Upcoming Deadlines
- Wednesday, 4/8 - Add a CF1 to CalPlan
- Friday, 4/17 - Submit completed and approved Org Tree change requests
- Tuesday, 4/28 - Complete Q3 Key Controls
- Thursday, 4/30 - Queue commitments for Q4 requests
- Friday, 5/1 - Submit budget and budget templates
Budget Process
Cost of Living Increases update
We understand that there has been some informal communication around cost-of-living increases. While we still do not have formal communication from UCOP about what the cost-of-living increases will be, we will adjust our assumptions and plan to update our systems to help you address this revision. More information about updated assumptions, deliverables, and system updates will be shared next week.
Budget process update
The FY2026-27 budget call letter was sent to the Deans, Vice Chancellors, and Divisional Finance Leaders. The budget process guidelines and assumptions, budget templates, and timeline are available on the FY2026-27 Budget Process webpage. Budgets should be entered into CalPlan and budget templates should be submitted to dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu by Friday, May 1.
Next steps on Form A
Thank you for submitting your completed Form A to the Financial Planning & Analysis team. We are in the process of loading your division's Form A submissions to the FY2025-26 Forecast and FY2026-27 Operating Budget in CalPlan. Information from your Form A submissions will then be used to recalculate Campus Support for FY2027-28 and FY2028-29, and will be loaded to the Budget Template during the week of April 6.
UCRP 2025-26 Supplemental Interest Assessment Rate mid-year change
For the mid‑year adjustment to the UCRP assessment rate from 0.7% to 0.65%, our team will incorporate the updated rate into the Form A templates before uploading them into CalPlan. In addition, the in‑year actual funding will be adjusted to reflect the revised assessment rate. No action is required on your end for this process. We will share further details if any additional steps are needed.
CalPlanning availability
The CalPlanning tools (CalPlan, HCP, CalRptg, HCPRptg, SmartView) are available. Please review the March release notes for details about this update, including:
- FY2025-26 Forecast Working version has February Actuals
- Central Transfer accounts have been updated
- Annual removal of DeptIDs for planning has been completed
- Updated UCPath HCM data for planners to review and selectively copy to HCP
Visit the CalPlanning website for additional details.
Add a CF1 to CalPlan by Wednesday, April 8
DFLs can request Chart1 members to be added for planning in CalPlan/HCP by submitting a Help Desk ticket. Requests submitted by April 8 will be added on April 14.
Action Items
Submit completed and approved Org Tree change requests by Friday, April 17
To submit an Org Change request, please access the Organizational Tree Change Request Portal. For Org Tree changes to be processed in April, please complete your org change request form in the portal as early as possible to allow time for the Org Tree Change Committee to review and route for all required approvals by the April 17 deadline. Please review the Org Tree Change Request Portal Job Aid for more information on how to get started. Contact dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu with questions. Note, the last opportunity to submit approved org changes for processing this fiscal year will be Friday, May 22, 2026.
Complete Q3 Key Controls by Tuesday, April 28
Complete and submit both the Financial Reporting Review and System Access Review by the end of the day on Tuesday, April 28. Please visit the Division Key Controls page for instructions and more information. Email questions regarding financial reporting review controls to the Financial Accounting and Controls team at gao@berkeley.edu. For questions about system access review controls, contact the BFS Security team at secbfs@berkeley.edu.
Queue commitments for Q4 requests by Thursday, April 30
Please complete the commitment queue form by Thursday, April 30, for commitments to be funded in May of FY2025-26. Please note that the following commitments do not need to be queued: Budget Decisions; EVCP TAS; Star Awards; Bear Grants; both Productivity Suite and Campus Data Network assessments and endowment payouts for rotating chairs. Commitments are processed on a quarterly basis. You only need to use one commitment queue Google form to submit your commitment requests for both faculty and non-faculty funding commitments. Faculty commitments are defined for this purpose as Start-up; Retention; ASMD; and Chancellor's Professorships. Chancellor’s Professorships are those that are offered via start-up or retention in lieu of an actual chair, until one can be found, and are funded by central resources. For more information about queueing commitments and documentation required, please visit the Commitments page. Please note that if you are working remotely, you must log in through VPN for these forms to work. Please email dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu with questions.
Informational Updates
Inactivation of Account 57005 – Business Meeting-Non-Technical
In order to streamline the chart of accounts, account 57005 - Business Meeting-Non Technical will be inactivated, effective April 30, 2026. Use Account 57004 - Group Meals to record expenses for meals and light refreshments related to meetings, workshops, lectures, or conferences that support official University business.
Please update the account codes in distribution chartstrings for procurement cards, BearBuy requisitions and purchase orders, and journal templates. These expenses are subject to UC policy BUS-79 Expenditures for Business Meetings, Entertainment, and Other Occasions. For questions, contact the Financial Accounting and Controls team at gao@berkeley.edu.
Cal Answers training
Enrollment is now open for the two-hour instructor-led class that builds on the basic navigation skills covered in the self-study. There are separate courses focusing on financial dashboards and student data dashboards. In the class, a subject matter expert guides a deep dive into the reports and data available in the dashboards and answers specific questions. The Cal Answers website also hosts self-service learning resources, including a complete course on basic navigation, short videos, job aids, wiki documentation, and a list of frequently asked questions.
CalPlanning and Smart View training
Self-study materials for CalPlanning and Smart VIew are available on the website for everyone to use; they can be a helpful resource for those who have already completed the training and are looking for a refresher. Review the CalPlanning training page to access the self-study materials.
Changes to the DFL in Your Division
If the DFL role in your division is changing, email fpa@berkeley.edu to ensure our website, communications, and training plans are updated.
DFL Weekly Updates Page
As a reminder, these updates are regularly posted to the DFL Weekly Updates page so you can reference past updates at any time. Additionally, the Operational Deadlines page provides an overview of deliverables by quarter.
Federal Updates
Please be aware of two resources regarding the evolving federal policy shifts: the UCOP Federal updates page and the UC Berkeley Federal updates page, which will be updated regularly as new information becomes available.