MMARS Glossary
The glossary is designed to help you get acclimated to MMARS. As you encounter new terminology, this is where you can search for definitions.
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999 Accounts
Each department is assigned a 999 account as the default account for payroll. Insufficient funds, which generate a PRLIF document, and MMARS errors, which generate a PRLDE document, are assigned to the department 999 account. Cash expenses cannot remain in the 999 account. The PRLIF and PRLDE documents must be resolved. Payroll cash expenses must be assigned to the correct authorized account.
A
Accounting Line Number
A two digit number used in MMARS which is used to reference the accounting line on an encumbrance or payment document. This line includes the detail of where money will be taken from the department’s cost accounting structures to pay for a commodity. Every commodity line will have at least one accounting line. The Fund Accounting sub-menu includes the following required fields: fund, sub-fund, department, unit, appropriation, and object.
Accounting Template
Accounting templates provide the ability to save frequently used accounting line data for use in subsequent document creation. Templates can be used to standardize data entry and speed up the data entry process. Only accounting line fields are stored in an accounting template
Accounts Payable Period
That period subsequent to the end of the Fiscal Year (July 1 to June 30) during which a department may still expend against funds encumbered in the previous fiscal year's appropriation for those goods and services received on or before June 30 of that fiscal year. The Accounts Payable Period is normally July 1 - August 31.
ACD
Automatic Central Draw - Automatic processing of Federal Grants in MMARS.
Acquisition
Is the process by which a fixed asset was acquired by a Commonwealth department. This can be done by, but is not restricted to, a cash purchase, receipt of a donation, construction, lease purchase or eminent domain, regardless of funds used.
Activity
This is a data entry field commonly found in an on-line MMARS document. The identification code associated with the activity. An activity is an internal program that you want to define for budgeting and/or reporting purposes. Activities can cut across agency and fund boundaries.
Agency Funds
Agency Funds are used to report resources held by the Commonwealth in custodial capacity.
Alias/DBA
This is a data entry field commonly found in an on-line MMARS document. The alternate name, alias or operating name (doing business as) used to identify the account.
Allocation Account
An interdepartmental subdivision of an appropriation whereby two departments have entered into an agreement (ISA) whereby one department becomes sub-contractor to another department for certain services or program activity. The buyer department agrees to fund the seller department by allocating a portion of its appropriation to finance the activity to be performed. The Office of the Comptroller must approve all interdepartmental agreements.
Allotment
The portion of the appropriation that may be spent by a department for a given period determined by the Governor or the Secretary of Administration and Finance as provided in MGL Chapter 29; 9B, 27.
Appropriation
The amount authorized by the Legislature for a specific period against which obligations can be incurred and expenditures can be made. An eight-digit number identifies each appropriation. The purpose of the appropriation and any other guidance with respect to the use of the account is included in the description contained within the budget account authorizing the appropriation.
Appropriation Type
Appropriation Types identify your funding. There are 10 types:
- 1CN Direct Appropriation/non subsidiarized
- 1CS Direct Appropriations/subsidiarized
- 1IN Intragovernmental/non-subsidiarized
- 1IS Intragovernmental/subsidiarized Motor Vehicle Licenses and Registrations
- 1RN Retained Revenue/non-subsidiarized
- 1RS Retained Revenue/subsidiarized
- 2CN Capital
- 3TN Trusts
- 3TX Trusts – Non-Cash
- 4FN Federal Grants
Assessments
Ongoing charges to groups of customers of state services, such as local the municipal shares of MBTA costs that are deducted from direct local aid.
B
Bank
This is a data entry field commonly found in an on-line MMARS document. The unique identification code associated with the bank account.
Betterments/Improvements
Recorded when the Commonwealth adds value to an existing fixed asset due to improvements/additions made to the fixed asset. In most cases, the value of the improvement or addition must be greater than $50,000.
Board Award
Encumbrance Requirement Update Effective Immediately– for the CT, PC and RPO
The completion of the Board Award field in the header/reference section of the CT, PC and RPO transactions is required by joint Comptroller and OSD policy. This applies to all vendor specific and open order encumbrances, and to encumbrances under and over a department’s delegation amount.
Departments must enter the Request for Response (RFR) number in the Board Award field or, if applicable, one of the Procurement Exceptions as follows: This field must not be left blank.
INP | for Incidental Purchase |
LEG Exempt | for Legislative Exemption |
Emergency | for Emergency Contract |
Collective | for Collective Purchase, or |
Interim | for Interim Contract |
In the absence of an RFR number or Procurement Exception, a department-assigned contract tracking number or descriptive text should be entered in the field. The field is 15 characters in length. If the RFR number is more than 15 characters in length, it may be truncated.
Bond
A financial instrument that is sold by the government for cash. A bond contains a written promise to pay a specified amount of money on a specified date or dates in the future, together with a periodic interest at a specified rate.
Bond Fund
A fund of the Commonwealth into which bond proceeds are deposited and from which spending may occur.
Bond Revenues
The proceeds of bonds issued by the Commonwealth.
BSA
This is a data entry field commonly found in an on-line MMARS document. The identification code assigned to the balance sheet account. The balance sheet account code is the first level of six allowed rollups. The progression of the rollups is:
- Balance sheet account class
- Balance sheet account category
- Balance sheet account type
- Balance sheet account group
- CAFR Major balance sheet account group
- CAFR Minor balance sheet account group
Similar balance sheet accounts make a balance sheet account class, and similar balance sheet account classes make a balance sheet account category, and so on.
