INTERFACE FILES (Inbound and Outbound)

The first attachment (MFASISGAX.GSD)contains the new design for the Payment Voucher (PV) interface. In new system terms, the new documents are referred to as "GAX" documents. This GAX design specifications comprise the following:

• Document definitions and naming conventions
• Document usage information
• Logical components of the GAX XML document
• GAX transaction layout - the current PV attributes are mapped to the new GAX attributes
• Sample XML GAX document
• Layout for the current PV document

The second document (GAX.XSD) contains the XML Schema that you can use to "validate" your files before sending them to us for testing.

DAFS Analytics

DAFS Analytics provides a single point of entry for the DAFS Data Warehouse. Depending on credentials, a user will be able to access Accounting, Human Resources/Payroll, and Budget data. Built on the Oracle Analytics Cloud Service (OACS) platform, the tool introduces a host of new features for the State of Maine, including: 

• Data Visualization and Dashboards
• Working with Governed and Ungoverned data sets
• Enhanced sharing functionality, including scheduling agents
• Improved performance and access to data

The tool provides all data that is currently accessed using GQL, the Cube, or SSRS Report Manager.  In some cases, e.g., Budget, the tool provides access to more data than is available today.  To gain access to DAFS Analytics, reach out to your agency trainer.

DAFS Analytics URL: https://dafs-analytics.maine.gov/analytics

SharePoint site with additional information: https://stateofmaine.sharepoint.com/sites/DAFSAnalytics

For training:

• New users should contact their designated agency trainer - a list of trainers is available on the DAFS Analytics SharePoint site.
• Training Materials, including a user manual and training videos, are available on the DAFS Analytics SharePoint site. Oracle also provides comprehensive step-by-step support manuals.

For access:

• Security Application can be found at the following website, item #3 under Security Applications: http://www.maine.gov/osc/forms
• Work with your Security Coordinator to submit a Security Form to: DAFSDataWarehouseSupport@maine.gov
• All users will need to submit a form - even if they have previously been approved for GQL, Cube or SSRS Report Manager access.
• When logging in, don't enter you User ID and password, just click the link for your branch of Government.

For support:

• If you need support beyond what you designated trainer can provide, please contact the Data Warehouse team via email at: DAFSDataWarehouseSupport@maine.gov
• Priority will be given to GQL retirement issues - if you are unable to duplicate a GQL query in DAFS Analytics, please provide an example of how you pull the data in GQL, an the frequency and importance of the data to you.

Update

The DAFS Data Warehouse will be migrating to the Oracle Public Cloud, marking completion of Phase 1 of the modernization projection, on Friday April 21st at 2:00 PM EST and continuing for the remainder of the day. During this time, GQL, "The Cube", and SSRS will be unavailable. The planned availability of GQL, "The Cube" and SSRS is 5:00 PM EST on Friday April 21st.

Moving to the cloud will result in improved response time and cost savings and will allow for a second phase to implement new tools, address security, data integrity and functionality deficiencies identified in the 2015 Gap Analysis and improve overall system performance while further increasing cost savings to the State of Maine. End user testing has begun and will continue through April 7th with a cross section of key resources and users.

General Announcement

The Office of the State Controller maintains various systems to provide State of Maine staff, managers and executives quick and easy access to the financial information needed to make timely and informed decisions.  It is essential that the State continuously improve the tools and techniques that we provide to make available information more consumable, relevant, timely and accessible.  Consistent with those principles, the Office of the State Controller (OSC) initiated this project to modernize and enhance the State's financial data warehouse, to improve the users' ability to access and utilize critical payroll, accounting, budget, and human resource information.  The purpose of this website is to inform users about this initiative, what is planned for the upcoming months, and the goals and objectives for the project.  We will update this website periodically to provide additional information regarding the Data Warehouse Modernization project.

In 1991, OSC implemented the Maine Financial and Administrative Statewide Information System (MFASIS), a mainframe accounting system.  This system integrated accounting, payroll, and human resource functionality into a single system that automated several manual work functions.  To maximize the usability of information contained in and generated by the MFASIS system, the State of Maine developed a financial data warehouse that was implemented in 1996.  The GQL financial data warehouse provided State agencies with access to a wealth of information that could assist them in meeting their reporting and auditing needs.

