1. Budget Amendments
What is a budget amendment, and when do I need one?
A budget amendment is an update to your approved CACFP budget when there are changes in expenses, staffing, or operations. You’ll need an amendment if you plan to make significant purchases (like supplies or equipment), add new staff or remove existing staff, or adjust spending categories.
How do I request a budget amendment?
Let us know what changes you need (e.g., new equipment, new cook, altered staffing). We will reach back out to you to let you know what supporting documents are needed and help you modify the budget line items for submission to TDA.
What documents do I need for a budget amendment?
Typically, you’ll need:
- An updated organizational chart
- An updated compensation policy for adding/changing staff
- Quotes or invoices for major purchases
- Explanations for the requested changes
How long does it take to get a budget amendment approved?
Approval timelines may vary, but usually range from 0–3 weeks after submission to TDA. Please notify us as soon as your amendment is approved or if more info is needed.
Can I purchase new items (like chairs or equipment) before my budget amendment is approved?
No. Always wait for written approval from TDA before making new purchases to ensure the expense is allowable and reimbursable.
How do I submit or amend my budget?
We can help you with this. Please book an appointment with us to do so.
2. Budget & Management Plan Questions
How do I prepare for a budget or management plan call?
Before your scheduled call, gather your latest payroll records, current budget, planned purchases, and any questions about expenses or staffing. We’ll walk through your current numbers and discuss any needed changes.
What is a management plan, and why is it important?
A management plan outlines your center’s policies and procedures for operating the CACFP program, including its structure, budget, and key responsibilities for CACFP compliance. It’s required with applications and renewals, and sometimes with budget amendments.
How do I update or submit my management plan?
We will provide you with a template upon request. You will update staff roles, titles, and duties as needed, then upload or email the plan to us for review.
3. Staff Amendments
How do I add or change staff on my CACFP roster?
Notify us with the new staff member’s full name, role (e.g., cook, teacher) and hire date. If they will be added to your CACFP budget, additional information is required. Provide their email address, schedule (including breaks), and pay rate. We’ll update your records and we can help you submit an amendment to TDA for approval.
Do I need to submit a staff amendment for every new hire?
If the staff member’s salary is paid with CACFP funds or impacts your program’s budget, then yes. Prompt updates help keep your records compliant.
4. Payroll and Time Distribution Reports
What payroll records are needed and when?
You will need to submit recent paystubs, payroll summaries, and time distribution reports for any affected staff during an administrative review. This is typically part of their checklist document requirements. The specific time period required will be in your TDA engagement letter.
What is a Time Distribution Report (TDR), and how do I use it?
A TDR tracks how staff members split their work hours between CACFP and other duties. Accurate TDRs are required when adding or updating staff or payroll information. TDRs must be completed and approved by a supervisor every month.
How is my CACFP labor cost calculated?
We calculate your CACFP labor cost using each staff member’s Time Distribution Report (TDR) percentage — not actual payroll records. The TDR percentage represents the portion of that staff member’s time spent on CACFP-related activities (meal prep, recordkeeping, training, supervision, etc.).
For each month, we apply the staff member’s TDR % to either their CACFP budgeted amount (for regular employees) or to their owner’s draw transactions (for owners).
How is the owner’s draw calculation different?
For owners, we calculate CACFP labor by taking each month’s owner’s draw transactions and multiplying by the owner’s TDR percentage. For example: if your TDR is 20% and you had 5 owner’s draw transactions totaling $829.23 in a given month, the CACFP labor cost would be $165.85 ($829.23 × 20%).
We use the actual owner’s draw transactions for the month — not an average — so your CACFP labor varies month-to-month based on what you drew.
Why didn’t my labor change when I was out for a week?
We use a monthly average based on each staff member’s CACFP budgeted amount — not weekly payroll. That means short variations in actual hours worked don’t directly change the monthly labor figure. If you’ve had a longer-term change (an employee leaving, a position eliminated, hours significantly reduced), let us know so we can update the TDR and budget to reflect the new reality. We do request actual payroll records during administrative reviews, so we can confirm and document the exact payroll for that period. Outside of these reviews, we aren’t able to accept or process actual payroll records.
I need to change an employee on my TDR. What do you need?
Send us the following for each new staff member:
- Title / position
- Email address
- Normal workdays
- Normal work hours (start and end times)
- Daily break times (in minutes)
- Pay rate
And tell us which employee (if any) is being removed. We’ll update your TDR in MyFoodCloud accordingly.
Where can I see my TDR?
In MyFoodCloud, you can print or save your TDR through the Reporting section — see How Do I Print or Save Time Distribution Reports (TDRs) in MyFoodCloud? for the steps.
Do I need to approve or certify my TDR?
Yes — TDRs need to be approved and certified each claim month. See Approve & Certify TDRs for the workflow in MyFoodCloud.