The balance sheet account is always required, however the remainder of the hierarchy is optional with MMARS.
Budget
A plan of financial operation for a given period of time.
Budgeted Funds
Include financial activities that are authorized by the legislature and controlled through appropriations.
Budget Director
The administrative head of the Fiscal Affairs Division, within the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, or, in the alternative if so designated by the commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner for Fiscal Affairs.
Budget Fiscal Staging
The MMARS Control Table which establishes stages for a Budget Fiscal Year and which then defines the allowable document/event type combinations for each stage of that BFY.
Budget Fiscal Year
The period in which a fiscal year's budget may be expended. This period includes the fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) plus the accounts payable period (July 1 - August 31) for that fiscal year.
Budget Line
A single line within any of the budget structures.
Budgetary Funds
State funds, which are, by statute, subject to appropriation.
Budgetary Process
The budgetary process is the normal approval mechanism that allows the Commonwealth to spend the money it collects. The budget process starts with departments preparing and submitting their budget requests. The budget requests are reviewed by several government entities including Cabinet Secretaries, Governor's Fiscal Affairs Division, House of Representatives, the Senate, the Governor, and also Public Hearings. Once the review process has been completed the budget reaches the Governor's desk for signature in June.
Business Vendor
An organization that provides either goods or services to the Commonwealth.
C
CAFR
Comprehensive Accounting Financial Report – The annual financial report produced by the Comptroller’s office.
Calendar Year
A consecutive twelve-month period, starting with January 1 and ending on December 31.
Capital Project Funds
Capital Project Funds are for acquisition, long-term construction and development activities legislatively authorized, but largely funded through bonds and federal receipts.
CASL
Contractor Authorized Signature Listing - For a contract (including grants, leases, subsidies, etc.) to be legally valid, it must be executed by an authorized signatory of both the department and the contractor.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number (CFDA #)
Grant funds made available from the federal government are listed by program in the above catalog. Each grant program is assigned a number for tracking purposes. A CFDA # associated with a program payment indicates that payment was from funds made available by the federal government.
CMCR
Cash Management Central Remit - Lockbox and electronic funds payment (ePay) processing; deposits received at such sponsored lockbox facilities.
CMIA
Cash Management Improvement Act - CMIA provides the general rules and procedures for the efficient transfer of Federal financial assistance between the Federal Government and the State.
COA
Chart of Accounts (COA) is a list of all elements tracked by the accounting system designed to capture financial information. Each element in the chart is assigned a unique code (numeric, alpha, alphanumeric).
Comments
MMARS functionality allows the addition of comments to documents. It’s an informational field on a MMARS document where extra data can be added for instructional purposes which does not appear anywhere else in the document. This field allows a maximum of 1500 characters. Document comments may be queried from the data warehouse from reference table M_Reference_Document_Comments. Currently, the Office of the Comptroller is using comments for: Rejected Documents, Interdepartmental Business, Expenditure Corrections (EX), Expenditure Refunds (ER), and Encumbrance Corrections (CEC/GAEC)
Commodity Code
Commodity Codes are used to classify goods and services. In MMARS Commodity Codes are being classified using the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC), an internationally accepted code standard
Commodity Line Number
A two digit number which refers to a specific commodity in the commodity table. This line details what item or service the document has been created to purchase. The fields displayed include the 12-digit commodity code, the quantity, the unit of measure, unit price, contract amount, and dates of service.
Comm-PASS
The Commonwealth Procurement Access and Solicitation system. The Commonwealth's Internet-based procurement system that is used by Commonwealth businesses and Commonwealth departments for selling or marketing of goods and services.
Commonwealth Terms and Conditions 
A document, signed by businesses that have contracts with the Commonwealth, which outlines the general requirements for doing business with the Commonwealth. There is also a Commonwealth Terms & Conditions for Human and Social Services.
Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR)
Audited annual financial report of the Commonwealth prepared on the GAAP (Generally Acceptable Accounting Principles) basis of accounting. It shows the financial position of the State entity as a whole, including certain independent authorities as component units for a given Fiscal Year.
Construction in Process
Construction in Process (CIP) accounting in MMARS records accounting events against either a fixed asset or its betterment. MMARS projects will continue to have the option to be set up as ‘asset construction projects’ and continue to accumulate costs against a fixed asset or its betterment. New assets and betterments will be classified as CIP during construction. These costs will be online and accessible to the user in MMARS
Continuous Timeline Maintenance
For certain records, primarily employee, position, and default accounting data, LCM imposes Continuous Timeline Maintenance. This means that the user cannot set the “To” (end) date. When a user changes data on such records, they must enter a new “From” (effective) date so a new record is created, and data for the employee or position is continuous into the future. The data must be continuous so that labor distribution processing will have complete data for every day of any pay period.
Copy Forward
Copy Forward is a feature in MMARS that enables a user to copy pertinent information from an existing document into a new document type whose purpose is to reference or liquidate the source document. This function expedites data entry and simplifies document referencing between documents.
Corporate Taxes
Payments from legally incorporated entities who conduct business in the state and whose earnings are subject to taxation. The corporate rate is generally 9.5% of income and 0.26% of property value and net worth. The minimum tax per filing is currently $456.
