ESA scholarship account setup and expense tracking

_In the app: `/scholarship`_

The Scholarship Account is where families track ESA (Education Savings Account) / ESA-eligible direct-pay expenses — every ClassWallet purchase, attached receipt, category, and curriculum tie-back — to stay audit-ready quarter after quarter. When the review email comes, you're already done. Available to families on the 14-day trial and paid Family tiers; trial users can see curriculum docs but the reimbursement receipt unlocks after your first payment.

How to

Set up a scholarship account for a student

Go to Scholarship Account page (/scholarship).
Confirm you have at least one student and an active school year set up first — the form requires both.
If your state has an ESA program supported (currently Arizona; Florida, Iowa, Arkansas, Utah, West Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma coming soon), you'll see the setup card for that student.
Select the ESA program from the Program dropdown. If you're in Arizona, 'Arizona ESA' will be pre-selected.
Choose the school year.
Enter your Annual award amount (required) — this is the total funds available that year, e.g. 7000 for Arizona.
Enter Rollover from prior year (optional) — leftover funds from the previous year that roll into this year's total available.
Enter ESA application number / SID (optional but strongly recommended) — ClassWallet calls this the SID. When you receive your ESA award letter from the state, save this number here. It's required on any submission docs you'll create.
Enter Card / account last 4 (optional) — last four digits of your ClassWallet card or account, for audit reference.
Enter Activated date (pre-filled with today, editable) — when the account became active.
Add any Notes (optional) — e.g. 'disability-qualified' or program notes.
Click Set up account. The account is created and you're ready to log expenses.

Log an ESA expense

Go to Scholarship Account > scroll to the 'Log an expense' form.
Click + Log an expense to open the form.
Enter Expense date (required) — defaults to today; change if logging a past purchase.
Enter Amount USD (required) — the cost of the purchase.
Enter Vendor (required) — e.g. 'Math U See', 'Outschool', 'ACT'.
Select Category (required) — the official ClassWallet / AZ ESA category, e.g. 'Curriculum', 'Supplemental Materials', 'Tutoring', etc. Below the dropdown, you'll see the category's official description.
If the category requires credentials (e.g. 'Tutoring/teaching'), a gold banner appears. Check the checkbox to confirm you've uploaded the provider's credentials to Documents (teaching_credential) — this is not optional for those categories.
Select Payment method (required) — ClassWallet card, ClassWallet marketplace, Out of pocket, or Other.
Enter Description (required) — brief label for the purchase, e.g. 'Math 5 student book + answer key'.
Tie to a subject (optional) — if you've set up course enrollments, you can link the expense to a subject for curriculum reporting.
Upload Receipt (image or PDF, up to 25 MB, optional) — image file or PDF of the receipt. Uploading is strongly recommended for audit defense.
Add Notes (optional) — any details that help during audit, e.g. 'required by Algebra curriculum'.
Review any warnings below the form — yellow banner with audit-trap alerts (Teachers Pay Teachers, Venmo, membership fees, missing credentials). These are non-blocking; you can still save if a warning appears.
Click Save expense. The expense is logged. It starts in 'Logged' status.

Track expense status through the ESA lifecycle

On each logged expense card, you'll see a Status dropdown on the right side (in the row with the Receipt button).
Click the Status dropdown and select one of: Logged, Submitted, Approved, Denied, Reimbursed, or Disallowed.
The status tracks where the expense is in the ESA approval cycle: you log it, then track whether you submitted it to the ESA program, whether the program approved or denied it, and whether you received reimbursement or it was disallowed.
As you update statuses, ArborSlate records the change automatically.

Generate a Parent-Provided Curriculum doc for an expense (AI-powered)

Scroll to an expense in the list or view it in the current quarter.
On the expense card, below the main details, you'll see a 'Generate curriculum doc (AI)' button.
Click Generate draft. ArborSlate uses the vendor, description, and category to write a curriculum justification doc — the document ESA wants to confirm the material supports your course of study.
Review the draft (Subject, Learning objective, Method, Materials) and edit as needed. Edits are saved automatically.
When ready, click Finalize & download to seal it and export as a PDF.
On trial accounts, the PDF is watermarked; paid (Family tier) accounts get a clean PDF.
You can regenerate the draft up to 3 times per expense if needed.
Trial users get 3 free curriculum-doc generations per billing period; paid families get unlimited.

