DFL Weekly Update

Thursday, March 26, 2026

• Before Monday, 3/30 - Sign up for Budget Update Office Hours
• 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
• 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 also known as COLAs. We are seeking formal guidance from the UC Office of the President (UCOP) to see if we need to update our current assumptions for both represented and non-represented staff. As soon as we have formal communication from UCOP, we will share what the changes are and how we plan to update our systems to help you navigate this mid-budget process update. 

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.

Sign up for Budget Update Office Hours before Monday, March 30

The Budget and Financial Operations team is offering office hours to support the FY2026-27 budget process and the use of the Multi-year Budget Template. The office hours will be held on Zoom. Sign up for office hours by completing this Google form. Office hour dates and times are:

• TODAY - March 26, Thursday, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
• March 30, Monday, 11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.

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.  

Review CalPlanning access and request access updates

With another round of budget to input to CalPlanning, please review CalPlanning security to ensure that your planners have the access that they need. To review those with access in your division, review the CalPlan_HCPRptg_security worksheet. The DFL or CalPlanning access provider can request access removal in the worksheet. Please use the CalPlanning User Access Request Form to request to add new users or to increase access (more entities) to existing users. CalPlanning access requests will be processed within five business days. Reach out to the CalPlanning Team with any questions at calplanhelp@berkeley.edu.

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 that were submitted by the March 11 deadline were added on March 17. Requests submitted by April 8 will be added on April 14.

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.

BearBUY Release coming up on March 27

As part of the Jaggaer 26.1 upgrade, BearBUY will be unavailable Friday, March 27, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. PST to Sunday, March 29, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. PST. A key update for this release is chatbot functionality. Additional information will be available in the March 16 BearBUY newsletter.

Elimination of Function Code 80 for recording and tracking of Indirect Costs 

Effective March 21, 2026, UC Berkeley will discontinue using Function Code (FC) 80 for Contracts and Grants indirect costs (IDC) to meet updated UCOP reporting requirements. While IDC accounts 57900 and 57990 remain unchanged and no retroactive mapping is required, all new transactions and budget adjustments must now use the award's primary Function Code (e.g., 40 or 44). FC 80 will still be used with the operating resource transfer account 7XXXX. Mapping requests submitted after March 20 should not include FC 80. If budget reallocation from an existing FC 80 balance into another chartfield is required (e.g., re-budgeting request, allocation to another Dept ID/Co-PI), please contact CGA at cgaawards@berkeley.edu to reallocate any remaining FC 80 balances to the primary chartfield, with the subject line of the email: Function 80 Budget reallocation Award XXXXXX - Fund XXXXX.

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.

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. 

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. 

As a reminder, these updates are regularly posted to the DFL Weekly Updates page, allowing you to reference past updates at any time. Additionally, the operational deadlines page provides an overview of deliverables by quarter.

Thank you,

Office of the Vice Chancellor of Finance

If you are having difficulty accessing the information in this message, please contact vcfinance@berkeley.edu for assistance.