Chapter 2

Communicating With the OMB Host

This chapter tells you how to perform tasks involving the OMB Host computer. This chapter contains the following modules (indentation shows modules belonging to a set):

• Connecting to the OMB Host
• Downloading From the OMB Host:
• An Explanation of the Account Selection Screen
• Building a List of Accounts by Account Codes
• Building a List of Accounts by Agency/Bureau Name
• Uploading an Account(s) From Your PC to the OMB Host
• Deleting an Account(s) on the OMB Host
• Checking for Account Changes
• Checking for Account Rule Changes
• Creating a New Transmittal
• Creating a New Account
• Coping Account Data
• Moving Account to New Agency/Bureau
• Reports from the OMB Host:
• An Introduction
• Submitting Reports on the OMB Host
• Report Parameters
• Viewing a Report on the OMB Host
• Disconnecting from the OMB Host
• Read News Items
• Update User Information

Connecting to the OMB Host

Instructions

Exhibit

Downloading From the OMB Host: An Explanation of the Account Selection Screen

Instructions The Account Selection screen contains the following:

Exercise field--To specify an exercise, click on the down arrow key in the Exercise field and then select the exercise you desire.

OMB Account field--If you want to select accounts by OMB account number, you must click on the OMB Acct field and provide one of the following:

Option, Format

OMB Agency code, AAA

OMB Agency+Bureau code, AAA-BB

OMB Agency+Bureau+Account code, AAA-BB-NNNNNN

OMB Agency+Bureau+Account+Transmittal code, AAA-BB-NNNNNN-C

The NNNNNN can be four digits (for an appropriation account) or six digits (for a receipt account). The number you enter indicates whether you are requesting an appropriation account(s) or a receipt account(s). This number must agree with the option selected in the Type field. (See the Notes section, below.)

Treasury Account field--If you want to select accounts by Treasury account number, you must click on Treasury Account field and provide one of the following:

Option, Format

Treasury Agency+Account code, TT-NNNNNN

Treasury Agency+Account+Transmittal code, TT-NNNNNN-C

The NNNNNN can be four digits (for an appropriation account) or six digits (for a receipt account). The number you enter (which indicates whether you are requesting an appropriation or receipt account) must agree with the option selected in the Type field.

Account Type field--This field enables you to further specify which accounts you want downloaded--all, just the appropriation accounts, or just the receipt accounts. The default is the All option. The option you select must agree with other values you specify on this screen. If you specify an account number by using the OMB Account or Treasury Account field, the number you enter must agree with the option you select in the Type field. For example:

If you request a specific appropriation account (say, 007-01-1234), you must select the Appropriation option in the Type field.

If you request a specific receipt account (say, 007-01-123456), you must select the Receipt option in the Type field.

Agency field--This list is used in conjunction with the Available Bureaus list field (below). It presents all the agencies for which you can select accounts.

To select an agency, click on the Agency up/down arrow to scroll thru the list of agencies. When you have selected the agency you desire, in the bureau field a list of available bureaus appear.

Bureau field--This list is used in conjunction with the Agency field (above). It presents all the bureaus for the agency that displays in the Agency field.

To select a bureau, click on the Bureau up/down arrow to scroll thru the list of bureaus and then click on the bureau you desire. To select all bureaus for the agency, click on "<All accounts>."

When you have picked the bureaus for this agency, select the Add button. This adds the agency/bureau pair(s) to the list you are building. The list displays in the Selections area of the screen.

Selections field--This is the list of all agencies and bureaus that you have asked for by selecting agency/bureau pairs in the Agency and Available Bureau lists.

You may remove agency/bureau pairs (rows) from this list by clicking on the agency and bureau you want to delete. When you have marked all rows that you want to remove, select the Delete button. The system removes the marked rows from the list.

Buttons--The following buttons are on the bottom of the screen:

Select the OK button when you have finished requesting the accounts you want.

Select the Add button when you have identified an agency and bureau(s) for which you want accounts. The system adds the identified agency/bureau pair(s) to the list in the Selections area.

Select the Delete button when you have marked one or more agency/bureau pairs in the Selections area for removal.

Select the Cancel button when you want to terminate the account selection process. The system returns you to the main menu.

Notes There are two ways you can identify the accounts you are interested in. The first is by providing a Treasury account code or an OMB account code. If this is how you want to identify accounts, see the "Building a List of Accounts by Account Codes" module. The second way to identify accounts is to select the agencies and bureaus that contain the accounts you are interested in. If this is how you want to identify accounts, see the "Building a List of Accounts by Agency/Bureau Name" module.

Downloading from the OMB Host: Building a List of Accounts by Account Codes

Instructions

Notes
This module assumes you have already used the instructions in the "Connecting to the OMB Host" module.