In 2007, OSC upgraded the MFASIS accounting system to a modernized solution called Advantage, which remains in place today.  GQL continues to be utilized today; however, the changes that were made to the underlying structure of the data in the Advantage system impact the effectiveness of the GQL solution. Since 2007, small systems implemented by various end users to meet their informational needs have proliferated.  Currently, there are at least twenty-six different data extracts providing source data to the GQL financial data warehouse.   Additionally, several State agencies are using two smaller reporting systems, the Cube and Report Manager, in conjunction with the GQL financial data warehouse to meet their reporting requirements. 

In early 2015, OSC collaborated with the Office of Information Technology (OIT) to perform a gap analysis on the State's financial data warehouse and associated reporting solutions, which was published in March of that year.  Overall, the findings indicated the State of Maine should implement a centralized, consolidated enterprise financial data warehouse solution.  In response to these findings, the OSC has initiated a multi-phase data warehouse modernization project to deliver an enterprise financial data analytics and reporting solution.  The first phase of the project will migrate the databases supporting the financial data warehouse, currently hosted in the State's data center, to the Oracle Public Cloud.  Our goal is to make this migration as seamless as possible to all end users.  Users will continue to access data using today's tools with no loss in functionality.  Subsequent phases of the project will implement new tools, address security, data integrity and functionality deficiencies identified in the 2015 Gap Analysis and improve overall system performance. 

Advantage 3.11 Access

Please make sure to update your bookmarks or favorites with this URL below.

Login Instructions

For Windows:  https://meosc.hostams.com/PRDFIN1X1/Advantage

For MAC:  Use same link through emulator.

Please keep in mind, the website is supported for the following web browsers:

Windows PC Platforms (Desktop):

• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11 (For Windows 7) - Phasing out
• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11 (For Windows 8, 8.1, and 10) - Phasing out
• Microsoft Edge v89
• Mozilla Firefox ESR v78.6
• Google Chrome v89
• Safari v13

Mobile Platforms:

• Apple Safari v13 with iOS 14
• Chrome v89 with Android 10.x
• Microsoft Edge v89 with Android 10.x

(Last certification 03/21/2021)

Advantage Hours of Operation:

• 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday
• Some days the system may be up earlier than 7, however that is not guaranteed.
• On occasion, the application may not be available during normal hours of operation.

For Daily Status or Outages

https://csn.state.me.us/daily-status.php

1. How do I clear my cache?
2. Are you having problems printing from Advantage?
3. Are you having trouble opening PDF documents from internet browsers?
4. How do I check for/add trusted sites?
5. Are you having trouble printing from the REM's tables?
6. How do I obtain or update access to Advantage, DocuWare, the Cube, and/or the Data Warehouse?
7. What is the process for importing CSV file from Document Catalog?

1. How do I clear my cache? (Chrome and Edge)

1. Edge:
   • Click on three dot (ellipsis) menu at the top-right corner of window
     
   
   
   • Click on Settings
     
   
   
   • Click on Privacy, search and services
     
   
   
   • Under Delete browsing data, click on Choose what to clear
     
   
   
   • Make sure items are selected
     
   • Click Clear Now
     
2. Chrome:
   • Click on three dot (ellipses) menu at the top right-hand side of window
     
   
   
   • Click on Settings
     
   
   
   • Click on Privacy and security
     
   
   
   • Click on Delete browsing data
     
   
   
   • Make sure items are selected and click Delete data
     

2. Are you having problems printing from Advantage?

First, be sure that you are using Windows 11 and Adobe version DC.

