Submission Requirements

Agencies must follow specific guidelines when submitting payee information by batch, such as:

• Requirements for Transmitting Comptroller Information Over Public Networks and Downloading Mainframe Reports Using Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) (FPP N.007) (login required)
• Completion of a certification and testing process before submitting batch files to production
• Any change to an IP address must be coordinated through the Comptroller’s IT Help Desk

The deadline to submit a TINS batch file on a regular business day is 4 p.m. Files received after 4 p.m. will be processed during the next nightly processing cycle. To determine when batch files are processed, see the following:

• USAS/TINS Input Record File Submission Schedule
• System Outages and Holidays Calendar

Only one batch file per agency may be submitted within the same business day, based on the three-digit agency number in the file dataset name of the TINS file. If multiple files are submitted on the same day with the same agency number in the file dataset name, the last file received will override that day’s previous file(s). A batch file does not have a minimum transaction number requirement. See TINS File Layouts and Check Digit Algorithms (login required).

Testing Required

Before an agency submits batch transactions to the TINS PRODUCTION (PROD) environment, the agency is required to perform testing in the TINS TEST environment. This includes testing of the following transactions:

• Payee maintenance – Payee setups and updates
• Direct Deposit maintenance – Direct deposit setups, changes and cancellations
• Hold maintenance – Hold setups, changes and releases

TINS reports are available for agencies to download for both TEST and PROD. See Report Downloads and TINS File Layouts and Check-digit Algorithms (login required) for the file dataset names for both TEST and PROD batch files. Also see IR 20115 – TINS Test Environment, which states that the TINS Test environment is refreshed the first workday of each month. A refresh replaces all data from the TEST environment with the data from the PROD environment.

Therefore, testing of a transaction setup followed by testing of a change, delete or cancellation of that setup record must be performed within the same month. For example:

During the month of July, a payee master and mail code setup is submitted and posts successfully to the TEST environment. When testing a change transaction to that setup record, it must be submitted in July as well. If the change transaction is submitted in August for the setup record submitted in July, the change transaction will fail as the setup record would have been deleted when the TEST environment was refreshed the first workday in August.

TINS Relationship Table

Some agencies have agreements with other agencies to submit TINS batch transactions on their behalf. The agency on whose behalf the submitting agency represents is a dependent agency.

TINS maintains a relationship table as a security measure via ACR 60294. If an agency submits a batch file for another agency and the relationship between the two agencies is not defined in this table, TINS will drop (not process) the batch transaction. The dropped transaction will appear on the submitting agency’s TINS CSV File: Processed, Non-Processed and Drop Transactions (login required). See ACR 60105.

This table applies only to TINS batch files. To request an update to the TINS Relationship Table, emails to tins.mail@cpa.texas.gov must be submitted by the statewide financial systems technical contacts from both the agency that will submit the batch files and the dependent agency on whose behalf the TINS files will be submitted.

An agency that submits batch files on behalf of dependent agencies must include all transactions for its own agency and all its dependent agencies within the same daily file.

• The agency number in the file’s dataset name is the submitting agency. The dataset name must be unique per day to prevent overriding previously submitted files within the same day.
• The agency number in the INPUT SOURCE field of each file layout is the dependent agency.

Each submitting agency is limited to one file per day. However, an agency that submits batch files for its own agency and dependent agencies, based on security and the relationship table, may submit:

• One file per day with the submitting agency number in the file dataset name and with transactions for the submitting agency and its dependent agencies.
• Multiple files per day for the submitting agency and its dependent agencies as long as each file has a unique agency number in the files’ dataset name.

Example

If your agency needs assistance with the technical aspects for submitting batch files, contact the Comptroller’s IT Help Desk:

• Email the System Input/Output (SIO) Group at it.sio@cpa.texas.gov or
• Call (512) 463-HELP (4357) and request a ticket be submitted for the SIO Group.