Annual Financial Report, Short Form, User's Guide

National Park Service
Annual Financial Report (AFR) Short Form
User’s Guide
Version 2.0
March 1, 2010

Copyrights and Proprietary Notices
The information in this document is subject to change without notice.
This document contains material that is proprietary of and confidential to Department of Interior (DOI). Disclosure outside DOI is prohibited
except by written permission, license agreement, or other confidential agreement. This document may not be reproduced in any form or by
an electronic or mechanical means.
The information contained herein is prepared by DOI solely for use by DOI employees, agents, and customers. Dissemination of the information and/or
concepts contained herein to other parties is prohibited without DOI prior written permission. Disclosure outside DOI is prohibited except by license
agreement or other confidentiality agreement.

T ABLE
1

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................................................................... 2
QUESTIONS AND SUPPORT .......................................................................................................................................... 2

AFR WEB SUBMISSION ACCOUNT ....................................................................................................................... 3
2.1
2.2

3

C ONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ 2
1.1
1.2

2

OF

REQUEST AN ACCOUNT ONLINE .................................................................................................................................. 3
CHANGING ACCOUNT INFORMATION .......................................................................................................................... 5

DOWNLOADING THE AFR USER GUIDE AND FORMS ................................................................................... 6

4
MACRO SETTINGS MUST BE CHANGED BEFORE STARTING TO COMPLETE THE NPS AFR
SHORT FORM ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7
5

WORKING ON THE AFR IN MICROSOFT EXCEL – GENERAL INFORMATION..................................... 10
5.1
5.2

6

COMPLETING THE NPS AFR SHORT FORM.................................................................................................... 12
6.1
6.2
6.3

7

EXPLAINING PRORATION ON CONCESSIONER INFO PAGE.......................................................................................... 14
SPECIAL GUIDANCE FOR SCHEDULE B ...................................................................................................................... 15
SPECIAL GUIDANCE FOR SCHEDULE M ..................................................................................................................... 16

SUBMITTING THE NPS AFR SHORT FORM ..................................................................................................... 17
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5

8

CELL FORMAT GUIDANCE......................................................................................................................................... 10
INFO BUTTON............................................................................................................................................................ 10

CREATING AND SAVING PREPARED DATA FILE. ....................................................................................................... 17
PRINTING HARD COPIES OF THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT ................................................................................. 18
ACCESSING NPS AFR WEBSITE ............................................................................................................................... 19
UPLOADING THE AFR REPORT AND SUPPLEMENTAL FILES ...................................................................................... 20
SUBMITTING ADDITIONAL FILES AFTER THE AFR UPLOAD IS COMPLETE ................................................................ 22

WRAP UP .................................................................................................................................................................... 22

1

1

Introduction

This manual will guide you through the process of completing the Annual Financial Report (AFR)
Short Form for the National Park Service (NPS). You are encouraged to read through this Guide
before you start to complete your electronic AFR. The Guide provides general information on
correctly completing the form, as well as guidance for changing the security level setting in your Excel
program, so that the macros in the files will work.
NPS Concession Program (NPSCP) has used a Microsoft Windows based application, Microsoft
Excel (Excel), to develop the electronic AFR Forms. This document assumes you are familiar with
basic uses of Microsoft Windows. If you are not, please consult an individual within your organization
or park that is familiar with Microsoft Windows. The AFR Excel Guide, available on the AFR website,
is an additional resource available for those who are unfamiliar with Excel
NPSCP has designed the AFR Forms in Excel so that concessioners can easily enter and submit
financial reporting data to the National Park Service. If you are familiar with Excel, you will find that
the application is much more than an ordinary spreadsheet; it is highly automated and controlled,
facilitating efficient and accurate data entry and submission. Once you have entered your financial
reporting data, you will be able to electronically save and submit the AFR data to NPS from within the
Excel application. You will also be able to print paper copies of the AFR spreadsheet to save for your
own records.
There is no need for you to complete the AFR Short Form in one sitting. Excel allows you to save your
work in progress and pick it up again at any time.

