Check out the latest updates available in ClearGov.
Capital Budgeting
Personnel Budgeting
Operational Budgeting
- Monthly Budgeting
- Monthly Spread Configuration Settings
- Worksheet Column and Monthly Spread Filters
- Personnel Import Archiving
Digital Budget Book
Disclosure Studio
- Global Period Selector for MDFM
- Footnotes in MDFM Tables
- MDFM Shared Rules — Included in Roll Forward
Financials
Capital Budgeting
Reference Images for Drop-down Selectors
Capital Budgeting forms now support reference images within Drop-down Selector panels, giving Contributors additional visual guidance when completing capital requests. Editors can attach a diagram, chart, or other reference image directly to the panel to help Contributors select the appropriate option without needing to reference information elsewhere.
This helps reduce confusion and back-and-forth during the request process, making it easier to categorize and review capital requests.
To add a reference image to a Drop-down Selector panel:
- Open your form in the Form Builder and add or edit a “Drop-down Selector” panel.
- Use the new “Reference Image” upload control to add an image. Images can also be replaced or removed as needed.
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Save the panel. Contributors completing the form will see the reference image alongside the dropdown to help guide their selection.
Personnel Budgeting
Enhanced Allocation Filtering & Organization
The Allocations screen in Personnel Budgeting now offers more flexibility for organizing and reviewing position allocations. Previously, all jobs appeared in a single list, making it difficult to focus on specific departments, funds, or other budget classifications.
With this update, you can filter allocations by Fund, Fund Type, Function, Department, or Object, customize which classification columns are displayed, and group jobs by classification. These options make it easier to review and manage allocations for specific areas of your budget without working through the entire list.
To filter and organize your Allocations view:
- Open your Personnel Budget and navigate to “Allocations” in the Data Model Manager.
- Use the filters to narrow the list by “Fund,” “Fund Type,” “Function,” “Department,” or “Object.”
- Add or remove classification columns using the column options.
- Group rows by a classification to view related jobs together.
Operational Budgeting
Monthly Budgeting
Monthly Budgeting is now available in Operational Budgeting, allowing you to distribute annual budget amounts across 12 months for more detailed planning, cash flow management, and reporting. Previously, budgeting was limited to annual amounts, making it difficult to account for monthly fluctuations in revenues and expenses.
Using the new “Monthly Spread” column, you can allocate budget amounts using saved patterns, custom monthly values, or a default spread. Monthly allocations can be reviewed in the “Monthly Budget” report, and changes are automatically recorded in the Audit Trail, providing visibility into who made adjustments, when they occurred, and what values changed.
To distribute annual budget amounts across months:
- Open your Operational Budget worksheet and locate the “Monthly Spread” column under “In Progress.”
- Open the “Monthly Spread” editor for an account or itemization.
- Select a saved pattern or enter custom monthly values, then save.
- To apply monthly spreads to multiple accounts at once, select the applicable accounts and use “Bulk Actions.”
- To set a default monthly spread for accounts without a custom allocation, navigate to “Settings” > “Monthly Spread” and configure the default distribution.
To review monthly budget changes in the Audit Trail:
- Open your budget's “Audit Trail.”
- Filter by action to review changes to monthly spreads, individual month values, and default distribution settings.
- Review the recorded changes, including who made each update, when it occurred, and the previous and updated values.
Monthly Spread Configuration Settings
A new “Monthly Spread” section is available in Operational Budgeting Settings, giving you a central place to manage saved monthly allocation patterns. Saved shapes can be edited directly from Settings, with changes automatically applied to all accounts and itemizations using that shape without affecting annual totals.
Additionally, you can copy and paste monthly values directly from a spreadsheet into the “Monthly Spread” editor, making it easier to enter monthly allocations without manually entering each value.
To edit a saved Monthly Spread shape:
- Navigate to “Settings” > “Monthly Spread.”
- Open the saved shape you want to modify.
- Update the monthly values and save. Changes automatically apply to all accounts and itemizations using that shape.
To paste monthly values from a spreadsheet:
- Copy 12 monthly values from a row or column in your spreadsheet.
- Open the “Monthly Spread” editor for an account or itemization.
- Select the month where you want the values to begin and paste. Pasting into January fills all 12 months.
- Save your changes.
Monthly Spread Access for Contributors & Reviewers
The “Contributors” and “Reviewers” tabs in Operational Budgeting now include a “Monthly Spread” permission, allowing Editors to control access to monthly budgeting functionality for each collaborator individually.
When the permission is turned off, the collaborator will no longer see the “Monthly Spread” column, editing options, or “Monthly Budget” report. This allows Editors to limit certain collaborators to annual budget figures while managing monthly allocations separately. The permission is enabled by default.
To manage Monthly Spread access for Contributors and Reviewers:
- Open your Operational Budget and navigate to the “Contributors” or “Reviewers” tab.
- Select the applicable collaborator and edit their permissions.
- Turn “Monthly Spread” on or off to control their access.
Worksheet Column and Monthly Spread Filters
Operational Budgeting worksheets now offer more flexibility in how columns are displayed and how monthly budget allocations are filtered. You can hide the “Quantity,” “Unit Cost,” and “Monthly Spread” columns individually to simplify your worksheet view while keeping the “In Progress” total visible.
Additionally, you can search or filter by “Monthly Spread” to quickly find accounts using a specific shape, a custom allocation, or no shape at all. This makes it easier to identify accounts that need attention and apply monthly spreads in bulk.
