Montana · OPI
K-12 accounting software built for Montana districts.
Spire Ledgers ships pre-configured for Montana Office of Public Instructioncompliance — the Accounting Manual for Montana Schools (Chapter 3: Chart of Accounts) (July 2025 (FY2026)) chart-of-accounts code structure, fund codes, and every required report. The right configuration loads automatically when you pick Montana during onboarding.
Account-code structure (OPI)
OPI requires a specific multi-segment account code on every transaction. Spire builds the right structure for you.
| Segment | Digits | Description | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level (Fund 1st digit) | 1 | 1 = Elementary district, 2 = High School/K-12 district, 3 = Special Education Cooperative. Combined with the 2-digit fund number (e.g. 101 Elementary General, 211 High School Bus Depreciation, 382 Cooperative Interlocal Agreement). | Montana COA §3.4 |
| Fund | 3 | Three-digit code: first digit = level (1/2/3), last two digits = fund identifier (e.g. 01 General, 10 Transportation, 12 Food Services, 50 Debt Service, 84 Student Extracurricular). | Montana COA §3.4 / §3.5 |
| Program | 3 | Educational program (100s Regular, 280-289 Special Ed, 300s CTE, 400s Vocational, 500-599 Basic Programs Special Reporting, 600s Adult Ed, 700s Federal Title programs). | Montana COA §3.16A |
| Function | 4 | Activity for which a service is acquired (1000 Instruction, 2000 Support Services, 3000 Operation of Non-Instructional Services, 4000 Facilities Acquisition & Construction, 5000 Other Outlays). | Montana COA §3.16 |
| Object | 3 | Service/material (100 Salaries, 200 Benefits, 300 Purchased Professional/Tech, 400 Property Services, 500 Other Purchased, 600 Supplies, 700 Property, 800 Other Objects). | Montana COA §3.16C |
| School | 4 | School code required for expenditure detail strings (e.g. 1xxx-112, 1xxx-117, 1xxx-640, 1xxx-650). 4-digit code interfaces with MAEFAIRS for ESSA per-pupil expenditure reporting. | Montana COA — MAEFAIRS interface |
| Project Reporter Code (PRC) | var | Variable-length identifier for individual local/state/federal grants and other special reporting purposes; required for federal grants. | Montana COA §3.10 / §3.14 |
Fund registry
Spire ships a complete, audit-ready fund registry for Montana — including federal Title programs, state allotments, debt service, capital projects, internal service funds, and GASB 84 student activity custodial funds.
General Fund
§20-9-308, MCA
Transportation Fund
§20-10-143, MCA
Bus Depreciation Reserve Fund
§20-10-147, MCA
School Food Services Fund
§20-10-201, MCA
Tuition Fund
§20-5-323/324, MCA
Retirement Fund
§20-9-501, MCA
Miscellaneous Programs Fund (Local/State/Federal Grants)
§20-9-507, MCA
Adult Education Fund
§20-7-705 / §20-7-1506, MCA
Traffic Education Fund
§20-7-507; §20-9-510, MCA
Nonoperating Fund
§20-9-505, MCA
Lease or Rental Agreement Fund
§20-9-509, MCA
Compensated Absence Liability Fund
§20-9-512, MCA
Metal Mine Tax Reserve Fund
§20-9-231, MCA
State Mining Impact Fund
§90-6-307(10), MCA
Impact Aid Fund
§20-9-514, MCA
Litigation Reserve Fund
§20-9-515, MCA
Technology Fund
§20-9-533, MCA
Flexibility Fund
§20-9-543, MCA
Permanent Endowment Fund
§20-9-604, MCA
Debt Service Fund
§20-9-438, MCA
Building Fund
§20-9-508, MCA
Building Reserve Fund
§20-9-502, MCA
Day Care Fund
Enterprise Fund
Data Processing Fund
Self Insurance — Health Fund
§20-3-331, MCA
Self Insurance — Liability Fund
§20-3-331, MCA
Interlocal Agreement Fund
§20-9-511 / §20-7-457 / §20-9-703, MCA
Student Extracurricular Activities Fund
§20-9-504, MCA (reclassified Special Revenue under GASB 84 in FY2020)
Miscellaneous Trust Fund
Payroll Clearing Fund
§20-9-220, MCA
Claims Clearing Fund
§20-9-220, MCA
Cafeteria / Flex Plan Fund
Required reports
Every OPI mandatory financial submission, generated from your live ledger and exported in the format the SEA accepts.