1.1 Technical Requirements
To complete the AFR Short Form you will need a licensed copy of Microsoft Excel 2000 or later.
Your computer will also need to meet the following minimum requirements in order to support Excel:
Component
Computer & processor
Memory
Hard disk
Screen Resolution
Operating System
Internet Connection

Requirement
Intel Pentium 233-MHz or faster processor
128 megabytes (MB) of RAM
150 MB of available hard-disk space
800 × 600 pixels or higher
Microsoft Windows® 2000 with Service Pack 3, Windows XP or later
Internet functionality requires dial-up or broadband Internet access

The electronic AFR process is not compatible with Mac computers. If you have a Mac computer,
please contact your park for permission to file a paper copy of the AFR and for a copy of the AFR
form.

1.2 Questions and Support
If you have questions related to completing the AFR form or on the use of the electronic version,
please do not hesitate to contact the park individual responsible for concession matters. The AFR
Excel Guide, “10 easy steps to completing and AFR” and “Frequently Asked Questions” documents on
the AFR website, www.nps.gov/commercialservices/tools_afr.htm, can answer many common
questions. You can also email questions to [email protected], which will put you in touch with
someone from the Washington office.

2

2 AFR Web Submission Account
It is necessary to create an account online to submit your completed AFR forms. It is recommended
you request your account before you complete your AFR forms. After you submit your request for an
account online, NPSCP personnel will have to activate your account; the process of activating your
account may take several days.
Before you can request an account online, you will need to know your individual ConcID
(Concessioner Identification). Every concession operation has its own unique ConcID that is used to
track their concession information in the National Park Service System, it is actually part of your
contract or permit number.
•

If you have a concession contract, look at the cover sheet to find your contract number; it
should look similar to this example: CC-ACAD019-06. The middle 7 characters are your
ConcID; in this example the ConcID would be ACAD019.

•

If you have a concession permit, your permit number should be in the upper left hand corner of
your permit and should look like the example given above: CP-ACAD019-06. Your ConcID
would also be the middle 7 characters of your permit number: ACAD019.

If you have a problem identifying your ConcID, please contact your park, they will be able to help
you.

2.1 Request an account online
Go to the NPS Concession AFR webpage at http://www.nps.gov/commercialservices/tools_afr.htm.
Once the website opens, click “Request an Account”.

(Alternately, you can go to http://home.nps.gov/afr/ and click “Request an Account”; both websites will
take you to the same place.)
Once the “Request an Account” page opens, you need to provide some information. First, make sure
“Concession” is selected for User Type. In the top field type your ConcID (after typing your ConcID,
click
to add the ConcID), then provide the remaining information: Company Name, First Name,
Last Name, Email Address, Phone Number, Password (password should have at least 6 characters),
then click “Submit”.
Note: If you are responsible for submitting AFRs for multiple ConcIDs, enter each additional ConcID
in the first field one at a time, click the add button after each ConcID, when all of the ConcIDs have
been added, then complete the rest of the information and click “Submit”.

3

Write down your password and keep in a safe place; you will need to know it for all future submittals.

If your ConcID is not on the list, or has the wrong company name, please email
[email protected] for assistance.
Once the System Admin (NPSCP Personnel) activates your account, the system will automatically
send an email to the email address listed on the account, verifying that your account has been
activated. If you do not receive an email (check your spam box first), please send an email to
[email protected]. You will not be able to submit your AFR Form until your account is
activated.

4

2.2 Changing Account Information
Once an AFR account has been created, it remains in the system; you can use the same account year
after year. However, sometimes it may be necessary to update an account; for example if a new person
becomes responsible for submitting the AFR or if your phone number changes.First, login to the AFR
website (http://home.nps.gov/afr/) with your email and password.

Then click “User Profile” on the left side of the menu. Enter your new information in the boxes, then
click “Submit” to complete the update.

If you no longer have the password for your AFR account, send an email to [email protected].
You will receive an email back with a temporary password. Login with your email and the temporary
password, then proceed with the above steps to change your password and update your information.

