missouri-specific compliance
- Four required governmental funds: General (Incidental), Special Revenue (Teachers), Debt Service, and Capital Projects. § 165.011 RSMo requires Debt Service to be maintained in a separate bank account.
- Teachers Fund (20X) is restricted to salaries and benefits for teachers and tuition payments to other districts/charters/private schools.
- Bond proceeds may NEVER be placed in the General (Incidental) Fund. Capital Projects subfund 41X tracks bond-financed capital outlay; 42X handles routine capital outlay from annual revenues/fund balances.
- Food Service Fund (50X), Student Activities Fund (60X), and Internal Service Fund (70X) are interim funds — they merge into the General (Incidental) Fund for state reporting / final ASBR.
- Excess incidental fund balance (above the operating reserve threshold) and excess capital projects balances are tracked as separate ASBR balance items.
- ASBR submission required by August 15 each year; missed deadlines can trigger payment withholding and reduce points on the district's Annual Performance Report (APR).
- Smaller districts/charters may not use all of the listed subfunds — the MFA Section C explicitly notes the subfund list is the maximum, not the minimum.
- Project Codes (5 digits) are required for all federally funded expenditures and any DESE-assigned state grant tracked through ASBR.
- DESE's Source of Funds (1 digit) must be assigned to every expenditure to identify what revenue type funded it — used for state aid offset and matching calculations.
- Separate Capital Assets (80X) and Long-Term Debt (90X) account groups are continuing running totals updated at year-end — they do not record current-year revenue or expenditure activity.
Missouri districts can run on Spire today.
Start a 30-day free trial of the K-12 TEA tier, fully configured for DESE compliance. Or schedule a 30-minute demo for your business office.