January 14, 2020
For users of the AMA, BPAS, and CBS budget systems.
The Appropriation Maintenance Application (AMA) will be unavailable between noon and 1:00 PM on Friday, January 17, while system updates are installed. MMB will notify AMA users by email when this work is completed and the system is available again.
Here’s a preview of some of the system updates to be included in the new AMA release:
Edit Screen - Fund Balance Class code drop down lists will now display only the Class code value(s) that are valid for the Appropriation’s Fund Code. Invalid Fund Balance Class code entries will be cleared when existing appropriations are copied or modified in AMA.
Some funds have two options; for example, the fund 1000 – General:
  Fund 2020 – Construction Code has only one option:
 Search – AMA transactions can now be retrieved by transaction ID number, without entering an Agency Code and Budget Period in the Search parameters. You will still be able to search for transactions by Approp ID or other attributes when the required Agency and Budget Period values are entered.
SWIFT Biennium Appropriation Entry, Excel Upload – You will not need to reformat the Amount field in Excel export files generated from this AMA Entry option. Amount entries will always display in numeric format, so a total can be easily calculated.
Compare SWIFT and AMA Pop-Up –This feature, which allows users to quickly compare differences between the appropriation’s current attributes in SWIFT and the AMA entry, now includes the Budget Status—Open (O), Hold (H) or Closed (C). Field names are now displayed next to code values to improve transparency—for example, Approp Type: 04-Special - Dedicated.
Introductory classroom training for AMA will be offered again in late April and May. These instructor-led sessions for new system users will cover how to enter and monitor appropriation requests in AMA until SWIFT and/or BPAS is updated. Enrollment will be through the Self Service Portal, Enterprise Learning Management (ELM). To enroll, users must have the KK Agency Jrnl Approver and/or KK Agency Jrnl Entry SWIFT role and be responsible for entering or approving their agency’s appropriation transactions in AMA. Dates will be announced in a future Budget Systems Newsletter.
In June, MMB Budget Operations will offer AMA workshops, where agency budget staff can receive one-on-one assistance in setting up new appropriations for 2021 or preparing other AMA transactions. Note: the workshops will not provide instructor-led system user training.
Do make sure that you’ve updated the link to the new Administrative Portal URL on your browser’s Properties menu to http://mn.gov/adminportal. Always log in to the Administrative Portal to access the budget systems—AMA, BPAS, CBS and DE—and FNTS.
After you’ve logged in to the Administrative Portal, open each system tile you have access to only once. Do not open multiple sessions of the same budget system. Running multiple sessions of the same budget system can cause issues when updating and saving entries. If you want to run two simultaneous sessions, you must open the system in two different browsers.
Contact the Legislative Budget Office (LBO) at fn@lbo.leg.mn to report an issue with the Fiscal Note Tracking System, or for assistance with using FNTS, including narrative formatting issues. MMB transferred operational control of FNTS to the LBO last September.
Have a question about or a suggestion for improving the budget systems? Email it to Budget Operations at budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us, Subject: Budget Systems Newsletter.
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