5

3 Downloading the AFR User Guide and Forms
You can download the following on http://www.nps.gov/commercialservices/tools_afr.htm:
•

AFR Electronic Long Form

•

AFR Electronic Short Form

•

Supplemental Schedules

•

AFR User’s Guides

•

AFR Excel Guide

•

Frequently Asked Questions

• 10 Quick Steps to Completing and Submitting the Electronic AFR
Click on the green file name to download the file; a box will open asking if you want to save or open
the file, choose save. Do not choose “open” or the AFR forms will not work correctly.
Save the files you need to a folder where you can easily access them. If you are unfamiliar with how to
download and save documents from the website using Microsoft Excel, please refer to the AFR Excel
Guide before proceeding.

6

4 Macro Settings MUST BE CHANGED Before Starting to
Complete the NPS AFR Short Form
If you are unfamiliar with the basic uses of Excel, you are encouraged to review the AFR Excel Guide
before proceeding with this section.
After you have downloaded and saved the AFR form to your computer and are ready to start filling in
your AFR, BEFORE you open the NPS AFR Short Form, you need to change the Excel security
settings first to enable the macros built in to the form.
How to Change Excel Security Settings for Excel 2003:
To change the security settings, you need to open Excel and select “Tools” from the menu, select
“Macro” then “Security” from the dropdown menu.

Note the level the macros are set now so you can return your setting to the original position after
completing your AFR. Then, change the Security Settings to “Low” and click “OK”.
When you open the NPS AFR Short Form a Security Box may appear warning you that 'Macros may
contain viruses.' However, the macros contained within the NPS AFR Short and Long Forms
enhance the worksheets and do not contain viruses – this is simply a standard warning issued by
Microsoft Excel for any file that contains advanced coding. To proceed, select the 'Enable Macros'
button. Once macros have been enabled, the worksheet will continue to open.
How to Change Excel Security Settings for Excel 2007:
If you are using Microsoft Excel 2007, there are two settings that must be changed in order for the
electronic AFR to work; Macro settings and ActiveX settings.
First, click the Microsoft Office Button

, and then click Excel Options.

7

Then, click Trust Center, click Trust Center Settings, and then click Macro Settings.

Click the option “Enable all macros;” selecting this option to allow all macros to run. Even though
the message for this option states that it is not recommended, and that potentially dangerous code can
run, this option must be selected for the electronic AFR process to work. After you finish working on
your AFR, you can return your macro settings to their original setting to keep your computer protected.

8

Then click ActiveX Settings.
Select Enable all controls without restrictions and without prompting (not recommended,
potentially dangerous controls can run) to enable all ActiveX controls in documents with minimal
restrictions. Again, this option must be selected for the electronic AFR process to work. You may
return the ActiveX settings to their original position after you complete the AFR.
Click on OK and OK again to get back to the Excel screen.

You are now ready to open the NPS AFR Short Form and begin filling it out.

9

5 Working on the AFR in Microsoft Excel – General
Information
5.1 Cell Format Guidance
Cells that are designed to accept dollar amounts only allow whole dollar amounts. When entering your
data, please round cents to the nearest dollar.
Cells that are designed to accept percentages only allow valid percentages. Please enter a percentage
between 0 - 100. You do not need to type the '%' symbol as it will already be provided within the cell.
You should format dates as mm/dd/yyyy in any cells that require the entry of a calendar date. Where
mm = month, dd = day and yyyy = four digit calendar year.
Some cells do not require data entry; they contain formulas that calculate a value based on data you
entered into prior cells. These cells are shaded either tan or light grey. You cannot alter these cells.
If you are unfamiliar with Excel and need more guidance on cell formatting, see the AFR Excel Guide,
page 17.

5.2 Info Button
You will notice that some of the AFR schedules include an “Info” button located in the top left corner
of the page. When you click on this button it will provide additional information and guidance for
completing the schedule. Clicking the Info button is an easy way to check if your macros are set
correctly; if they are not, nothing will pop up when you click this button. Refer to the previous section
for more information.

