Discover What's New in the Fall '25 Release
Capital Project Tracking
Personnel Budgeting
Capital Budgeting
Operational Budgeting
Document Enhancements
Document enhancement updates apply to all document and report templates in Digital Budget Book, Digital Financial Reporting, and Strategic Planning Documents.
Digital Budget Book
TOOLS
Charts
Statements
OTHER
ClearGov Labs
Support
Capital Project Tracking
Additional Views for All Projects Page
Your public site now offers residents more ways to explore capital projects with the addition of Card, List, and Timeline views — alongside the existing Map view. These new options make it easier for residents and visitors to browse and understand your capital initiatives in the format that best suits their preferences.
- Card View: Displays each project with a thumbnail image and key project details.
- List View: Presents projects in a clean, organized list for quick scanning and comparison.
- Timeline View: Visually aligns projects along a timeline, showing their start and end dates relative to one another.
As with the Map view, each option is fully interactive — viewers can click any project to access its detailed project page. These enhancements improve accessibility, transparency, and community engagement with your capital planning efforts. Map view will continue to be the default view, but visitors to the site will now have these additional options available.
Customizable Project Page Views for Transparency Clients
If your organization is also subscribed to ClearGov’s Transparency module, Admin users now have full control over which Project Page Views are available to the public and which view displays by default.
To configure these settings:
- Navigate to Transparency → Projects → Project Settings
- Open the new Projects Page Display tab.
- From there, you can toggle individual views on or off and select a default view that best aligns with your organization’s communication goals and residents’ preferences.
- Be sure to click Save Changes for the updates to appear on your public site.
Personnel Budgeting
Progress Bar
A new progress bar is now live in the Personnel Budgeting module! It gives you clear, granular visibility into where your budget stands, what to do next, and provides direct links to specialized ClearGov Academy resources for guidance. It works automatically for all new and existing budgets—no updates or extra steps needed.
To Use the New Progress Tracker:
- Open any Personnel Budget – a new progress tracker icon and bar are located in the top-right corner of every page (see screenshot below).
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Click the progress tracker – a side panel (drawer) will open, showing all high-level steps in the Personnel Budgeting workflow along with your overall completion status.
- Expand each step for details – each step can be clicked to reveal the specific tasks required to complete it.
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Follow the step order – some steps won’t unlock until previous ones are finished.
- For example, “Check Your Reports” (Step 6 in the Progress Tracker) only becomes available after you complete Step 5 in the Progress Tracker.
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Understand module-specific steps
- Steps 1–8 apply to all Personnel Budgets.
- Step 9 appears only for clients who also use Operational Budgeting, indicating whether your data has been imported. If an import is reverted or removed, the progress bar will automatically update and mark the step as incomplete until a new import is performed
Capital Budgeting
Scenario & Report Updates
New enhancements are now available within the Scenarios and Reports tabs of the Capital Budgeting module! Both tabs have been refreshed with a modern look and improved functionality, fully aligned with ClearGov’s branding.
In the Scenarios tab, you can now include the new Actuals data set from capital requests. Additional budget options for historical and future periods are also available, plus a new “All” view that combines all data into a single view instead of splitting by fiscal year. The data grid now includes more filter options for greater flexibility.
The Reports tab has been renamed for consistency with other modules and now includes a report-type breakdown, making it easier to find and organize custom reports.
The reports themselves have also been updated to account for some of the new technology that’s standard across ClearGov. The ability to round data within a report is a new enhancement included as part of the overall Reports tab update. The customize columns table option is now moved along the side to follow the patterns seen in other modules.
Operational Budgeting
Rule Enhancements
New enhancements are now live in the Operational Budgeting module! Budget rules introduced in August have been upgraded with a new restriction type that lets you specify which account values should set the overall limit—ideal for linking revenues and expenses to ensure spending stays within available funds. This update applies to both existing and newly created rules.
Once selected, the accounts appear in a summary view on the rule creation/edit screen, showing both the number of accounts and their values for that version. You can adjust the accounts or switch to a different version at any time if updated values are available.
