Schools and libraries pay consultants $200 million a year to collect their own money.
And they still left $3.26 billion of E-rate money unspent last cycle. E-Rate Keeper files your E-rate for a flat $1,995 a year and keeps every dollar you were approved for.
Free, no sign-up. Every school's and library's record is public.
What did your school or library leave on the table?
The full E-rate record for any school, district or library, in ten seconds: what you were approved for, what was paid, every contract and vendor, the budget you left unspent, and the approved money you have not claimed yet.
What it was approved for, what it was paid, and what it has left. From USAC's public records. Free, no sign-up.
The program is so complicated that schools and libraries pay middlemen to get their own money.
That is the finding of released by the Senate Commerce Committee on October 13, 2026. Its staff blamed the complexity of the rules, and called for simpler filing and public disclosure of what consultants are paid.
“A complex system with intermediary consultants who consume hundreds of millions of dollars annually just to assist in accessing federal support for internet bills.”
The FCC is moving too. Its June 2026 proposal (FCC 26-41) would ban consultant fees charged as a percentage of a school's or library's funding and require every consultant to register.
The rules will not get simple overnight. Software can make them simple now.
Paying for help is not the only leak. Money that was already yours expires.
Equipment budget left unspent
Every school and library gets a five-year budget for Wi-Fi and network equipment. Whatever is not spent by the end of the cycle is gone. About 12,000 budget holders used none of theirs.
Approved, then never claimed
Funding for 2024 that USAC approved but 8,644 applicants never invoiced before the deadline. Some came in under budget. The rest simply lapsed.
What a typical applicant pays a consultant
Every year, from its own general budget, because E-rate does not cover the fee. Some districts pay more than $100,000.
Help works. It just costs too much.
In USAC's own data, applicants who filed alone left 46% of their equipment budget unspent. Applicants with a consultant left 26%. E-Rate Keeper gives every school that guidance for a flat fee.
Share of 2021 to 2025 equipment budget left unused. USAC C2 budget data, our count.
Every school and library is in one of four situations. Which is yours?
You haven't applied
Your school or library qualifies, but nobody filed. Together these serve 7.4 million students.
- Estimate what you are owed from schools like yours
- Your first application, prepared step by step
- Every date sent to your whole team
You have budget you haven't used
Your five-year equipment budget is open, but nothing is committed. Last cycle, $3.26 billion like it expired.
- What your budget buys and what E-rate pays
- The bid request drafted and the 28-day clock run
- Your application ready for the 2027 window
You were approved but haven't been paid
The money is awarded, but it still has to be claimed by a deadline. Most fall on January 28, 2027.
- Check the service-started form is filed
- Prepare the claim before the deadline
- Request the one 120-day extension if you need it
You pay someone to file for you
Some pay 6% to 10% of their own funding. E-rate does not cover the fee.
- The same filings for a flat $1,995
- Never a percentage of your funding
- Your records stay yours when staff change
Your report tells you exactly what to do, and by when.
This is the real to-do list for Germantown Municipal School District in Germantown, TN, worked out from its own USAC records. Every school and library gets one.
What to do next
Worked out from Germantown Municipal School District's own USAC records, most urgent first.
- NextBid request by late February 2027Use your $1,179,789 equipment budget: nothing is committed yet
$977,451 expired unused last cycle. This budget pays for Wi-Fi, switches, cabling and firewalls through June 2030, and at your discount E-rate would pay about $471,916 of it. To use it for funding year 2027, post a bid request (Form 470), wait 28 days, choose a vendor, and file your application in the 2027 window, expected January to March. The 2027 dates are not announced yet, so posting by early January is safest and late February is the practical limit.
E-Rate Keeper prepares each of these for you and tracks every date. Or turn on the free deadline alerts.
Everything your E-rate consultant does. A flat $1,995 a year, never a share of your funding.
Every answer ready, in the portal's order
Open the filing guide beside USAC's portal. Each field is listed in order with its answer and a copy button. Copy, paste, review, certify. You never have to work out what a field means.