POP-Up Boxes
Most fields within the AFR Short Form include pop-up boxes that will appear
once you have selected a cell. These pop-up boxes offer helpful instructions for
completing the data entry associated with the cell.
Occasionally the pop-up boxes will cover the cell into which you are trying to
10

enter information. If this happens, simply click on the box and drag it to another spot on the screen.
Once you have moved the box, it will remain in the same spot until you move to the next schedule.

11

6

Completing the NPS AFR Short Form

Once you have opened the 'Short Form', you will see different tabs near the bottom of the window.
Each tab represents a separate Schedule on the Short Form. Before starting to fill out the AFR form,
ensure that the 'Concessioner Info' tab is selected. If it is not selected, click on the tab titled
'Concessioner Info' at the bottom of the screen

Begin to complete the form using the mouse or keyboard to select the desired cell.

The 'Concessioner Info' sheet is unique because it includes a drop down box that contains
Concessioner IDs. A small arrow box will appear when you select the 'Concessioner ID' cell. Click
on the arrow and a drop down menu will appear.

12

You can use the arrows on the right of the menu to scroll to your Concessioner ID and Name. Once
you have found the correct ID and Name, select the information by simply clicking on the line.

Excel will automatically fill the 'Concessioner ID,' 'Concessioner' and 'Contract or Permit No.'
cells with the information you selected. If these cells do not fill automatically, your macros are not set
correctly. See pages 7-9 for information on macro settings.

It is important that the information in the Concessioner ID cell and the Concessioner cell appear
exactly the way it looks in the box above. The only information that should be in the cell for
Concessioner ID is the concid. If for some reason when you select your concid from the drop-down
box both the concid and the Concessioner name appear in the Concessioner ID cell, the AFR will not
be able to be submitted because the macros are not set correctly. Please refer to pages 7-9 of this guide
to reset your macros.
If your Concessioner ID is not listed in the drop down menu, you can enter the information manually.
Simply click on the 'Concessioner ID' cell and begin typing your ID. Once you have entered your ID
and attempt to move to the next cell a warning message will appear.

If you correctly entered your Concessioner ID number and would like to continue entering
information, simply click the 'Yes.' Otherwise, click 'No' to return to the cell to select an ID from the
drop down menu. Concessioners need to verify contract/permit information is correct, if not then
make appropriate changes.
Once you have completed the 'Concessioner Info' tab, you may continue to the next spreadsheets
using the mouse to click on the desired tab at the bottom of the screen.

Don’t forget to save periodically, either by clicking the Save icon
or using Ctrl+S on your
keyboard. For more help with saving, please see the AFR Excel Guide, page 9.
13

6.1 Explaining Proration on Concessioner Info Page
Proration of revenues and/or expenses may be necessary for concessioners who have operations both
inside and outside a National Park. The Annual Financial Report should only reflect the operations
inside the park; therefore if records are not kept which separate actual revenues and expenses inside
and outside the park, a logical method must be used to allocate the revenues/expenses.
The Short Form provides a section for explaining your proration method based on the most common
methods used. If you prorated revenues and/or expenses, first check the box.

Then, there is a choice of three options: proration based on percentage of sales, proration based on
time, or proration based on miles. If none of these options applies to the method you used, explain your
method in the blank box. Otherwise, use your mouse to click on the appropriate option.
For the first option, if you prorated expenses based on the percentage of sales that occurred in the
park, simply enter the percentage as a whole number.
For the second option, use the drop-down box to choose Expenses, Revenues or Revenues and
Expenses (depending on what was prorated), then enter the number of days spent in the park and the
number of total days of operations. The proration percentage will automatically calculate.
For the third option, use the drop-down box to choose Expenses, Revenues or Revenues and Expenses
(depending on what was prorated), then enter the number of miles traveled in the park and the number
of total miles traveled (this usually applies to river runners.) The proration percentage will
automatically calculate.