The second major enhancement is rule-level override capability. When enabled, contributors can intentionally exceed a rule as long as they provide the required justification. A minimum character count ensures your explanation has enough context for reviewers. During the request round, you’ll see clear prompts and guidance, making it easy to understand when an override is allowed and what information you need to include.
The contributor workflow now supports overrides when the minimum justification is met. If multiple rules overlap, the strictest rule prevails—for example, if one rule allows overrides but another does not, the more restrictive rule applies, and no override is permitted.
The Additional Information section has been updated to make justifications on accounts/itemizations clearer for editors. Notes, comments, and attachments are now combined into a single column, with icons indicating when content has been added to a certain account/itemization. Click any icon to view the details, and use the updated filters to quickly find accounts or itemizations with additional information.
A new feature now highlights when an override request has been submitted, helping editors quickly identify accounts and itemizations that need closer review. The form view has also been updated to clearly display the override justification details.
Document Enhancements
Document enhancement updates apply to all document and report templates in Digital Budget Book, Digital Financial Reporting, and Strategic Planning Documents.
Notification Settings Controls
Admin users can now manage email notification preferences for collaborators assigned to a document. Within the Collaborators modal of the document or report, Admins can enable or disable system-generated notifications for individual users.
By default, ClearGov sends email notifications to collaborators when a page’s status changes or when comments are added to a page they’re assigned to. If certain collaborators do not need to receive these updates in real time, Admins can now turn off notifications for those users, ensuring communication is tailored and efficient.
Override of Unique Page Name Validation
Admin users can now create pages with duplicate names throughout their document or report. This update supports more natural document structures — for example, using the same page name in multiple areas or sections of the document. Previously, page names were required to be unique, limiting flexibility in document organization. Admins can now enable the “Allow non-unique page names” option within the General Information section of Document Settings to take advantage of this feature.
Improved PDF Formatting and Spacing
With this release, ClearGov has refined the spacing in the PDF version of all document types to deliver a more polished and efficient presentation. We’ve reduced the space between content blocks and between headlines and their corresponding sections, resulting in a cleaner layout and shorter overall document length.
These enhancements will automatically apply to all newly created documents after the release date (November 19, 2025). Existing documents will remain unchanged to preserve your current formatting and customization.
Digital Budget Book
Financial Schedule Display Configurations
This release introduces expanded formatting capabilities for financial schedules within the Digital Budget Book. The financial schedule editor now opens in a full-screen view, with configuration options organized into intuitive tabs for easier navigation.
A new Display Settings tab allows users to add horizontal and vertical grid lines, as well as apply row and column coloring for improved readability. These formatting options can be applied either at the individual page level or universally through document settings, giving you greater flexibility and control over how your financial data is presented.
Reporting on Deferred and Declined Capital Projects
Applies to both Digital Budget Books and CIP Documents
Many organizations aim to provide full visibility into their capital planning process, including which project requests were approved, deferred, or denied. Previously, only projects that were approved within the Capital Budgeting module could be displayed in the user's Digital Budget Book and CIP Document.
With this release, Admin users now have the option to also include requests that have a Deferred or Denied status (from the Capital Budgeting module) in their Digital Budget Book or CIP Document. This enhancement enables more comprehensive reporting and promotes greater transparency around capital planning decisions for projects that were submitted but ended up being deferred or denied.
- To display these projects, navigate to the “Data Sources” section within the document settings of the report.
- Under the Capital Budget Data Sources section, there is now an option to “Include Deferred Requests” as well as an option to “Include Declined Requests”.
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If enabled, capital requests with that status’ will display within the document.
- They will all have a designation within list views, as well as on request details of their status.
- The dollar amounts associated with the projects will display, but will not be included in the overall totals, as they are not included within the associated capital plan.
Narrative Generation for Biennial Budget Books
This release introduces Narrative Generation for those clients who utilize biennial budgeting in Digital Budget Books. Narrative Generation was a feature introduced in our Summer release, but it was not available on biennial budget books.
