About the Data
This portal was established by the 2009 Legislative Assembly, North Dakota Century Code 54-44.1-18, Searchable Database of Expenditures, and provides a single point of reference to view State and University System expenditures. Providing direct access to the state's accounting and payroll systems' checkbook, the North Dakota Transparency portal is a tool that opens the books of government. It is a powerful way for the public to access information about the State of North Dakota’s payment activities as well as providing salary information on state employees. The portal, created by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will make state financial activity more understandable and create additional accountability on how tax dollars are utilized. A tutorial has been provided to assist users on how to best use the portal.
Payment and salary information is provided from data recorded in the state’s PeopleSoft accounting system and is updated on a monthly basis, usually around the middle of the month for the fiscal period just ended. The exception to this is the month of June. Since June 30th is the State's fiscal year end, data will not be added to the database until the very end of July.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
As you access the Transparency portal, you may submit general questions or identify problems with the portal by clicking on the ‘Contact Us’ link in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Issues or questions about a specific agency’s spending or payment data are best directed to a particular agency.
All payments and payroll transactions made through the State of North Dakota's PeopleSoft accounting system are included in the transparency portal. North Dakota’s Transparency portal contains payment information for all state agencies, the legislature, courts, and University system.
As directed by law, the website does not include aid payments to individuals, organizations, and local assistance payments. Also, the names of some state employees have been redacted to protect their safety and welfare. For example, undercover officers in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation are not include to protect the agent’s cover. All transactions where the vendor’s name is protected by law will list the account description as the vendor instead.
The Bank of North Dakota, Mill & Elevator, Roughrider Industries and Housing & Finance are not included in the portal’s information as these agencies have unique accounting requirements and use accounting systems other than the state’s PeopleSoft system. Searches are based on PeopleSoft’s chart of accounts so they were not incorporated into the portal.
Payment and salary information is provided from data recorded in the state’s PeopleSoft accounting system and is updated on a monthly basis, usually around the middle of the month for the fiscal period just ended.
The State and University system do not share the same vendor file. Therefore, if each entity types in the vendor’s name differently, there will be multiple vendor names. (For example, XYZ Co. and XYZ Company will be two different vendor names.) In addition, purchasing card transactions are also included in the transparency information which may result in differences in vendor names as these transactions do not utilize the vendor file.
The daily cash balance amount includes the cash accounts on deposit at the Bank of North Dakota as of close the previous business day. This amount does not include cash held at the Retirement and Investment Office and other financial institutions (i.e., Legacy Fund). Retirement and Investment Office Statements
Click on the “Contact Us” link in the upper right hand corner of the screen and fill out the email request. Please provide as much detail as possible so that we can assist you with your question. Please note that a question submitted online cannot be processed as a public records request. Please contact the appropriate agency records custodian to make a public records request.
In the left menu, you will see a “Mass Download” hyperlink. By clicking on that link, you will have the option to export detailed checkbook data for a biennium to a CSV or Microsoft Excel file.
In the left menu, you will see a “Glossary” hyperlink. By clicking on that link, you will find a list of common terms used throughout the North Dakota transparency portal.
The North Dakota Transparency portal supports multiple browsers including: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari.