What’s New on FMX?

The Comptroller’s office signed a contract on June 30 to begin the CAPPS State of Texas Accounting and Reporting Resource (STARR) project, which will modernize the state’s critical financial functionality by replacing the USAS, TINS and SPA legacy systems with a cloud-based solution.

The new CAPPS STARR system will include core USAS/TINS/SPA functions used by the Comptroller Fiscal Management staff, and by all state agencies and institutions of higher education The project begins in July 2025, with anticipated launch on Sept. 1, 2027.

Contacts statewide.accounting@cpa.texas.gov with any questions about the CAPPS STARR project.

See the 2025 Master Schedule of Year-End Close Events, which includes:

• Processing deadlines.
• Support contacts.
• System maintenance dates and times.

The fiscal 2025 USAS annual cash-basis close occurs on Aug. 29. Instructions, including deadlines for submitting documents, are in USAS Annual Close Process (FPP Q.004).

See Scheduling Critical Payments at Fiscal Year-End for more information by appropriation year, including deadlines.

Agencies using CAPPS Financials must also follow CAPPS Financials Year-End Processing Instructions (FPP T.001).

CAPPS Central agencies must follow CAPPS HR/Payroll Fiscal Year-End Processing Instructions (FPP T.003) to prepare for the fiscal year-end process.

The system will be unavailable from 5 p.m. Aug. 29 until normal activities resume at 8 a.m. Sept. 2.

The last SPA processing cycle before the fiscal year-end close runs Aug. 29. SPA will be available Sept. 2 to accept both fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026 transactions.

See SPA Fiscal Year-End Close Process (FPP N.008) for more information.

SPRS agencies must process transactions in the prescribed order for the rollover to fiscal 2025. See SPRS Fiscal Year-End Processing Instructions (FPP O.002) for complete information.

An accounting policy meeting about preparing for fiscal year-end close, USAS system-generated lapse and a shared cash review will be held July 24, 10 a.m.–noon. Attend the presentation in person or online (via webinar).

See the Accounting Policy Meetings page for more information.

Note: For the webinar, use the Google Chrome browser to avoid Webex compatibility issues.

A CAPPS Financials user group meeting will be held July 24, 9–10:30 a.m.

A CAPPS HR/Payroll user group meeting will be held July 29, 9–10:30 a.m.

See CAPPS Financials User Group Meetings or CAPPS HR/Payroll User Group Meetings for more information.

Deadlines for agencies listed in Fiscal 2024 Statewide Cost Allocation Summary of Fixed Costs by Agency are:

• July 11 – Statewide Cost Allocation Worksheet due.
• July 16 – Fiscal 2024 Agency Statewide Cost Allocation Plan by Method of Finance data available.
• Aug. 1 – General Revenue Reimbursement of Statewide Allocated Costs form and Federal Funds Reimbursement Calculation form (only for listed agencies with federal funds) due.
• Aug. 27 – Full reimbursement due. Agencies may submit earlier.

See General Revenue Reimbursement for Statewide Allocated Costs (FPP A.022) for instructions, contacts and forms.

The fiscal 2024 Statewide Cost Allocation Plan (SWCAP) provided by the governor’s office is now available.

Deadlines for agencies listed in Fiscal 2024 Statewide Cost Allocation Summary of Fixed Costs by Agency are:

• July 11 – Statewide Cost Allocation Worksheet due.
• July 16 – Fiscal 2024 Agency Statewide Cost Allocation Plan by Method of Finance data available.
• Aug. 1 – General Revenue Reimbursement of Statewide Allocated Costs form and Federal Funds Reimbursement Calculation form (only for listed agencies with federal funds) due.
• Aug. 27 – Full reimbursement due. Agencies may submit earlier.

See General Revenue Reimbursement for Statewide Allocated Costs (FPP A.022) for instructions, contacts and forms.

Processing Supplemental Appropriations and Reductions (FPP A. 047) has been updated with instructions for USAS and CAPPS to reflect House Bill 500, 89th Legislature, Regular Session.

Affected state agencies and institutions of higher education must complete these profiles and transactions by July 31.

Preliminary copies of the 2025 Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)-4 Report will be available to agencies July 24 via electronic file transfer. Agencies must review the preliminary report and submit the electronic Report Acknowledgment form to the Comptroller’s office by Aug. 7.

The governor’s office uses the report, which reflects state agency hiring practices for odd-numbered years, to comply with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reporting requirements. Agencies receive a preliminary report to review the data and enter or submit changes before the final report is sent.

See Equal Employment Opportunity Report (EEO)-4 (FPP G.003) for complete copies.

All general revenue (GR) consolidated and full reporting agencies must complete and submit every Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) questionnaire by Aug. 15. The GASB Questionnaires page on the AFR website provides:

• Links to each GASB questionnaire.
• Descriptions and PDF previews of each GASB questionnaire.
• Links for more information specific to each GASB statement.

Contact your agency’s financial reporting analyst with questions about any GASB questionnaire.

To ensure correct fiscal year-end USAS balances for imprest, petty cash and travel advance accounts, agencies must certify that USAS balances and agency computed balances (cash plus outstanding reimbursements) agree. Only cash accounts with funds from the state treasury are subject to this requirement.

Certification is due July 7. All corrections must be entered in USAS by July 18.

See USAS Balances for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045) for more information, including the updated Petty Cash Certification web application.

All Annual Financial Report (AFR) web applications will open for data entry on July 1. This includes Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) and State Pass-Through Reporting (SPTR) for federal expenditure activity and state pass-through funds. Ensure proper security access exists as early in the process as possible.

Contact your agency’s security coordinator to request access for each agency number you are reporting for. All agencies are required to submit a certification within each web application by the applicable due date, even if there is no activity. SEFA is the only exception. Contact your financial reporting analyst or email sefa.texas@cpa.texas.gov with questions.

On July 1, agencies can begin entering fiscal 2026 appropriation budgets in USAS and CAPPS. Submit all required documentation by July 31.

Budget entry and documentation submission must be complete before appropriation control officers can approve a budget setup. State agencies and institutions of higher education should use the Excel spreadsheets provided to complete the required schedules.

See Establishing Appropriations by Method of Finance, Rider, Capital Budget and Transfer Schedules (FPP A.020) for schedule spreadsheets, instructions, definitions, examples and the special requirements for unobligated balances.