Narrative Generation, powered by ClearGov AI, is a one-click capability that automatically generates a first draft of explanatory text to accompany charts in budget books. By producing relevant commentary aligned with visual data, Narrative Generation helps you save significant time while improving communication with non-technical stakeholders. Importantly, the feature also supports ADA compliance by providing readable context where screen readers struggle with visual-only content.
ClearGov’s Digital Budget Book includes Narrative Generation within Financial Pages, and this is now available for biennial budget books as well. This feature helps you craft narratives based on complex financial chart data in a convenient and consumable way.
On a Digital Budget Book Financial Page, you will see Generate Narratives (beta) buttons located in the text boxes beneath each financial chart, as well as in the top right corner of the page editor.
- Selecting Generate Narratives (beta) in the top right corner of the page editor generates narratives for each text box accompanying an automated financial chart.
- Selecting Generate Narratives (beta) within an individual text box will craft narrative content for that individual chart.
Charts
Improved Budget and Version Selection
We've updated the workflow for selecting Budget Versions when creating charts sourced from ClearGov Financial Data. You can now select the Budget and Version data source for a specific year, irrespective of selections in the Chart Display or Filters. Previously, this was only possible if the relevant Funds were selected in those sections. This enhancement streamlines the chart-building process, offering greater flexibility and saving time.
To select a Budget and Version:
- Choose the desired year from the Budget Version tabs, which correspond to the years in your previously selected range.
- Select the data source: Operational Budgeting or Client Onboarded Data.
- If Operational Budgeting is selected, choose the specific Budget.
- Select the Version to use for chart statistics; the system will default to the standard Version upon creation.
A new Single Year toggle has also been added to the Data Source section of the chart builder that simplifies year selection by letting users pick a single year instead of a range. This also allows comparison of multiple Versions—such as Adopted and Amended—for a specific year, which is especially helpful for visualizations.
Existing charts will remain unchanged. To use the new chart-building workflow for an existing chart, clone it and enable the “Convert to new builder?” toggle.
Statements
Rounding
ClearGov now supports flexible rounding options within Statements to help align with GFOA, GASB, and GAAP reporting standards. Within each statement’s Settings (accessible from the top-right corner), you will find a new Common Settings subtab that includes configurable rounding and decimal display options.
Rounding options include Dollar, Thousands, Millions, and None, following standard rounding conventions—values under five round down, and values of five or greater round up. For example, if the underlying value is $1.53 and you select to round to the dollar, it will be rounded up to $2.00. You can also choose to display no decimals, one decimal, or two decimals.
For example:
- Rounding – Dollar, Decimals – None: $1,430,999.32 → $1,431,000
- Rounding – Thousands, Decimals – None: $1,430,999.32 → $1,431
- Rounding – Millions, Decimals – Two: $1,430,999.32 → $1.43
These controls make it easy to ensure your financial statements are formatted consistently and presented in accordance with professional reporting standards.
Statement Folders
You can now organize Statements within folders and subfolders for improved efficiency and easier navigation. From the Statements list screen, select Add Folder in the top-right corner to create a new folder and assign it a name. Then, choose the statement(s) you’d like to move and use Bulk Actions → Move to Folder to place them in the desired folder.
To further group content, you can also create subfolders. For example, you may create parent folders by fiscal year and add subfolders within each year for Government-wide, Governmental, and Proprietary groupings. To create a subfolder, open the More Actions menu (the three-dot icon) on a parent folder and select Create Subfolder.
Statements can be moved to folders and subfolders either individually or in bulk, making it simple to organize and manage financial statements efficiently.
ClearGov Labs
Introducing ClearGov Labs in Your Platform Navigation
At ClearGov, innovation is at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we created ClearGov Labs — your exclusive window into some of our latest innovations. This dedicated space (now in your platform navigation) offers our customers access to new tools, including cutting-edge work in AI. These innovative applications are designed to make your processes faster, smarter, and more impactful.
