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The August 25, 2026 Statewide Payroll Services bulletin announced updated compensation cost projection assumptions for Budget Fiscal Years 2027, 2028, and 2029. The updated information from the bulletin is available in the Compensation Analysis Reporting Tool (CART).
CART is an EPM Data Warehouse reporting tool created by MMB Budget Planning and Operations to assist agencies with budgeting for compensation costs. CART cost projections can be used for analyzing an agency’s current compensation costs or projecting future compensation costs for biennial budget planning. For more information about using CART, please reference the updated CART User Guide posted on the FY 2028-29 Biennial Budget Instructions webpage.
The Budget Planning & Analysis System (BPAS) and the Departmental Earnings (DE) system are open for agencies to prepare their base budgets, enter change requests, and prepare the Departmental Earnings report for the 2028-29 Biennial Budget. Read the FY 2028-29 Base Budget, Governor's Budget Request (Change), and Departmental Earnings Instructions available on the Biennial Budget Instructions webpage for more information.
Important Due Dates
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Base Budget: Agencies must complete their base budgets in BPAS and submit a signed base certification form to Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) by the statutory deadline of Thursday, October 15. Upload the certification form and the three agency-level fiscal reports to the agency Biennial Budget/2028-29 Biennial Budget folder on the MMB Budget Division SharePoint site.
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Change Items: Agencies must complete their change item requests in BPAS, upload the change item narrative to the agency Biennial Budget/2028-29 Biennial Budget/CI Narratives folder on the MMB Budget Division SharePoint site, and provide fiscal detail supporting the key cost drivers of the change item to their Executive Budget Officer by the statutory deadline of Thursday, October 15.
- Departmental Earnings Analysis, Federal Funds Summary, Grants Funding Detail, and Internal Services Fund Statements are due Friday, November 13.
For a complete overview of the Biennial Budget Process and Timeline, refer to the Biennial Budget Process Timeline Quick Reference Guide. If you have questions or need further assistance, contact the MMB Budget Planning and Operations team at budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us.
All budget applications will be unavailable Thursday, August 27, starting at 4:30 p.m. through Monday, August 31, at 6:00 a.m. as part of a planned system upgrade to the State of Minnesota’s Administrative Portal (HUB). This impacts the Budget Planning and Analysis System (BPAS), Capital Budget System (CBS), Appropriation Maintenance Application (AMA), Fiscal Notes Tracking System (FNTS), and Departmental Earnings (DE).
MMB will offer two BPAS webinars in addition to the online instructional videos and written guides. Both webinars are available to new BPAS users and returning users who would like a refresher.
The first webinar focuses on an overview of BPAS and the biennial budget process focusing on due dates and deliverables to the MMB Budget Division. The second webinar provides an overview of the new Federal Funds module with a demonstration of how to produce an agency Federal Fund Summary in BPAS. Use the link below to register.
Intro to BPAS and Biennial Budget Process: September 3 at 2:00 PM
BPAS Federal Funds Module: September 17 at 10:30 AM
Register HERE
Ahna Minge, State Budget Director, released the FY 2028-29 Biennial Budget Base Instructions. These are technical instructions to guide the work of agencies in preparing and reconciling base financial data in the Budget Planning and Analysis System (BPAS). Instructions for submitting changes for consideration in the Governor’s budget will be forthcoming. BPAS and the DE system opened on August 20.
The base instructions and other templates and information are published on the MMB website at https://mn.gov/mmb/budget/budget-instructions/bibudprep/.
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Agency 2028-29 biennial budget narratives will not be uploaded into BPAS until they are finalized and ready for publication on October 1. Agencies can review their base budget books without narratives by downloading a book from the Book Module Agency Budget Books screen or running a book from the Configuration screen. Look for instructions in the updated BPAS User Guide, linked to the system’s Help menu on the Budget Planning and Analysis System webpage.
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Appropriation Module There are three videos available for the appropriation module. The appropriation videos help users understand what the appropriation module is used for, how data is organized and entered for current accounts, how to add new accounts, and how to view and enter transfers.
- Overview of the Appropriation Module
- Adding Accounts
- Entering Transfers
Change Module The change module includes three videos, two of which are relevant to users at this point in the process. Learn how to create new change items and enter required descriptions and funding summary information.
- Creating Change Items and Entering Descriptions
- Entering Funding Summary Information
These and other BPAS training videos can be found on MMB's Budget Systems Training Videos webpage.
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