July 8, 2020
For users of the AMA, BPAS, and CBS budget systems.
BPAS and the Departmental Earnings System (DE) will be opened on August 25 for agencies to begin preparing 2022-23 biennial budgets. BPAS users for agencies required to submit data for the biennial Departmental Earnings report will also be given access to DE.
In lieu of classroom sessions, user training for BPAS and DE will be provided through instructional videos and webinars.
Instructional Videos
The first video BPAS instructional video is available now on the BPAS webpage https://mn.gov/mmb/budget/statewide-budget-systems/bpas/bpas-training-videos.jsp and provides an overview of the biennial budget process.
Additional videos between five and 15 minutes in length will be published throughout the summer and include the following topics:
- Accessing BPAS and General Navigation
- Understanding BPAS Data and the Budget Cycle – an overview of how BPAS compiles data for agency base biennial budgets and the governor’s budget recommendations.
- Appropriation Module
- Part 1 – Appropriation Edit/Entry Screen Overview
- Part 2 – Account Add – How to add revenue or expenditure accounts to an existing appropriation
- Part 3 – Transfers - How to enter or modify transfers out from an appropriation.
- Standard Reports Overview
- How to run standard reports
- Base Budget Preparation Report Examples
- Fiscal Reports Overview
- Change Module
- Part 1 – Creating Change Items and Entering Descriptions
- Part 2 – Entering Summary Funding and Relevant Base Data
- Part 3 – Entering Change Funding Detail
- Departmental Earnings
- Accessing DE and General Navigation
- Completing Data Entries
- Running Reports
Webinars
In addition to BPAS Training Videos, live WebEx sessions are also planned. Two sessions titled “Overview of the Biennial Budget Process” will be offered in late August. Two system training sessions for new BPAS users titled “BPAS 101” will be offered in September. Registration for the sessions will open in ELM in late July. Certified BPAS Users will receive an email with instructions once training registration opens in ELM.
MMB has replaced its Budget Systems authorization form with a new fillable PDF form. The new budget systems user authorization form makes it easy to add a new user, update the credentials of an existing user, or remove access from one or all systems.
 Agency Budget Coordinators or Budget Directors will complete the new form electronically and submit it as an email attachment to budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us. Note: Fiscal Note Tracking System (FNTS) access and authorization is administered by the Legislative Budget Office. Appropriation Maintenance Application (AMA) security, access, and roles are tied to SWIFT.
AMA - Closed Appropriations
Take care before closing an appropriation in AMA. After an appropriation is closed, it can no longer be modified or copied in AMA; the appropriation will not appear in search results on the Modify or Copy Existing Appropriation entry screens. Agencies should not close an appropriation except in cases where an appropriation is mistakenly created and all transactions within that appropriation have been reversed.
 The Budget Status shows if the budget is open (“O” – default value for appropriation); on hold (“H” – allows payments against open encumbrances only); or closed (“C” – no accounting transactions can be processed).
AMA – RED Journal Class
In general, the APP journal class is to be used when decreasing an appropriation amount. The RED journal class value should only be used when specifically directed to do so by MMB.
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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