Trustees' Financial Summary (TFS)
AnnualYear-end revenue and expenditure detail submitted to OPI through MAEFAIRS; expenditures must be entered by 4-digit school code. Drives ESSA Per-Pupil Expenditure Report.
Montana COA / TFS Instructions
Annual Financial Audit Report
Biennial (most districts) / Annual (large districts)Independent audit submitted to OPI; required annually if federal expenditures exceed Single Audit threshold (2 CFR 200).
§2-7-503, MCA; 2 CFR 200 Subpart F
Adopted Budget
Annual (by 4th Mon in Aug)Final budget adopted on the regular August meeting date; budgeted funds (01, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 19, 28, 29, 50, 61) require formal budget adoption.
§20-9-131; §20-9-201, MCA
ANB / Enrollment Count
Annual (Oct & Feb)Average Number Belonging count submitted to OPI; drives BASE/Maximum Budget Limit funding under Montana's school-funding model.
§20-9-311, MCA
Indirect Cost Rate Application
AnnualOPI-approved restricted/unrestricted indirect-cost rates for federal grants.
OPI Indirect Cost Procedures
ESSA Per-Pupil Expenditure (PPE) Report
AnnualGenerated automatically by MAEFAIRS once all TFS records are entered by school code.
ESSA §1111(h)(1)(C)(x); OPI ESSA Guidance
Special Education Expenditure Report
AnnualDetail of special-education revenues/expenditures used for IDEA Maintenance of Effort and state reimbursement.
§20-7-435, MCA
Bond Levy / Mill Reporting
AnnualMill levies adopted by district trustees and certified to county; reported to Montana Department of Revenue and OPI.
§20-9-141, MCA
Montana-specific compliance
- Each Montana district must use OPI accounting codes by law (§20-9-201, MCA) — districts cannot substitute a local chart of accounts. The OPI COA conforms to NCES Financial Accounting for Local and State School Systems.
- The fund's first digit is the 'level' (1xx Elementary, 2xx HS/K-12, 3xx Special Ed Cooperative). Joint K-12 districts maintain parallel elementary and high-school fund sets (e.g. 101 + 201 General Funds).
- Eleven funds are 'budgeted' under §20-9-201, MCA and require formal budget adoption (01, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 19, 28, 29, 50, 61); all other funds are 'non-budgeted' and limited to cash-balance spending under §20-9-210, MCA.
- Student Extracurricular Activities Fund (84) was reclassified from a Trust Fund to a Special Revenue Fund in FY2020 following Montana's GASB 84 interpretation.
- School-code breakdown is mandatory for expenditure strings XX-XXX-1XXX-112, -117, -640 and -650 (instructional salaries and supplies) to enable ESSA per-pupil expenditure reporting.
- Innovative Education donations (§15-30-3110, MCA) are deposited in Miscellaneous Programs Fund (15) using program code 192; FY2022 was the last year for the Flexibility Fund (29) for this purpose.
- Retirement Fund (14) is funded by countywide levy and pays employer TRS, PERS, Unemployment, Social Security and Medicare on state/local-funded employees plus Food Service (12) and Impact Aid (26) employees.
- All financial submissions flow through MAEFAIRS (Montana Automated Educational Financial and Information Reporting System); the TFS is the authoritative end-of-year submission.
Related states
K-12 accounting compliance profiles for districts in neighboring states:
Other states: Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota. See all 50 states →
Montana districts can run on Spire today.
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