{"id":1716,"date":"2021-03-24T20:54:57","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T20:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/fir\/?page_id=122"},"modified":"2026-01-21T18:15:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:15:18","slug":"help","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/index.php\/en\/municipal-reporting\/help\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart FIR Application Instructions"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 id=\"whatsrequired\"><strong>What\u2019s Required (User Registration)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In order to use the Smart FIR, users must install Smart View (an Excel add-in) and register for an OPS BPS Secure Account. Municipal users and Municipal Auditors who require access to the Smart FIR and who have not previously registered should refer to the registration package posted here.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/wp-content\/uploads\/fir-files\/municipal-reporting\/smart-fir-application-instructions\/Smart FIR User Registration.zip\" class=\"button shadow medium-4\">Download<\/a>\n<h2 id=\"accountconfirmation\"><strong>Account Confirmation Form<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As part of our annual security review, municipalities are asked to download and complete an Account Confirmation Form. The form is used to verify \/ delete users currently provisioned to access the Smart FIR for their municipality and to request new accounts when required.<\/p>\n<p>An account is only required when initializing, submitting, backing up or restoring. For everything else, the Smart FIR functions as a regular Excel file. As such, we request that municipalities limit the number of users assigned to their account, to a maximum of two municipal users and one auditor.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/wp-content\/uploads\/fir-files\/municipal-reporting\/smart-fir-application-instructions\/FIR2025 - Account Confirmation.zip\" class=\"button shadow medium-4\">Download<\/a>\n<h2 id=\"generalinstructions\"><strong>General Instructions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In order for the Smart FIR to operate effectively, it is important that it is not manipulated in any way. We have identified the following Excel features which cause the file not to function or to function incorrectly:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do not use Cut and Paste (or Drag and Drop)<\/li>\n<li>Do not set up the file as a Shared Workbook<\/li>\n<li>Do not Insert or Delete Sheets<\/li>\n<li>Do not Link to other Excel files<\/li>\n<li>Do not change file to Manual Calculation<\/li>\n<li>Macro Security should be set to Medium<\/li>\n<li>Do not save the file as .XLSX. File must be saved as .XLSM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"userguide\"><strong>Smart FIR User Guide<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This file will guide users though all the functionality of the new Smart FIR: initializing, back up and restore, attaching files, submitting, returned FIR, viewing versions and inserting rows in tax \/ pil schedules.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/wp-content\/uploads\/fir-files\/municipal-reporting\/smart-fir-application-instructions\/FIR Municipal User Guide Final V6.0.pdf\" class=\"button shadow medium-4\">Download<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What\u2019s Required (User Registration) In order to use the Smart FIR, users must install Smart View (an Excel add-in) and register for an OPS BPS Secure Account. Municipal users and Municipal Auditors who require access to the Smart FIR and who have not previously registered should refer to the registration package posted here. Account Confirmation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":1699,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.2.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Smart FIR Application Instructions - Financial Information Return<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"View instructions for using the Smart Financial Information Return (Smart FIR) application.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/index.php\/en\/municipal-reporting\/help\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smart FIR Application Instructions - Financial Information Return\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"View instructions for using the Smart Financial Information Return (Smart FIR) application.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/index.php\/en\/municipal-reporting\/help\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Financial Information Return\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-21T18:15:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/\",\"name\":\"Financial Information Return\",\"description\":\"Just another WordPress site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/index.php\/en\/municipal-reporting\/help\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca\/fir\/index.php\/en\/municipal-reporting\/help\/\",\"name\":\"Smart FIR Application Instructions - 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