14

6.2 Special Guidance for Schedule B
Schedule B includes sections for Cost of Sales, Operating Expenses, General and Administrative
Expenses, and Fixed Expenses. It is important to distinguish between these different types of expenses
in order to get an accurate picture of your business’ expenses.
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales is the amount of money your business spends on items that are sold to the customer. For
example, if bottled beverages are sold as part of a concessions operation, then the cost of purchasing
those beverages is the cost of sales.
One common mistake is to include operating expenses in cost of sales. For example, if a concessioner
operates bus tours within a park, they might mistakenly include fuel costs in their cost of sales.
However, since they sell tours, not fuel, fuel costs would fall under operating expenses. Only
concessioners who sell fuel to customers should include fuel costs in cost of sales.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses are expenses directly related to providing the goods or services sold. Continuing
the example of a tour bus concession, operating costs might include the cost of purchasing fuel, wages
to employees who work on the tour buses, and the cost of renting the buses.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and Administrative expenses (sometimes referred to as ‘overhead’) are other costs associated
with the general operation of a business. These might include the costs of having an office and paying
administrative employees, the costs of retaining a CPA or lawyer, and bank charges.
Fixed Expenses
Fixed expenses are costs of having a business, whether or not it earns money in a given year. For
example, even if no customers come into your store to buy products, you still have to pay rent and
insurance, which would be considered fixed expenses.

15

6.3 Special Guidance for Schedule M
By default, the AFR Short Form includes one 'Schedule M - Operational Statistics'. Some
concessioners may need to complete multiple instances of this Schedule. To insert additional
Schedules, click on the drop-down menu arrow, located in the top right corner of the Schedule.

A menu will appear that gives you the option of inserting up to seven copies of the Schedule. Select
the number of Schedules you would like inserted and then click the 'Add/Drop Schedules' button to
complete the process.

First, select the number of Schedules you would like to insert, and then click the Add/Drop Schedules button.

Once the Schedules have been successfully inserted, additional tabs will appear at the bottom of the
screen. Any time the user elects to complete more than one Schedule M, a tab titled 'M-total' is
inserted. This tab provides a summary of all Schedules M completed, and does not require any user
input.

Users can reduce the number of Schedules M at any time. If you
decide additional Schedules M are unnecessary, select the tab 'M1'
and use the drop down menu, located in the top right corner of the
Schedule, to select the appropriate number of Schedules M. Click
the 'Add/Drop Schedules' button to complete the process. Before
the additional Schedules are deleted, a warning box will appear
verifying you wish to proceed. To delete the additional Schedule
M, click 'OK,' to discontinue the process, click 'Cancel'.
Once all of the Schedules have been completed and saved, select the 'SUBMIT' tab. Continue to
Section 7, Submitting the NPS AFR Short Form, of this guide to learn about how to submit your form.

16

7 Submitting the NPS AFR Short Form
The NPS AFR Short Form should be submitted via NPS AFR website using the internet. Once you
have finished entering all data in each worksheet of the NPS AFR Short Form, select the 'Submit' tab at
the bottom of the form.
Submitting your AFR forms via the NPS AFR website is a simple process that can be completed using
your web browser. Before you begin ensure that your computer is connected to the internet and that
you have an activated AFR Web submission account. If you have not set up your account, please see
pages 3-5 of this guide. Also, be sure to do a "quick save" to ensure all of your work has been saved.

7.1 Creating and Saving Prepared Data File.
Step 1: Selecting a Location to Save the Prepared Datafile
In order to submit financial reporting data to NPS, you will need to prepare your data to be sent to
NPS. When the AFR information is submitted, the actual data that was input into the form is the only
information that is sent, the entire form is not submitted. Therefore a new file with only the AFR data
needs to be created for the submission process to work. This new file is called the Prepared Data File.
Begin this process by selecting the 'Submit' tab, then clicking the 'Browse' button.

A small menu will appear in the top left corner of your screen (if it does not, your macros are not set
correctly). Select the folder where you saved your AFR.
•

For those who saved their AFR in a folder of their choice, click on the appropriate folder and
then click 'OK,' to select a location to save the Prepared Data File.

•

For those who followed the saving instructions in pages 9-11 of the AFR Excel Guide, select
the ‘My Documents’ folder by clicking on the + symbol. Then click on the ‘Annual Financial
Reports’ folder and click ‘OK’ to select a location to save the Prepared Data File.