Generate an ESA submission packet (one-page attestation)

Go to the account details card at the top of the Scholarship Account page.
Scroll to the 'Submission packet' section.
Click Generate ESA submission packet. ArborSlate compiles: legal student name, SID (if entered), current school year label, and all active course enrollments with curriculum + credit hours.
A one-page PDF renders with your signature line ready. This is the attestation ClassWallet asks you to attach to your receipts at submission.
The link 'Open PDF' appears. Download or open the PDF and print it.
Sign the packet and attach it to your quarterly ClassWallet submission.

Generate an ESA reimbursement receipt for your ArborSlate subscription

Go to the account details card at the top of the Scholarship Account page.
Scroll to 'Reimburse your ArborSlate subscription' section.
If on trial: you'll see a note that the receipt unlocks after your first payment. Complete your purchase and come back.
If on a paid tier: enter your Billing address (must match what you have on file with your ESA program). If you've entered it before, it pre-fills.
Click Get ESA reimbursement receipt (or Regenerate receipt if you already have one).
ArborSlate pulls your latest paid Stripe invoice (amount, period, invoice number, paid date) and pairs it with your student's SID to create proof-of-payment.
The receipt PDF shows: ArborSlate / Amphora LLC, the subscription amount and dates, your student's name and SID, and your billing address.
Click Open PDF to download or print.
Submit the receipt to ClassWallet as an ESA-eligible expense (ArborSlate fits the 'Tuition or fees — online learning program (non-public)' category).

Switch between students or quarters

At the top of the Scholarship Account page, use the Student dropdown (if you have more than one student) to select who you're tracking.
Use the Quarter dropdown to filter expenses: Full year, Q1 (Jul–Sep), Q2 (Oct–Dec), Q3 (Jan–Mar), or Q4 (Apr–Jun).
Click Update. The page reloads showing expenses for that student + quarter.
Category totals and spending progress always reflect the selected quarter.

Edit account details after setup

On the account card at the top, click Edit details (link in the top right).
The page reveals an 'Edit account details' card with editable fields.
You can change: Annual award amount (e.g., if you get a mid-year increase for disability), Rollover from prior year, ESA application number / SID, Card last 4, Status (Active, Paused, Closed), Activated date, and Notes.
You cannot change Student, School year, or Program — those identify the account. If any of those is wrong, delete this account and create a new one.
Click Save changes when done. The updates apply immediately.
Click Cancel to exit without saving.

Delete or revise a logged expense

Find the expense in the list.
On the expense card's right side, you'll see a Status dropdown and a Delete button.
To change the status: click the Status dropdown and select a new status (Logged, Submitted, Approved, Denied, Reimbursed, Disallowed).
To delete: click Delete. A confirmation appears. Click Confirm to remove the expense and its receipt (if uploaded).
Click Cancel to keep the expense.

View and download expense receipts

Each logged expense that has a receipt attached shows a 'Receipt' badge on the card.
Click the Receipt button (or badge) to open or download the image / PDF you uploaded.
Receipts are kept private to your family and stored securely in ArborSlate storage.

Options & settings

Program — selected at setup, not editable. If wrong, create a new account.
School Year — selected at setup, not editable. If wrong, create a new account.
Annual Award Amount — editable anytime via Edit details. Update if you receive a mid-year increase (e.g., for disability qualification).
Rollover from Prior Year — editable anytime. Add or adjust if rollover funds arrive late or if you receive a correction.
ESA Application Number / SID — optional at setup, editable anytime. Strongly recommended to add so submission docs are automatically SID-tagged.
Card / Account Last 4 — optional, editable anytime. For audit reference if your ClassWallet card is replaced.
Status — Active (default), Paused, or Closed. Mark Paused between school years; mark Closed if the account is no longer in use.
Activated Date — editable anytime. Defaults to setup date.
Notes — free-form text for any account-level context (e.g., 'disability-qualified', 'family-split between siblings').
Payment Method (per expense) — ClassWallet card, ClassWallet marketplace, Out of pocket, Other. Set per purchase.
Credentials Provided (per expense requiring credentials) — checkbox confirming you've uploaded provider credentials to Documents.
Billing Address (for reimbursement receipt) — stored on your family profile, pre-filled on the receipt-generation form, can be edited per receipt generation.

Common questions

What's the difference between 'Logged', 'Submitted', and 'Approved' expense statuses?

Logged = you've recorded the ClassWallet purchase in ArborSlate. Submitted = you've included the receipt + curriculum doc in your ESA program's quarterly review. Approved = the program approved your reimbursement for that expense. Disallowed / Denied = the program flagged it and won't reimburse. Reimbursed = you've received the money back. The status is just a tracker so you know where each expense stands in the ESA approval cycle.

Do I have to add an SID right away, or can I do it later?