Starts already filled in
Pick your name and your buildings, services, vendors, contracts and history load from the public record. You confirm what changed this year.
Never lets approved money lapse
Every deadline for every funding request, tracked and sent by email before it lands. Nothing approved expires because someone forgot.
Alerts go to the role, not one inbox
Add your business manager, superintendent and IT lead. When someone changes jobs, the alerts keep going to everyone else.
Catches what gets funding denied
A contract signed before day 29, a service that was not in the bid request, a stale discount, an ineligible cost. Flagged before you file.
Answers reviewer questions
When USAC asks for proof, the reply is drafted with the documents attached and the 15-day clock on screen.
Accuracy guarantee
After you certify, we check your filing against USAC's public record. If a denial traces to an error in our software, your fee is refunded.
Audit-ready by default
Every document filed by funding year and kept for ten years, as the rules require. One click produces the audit packet.
Confirms your student counts. If a contract is ending, drafts the bid request and scores the bids that come in.
Prepares the funding application from last year's, with the rule checks run before you certify.
Answers reviewer questions, then prepares the "service has started" form when the funding letter arrives.
Tracks every invoice deadline so approved money is claimed, and keeps the record for the audit.
What filing is costing you, and what you are leaving behind.
Move the sliders to match your district or library. For your exact figures from USAC's records, look up your school or library above.
Set by your share of students on free or reduced lunch.
Senate review of 143 contracts: most schools pay $5,000 to $15,000.
Estimates. The equipment budget uses the FCC's $201.57 per student with a $30,175 floor, at your discount capped at 85%. Unused rates are our count of USAC's 2021 to 2025 budget data. Your exact figures are in your free report.
Three ways to file
| A consultant | Doing it yourself | E-Rate Keeper | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per year | $5,000 to $15,000, or 6% to 10% of your funding | Staff time, and the risk of a missed date | $1,995, flat |
| Your history and data | In the consultant's files | In one person's head and inbox | Yours, filled in from the public record |
| Deadlines | Tracked by the consultant | Tracked if someone remembers | Tracked for every request, sent to every person you add |
| When staff leave | You depend on the consultant staying | You start over | Nothing is lost. The next person opens it and sees where things stand |
| Audit file | Varies | Usually scattered | Kept ten years, one-click packet |
Questions
What is E-rate?
The federal program that pays 20% to 90% of a school's or library's internet and network costs, funded through the Universal Service charge on phone bills. Your discount depends on how many of your students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Is this connected to USAC or the FCC?
No. E-Rate Keeper is independent. Figures come from USAC's open data, which is public domain and updated daily.
Who submits the forms?
Your own staff, in your own USAC login, as now. We prepare every answer and lay it out in the order the portal asks for it. Your staff copy and paste, review, and your official certifies. We never have access to your portal account.
Who is it for?
Single school districts, charter schools, private schools and libraries buying internet service and standard network equipment. Consortia and state networks are next; until then they get the free report and alerts.
Can we pay by purchase order?
Yes. Pay yearly by purchase order and invoice, check, bank transfer or card. Or pay monthly by card: $299 a month in filing season and $49 a month the rest of the year, small enough for most district purchasing cards.
Does E-rate pay the consultant's fee?
No. Consultant fees are not an eligible E-rate cost, so schools and libraries pay them from their own budget, even when the fee is a percentage of the funding. Switching to E-Rate Keeper shrinks that line item.
Where do the numbers come from?
USAC publishes every application, funding decision, payment and equipment budget. Your report is built from those records, and every figure can be checked against USAC's own tools.
We already have a consultant. Why switch?
Look up your record first. If your consultant has kept every dollar at a fair price, keep them. If the report shows unspent budget, lapsed money or a fee that is a percentage of your funding, the numbers make the case.
What happens when someone on our team leaves?
Alerts go to everyone you add, and your whole history stays in the account. The next person picks up exactly where things stand.