What is CARS? CARS is the system we use for processing contracts and reimbursing expenses for local agencies. This system calculates about 600 payments for nearly 300 different contracts each month. To modernize our fiscal payment system, we are replacing CARS with GEARS. GEARS is short for Grants Enrollment, Application and Reporting System. 

So where are we at with the switch from CARS to GEARS?

CARS continues to be the system we use. CARS calculates payments based on costs reported by local agencies, and that is not changing with the upgrade to GEARS.  

GEARS processes contracts, reported expenditures, and adjustments properly and is accurately calculating payments. Right now, GEARS is running in parallel with CARS. During this parallel processing, DHS is verifying the results in GEARS against the results in CARS to make sure they match. We will continue testing and keep you informed as we move GEARS forward. 

NEW! CARS Unit Is Now Confirming Receipt of Expenditure Reports 

On a monthly basis, the CARS Unit receives and processes 600–900 Expenditure Reports. We are now emailing a confirmation for each expenditure report received. The receipt will be emailed to the same address we received the report from. It will document when the CARS Unit received your Expenditure Report.  

To help reduce questions about whether a report has been received and reduce the number of late expenditure reports: 

• Email your reports from an account that can accept our email reply.
• Format the subject line on the email properly, making sure that the report month listed in the subject line agrees to the report being submitted. 

Important: If you don't receive a confirmation by the end of that business day, please check your "spam folder" and make sure that the expenditure report was e-mailed to: DHS600RCARS@dhs.wisconsin.gov. 

Then:

• If the email address was incorrect, please resubmit your report to the corrected email address: DHS600RCARS@dhs.wisconsin.gov.
• If the email address was correct and you still did not receive it, please contact the BFS CARS Unit at DHSDESBFSCARS@dhs.wisconsin.gov.

Please retain the confirmation until all related contracts have been closed and a final reconciliation is complete.