Rhode Island · RIDE
K-12 accounting software built for Rhode Island districts.
Spire Ledgers ships pre-configured for Rhode Island Department of Educationcompliance — the Uniform Chart of Accounts (UCOA) Accounting Manual (UCOA Accounting Manual FY 22 (published 06/30/2022)) chart-of-accounts code structure, fund codes, and every required report. The right configuration loads automatically when you pick Rhode Island during onboarding.
Account-code structure (RIDE)
RIDE requires a specific multi-segment account code on every transaction. Spire builds the right structure for you.
| Segment | Digits | Description | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fund / Sub-Fund | 8 | Type and source of money — General Fund, federal grants (Title I, IDEA, etc.), state grants (RI Foundation Aid), food service, capital, debt service. Fixed codes. | UCOA Manual §8.1 |
| Location | 5 | School building or department where the activity occurred (e.g., specific elementary school, central office). Fixed and validated by RIDE. | UCOA Manual §8.2 |
| Function | 3 | Activity for which money is being used (face-to-face teaching, transportation, plant operations). Fixed. | UCOA Manual §8.6 |
| Program | 2 | Broad educational program objective (Regular Education, Special Education, Bilingual, CTE). Fixed. | UCOA Manual §8.7 |
| Subject | 4 | Curriculum or detailed objective (Foreign Language, Baseball, Chorus, Math, Science). Fixed and validated. | UCOA Manual §8.8 |
| Object | 5 | Budget classification — Assets, Liabilities, Equity; Revenues (Local Taxes, Grants, Food Services); Expenditures (Salaries, Benefits, Telephone). Fixed plus user-defined sub-detail. | UCOA Manual §8.9 |
| Job Classification | 4 | Job classification used only for compensation and benefits accounts (Teacher, Aide, Principal, Controller, Custodian). Fixed and validated. | UCOA Manual §8.10 |
Fund registry
Spire ships a complete, audit-ready fund registry for Rhode Island — including federal Title programs, state allotments, debt service, capital projects, internal service funds, and GASB 84 student activity custodial funds.
General Fund (Local)
State Foundation Aid (Education Aid Formula)
R.I.G.L. §16-7.2
Special Revenue — Federal Grants (Aggregate)
ESEA Title I, Part A — Improving Basic Programs
ESEA Title II, Part A — Supporting Effective Instruction
ESEA Title III — English Learner Education
ESEA Title IV, Part A — Student Support & Academic Enrichment
IDEA Part B — Special Education
IDEA Section 619 — Preschool Special Education
Carl D. Perkins V — Career & Technical Education
ARP / ESSER Federal Relief
Food Service / Child Nutrition (NSLP/SBP)
Capital Projects (School Construction)
R.I.G.L. §16-7-44 (Housing Aid)
Debt Service Fund
Student Activity Funds
Required reports
Every RIDE mandatory financial submission, generated from your live ledger and exported in the format the SEA accepts.
UCOA Budget-Only File
Annual (within 30 days of city/town budget adoption)Budget-only UCOA file submitted by every LEA within 30 days of budget adoption. Required since July 1, 2017.
R.I.G.L. §16-2-9.4(f)(2)
UCOA Year-End Actuals File
AnnualYear-end actual revenues and expenditures filed in the UCOA-mandated account-code structure for school-to-school and district-to-district comparison.
R.I.G.L. §16-2-9.4
UCOA Agreed-Upon Procedures (AUP) Engagement
AnnualIndependent CPA agreed-upon procedures performed under standards set by the RI Office of the Auditor General to test UCOA submission accuracy.
RI OAG UCOA AUP Standards
Fiscal Accountability Report
AnnualRIDE-published report on district fiscal health, per-pupil expenditure trends, and UCOA compliance.
ESSA Per-Pupil Expenditure (PPE) Report
AnnualSchool-level per-pupil expenditure derived from UCOA Location segment data.
ESSA §1111(h)(1)(C)(x)
F-33 School-Level Finance Survey
AnnualU.S. Census Bureau / NCES F-33 school district finance survey, populated by RIDE from UCOA submissions.
20 USC §9543
Single Audit / Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA)
AnnualUniform Guidance Single Audit (2 CFR 200 Subpart F) filed with the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.
2 CFR 200.510
Foundation Education Aid (FEA) Reconciliation
AnnualReconciliation of state Foundation Education Aid payments to enrollment, poverty, English learner, and special education weighting.
R.I.G.L. §16-7.2
Rhode Island-specific compliance
- R.I.G.L. §16-2-9.4 requires every municipal, regional, state, collaborative, and charter school's accounts be kept in accordance with the UCOA. Non-compliance may trigger withholding of state aid.
- UCOA structure has 7 required segments (Fund, Location, Function, Program, Subject, Object, Job Classification) plus 2 optional segments (ID Field, District-Defined). The reportable concatenation is 31 digits; with optional segments the full string can exceed 34 digits.
- The UCOA was developed in partnership between RIDE, the Rhode Island Office of the Auditor General, and all school districts to provide transparency, uniformity, accountability, and comparability of financial information.
- UCOA design follows the NCES Handbook 'Financial Accounting for Local and State School Systems, 2003 Edition' as a guideline but diverges where RI-specific reporting needs require it.
- Numbering methodology uses generational hierarchy (parent / child / grandchild) to support roll-up reporting and wildcard queries against the RIDE Data Warehouse.
- Agreed-Upon Procedures (AUP) engagements are required annually; districts may not self-attest. The Office of the Auditor General prescribes the procedures.
- Foundation Education Aid (FEA) under the 2010 funding-formula reform uses UCOA-derived per-pupil data to weight student need (poverty, ELL, special education).
- Charter schools and state schools (Davies Career & Technical High School, Met School, URI College & Career Academy) report identically to local/regional districts.
Related states
K-12 accounting compliance profiles for districts in neighboring states:
Other states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire. See all 50 states →
Rhode Island districts can run on Spire today.
Start a 30-day free trial of the K-12 TEA tier, fully configured for RIDE compliance. Or schedule a 30-minute demo for your business office.