Then try the following steps to see if they help:

1. Clear your cache (See FAQ #1 for instructions)
2. Update settings for PDF (See FAQ #3 for instructions)
3. Check for trusted sites (See FAQ #4 for instructions)

3. Are you having trouble opening PDF documents from internet browsers?

1. Edge:
   • Open the Edge browser and click on the three-dot icon at the top-right corner. Select Settings
     
     
   
   
   • Select Cookies and site permissions
     
     
   
   
   • Scroll down to PDF documents
     
     
   
   
   • Turn on the indicator for Always download PDF files
   • Do not use both
     
     


2. Chrome:
   • Open the Chrome browser and click on the three-dot icon at the top-right corner. Select Settings
     
     
   
   
   • Select Privacy and security
     
     
   
   
   • Select Site Settings
     
     
   
   
   • Scroll down to Additional content settings
     
     
   
   
   • Select PDF documents
     
     
   
   
   • Select the radio button Download PDFs
     
     

4. How do I check for/add trusted sites?

1. Edge:
   • Click on the three dot (ellipses) menu at the top right-hand side of window
     
   
   
   • Click on Settings
     
   
   
   • Click on Privacy, search and services
   • Click on Site Permissions
     
   
   
   • Click on All Permissions
     
   
   
   • Scroll down to click on Pop-ups and redirects
     
   
   
   • View Allowed to send pop-us and use redirects
   • There should be a url for Advantage (https://meosc.hostams.com)
   • If the url is missing, click Add site
     
   
   
   • Enter the url (https://meosc.hostams.com)
   • Click Add
     
   
   
   • Notice that the url is now listed as allowed
     


2. Chrome:
   • Click on the three dot (ellipses) menu at the top right-hand side of window
     
   
   
   • Click on Settings
     
   • Click on Privacy and security
   • Click on Site Settings
     
   
   
   • Scroll down to Pop-ups and redirects
     
   
   
   • View Allowed to send pop-ups and use redirects
   • There should be a url for Advantage (https://meosc.hostams.com)
   • If the url is missing, click Add site
     
   
   
   • Enter the url (https://meosc.hostams.com)
   • Click Add
     
   
   
   • Notice that the url is now listed as allowed
     

5. Are you having trouble printing from the REM's tables?

Be sure that you are highlighting the line that you want to print before selecting the "View Bill" link.

Also, see FAQ #2 to see if those steps can help resolve your printing issues.

6. How do I obtain or update access to Advantage, DocuWare, the Cube, and/or the Data Warehouse?

Both the Advantage Security Application and the DAFS Analytics Warehouse/SQL Cube Applications can be found in the Security Applications section of the OSC Forms page. The Advantage Application is used to obtain access to DocuWare. http://www.maine.gov/osc/forms

7. What is the process for importing a CSV file from Document Catalog?

1. Export the documents through the Document Catalog using the Export to CSV option
   
   


2. Click Export to CSV - Choose Save As option


3. Note: If you do not have the option to 'Save As', go to the browser settings, under Downloads, turn on 'Ask me what to do with each download'.
   


4. Save file to Desktop or another folder on your computer. Change file extension from .csv to .txt
   
   


5. Open Excel and select File - Open. Find the .txt file that was just saved. After selecting the file to open, the Text Wizard import will open. Select Delimited and click on Next
   
   


6. Select the Comma Delimiters and click on Next (It displays the text into the Tabular format)
   
   


7. By default, column data format is General. Select the Doc Id Column and change the Format to Text, and click on Finish (Selecting the Text format helps to remove the leading zeros)
   
   


8. Verify the information in Excel – the full Document Id should be imported
   
   

For further questions, please contact us.

About Advantage Materials

With introduction of the Advantage 4 system, the existing Advantage 3 materials will be temporarily housed on this site until the end of the 2026 calendar year. They will be removed after that time.

The new Advantage 4 materials can be found on the OSC Intranet site.

**Documents are supplied in PDF format and require the free Acrobat Reader for viewing or printing. If you need an alternate format, please contact us via email or phone (207-626-8420).

Who is a Vendor?

Vendors can represent anyone receiving money from the State of Maine; such as service providers, clients, businesses and employees.

How does a Vendor receive payment?

To receive money from the State of Maine you must be enrolled in the State's vendor payment system (vendor file).

How to enroll in the vendor payment system?

To enroll in the vendor file, you must fill out and submit the Vendor Activation Form by U.S. Postal Mail to the Agency you are doing business with (e.g. Dept of Human Services, Dept of Labor, etc.). The Agency will enter the information into the system.

You MUST fill out the forms completely. Forms with missing information will NOT be processed. Please refer to the instructions for assistance in filling out the form.

NOTE: If you are a vendor wishing to bid for contracts and commodities with the State of Maine, please see the tab for Bidding Vendors.