Cost Accounting
Cost Accounting is a method of tracking and reporting of activity at a programmatic/project level across multiple spending accounts or departments. Cost Accounting is utilized primarily in the management of capital projects and federal grants.
Customer (Payee)
A Customer is a type of payee that is an organization/business or individual and pays the Commonwealth for purchasing either goods or services from the Commonwealth. See also Vendor (Payee).
D
DBA
“Doing Business As” - using a different name.
Debt
The principle borrowed by the Commonwealth, usually to support capital projects, which results in assets with a useful life over a number of years.
Debt Service
The amount set aside annually in a fund to pay the interest and the part of the principal due on the Commonwealth’s bond and note debt.
Department
A department is a legal entity of state government established by the legislature with a specific mission. Departments may report to cabinet-level units of government known as executive offices or secretariats or they may be independent divisions or departments. In MMARS, the 3-character Department Code may be displayed along with a department name.
Department Code/Dept Code
A department code is a unique three-character abbreviation assigned in MMARS to each department, etc. in Commonwealth government.
Department Head
An individual designated by the appropriate appointing authority, whose responsibility is to oversee the management of that state department.
Depreciation
Depreciation is an expense to allocate the historical cost of an asset over its useful life.
Description
A brief narrative required on some MMARS transactions and optional on others, used to illustrate the subject matter referenced in the transaction.
DHSA
Deartment Head Signature Authorization - see the DHSA Security Policy.
Direct Local Aid
Funds provided to support local government services that are appropriated directly by the legislature. It represents aid distributed to cities and towns. It is comprised of about 28 appropriations administered by various state agencies.
Disposition
The retirement of a fixed asset due to sale, destruction, obsolescence, vandalism, etc.
Document
A MMARS document is computer data file that bears the original, official information, to be placed onto MMARS.
Document Catalogue
The Document Catalogue page is the repository for all documents processed by departments. This page allows users to view the status of all recent documents in the system. The documents can be on draft, pending, final, or historical status.. In addition, the Document Catalogue offers an improved audit trail of online documents. Documents are tracked and remain in the Document Catalogue as historical document versions.
Document ID
The MMARS Document ID is a unique 20 digit number utilized to identify an encumbrance or a payment transaction in the Commonwealth’s accounting system.
Document Type
Identifies a similar grouping of document codes by the functional purpose of the document. For example, the document type BG indicates that the document is a budget document.
E
Early Education and Care
The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care provides the foundation that supports all children in their development as lifelong learners and contributing members of the community, and supports families in their essential work as parents and caregivers.
EBT
Electronic Benefit Transfer. A payment mechanism utilized for recipients of public assistance, such as food stamps/TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families). Recipients are provided a card, much like a debit card, with which they may purchase eligible items, such as foodstuffs, or they may use the EBT card at an ATM for cash. EBT cards are limited to authorized amounts, which are updated monthly.
Edit
In MMARS, the edit feature will edit and save a completed document onto the document catalog.
EFT
Electronic Funds Transfer. This term refers to a payment transaction between a vendor's specified financial institution and the Commonwealth, wherein monies owed to the vendor for either services or goods is transferred electronically from the Commonwealth to the named financial institution (i.e., without a paper check).
EIN
Individual’s Employee Identification Number.
Electronic Signature
In MMARS documents, signature applied via electronic method in compliance with state and federal standards.
Elementary and Secondary Education
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is charged with the responsibility of ensuring improved teaching and learning in all of the Commonwealth's public schools.
Encumbrance
A budgetary planning document that commits authorized funds for a specific purpose.
Encumbrance Correction Process
The process of correcting a mistake made during the purchase of a good or service. For example, to change the encumbrance or encumbrance line from which a payment was made, to restore the encumbrance when the vendor returns money, etc.
Energy and Environment
The Executive office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) oversees both environmental and energy agencies. The agencies and offices of EEA also preserve land and open space, enforce pollution laws, review the environmental impact of major real estate and infrastructure developments, and provide opportunities for outdoor recreation Massachusetts parks and beaches.
ePay
The Commonwealth’s “e-Government” initiative to facilitate electronic payments to departments.
Event Category
An Event Category code represents a group of similar event types used to define processing controls, edits and any special logic to create posting lines. This is controlled by the Office of the Comptroller.
Event Type
Event type is the code entered on a document which defines the entries that will be recorded on the books of the Commonwealth once the document is in a Final status. An Event Type defines the debits and credits posted by the document.
Expendable Trust Funds
Expendable Trust Funds are continuing accounts that are legislatively authorized and funded through assessments, fees, donations and other revenues that support specific activities where the Commonwealth is a trustee.
Expended Amount
Represents the amount of money a department has spent from an appropriation since the beginning of a fiscal year. A department may expend up to the amount of money that has been allotted within an appropriation.
Expenditure
An expenditure is an outlay of cash for a specific purpose, which includes payroll expenses; payroll-related chargebacks; contracts (grants, interdepartmental service agreements, leases; subsidies; administrative, operational, and programmatic expenses; and chargebacks and payments.
Expenditure Refund
The recovery of a prior overpayment made to a vendor; expenditure refunds received during the same year in which they were made reduce the cash expenditures in the appropriation from which they were originally posted.
F
Federal Grants
Money provided by the US government to fund programs and activities that from the Commonwealth’s perspective are discretionary.
