This article will explain the difference between the Monthly Summary Report and the Accu-Claim Variance report.
The Monthly Summary Report data is what is currently in the system; it is the true data that is in the system as of the time the report is printed for the given time range. For this reason, we often advise schools to use this report to fill out Free & Reduced claims.
The Accu-Claim Variance Report differs from the Monthly Summary Report in that it tracks enrollment per free & reduced record as well as the number of meals sold on a daily basis and allows for an attendance variable. The free & reduced student number is recorded at the time the line was opened for that day. It does not update when an application or a DC is backdated, which sometimes happens. When these discrepancies arise, they cause very minor differences in total numbers for a given month. As an example, you might see that on a particular day, there were 20 free meals served but only 19 approved for that day. However, after that day, the number of approved free would normalize. Furthermore, the total free counts for the month will still come in under the allowed. Again, this is a generalized example for the most common scenarios. If the number is a large difference, then we need to investigate what had occurred in the system on these given dates. Ultimately, that is the reason we don't allow those numbers to be changed, as it is a log of what really happened during this time frame.
If you need help troubleshooting these reports or just want some additional clarification, please reach out to our tech support team. We are happy to assist you.