Within ClearGov Labs, you’ll have the opportunity to explore new concepts and share feedback that helps shape future product development.
You can now navigate to ClearGov Labs via the left-hand navigation. The ClearGov Labs dashboard displays the available applications:
- NY Tax Cap Calculator (Designed for New York School Districts)
- Budget Book Showcase
- Budget Book Evaluator
Budget Book Evaluator
Assess your budget book's award-readiness before you apply for the GFOA budget award. Whether you created your document in ClearGov or somewhere else, upload the PDF version, and ClearGov AI will instantly scan the content and evaluate it against the award criteria. You’ll automatically receive a readiness scorecard generated by ClearGov AI, containing detailed results, scores for each criterion, and recommendations to improve your budget book based on the analysis.
ClearGov released the Budget Book Evaluator as a public tool in our Summer Release, and now it’s available for clients within their platform to run evaluations directly—without completing the marketing form.
To submit a budget book for evaluation, simply navigate to ClearGov Labs and then to the Budget Book Evaluator application.
Clicking “Create New Evaluation” will prompt you to upload your PDF for review.
Results are delivered via an email link, but are also available via the list in the application.
Budget Book Showcase
ClearGov’s Budget Book Showcase lets you browse a library of published budget books from other communities that use ClearGov, giving you instant access to inspiration, best practices, and innovative ideas from your peers. This is especially helpful for clients creating their budget book in ClearGov for the first time, who want to check out other examples. Easily filter books by state or organization type—such as cities or schools—or search by organization name to find relevant examples.
NY Tax Cap Calculator
The NY Tax Cap Calculator is purpose-built for New York school districts, giving these clients a faster, more accurate way to calculate and forecast their maximum allowable tax levy — all in one intuitive tool. With ClearGov, you can create and compare multiple forecast scenarios, easily evaluate the impact of different assumptions, and identify potential funds that may be “left on the table.” No more complicated spreadsheet formulas or version-control headaches — just clear, consistent results every time.
When you first click into the application, you will need to click “Add New Forecast” to get started.
You will then be prompted to give this new forecast a name and an optional description. Next, you’ll also choose the year for which you would like the forecast to start and the number of years that you would like to forecast out.
Upon clicking “Create”, you will come to the forecast editing screen. On this screen, you will see a familiar (to you) Tax Levy calculation spreadsheet. Entering the Prior Year Tax Levy from the first year will key up all of the subsequent calculations. Then, simply click on the “Save” button when you are finished.
You may also select sharing settings to determine who has access within your organization to see the selected forecast.
- Forecasts are set to “Team can edit” by default, which means all team members can view and edit that forecast.
- Selecting “Team can view” will allow team members to view the forecast, but not edit it.
- Selecting “Private (only me)” will hide this forecast from other team members.
You may also download the calculation spreadsheet to Excel by clicking on “Download Excel.”
Clicking “Save” will bring you to a main screen where you not only see a list of the forecasts that they have created, but also two graphs that compare forecasts. You may show or hide the lines in each graph by clicking on the forecast names in the legends.
Support
ClearGov AI Support Assistant
We’re excited to announce a new AI-powered support assistant designed to help you get answers faster and more efficiently within ClearGov — replacing the previous Support tool that was accessible via the bottom left of your platform dashboard.
Built on ClearGov’s knowledge base and support documentation, Charlie, your new ClearGov assistant, provides accurate, conversational responses to help you troubleshoot issues, learn best practices, and navigate key features, without leaving the product.
To start a chat, simply:
- Click on the new ClearGov Support Assistant in the bottom left corner of your platform. This new icon shows a picture of Charlie, the ClearGov Assistant.
- The assistant will greet you with “Hey there, I’m Charlie, your ClearGov Assistant. How can I help?” where you can then ask your question or what you’re looking for.
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If your question needs a closer look, you can ask Charlie to contact the Support Team; he’ll provide a link to open a support ticket directly, or you can use the Submit a New Support Ticket link on the Dashboard.
Have more questions or need assistance?
Submit a Request