It is important to note that the Prepared Data File is separate from the Excel file you have been using to
enter your AFR information; it is a special extract that is automatically generated in a required format.

17

Step 2: Creating the Prepared Data File
Once you have selected a location to save the Prepared Data File, click the ‘Create Prepared Data File'
button.

If the Prepared Data File was successfully
created, the following message will
appear:
Your Prepared Data File has now been
created and saved. This is the file you
will upload to the AFR website. The
filename will look like “PreparedData-S_(BUFF009_2009-07-23).xml”. Make a note of this filename
so you will easily be able to locate the correct file when you upload to the AFR website.
7.2 Printing Hard Copies of the Annual Financial Report
You can use the 'Print Paper Copies' button to print hard copies of the Annual Financial Report.
Printing and maintaining a hard copy of the AFR Short Form is suggested in the event that NPS should
have questions about your data. The print button is located at the bottom of spreadsheet named
'Submit.' Simply click the 'Print Paper Copies' button.

Once you have clicked the 'Print Paper Copies' button, the print menu will appear. Choose how many
copies of the report you would like to print and click the 'OK' button.
For more help with printing, see the AFR Excel Guide.
Now you are done with this section and are ready to upload to the AFR website.
18

7.3 Accessing NPS AFR Website
There are 3 ways to access the AFR Website:
1. Click on the blue link at the bottom of the submit page in your AFR
2.

Use your web browser to access the NPS AFR website using this link
http://home.nps.gov/afr/

3. Click on the “Login” link from the Concessions AFR webpage where
you downloaded your forms.
In the menu on the left side, click “Login.” You must have received an email notification from the NPS
letting you know your account has been activated before you can submit your AFR files. Enter your
email address and password to login; see below.

19

7.4 Uploading the AFR Report and Supplemental Files
1. Once you login, you will see a screen that shows your previous AFR Submissions. To upload the
AFR Prepared Data file and other files you generated previously, click either “New Financial Report”
at the top of the page or “Submit AFR” on the left.

2. To upload your AFR, click the "Browse" button and navigate to the folder where you saved your
AFR Prepared Data file.

3. Open the folder, select
the prepared data file
[looks like
“PreparedDataS_(BUFF009_2009-0723).xml”], and click
“Open.”

20

4. If there are additional files that you would like to upload, click the “More” button. If you are ready
to send the AFR to the NPS, skip to step 5.When you click the “More” button, information about the
first file you uploaded will appear and the text “Upload Schedule K, Schedule F, Opinion Letter,
Financial Statements, or other supporting documents” will show in bold. To upload another document,
click “Browse” again and repeat step 3. Repeat these steps for each additional document you need to
upload, then move on to step 5.

5. After adding each document that you need to upload, click the “Finished” button to complete the
upload. If the upload was successful you should see the message: "AFR Submission Complete.” You
will also receive an email verifying that your AFR has been received. If you do not receive one within
48 hours, please contact the Administrator at [email protected].

21

7.5 Submitting Additional Files After the AFR Upload is Complete
The AFR website allows you to upload additional files after your AFR has been uploaded, which can
be helpful if you’ve forgotten to submit something or the NPS requests additional supporting
information. To do so, first login to the AFR website as detailed in section 7.3 above. You will see the
Submission Log:

Edit Button

Click on the Edit button to the right of the Annual Financial Report that corresponds with the
additional documents you are uploading. The same uploading screen will appear as when you
originally uploaded your AFR. Follow steps 4 and 5 above to complete the upload of the additional
files.

8 Wrap Up
Once you have saved and submitted your completed AFR Short Form, it is recommended you create a
backup file of your data. You can use either data diskettes or CDs to archive your Short Form.
Generally, you simply insert either the diskette or CD and save the AFR Short Form and supporting
documents to the new location.
The National Park Service is committed to the development of a streamlined AFR reporting process.
Your feedback is an important part of this effort. If you encounter difficulties in completing the AFR
Short Form, or would like to provide feedback, please do not hesitate to contact the park individual
responsible for concession matters. If necessary, the regional or Washington office will also be
available.

22