You can leave it blank at setup and add it later — just click Edit details and enter it when you get your award letter from the state. However, any submission docs (curriculum docs, attestation packet, reimbursement receipt) should include your SID before you send them to ClassWallet / ADE. ArborSlate will remind you to add it if you try to generate a submission doc without it.

Why does the form warn me about Teachers Pay Teachers, Venmo, and memberships?

Those are well-known audit traps per Arizona ESA rules. Teachers Pay Teachers content is usually treated as supplemental material, not a full curriculum, and may be denied. Venmo is not an allowable merchant (use ClassWallet card or marketplace). Membership and association fees are generally not reimbursable. The warnings are non-blocking — you can still log the expense — but they're a heads-up to think twice before submitting.

What if a category shows '(Disability Only)'?

Those six categories (Assistive Technology, Associated Goods, Educational Therapies, Educational/Psychological Evaluations, Life Skills/Vocational, Paraprofessional) are only eligible if your student is a qualified student with a disability and you have documentation (IEP, 504 plan, etc.). ArborSlate shows them for every student, but the label warns you that the restriction applies at audit time.

I uploaded a receipt — how do I know it's safe?

ArborSlate stores receipts in a private, family-scoped folder using Supabase Storage. Only you (and anyone in your family account) can view them. Signed URLs for receipt downloads are time-limited (1 hour) and encrypted. ArborSlate never shares receipt images with classmates, co-ops, or public tools.

Can I use the free ESA Expense Tracker instead of the full Scholarship Account?

The free ESA Expense Tracker (at /esa-tracker) is a public, browser-only tool — no signup, no storage, no cloud. It's great for a quick quarterly summary and to practice ESA categorization. The Scholarship Account is for families who need to store receipts, track expenses long-term, generate audit-defense docs, and tie curriculum to purchases. On trial, you get the full Scholarship Account for free for 14 days.

What ESA states does ArborSlate support?

Currently, Arizona ESA is fully built and integrated. Other states (Florida, Iowa, Arkansas, Utah, West Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Oklahoma) are planned as config-only additions in future releases. If your state isn't live yet, you can use the Scholarship Account with a custom program (set up a non-state program to track expenses, though category warnings may not apply to your rules).

Why can't I generate a reimbursement receipt on trial?

The reimbursement receipt requires a Stripe payment record — it pairs your latest paid subscription invoice with your student's SID to prove you've paid for ArborSlate. Until you complete your first payment (upgrade from trial to a paid Family plan), no paid invoice exists, so the receipt can't be generated. After your first payment, the receipt is immediately available.

My category shows 'Review category — [ID]' instead of a real category name. What's wrong?

This happens when ArborSlate's category list is updated (e.g., ClassWallet renames a category) but an old expense still references the old ID. Click Edit on that expense, re-select the correct current category, and save. The category badge will update.

Good to know

The Scholarship Account requires an active school year — if you don't have one, set it up first in Settings > School Year.
SID (ESA application number) is optional at setup, but any official submission (curriculum doc, packet, receipt) should include it. You'll get a warning if you try to generate submission docs without it.
Receipt uploads are images or PDFs, up to 25 MB each. Large files may take a moment; a success message confirms the upload.
Credentials (teaching_credential) are required for tutoring, therapy, evaluation, and paraprofessional services. Check the gold banner on those categories and confirm you've uploaded provider credentials to Documents before submitting.
Disability-only categories (6 total) are shown for all students, but only eligible if your student has qualifying documentation (IEP, 504 plan, etc.). The '(Disability Only)' label in the category picker is your cue to verify eligibility.
When you change Student or School year, you're viewing a different account — changing either one on the setup form creates a new account, not an edit. To switch students, use the Student dropdown on the live dashboard; to switch years, click the Account setup link to create a new account for that year.
The quarterly reports (Jul–Sep, Oct–Dec, Jan–Mar, Apr–Jun) follow Arizona's ESA reporting calendar. Other states may use different quarters; confirm your state's cadence before relying on the preset filters.
Deleting an expense also deletes its receipt. If you need the receipt later, download it first or take a screenshot.
The billing address on your reimbursement receipt must match the address on file with your ESA program. If it doesn't, update it before generating the receipt and re-check with ClassWallet / ADE.

Plans

ESA scholarship tracking is available on trial (14 days free) and Family-tier paid plans (monthly or annual), plus co-op subscriptions. Trial users can log expenses, categorize, upload receipts, generate curriculum docs, and generate the submission packet. The reimbursement receipt requires a first payment (Stripe customer record). Trial users see watermarks on curriculum-doc PDFs; paid families see clean PDFs. Curriculum-doc generation is capped at 3 per billing period on trial; unlimited on paid tiers.