What's New? on FMX

Due to the Payee Number Conversion, all state agencies and institutions of higher education must be ready to SUBMIT the new randomly assigned Texas Identification Numbers (TINs) that begin with 7 for USAS payment processing on or before April 7 if an extension was not approved.

The rules outlined in the Matrix for TINS Payee Number Conversion (Excel) go into effect April 7. Unless an extension was approved, agencies must use/send 7 TINs for payee maintenance (according to Matrix rules) and for USAS payments (except when the four-day grace period applies).

Note: Unless noted otherwise in the Matrix rules, USAS transactions submitted as of April 7 will fail if submitted with TINs that begin with 2.

Please email payee.conversion@cpa.texas.gov or call the Payment Services Help Desk at (512) 936-8138 if you have any questions.

The URL to log in to the State Agency Payment Search application has changed. The security now works differently. To access the application you must:

• Click on the new direct link on the Payment Services topic page or other FMX links to the application.
• Go to Tips for State Agency Payment Search and follow the steps to save the link to your Favorites in Internet Explorer or Bookmarks in Firefox or Chrome.

Note: The updated State Vendor Payment Resources page includes a link to the Set Up Account Access help page for Search State Payments Issued, which is the application for payees.

Please contact Payment Services if you have any questions.

Security coordinators are required to certify that their records are up to date through a semiannual security verification process that is concurrent for all Fiscal Management applications. A confirmation form will be mailed on April 1 and must be returned by Friday, May 2, for agency or institution security requests to continue to be accepted.

If you have any questions, please email sfs.security@cpa.texas.gov or see Semiannual Verification of Users’ Security Access Levels (FPP K.009) (log-in required).

The Fiscal 2014 Second Quarter Post-Payment Audit Reports are available for view, print and download now. For more audit resources including Fiscal Policies and Procedures, forms and contact information, see the Audit topic page on FMX.

To receive email notifications on each audit report posted, subscribe via GovDelivery.

The Comptroller’s office has converted the payee numbers in TINS that began with 2 to randomly assigned numbers that begin with 7. State employees who need to submit travel vouchers as well as other payees are strongly encouraged to use 7 TINs when doing business with the state.

Here is how payees can find their own 7 TINs and how to look up 7 TINs for employees or other payees who request assistance.

Self-Service

• Every time a payee uses a Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to log in to the Search State Payments Issued application, the “Confirm Texas Identification Number” screen will provide the randomly assigned 7 TIN.
• Employees and other payees may also find 7 TINs on warrants or bank account statements.

Customer Service

• To find the 7 TIN for a payee, enter the 2 TIN either in line 1 or the TIN field on any inquiry screen in TINS. The system will flip the number to the 7 TIN when you press Enter.
• The 7 TINs also appear on payee maintenance or payment reports.

Note: Agencies must use 1, 3 or 7 TINs to access the State Agency Payment Search application.

The Frequently Asked Questions have been updated with this information. Please email payee.conversion@cpa.texas.gov or call the Payment Services Help Desk at (512) 936-8138 if you have any questions.

April 15 is the maintenance/corrections deadline for the First Quarter Veteran Workforce Summary Reports (Jan. 1 – March 31). Copies of the quarterly reports will be sent via electronic file transfer (EFT) on April 16. The electronic acknowledgement form and complaints report must be submitted by April 23.

For more, see Veteran Workforce Summary and Veteran Complaint Reports (FPP F.038).

The federal Fiscal Year 2014 Omnibus Spending Bill repeals the Requirements for ARRA Section 1512 Reporting (FPP B.009) as of Feb. 1. The January 2014 reporting cycle was the last required submission of Section 1512 reports.

The last day to make changes in FederalReporting.gov is March 19:

• Changes or corrections to reports submitted in January 2014 can be made in FederalReporting.gov without assistance from the federal cognizant agency.
• Changes or corrections to reports submitted before January 2014 require an Automatic Data Change (ADC) request. See Chapter 16 of the FederalReporting.gov User Guide for details.

Since you will not be able to log in to FederalReporting.gov after March 19, March 19 is the final opportunity to adjust any Section 1512 report that will be published on Recovery.gov.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) requires state agencies and institutions of higher education receiving federal grants of $25,000 or more to report data on subawards. The requirement did not include ARRA grants subject to Section 1512 reporting, which has now ended.

FFATA reports are required for ARRA subawards made on or after Feb. 1, 2014.

For more information, see Federal Funding Subaward and Executive Compensation Data Reporting and the FFATA Timeline and Reporting Crosswalk.

Citizen-centric reporting of government financial information is a growing national trend, and another way the state of Texas is informing citizens in plain language on how their tax dollars are being spent.

A Report to the Citizens of Texas is our citizen-centric report highlighting state of Texas financial information in a concise, easily understood format. For details, see the fiscal 2013 A Report to the Citizens of Texas.

The Comptroller’s office has converted the payee numbers in TINS that begin with 2 to randomly assigned numbers that begin with 7. All state agencies and institutions of higher education must ACCEPT the new 7 TINs effective March 3. For more information, see the Extract Availability Timeline. The Agency Setup region was refreshed with production data for TINS testing during the March 1–2 conversion weekend.

All agencies and institutions must be ready to SUBMIT the new 7 TINs on or before April 7 if an extension was not approved.

Note: The rules outlined in the Matrix for TINS Payee Number Conversion (Excel) go into effect April 7. Unless an extension was approved, agencies must use/send 7 numbers for payee maintenance (according to Matrix rules) and for USAS payments (except when the four-day grace period applies).

The Payee Number Conversion resource page now includes additional helpful links:

• The TINS Inquiry and Online Entry Web-based trainings now cover the conversion.
• The Data Entry Matrix for online TINS data entry screens identifies when the SSN/ITIN or 7 TIN is required or not allowed for converted agencies.
• ACR 43303 – TINS migrated to complete Phase 3 of the conversion.
• ACR 44302 – TINS created the mid-day validation process.
• ACR 43305 – USPS modified online processes and screens in Phase 3.
• ACR 43304 – SPRS modified one personnel extract in Phase 3.
• FMQuery – SIRS reflects updated vendor payment reports.
• Frequently Asked Questions now cover purges.
• See also the Tutorial: TINS Online Changes for Experienced Users.

Note:The TIN Generator has been renamed the Check-Digit Calculator.

Please email payee.conversion@cpa.texas.gov or call the Payment Services Help Desk at (512) 936-8138 if you have any questions.

The Comptroller’s office has completed converting the payee numbers in TINS that begin with 2 to randomly assigned numbers that begin with 7. The production Initial Conversion (XRF file) is now available for agencies to “get” from the Comptroller mainframe server. The online systems are now available during the usually scheduled times. For additional information, see the Payee Number Conversion resource page.