Federal Reimbursements
Funds provided to the Commonwealth to pay the US government’s participation for programs and activities delivered by the Commonwealth.
Fees, Investment Earnings
Funds received by the state for services rendered, or income on invested money.
FFY
Federal Fiscal Year - The fiscal year is the accounting period of the federal government. It begins on October 1 and ends on September 30 of the next calendar year.
Fiduciary Funds
Fiduciary funds record the Commonwealth's responsibility for assets it controls on behalf of other parties. Examples of such funds are the Unemployment Compensation and Pension Trust Funds.
Fiscal Year
A period of 12 consecutive months chosen by an entity as its accounting period for annual reports. The Commonwealth operates on a fiscal year, which begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. The number of the fiscal year is that of the calendar year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., fiscal year 2007 extends from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007 (often written FY2007). Pertaining to trust funds, agency funds.
Fixed Asset
Fixed Assets are defined to be all tangible property by the Commonwealth (real and personal) such as land, buildings, computer software and systems, landmarks, infrastructure and equipment, etc., with a useful life of more than one year. The acquisition of all land and landmarks regardless of cost; the acquisition of all buildings and roads greater than $100,000.00; equipment, vehicles and other fixed asset types with an original cost of, in most cases, $50,000.00 or more (GAAP Fixed Asset) must be recorded. Departments have the option of recording Non-GAAP fixed assets in MMARS.
Fixed Asset Modification
A fixed asset modification records changes of a fixed asset’s record that does not substantially change the asset itself as a modification. This can include changes to erroneous or omitted information previously entered into the system, as well as new information that do not have financial implications. No accounting updates occur on the general ledger
FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) Employee
One Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) equals a full workweek (37.50, 40, 00, etc. hours), regardless of the number of positions or employees that make up those hours. For example, three employees in two different positions, whose combined hours equal 37.50 hours, equal one FTE.
Function
This is a data entry field commonly found in an on-line MMARS document. The identification code associated with the function. The function code defines broad operational objectives, such as instruction, support services, and facilities acquisition.
Funding Line
A funding line links to the Funding Priority and indicates funding sources for Federal and State funds and the source percentage.
Fund
A grouping of related accounts where resources are segregated for specific activities and purposes.
Fund Balance (Deficit/Surplus)
A fund balance is the cumulative residual total of a fund's financial operations (revenues vs. expenditures), also measured as the difference between the fund's assets and its liabilities.
Funding Priority
The line within the funding profile to which the expenditure should be posted.
A funding profile may have multiple funding lines and established priorities. Line 1 may be priority 3, line 2 may be priority 1 and line 3 may be priority 2. Users can tell the application which funding line to charge by stating the priority in the cost accounting section of the document.
Funds Availability
State Finance Law requires that funding be in place before services or other obligations can be requested or accepted by regular or contract employees. While the goal is to NOT have an unfunded account - employee payroll checks will be held in any unfunded payroll account.
FY LAPSE
At the end of accounts payable period, encumbrance balances reverted back to their appropriations.
G
Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (GAAP) Accrual Basis of Accounting
Financial data that conforms to GAAP standards defined by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) to assure consistent reporting of financial condition across all governments. The full accrual basis of accounting records revenue when it is earned, and expenses when they occur, regardless of the timing of receipt or spending of cash, budgetary authorization, or law. Modified accrual is designed to demonstrate interperiod equity by comparing the amount of currently available resources to the currently due liability.
General Appropriation Act (GAA)
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts's Budget voted by the Legislature and signed by the Governor to fund activities for the government for a specific Budget Fiscal Year.
GAAP Fixed Asset
The Commonwealth defines GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) Fixed Assets as buildings, equipment, infrastructure, vehicles and constructions in progress (including all furnishings and fixtures) with a historical unit cost of, in most cases, $50,000 or more and all land, historical treasures and works of art; and 100,000 for roads and buildings.
GASB
Government Accounting Standards Board refer to the www.gasb.org for more information.
General Accounting
The General Accounting functions provide mechanisms to define MMARS system-wide options and controls, enter information into accounting documents, and store that accounting information into journals and ledgers. General Accounting is a large functional area of MARS that is made up of many parts of the application through sub-functions, such as system options and controls, budget fiscal year staging, document processing, flexible document controls, accounting controls, journals, ledgers, annual close, new year initialization and CAFR reporting.
General Laws
"General Laws" are "statutes" promulgated by the Legislature, which are published as the Massachusetts General Laws.
- The "Official Edition" is published in paper by West Group in cooperation with the Massachusetts Bar Association, without annotations, and includes line numbers for each line of a statute's text, which must be used when drafting amendments to existing statutes.
- Other unofficial publications of the Massachusetts General Laws contain annotations (comments, case references, cross-references to other statutes, law review articles and other publications) which reference the statute or the general topic of the statute.
- General Laws identify a Department's enabling legislation, including the Department's mission, powers, duties, goals and responsibilities (and for certain Departments, revenue receipt and expenditure authorization).
General Ledger
The historical record and book of accounts of every transaction posted during the accounting cycle. Each of the approximately 135 funds maintains its own General Ledger.