To customize the columns displayed in your worksheet:
- Open the “Columns” drawer and expand “In Progress.”
- Uncheck “Quantity,” “Unit Cost,” or “Monthly Spread” to hide the columns you don't need.
- To configure these settings for all users, navigate to budget “Settings” > “Default Views.”
To filter accounts by Monthly Spread:
- Enter a shape name in the “Monthly Spread” column search field, or open “Advanced Filter” and select “Monthly Spread.”
- If using “Advanced Filter,” select one or more shapes, “Custom,” or “None” to filter the worksheet.
- Select the filtered accounts and use “Bulk Actions” to apply a monthly spread as needed.
Personnel Import Archiving
Personnel Budget imports in Operational Budgeting now preserve historical budget data by archiving previously imported itemizations instead of deleting them. Previously, clearing itemizations during an import could remove values from saved budget versions and forecasts.
With this update, earlier imported itemizations are automatically archived when a new Personnel Budget scenario is imported, preserving the values in saved versions and forecasts. You can also choose to keep existing imported itemizations active using the new “Keep existing imported itemizations” option. Manually entered itemizations are not affected.
To manage existing itemizations when importing a Personnel Budget scenario:
- Open your Operational Budget worksheet and select “Import.”
- Choose “Personnel Budget Scenario” and select the applicable personnel budget.
- Leave “Keep existing imported itemizations” turned off to archive previously imported itemizations (the default), or turn it on to keep them active.
- Select the scenario and rows you want to import.
- Complete the import. To undo the changes, use “Revert Import.”
Digital Budget Book
Audit Trail in Digital Budget Book
Admins can now see who viewed a display page or opened a document in Digital Budget Book. Page-level and document-level events are tracked and fed into the Platform Audit Trail, where you can filter by page or by document to isolate the activity you’re looking for. Access to this event data is limited to Admin users.
- Sign in as an Admin user.
- Open the Document Audit Trail by clicking the Activity button in the top-right corner.
- Filter events by page or by document to find the activity you need.
Disclosure Studio
Global Period Selector for MDFM
Stop reselecting the same period on every screen. MDFM now has a global Period selector: choose your period once, and it’s applied automatically everywhere, when you open a model, create a rule (the first line is pre-filled), or enter adjustments. Your selection is remembered between sessions. If that period later gets locked, MDFM falls back to the earliest open period instead. An “ALL” option covers rules that apply across all periods, and you can still override the period on any individual model, rule, or adjustment.
- Open MDFM and set the global Period selector to your working period. It defaults to the earliest open period.
- Work as usual. Models, rules, and adjustments automatically use the selected period.
- Switch the selector when you move to a different period, or choose “ALL” for rules that apply across all periods (you’ll be asked to confirm).
Footnotes in MDFM Tables
MDFM tables now support footnotes. Select any cell, insert a footnote, and add your text — the generated document shows a superscript reference in the table with the footnote below it. Footnotes are also properly sized: always slightly smaller than the table text, and they scale down together with wide tables, so your statements keep a clean, professional look.
- 1. Select the cell in your MDFM table.
- 2. Insert a footnote and add the required text.
- 3. Generate your document — the superscript reference and properly sized footnote render with the table.
IMPORTRANGE Improvements — Auto-Expansion & Visual Formula Helper
Pulling data between tables is now easier and more reliable. IMPORTRANGE formulas no longer fail with #SPILL errors — the target sheet grows automatically to fit what you import. And you no longer need to hunt for table IDs: a new visual helper lets you pick the source table and simply click and drag the range you want, building the formula for you.
- 1. In a table cell, start typing =IMPORTRANGE( — the visual helper opens.
- 2. Select the source table and click-and-drag the cell range you want to import.
- 3. Confirm — the formula is built for you, and the imported range fits automatically.
MDFM Shared Rules — Included in Roll Forward
Shared Rules now carry forward when you roll your model into a new year. Your existing Shared Rules automatically extend to cover the new period with the same mappings, so there’s nothing to rebuild. Shared Rules that aren’t tied to a period already apply to all periods and stay as they are. If a mapping changes for the new year, you can update it for that year only and leave prior years untouched.
- Run Roll Forward on your model as usual. Shared Rules extend to the new period automatically.
- To change a mapping for one year, go to Data Set → Shared Rules and edit the rule.
- Click Continue To Period Scope and choose One period only or All covered periods.
Financials
Check Import
You can now upload and publish your check and vendor payment data directly in ClearGov, without waiting on the ClearGov Data team to load it for you. Upload your file, map its columns to ClearGov fields, and review validation feedback to catch formatting or data issues before anything goes live. Once everything checks out, publish on your own schedule, whether that's monthly, weekly, or right after a payment run. Updates go live within minutes, keeping the check data your residents, councils, and staff see open and current.
- Go to Tools > Financials > Check Import.
- Upload your check and vendor payment data file.
- Map the file's columns to the corresponding ClearGov fields.
- Review the validation results and fix any flagged formatting or data issues.
- Publish the data. It goes live within minutes.
Add Accounts
ClearGov users can now add their own accounts to the system through the Financials tool. This allows users to better budget and disclose financial information, while also maintaining better consistency with their ERP.
- Click the Financials tool
- Click Add Accounts in the table header.
- Select Download Template if uploading many accounts at once. Alternatively, select Manually Enter Data.
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