**Documents are supplied in PDF format and require the free Acrobat Reader for viewing or printing. If you need an alternate format, please contact us via email or phone (207-626-8420).

Section Objectives:

• Acquire the ability to prepare the Security Application
• Understand security and workflow roles
• Acquire a working knowledge of Security and Workflow
• Understand the worklist functionalities
• Change a password and create a password hint

This section will provide Agency Security Coordinators and Agency Supervisors working knowledge of how to create and update user profiles in Advantage. The Agency Security Coordinators and Supervisors are responsible for preparing the Security Application, understanding security and workflow roles, understanding worklist functionalities, and helping users to manage passwords.

This section will also discuss functionality for document approval processing. Advantage has the ability of routing documents through the Advantage workflow to one or more users for review/approval prior to finalizing the document. (Workflow provides the technical means of electronically routing document data to the next resource.) Agency Security Coordinators will be responsible for selecting the appropriate workflow roles based on users' approval rights when completing the Advantage Security Application.

DocuWare

Please Note: DocuWare has replaced the Fortis system.  Please reach out to security coordinators for access.

Advantage

**Documents are supplied in PDF format and require the free Acrobat Reader for viewing or printing. If you need an alternate format, please contact us via email or phone (207-626-8420).

**PLEASE NOTE: All documents relating to petty cash transactions, i.e. cash receipts and journals, must include the Vendor/Customer Number of the account being altered.

To create a new petty cash vendor, complete Petty Cash NEW form in which OSC will create VCC document.

To update the name of custodian on existing petty cash vendor, complete Petty Cash UPDATE form and Agency should prepare VCM document on Advantage.

NOTE: When closing out a petty cash account, please make sure that the account balance has been fully cleared out before preparing a VCM document to inactivate the Vendor Code.

Please inform the Controller's Office of any intention of opening or closing out a petty cash account.

**Documents are supplied in PDF format and require the free Acrobat Reader for viewing or printing. If you need an alternate format, please contact us via email or phone (207-626-8420).

**Documents are supplied in PDF format and require the free Acrobat Reader for viewing or printing. If you need an alternate format, please contact us via email or phone (207-626-8420).

Please visit the Accounting FAQ section for additional information regarding journals.

Notes:

• COAJ Documents:
  • Please make sure that COAJ documents are still prepared using the Journal Document Template. These documents, along with proper backup, are still sent for scanning into Fortis.
• Please make sure to check the document comments regarding rejected documents before contacting OSC. If you still have questions about the reject after reading the comments, you can inquire further.
• Please make sure to check document catalog for the status of journal processing. It is up to each agency to monitor their own journals. Especially during month, quarter and year end processing.
• Please make sure to include Accounting Period on paper journals, especially during month, quarter and year end processing.

Header Information

Please make sure to complete the header tab on your documents. This is very important during month, quarter and year end processing.

Section Objectives:

• Understand the new chart of account elements in Advantage
• Identify and configure key chart of account tables
• Understand interrelationships and dependencies among the chart of account elements
• Create an accounting template
• Understand and use event types and posting codes
• Understand the relationship between event types and required chart of account elements
• Understand budget structures and their corresponding components, controls and their related chart of account elements
• Create general accounting documents
• Process Journal Voucher (JV)
• Process Internal Exchange Transaction (IET)
• Process Accounting Based Spending Adjustments (ABSJ)

Advantage's Chart of Accounts functionality provides an account structure to classify financial information according to the dimensions needed to support the various uses of the State of Maine's (SoM) financial information. In this way, you can measure where monies are collected and spent. You can categorize each transaction using independent characteristics so that you can record and report on financial activity. Another aspect of the chart of accounts is the consolidation of information into rollups that you can use for reporting and budgeting. The chart of accounts can accommodate many discrete elements, sub elements and multiple associations for establishing hierarchies and rollups.

Advantage addresses reporting needs - fund accounting, adherence to budget and other management tracking activities. Using its flexible coding structure, you can produce sets of financial reports in which the same dollar amounts can be classified in different ways: program managers receive reports that cut across organizational lines pertaining to specific programs; department managers receive reports for their organizations and programs; legislators receive appropriations reports. Advantage produces these reports from the same common database.