FI$Cal RPA – Automating Financial Data Entry for State of California

The FI$Cal RPA project was developed to automate the manual process of entering accounting and deposit records into the California FI$Cal system — a critical financial platform used by state agencies.

Using Microsoft Power Platform tools, including Power Automate Desktop, Dataverse, and Teams, we created an attended RPA solution that simplifies data input, enforces data consistency, and provides real-time visibility into every submission. The system was built with government-grade security, audit tracking, and user onboarding in mind.

???? Key Features

  • ???? RPA Automation: Automates browser-based data entry into FI$Cal, triggered by user-submitted forms

  • ???? Secure Access: Role-based permissions using Azure AD and Dataverse security roles

  • ???? Live Notifications: Microsoft Teams alerts for success, failures, and exceptions

  • ???? Audit Trail: Every action logged and monitored for compliance and traceability

  • ????‍???? User-Friendly Interface: Designed for both technical and non-technical accounting staff

Service Area
  • RPA & Intelligent Automation · Power Platform Solutions · Government IT Consulting

  • CLIENT NAME

    CalOES - Accounting Team

  • TIMELINE

    2023-07-01 - 2025-03-01
Brand Identity Design

Introduction

The FI$Cal RPA project was initiated by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to address the challenges of manual financial data entry into the state’s Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal). The existing process required staff to spend significant time entering accounting and deposit records, often resulting in delays, errors, and limited visibility. To solve this, we developed a secure, user-friendly automation solution using Microsoft Power Automate Desktop, Dataverse, and Microsoft Teams. The RPA system enables accurate, efficient, and auditable data entry, empowering the accounting team to focus on higher-value tasks while improving operational efficiency and compliance.

Goal

The primary goal of the FI$Cal RPA project was to automate the manual data entry process for accounting and deposit transactions into the FI$Cal system. The objective was to reduce human error, save time, ensure data accuracy, and introduce a secure, scalable solution that supports auditability and real-time monitoring — all while remaining accessible to non-technical users within the accounting team.

Challenge

Before automation, the Cal OES Accounting Services team relied on a fully manual process to enter financial transactions into the FI$Cal system — a task that was time-consuming, repetitive, and prone to human error. The process lacked validation checks, an audit trail, and monitoring tools, making it difficult to ensure consistency or catch issues early. Additionally, the system’s complexity posed a challenge for non-technical users, especially during peak reporting periods when speed and accuracy were critical.

Outcome

End-to-End Accounting Entry Automation

Zero-Touch FI$Cal Data Entry

We developed a fully automated solution using Power Automate Desktop to handle all steps of financial data entry into the FI$Cal system. Staff members simply complete a secure, structured form, and the RPA bot replicates human actions to log in, navigate the web interface, and enter the data. This process dramatically reduced time spent on manual input, standardized data formatting, and minimized human errors across departments.

Real-Time Monitoring and Role-Based Security

Secure, Auditable, and Transparent Automation

To support security and compliance, the solution was integrated with Microsoft Dataverse and Azure Active Directory to implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). Every user interaction is logged, and results are reported in real time via Microsoft Teams notifications. This enabled the accounting team to track task status, resolve issues promptly, and maintain a clear audit trail — all without the need for technical oversight.

The RPA solution has been a tremendous asset for our team. It eliminated the repetitive and error-prone task of entering financial data into FI$Cal, allowing us to focus more on analysis and oversight. The automation is reliable, easy to use, and has saved us countless hours during critical reporting periods. The team's understanding of government processes and Microsoft technologies was exceptional.

CalOES - Accounting Team
CalOES

Conclusion

The FI$Cal RPA project significantly improved the operational efficiency of Cal OES’s accounting services. By automating routine data entry tasks with Power Platform tools, the team eliminated manual effort, reduced errors, and gained complete visibility into financial workflows. The solution is secure, scalable, and built for government standards — proving that low-code RPA can drive meaningful impact in public sector operations.