General System Design
Documentation developed from analysis and prototyping of base-line ADVANTAGE that identifies the MMARS system modifications necessary to meet Commonwealth system requirements
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
Those accounting principles promulgated by the bodies designated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' code of professional ethics and otherwise recognized as generally accepted. For Governments the primary standard setting body is the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) - A set of standard accounting principles established and recommended for use by the National Council of Governmental Accounting and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Governor's Council
The nine-member council that has approval authority regarding judicial appointments, certain criminal matters, and warranted payments. Members are elected by district and meet weekly.
Group Health Insurance Budgeted Expenditure
Costs involved in providing insurance to eligible current state employees, retirees, and survivors.
H
Headers
Section at the top of a MMARS documents, where information is derived from the fields in previous tabs
Higher Education Budgeted Expenditure
State appropriated dollars for public higher education institutions in the Commonwealth, including community colleges, state colleges, and the University of Massachusetts system.
HOUSE 1
The Governor's operating budget recommendation. It embodies all estimates, requests, and recommendations for appropriations, distribution of state revenues, and other authorizations for expenditures by Commonwealth departments in accordance with existing law (prior appropriations continued (PACS) and capital facility projects are excluded; however all federal grants and trust funds are included.)
HR/CMS
Human Resource/Compensation Management System – the statewide payroll system used by all branches of state government.
I
Income Tax
Citizen payments based on annual revenue received from personal work, investment income, rental property, etc. Income Taxes are based largely on 5.3% of income and are defined by state law and DOR regulations.
Inquiries
A MMARS functionality that provides users with a search engine to view data based on parameters entered.
Interdepartmental Chargebacks
Fee-based charges for statutorily authorized commodities and services that are available to state departments on an ad hoc request basis, a public fee basis, or statewide chargeback basis.
Interdepartmental Service Agreement (ISA)
Non-chargeback interdepartmental business relationships are evidenced by an Interdepartmental Service Agreement. The ISA is a contract between two state departments that documents the terms and conditions of their business relationship. The ISA must be in accord with and consistent with the language in any appropriation act funding the ISA and any applicable general or special state or federal law or regulation.
Interfund Transfers
Interfund transfers are defined as those transactions for which the payment and the receipt of payment are made within the government but between accounting funds of the government. For financial reporting purposes, these transactions are offsetting, and thus, eliminated.
Internal Control
Internal control is a process, effected by an entity's board of directors, management and other personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following categories:
- Effectiveness and efficiency of operations.
- Reliability of financial reporting.
- Compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
J
Journal Voucher
A MMARS transaction used to reclassify entries to the ledgers, revise balance sheet transactions. Restricted to the Office of the Comptroller
Judicial Branch
The Massachusetts Judiciary includes the Supreme Judicial Court, the Appeals Court, the Trial Court, and the Committee for Public Counsel Services.
L
(LCM) Labor Cost Management Information
LCM is the Commonwealth's labor distribution and cost allocation system and acts as the accounting source of all payroll related MMARS financial information.
Legal Name
The legally defined name of the company or individual represented by this record. The field is used for reporting if defined as not Alias/DBA.
Legislative Branch
The Massachusetts Legislature, or General Court, is a two-house body consisting of 40 Senators and 160 Representatives. A professional and administrative staff supports the legislators, primarily through the committee structure. Staff members assist the legislators in researching and writing legislation, providing constituent services, and interacting with Commonwealth agencies and community organizations.
Line Amount
In MMARS, line amount is used in conjunction with Payment History, the Line Amount is the dollar amount paid to a vendor for each individual accounting line on a payment document (e.g., payment voucher) for the corresponding Payment Reference Number. There may be multiple accounting lines on a payment document. Each line is represented separately in Payment History.
Line Item
Line item is a specific spending account (appropriation) that is authorized for a specific purpose and a defined amount.
Linked Collected Earned Revenue
Total revenue collected and posted in revenue budgets which are linked, and therefore, update this particular spending account. (Budget inquiry page.)
Links/Transitions
Functionality usually positioned at the bottom of the screen, which enables users to jump to documents or tabs within an Activity Folder. When these transitions are performed it is possible to carry forward data from the current page and populate it on the new Page.
Lottery Revenue
Proceeds from the Commonwealth’s lottery games available to fund prizes as well as state and municipal services.
M
Major Program
Used in MMARS for capital accounts (type 02 funding) and grant management (type 04 funding) to group like-kind programs together.
Major Program Budgeted Expenditures
Money from all state funding sources that account for the majority of state spending. This includes: Debt Service, Direct Local Aid, Group Health Insurance, Higher Education Budgeted Expenditure, Medicaid, Public Assistance Budgeted Expenditure, Pensions, and Other Budgeted Expenditures (all other non-major budgeted programs of the Commonwealth, inclusive of core operations ranging from public safety to economic development).
Master Service Agreement (MSA)
The purpose of the Master Service Agreement is to have qualified vendors with approved rates available to meet the needs of the Commonwealth. Often a central control department or a user department awards contracts to multiple vendors to perform services on an as needed basis. The bid/proposal contract process occurs in each case, but the use of individual vendors and the amount of their maximum obligation cannot be determined in advance. The actual use of vendors depends on a number of factors, such as type of service, geographic area, and availability of the vendor.
Medicaid
Health coverage authorized in Title XIX of the Social Security Act for individuals and families who meet defined financial eligibility criteria. Expenditures reflect total expenses, at least 50% of which is funded by the federal government through reimbursements to the state. Medicaid is the federal health program
MMARS
MMARS is the Massachusetts Management, Accounting, and Reporting System, which is a complete financial management and reporting system specifically designed to support the financial functions performed by the Commonwealth. All transactions between the Commonwealth and vendors are tracked on MMARS.
Motor Vehicle Licenses and Registrations
Funds collected by the RMV from citizens for vehicle registrations, driver licenses, title changes, etc.
N
NCD
Non-Automated Central Draw processing of Federal Grants in MMARS.
Net Linked Collected Earned Revenue
Net Linked Collected Earned Revenue is revenue collected and available to update spending authority in an account (MMARS budget inquiry screen).
Non-budgetary Funds
These funds are the capital, federal and trust funds subject to appropriation.
Non-budgeted Funds
Include financial activities authorized by the legislature but funded through receipts of dedicated revenues (such as assessments, federal grants, fees, fines, investment income) and certain designations of tax revenues.
Non-budgeted Special Revenue Funds
These are funds normally established by a statute to account for specific revenue sources that have been segregated from the budgeted funds to support specific activities. Non-budgeted Special Revenue funds are not subject to appropriation and are, therefore, not included in the annual budget act. Accounts within these funds continue from year to year without legislative action.
Non-GAAP Fixed Asset
Non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) Fixed Assets include buildings, vehicles, infrastructure and equipment, including computer software, with a useful life of more than one year and a historical unit cost between $1,000 and $49,999, in most cases, including all electronic and computer components.
O
Object
Used to classify all expenditures of the Commonwealth
Object Class
One of 17 categories used to classify a type of expenditure (i.e. AA-salaries permanent positions, EE - administrative expenses). Object Classes are established by the Legislature at the end of the budget process in accordance with departmental spending plans and priorities established within the budget.
Object Codes
A code that indicates the specific type of goods or services for which Commonwealth funds are expended (i.e. A01 Salaries, E06 Postage). There are approximately 363 object codes in use.
Office of the Comptroller
As part of its mission, the Office of the Comptroller manages the proper accounting of revenues and expenditures in the state accounting system (MMARS), the state payroll system (HR/CMS), fulfills federal and state tax reporting requirements and publishes audited financial statements. The Office of the Comptroller also identifies state finance law, General and Special law requirements, and issues policies to interpret these requirements and assist Departments with compliance.
Operating Expenses
Costs incurred for the day-to-day operation of governmental entities.
OBSA
This is a data entry field commonly found in an on-line MMARS document. The balance sheet account code to which the offset is posted.
OPEB
Other Post Employment Benefits
P
Page
MMARS application pages are used to display all tables and documents to online system users
Payee (Vendor or Customer)
A Payee is either Vendor or Customer or in some rare circumstances both.
Payment Date
When used in conjunction with Payment History, the date a payment (check/electronic funds transfer, etc) was issued by the Office of the State Treasurer.
Payment Number
A sequential number assigned by the Office of the State Treasurer, which uniquely identifies a payment. A payment can be in the format of a paper check, electronic funds transfer, or other payment type.
Payment Reference Number/Payment Ref. #
(See Vendor Invoice number)
Payroll Hold
An encumbrance used to reserve the portion of a department's account balances in MMARS that will be used for accounts payable payroll.
PCI
The Payment Card Industry and their standards and framework for safe handling of sensitive information; PCI develops their global standards for account data security, processing, storage, and transmission of cardholder data.
Pensions
Funds paid to individuals whose age and years of public service meet the criteria specified in state law. Expenditures include cash payments to retirees and amounts needed to fund the Commonwealth’s share of pension liabilities.
Period
This is a data entry field commonly found in an on-line MMARS document. The accounting period associated with the fiscal year of this document. The field is also populated when an accounting period is entered or loaded offline to the header that defaults to all accounting lines. If not manually or offline loaded, the field is set to the current period when the document reaches the final state. This period value is what is written to all journals and ledgers. This field is reset to blanks when a cancellation or modification is done.
Phase
The MMARS document lifecycle phase of the document. For example, Draft or Pending.
Posting Code
An indicator called from an event type that contains instructions about how to update various inquiry and control tables in MMARS. Each posting code also indicates which journals are updated. Posting codes can contain the sequence for inferring Balance Sheet Account codes or other element codes.
Posting Pairs
Posting Pairs are groups of posting codes found within an Event Type in MMARS.
Predictive Payrolls
Predictive payroll reports identify if funds are not available in MMARS to meet the payroll at that snapshot in time. The Office of the Comptroller and departments are notified that a predictive payroll exists and that payroll payments are in jeopardy until funding issues are resolved. Reports will run 7 times for a pay period: 6 Predictive and 1 Production. Predictive Reports are available to use on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Production Reports are available to use on the Wednesday following the Tuesday night payroll run.
Prior Year Appropriation Continue (PAC)
Appropriation from a prior year continued into a current fiscal year, by specific legislative actions. The PAC may provide for the entire unexpended balance or a portion of the balance to be made available in the subsequent year.
Program
Programs (sub-accounts in MMARS) are the user-defined breakdown of Major Programs. Each Major Program has to have at least one Program. Grant managers will be using the Program field at the full 10 digits.
Program + Phase
The MMARS coding convention is Program and Phase (10 digits + 6 digits respectively). Converted PARS projects will be Program (7 digits) and Phase (3 digits), no longer Project (7 digits), Sub-Project (2 digits), and Phase (1 digit).
Program Period
This is a data entry field commonly found in an on-line MMARS document. Connected to major programs, used primarily for grant management to define the start and end date of the grant.
Public Assistance Budgeted Expenditure
Cash and other transitional and support services to families and individuals that meet defined financial eligibility criteria. Expenditures reflect total expenses, some of which are funded by the federal government through reimbursements to the state.
Public Safety
Primary objective of the Executive Office of Public Safety is the protection of persons and property. The major sub-functions under public safety are police protection, fire protection, protective inspection, and correction. It includes following departments:
PYD
Prior Year Deficiency - Bills paid through a special CTR account after the fiscal year has closed.
Q
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance functions provide evidence to the reviewed entity that activities are being performed accurately and effectively by their staff, or reports evidence to the contrary.
R
Receivable Event (RE)
A MMARS transaction to process revenue
Record Date
The record date manually entered on a MMARS document header. If not manually entered, the date becomes the one when the document was submitted successfully.
Reporting
This is a data entry field commonly found in an on-line MMARS document. The reporting code element is a programmatic element that can be used in many different ways for measurement and tracking. It is even used as an informal cost accounting entity at times. It can be used on all accounting documents and is stored in journals and optionally in ledgers.
Restricted Revenue
Monies collected by a department and deposited with the State Treasurer that are credited to a particular revenue source and tied to an eight-digit appropriation account. This money is available to departments for purposes specified in the GAA. There may be limits set on how much money the department may spend.
Retainage
A contractually agreed upon amount/percentage of a payment(s) to be withheld until the terms of the agreement are met. Partial payment of the withheld funds may be made as well as, in a lump sum or forfeited per terms of the contract. For example, holding back part of a payment for a construction project until the phase or project is completed
Retained Revenue
Retained Revenue is a dollar amount identified in the GAA. This type of revenue is classified as cash receipts, which are available for expenditure for the purpose of specific activities. Authorization to expend these receipts is usually regulated by law. The appropriation account used for expenditure is referenced in the revenue budget, which authorizes a department to spend only that amount.
Revenue
Revenue represents funds received by the Commonwealth from a variety of sources including Taxes, Federal Reimbursements, Federal Grants,Lottery Revenue, Assessments, Motor Vehicle Licenses and Registrations, and Fees, Investment Earnings.
Rules
Rules give permission to charge an account in LCM other than the assigned account number in HR/CMS. There is an Alternate Account Rule to be used only if the primary payroll account has insufficient funds. Department Specific, Account Specific, Position Specific and Event Accounting rules can be used to specify the distribution of labor costs.
S
Sales and Use Tax
Sales and Use Tax is 5% of most goods purchased as defined by state law. Use taxes are for out-of-state purchases made by in-state residents. Meals taxes are also included here. Portions of these funds are dedicated to fund the MBTA, school construction, and the convention centers.
Scheduled Payment Date
Scheduled Payment date is the date that the Commonwealth's accounting system (MMARS) sends payment information to the Office of the State Treasurer, which is then used to generate a check or EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). The scheduled payment date is designated by either the department issuing the payment or MMARS. Depending on the object code, discount information and payment invoice date, payments may be scheduled (released) on daily or within 28 days.
Secretariat
A Secretariat is the cabinet level unit of government also known as an executive office. Departments usually report to secretariats.
Secretary
A Secretary is the officer in charge of each executive office established by legislative law.
SEFA
Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards identifies the federal grant awards administered by state agencies.
Special Laws
"Special Laws" are also known as "Session laws" that are enacted by the Legislature during each Legislative Session. Session laws include the General Appropriation Act (GAA), any Supplemental Appropriation Act (SAA), and any other Acts. Session Laws are published by the Legislature on the General Court website for the current year-to-date and the immediate past year. Session Laws are identified by "Chapter" under the Acts of a specific year.
Special Laws may provide appropriations (funding) to carry out the Department mission, with additional requirements and restrictions (e.g., specifically earmarked funds for a particular recipient or purpose, and for certain Departments, revenue receipt and expenditure authorization).
Spending Plans and Maintenance Estimates
The Executive Office of Administration and Finance's Fiscal Affairs Division provides extensive packets of Instructions and Forms to the head of every department that receives budgetary appropriations. These forms enable each department to detail and summarize all projected financial activity (excluding capital outlay spending). These include Department Level, Account Level, Object Class/Detail Level, and Revenue Forms. The combined submission of these budgetary estimates and spending plans provide the basis for Department Head and Secretariat approval and subsequent review by the Fiscal Affairs Division and both the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees.
State Finance Law
State Finance Law includes the statutes, regulations, rules and policies for receiving and expending Commonwealth funds and reporting these revenues and expenditures, including audited financial statements and appropriate state and federal tax reporting. State Finance Law (both General and Special Laws) identifies the manner or process by which a Department expends funds in carrying out its mission, and the potential penalties for noncompliance M.G.L. c. 29, s. 66 - Violations of State Finance Law - Penalties.
Statewide Single Audit (SSA)
The SSA is an annual comprehensive review, by fiscal year, of the Commonwealth’s strengths and weaknesses in the areas of internal controls and compliance with federal grant regulations. The Office of the Comptroller procures audit services for, and directs the operation of, the SSA.
Status
Notes the state of the document in MMARS. For example, Held, Ready or Rejected.
