Before starting your technical implementation, it's essential to understand your agency's current infrastructure and integration requirements. This planning phase will help you choose the right integration approach and avoid common pitfalls.
Read the Documentation
Start by reviewing our comprehensive integration guide. This resource covers authentication methods, data formats, security requirements, and best practices developed from successful agency implementations. Understanding these fundamentals will help you make informed architectural decisions and communicate requirements to stakeholders.
View Do Not Pay Connect Guide and Codebook →
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Inventory Your Current Systems
A thorough inventory of your existing systems will streamline the integration process and help identify potential connection points. Document the following information about your environment:
Core Vendor Systems: Identify which payment processing, grants management, or financial systems your programs use. Many major vendors have (or are working toward) Do Not Pay integrations that can accelerate your implementation timeline. Also, identify the version of the vendor system you’re currently using. This will be helpful as you create your implementation plan in a later step.
Existing Fiscal Service Connections: If your agency already uses Do Not Pay or other Treasury Fiscal Service systems like Invoice Processing Platform (IPP), G-Invoicing, or Payment Application Modernization (PAM), you likely have established SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) connections that can be used for Do Not Pay Connect file transfers. Find contacts within your agency to get information on these connections.
Current Do Not Pay Usage: Document any Do Not Pay access across your organization, including legacy file submissions, manual online portal searches, or API integrations. This inventory prevents duplicate connections and identifies consolidation opportunities.
System Inventory Template (Coming soon)
Determine Your Implementation Path
Your implementation approach depends on your agency's technical capabilities, vendor relationships, and timeline requirements.
Vendor-Led Implementation: If your core system vendor (i.e., financial management, acquisition, grants, personnel, etc.) or shared service provider offers Do Not Pay integration, this is often the path with lowest agency technical resource requirements. Your vendor handles the technical and workflow integration while you focus on business process configuration.
Direct Agency Implementation: Agencies with mature development capabilities and their own systems outside of a core vendor may prefer direct integration for greater control over user experience, workflow customization, and data handling. This approach requires more technical resources but may offer more flexibility.
For either implementation path, you will need to complete Step 2. If you choose a vendor-led implementation:
- Consult your vendor before Step 2 to ensure you set up the right connections to fit their plans.
- The vendor will likely complete all or most of Steps 3-5 for you; check with them to identify which custom configurations or other parts of those steps you need to complete.
Vendor Implementation Plans (Coming soon)
Choose Your Access Method
Do Not Pay Connect offers flexible integration options to accommodate different agency architectures and use cases. You can implement API calls for real-time validation, batch file processing for high-volume operations, or a hybrid approach combining both methods. If you choose to do a vendor-led implementation, check with the vendor to identify which connection method(s) align with their implementation plans.
API Access provides real-time responses and is ideal for interactive workflows where users need immediate input to payment eligibility decisions. API integration offers low latency and enables dynamic user experiences.
File-Based Access supports bulk processing of large payee/entity volumes and integrates well with existing payment systems that operate on scheduled cycles. This method is optimal for agencies that need to complete eligibility analysis on large volumes of entities on an existing cadence or frequency.
Hybrid Approach allows you to use APIs for time-sensitive transactions while processing large volumes of entities through bulk files, giving you flexibility across different program requirements.