By Linnea Deeds, Director of Educational Services, Braumiller Consulting Group

In December, CBP announced a four-phase transition to a Modernized ACE Portal and decommissioning the legacy ACE Portal. We are currently in Phase I and already seeing client impacts. 

First, ACE logins are changing. Each user must create a new account through the Access to the Modernized ACE Portal button on the ACE login page. Once you have created a new login, you can link it to your legacy ACE login to retain your existing access.

Each time the user logs in to the Modernized ACE Portal, the user receives a one-time-use security token through email. In addition to the heightened level of security this provides, it further complicates sharing usernames and passwords. Unfortunately, the long-prohibited practice of sharing logins has continued through the years, often under the banner of convenience. If users are sharing logins, it’s time for your organization to create a user-based login and account maintenance plan.

Second, registered ACE users will no longer have access to the legacy ACE portal beginning February 20, 2022. Ahead of this transition, ACE data now populates the Modernized ACE Portal data structures as they become available. For example, suppose you are running an import report in ACE based on Entry Summary data. You currently have the option of selecting Entry Summary or Entry Summary New. The Entry Summary New points to the Modernized ACE Portal and is the up-to-date information source.

But what about all the reports you’ve already created using the legacy ACE portal? Do you have to rebuild them from scratch? That is an option and might be the way to go if you plan to re-design the report. However, for most users, that prospect is both stressful and horrifying. CBP foresaw this, and the system allows you to modify the report’s data source. It’s paramount that reports be migrated to new data sources as they become available.   Companies use ACE data to support their risk management, audit protocols, future planning, and other critical business functions.

Finally, we’ve also noticed that the ability to email scheduled reports automatically is no longer available. Therefore, if you rely on this functionality, you may need to pursue other ways of emailing or obtaining that data.

Future phases are planned for Spring 2022, Fall 2022, and January 2023.