Statutory Basis Financial Report
Audited annual financial report of the Commonwealth, prepared on the Statutory Basis of accounting. This report includes all funds of the Commonwealth, whether budgeted or not. It is prepared in accordance with accounting principles in Massachusetts General Law and is not intended to present the Commonwealth's financial condition in accordance with GAAP. It is generally used to demonstrate compliance with state finance law and show comparison of budgets to actuals on the basis of accounting under which the budget is prepared.
Statutory Basis of Reporting
Financial accounting data that reflect compliance with state finance law. This method is geared to defining and reporting activity from an annual budgetary perspective, and is not comparable to other governments. Revenues are recorded when received, and expenses recorded when incurred or paid. Statutory accounting basis varies from state to state, and is of limited use for comparability across governments.
Sub Fund
The identification code associated with the sub fund. The Sub Fund chart of accounts data element can be used to further classify the financial activity within a given Fund.
Submit
Applies the business rules to the current MMARS document version and commits any updates/changes to the database if there are no errors. This action is only available on document drafts or documents pending approval. The action can be invoked from the Document Catalog or an open document
Summary Linked Ceiling
The maximum amount of collected revenue, which will update a spending account in MMARS.
Summary Linked Floor
The amount of revenue which must be deposited before any subsequent revenue will update spending authority in this particular MMARS account.
SWCAP
Statewide Cost Allocation Plan - SWCAP is the mechanism by which a state identifies, summarizes, and allocates indirect costs in a logical and systematic manner. A SWCAP is required to obtain reimbursement from the federal government.
T
Taxes
Money collected by the government and used to fund state operations. Taxes include: Income, Sales and Use, Corporate, Motor Fuel, and other taxes from a variety of goods and services including: alcoholic beverages, certain banking transactions, cigarettes, income from estates, and hotel or room occupancy tax.. (Occupancy tax rates are set by legislation and used for various purposes.)
Taxpayer ID
The Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is an identification number issued and used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the owner of the TIN in the administration and reporting of taxes.
Trust Fund
A fund into which are deposited monies held by the Commonwealth or state agencies in a trustee capacity and which must be expended in accordance with the terms of the trust.
TSA
Treasury State Agreement - The state must enter into a Treasury-State Agreement (TSA) with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service (FMS) to set forth terms and conditions for implementing CMIA.
U
Unallotted Funds
An unallotted fund is that portion of the appropriation, which has not been allotted. This amount cannot be spent in advance, but may be obligated.
Unit
MMARS offers many options to define a department’s structure; the lowest level (and the attribute that will be used to code on documents) is called Unit. Departments may establish as many units as appropriate. Associated with Unit are tracking codes that are not entered on a document, but can be established and defined for a department. For example, a department may have a procurement Unit, that is part of an administrative Group, that reports to an Administration and Finance Bureau that represents a Section, within a Division in a specific District. By coding the revenue and expenditure activity with Unit, you can track the same across Group, Bureau, Section, Division and District. Each Unit is associated with only one Group, one Bureau, etc. However, many Units can make up each Group, Bureau, etc. Unit is the lowest code and will be the code entered on documents. Some departments will only use Unit. Other departments will use the tracking codes, defining a structured roll-up.
United Nations Standard Products and Services Code
In MMARS Commodity Codes are converted to the UNSPSC codes (United Nations Standard Products and Services Codes). This is an internationally accepted code standard to classify goods and services. The Commonwealth will use the UNSPSC for better tracking of goods and services.
Unrestricted Revenue
Monies collected by a department and deposited with the State Treasurer that are credited to a particular revenue source that is not directly available to the department for expenditure, but is subject to appropriation by the Legislature and allotment by the Governor.
Useful Life
The estimation of time that an asset will provide the benefit of use.
V
Validate
The action to verify data elements entered on documents in MMARS
Vendor/Customer Code
The Vendor/Customer Code is a system-generated ten-digit number preceded by the alpha characters "VC." This code is used to identify vendors and customers in MMARS for use on procurements, encumbrances, payments and accounts receivable.
Vendor Invoice Number
Vendor invoice number is a unique number that is assigned by vendor to an invoice document. The Vendor Invoice Number must be unique and cannot already exist on the Vendor Invoice Registry table for the referenced vendor. This field is 30 characters long and is also known as the payment reference number.
Vendor/Payee
A vendor is an organization/business or individual providing either goods or services to the Commonwealth for payment.
Version
The MMARS version number is a sequential number that is initially set to one and incremented when a new version of the same document is created. After the initial document has been accepted into the system and reaches the Final phase, any attempts made to change it result in the system creating a version two, and so forth. When an accepted document is modified or cancelled, a new version of the document is created to allow the existing version of the document to remain in force while the subsequent version progresses through the Draft, Pending, and Final phases. Version numbers are used to uniquely identify each version of a document. All versions of the document appear in the Document Catalog and in the document's history.
W
W-9 
A document, completed by businesses that have contracts with the Commonwealth, which is filed with the Internal Revenue Service is called a W-9. This document verifies a business's correct Tax Identification Number (TIN) and prevents the business from having certain payments subject to the legal language on the W-9.
Warrant
A warrant is the document, signed by the Governor's Council, authorizing the State Treasurer of the Commonwealth to release funds from the state treasury for the purpose of discharging obligations of the Commonwealth which have been certified by the Comptroller. This action is required on the Massachusetts Constitution