Because you are building a list of accounts by OMB or Treasury account codes, you must not place any values in the Selections area. (Remember, you can build a list of accounts by account code or by agency/bureau name, but you may not mix the two methods.) If you want to build a list of accounts by using agency and bureau names, see the "Building a List of Accounts by Agency/Bureau Name" module that follows this one.

Buttons--The following buttons are on the bottom of the Download Account Selection screen:

Select All button -- selects all the accounts on the list for download.

Clear All button -- clears all selected accounts

Previous window button -- moves you back one screen

Download Dir button -- changes destination directory

Download button -- downloads the selected accounts

Cancel button -- terminates the download an account(s) process

Exhibit

Downloading From the OMB Host: Building a List of Accounts by Agency/Bureau Name

Instructions

Notes This module assumes you have already used the instructions in the "Connecting to the OMB Host" module to connect to the OMB Host and are positioned at the MAX Data Entry System - OMB Host Activities menu.

Because you are building a list of accounts by agency/bureau name, you must not place any values in the OMB Account or Treasury Account fields. (Remember, you can build a list of accounts by account code or by agency/bureau name, but you may not mix the two methods.) If you want to build a list of accounts by account code, see the "Building a List of Accounts by Account Codes" module that precedes this one.

Exhibit

Uploading an Account(s) From Your PC to the OMB Host

Instructions

Notes This module assumes you have already used the instructions in the "Connecting to the OMB Host."

Buttons--The following buttons are on the bottom of the Account Upload Selection screen:

Select All button -- selects all the accounts on the list for download.

Clear All button -- clears all selected accounts

Chg Dir button -- changes source directory

Upload button -- uploads the selected accounts

Cancel button -- terminates the upload an account(s) process

Exhibit

Deleting an Account(s) on the OMB Host

Instructions

Notes The delete process actually deletes the detail lines of an account. It does not delete the account itself.

Exhibit

Checking for Account Changes

Instructions

Exhibit

Checking for Account Rule Changes

Instructions

Notes Every appropriation and receipt accounts have account rules associated with them. These rules are established in the MAX system when the account is created. When you update your account, the account rules will help determine what information is needed in the account. The following lists some examples of account rules.

Budget Enforcement Category

Subfunction

Character Class

GRH Codes

Exhibit

Creating a New Transmittal

Instructions

Notes Amount fields are zeroed-out except for BY column where "one" are entered.

Exhibit

Creating a New Account

Instructions To create a new account, an agency submits the proper paperwork to the agency's OMB representative. The paperwork must provide the following information:

proposed account title

agency and bureau affected

statutory authority or description of the legislative proposal

fund type

the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) category

subfunctional and character classification

whether any collections related to the account are user fees

whether the account is sequestrable or exempt

whether the account will finance payments to individuals

appropriations subcommittee jurisdiction

whether the account will have limitations on obligations and

for receipt accounts, the receipt type

When the OMB representative approves the establishment of a new account, the new account will then be created in the MAX database. Once the account is established, you can download the account and its associated rules.

When the user opens the account, it will appear empty (i.e., it contains no schedules). The user adds schedules and detail lines.

Copying Account Data

Instructions

Notes You can now download the account with the information you have copied.

Exhibit

Moving Account to New Agency/Bureau

Instructions

Notes You can now download the account that you moved.

Exhibit

Reports from the OMB Host: An Introduction

Instructions There are many reports you can obtain. You need to be aware of a distinction between reports that you can order from the OMB Host and reports you order from the PC.

OMB reports use data that is on the OMB Host and this data is used to print the President's Budget.

PC reports use the data that is on either your PC hard-drive or server.

(The data from the OMB Host and the data from the PC may be different especially if you have not uploaded your data.)

This section will discuss only the reports available from the OMB Host. The OMB reports are grouped into six major report groups. Listed below are the reports groups and the available reports under each group.

Budget Accounts Listings: Up-to-the-minute

Treasury Combined Statement Report: Nightly Production

and Up-to-the-minute

Management Review

New Reports

Reports from the OMB Host: Submitting Reports on the OMB Host

Instructions

Notes: The following column are on the OMB Report screen:

Job Name This is a job number given to you at the time you requested the report.

Status Active -- report request submitted. Complete -- report ready for viewing or printing

Size Size of the report job.

Exhibit

Reports from the OMB Host: Report Parameters

Each report requires different parameters selection. The following is a list of all parameters and the available options for that parameter.

Reports from the OMB Host: Viewing a Report on the OMB Host

Instructions

Notes You may view only those reports that have not yet finished printing. Once a report has printed, it is deleted from the OMB Host and you may not view it.

Disconnecting from the OMB Host

Instructions

Exhibit

Read News Items

Instructions

Exhibit

Update User Information

Instructions

Exhibit

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