USAC’s Schools and Libraries News Brief of July 21, 2022, provides the following reminders from last week’s USAC invoicing webinar:
- Payments
- For Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) invoicing, the applicant must have paid the service provider in full before invoicing USAC.
- For Service Provider (SPI) invoicing, the applicant must pay the service provider their non-discounted portion.
- Be sure to invoice USAC only for your Form 471 approved, eligible equipment and services, in the correct quantities and rates, and delivered only to the approved Recipients of Service.
- Ensure the upload/download speed is properly listed for the approved FRN. If you are using a flexible bandwidth speed, ensure you are using the min/max field on the Form 471.
- Invoiced amounts must be for actual charges, not the amount committed through the E-rate program.
- Billed rates must not exceed the contracted rates. USAC will only pay up to the contracted rates.
- Remove ineligible items (equipment and services not approved on the Form 471).
- Respond to all outreach completely and timely to expedite your payment.
- To prevent duplicate invoice submission, establish a process to track/identify each invoice.
- Responding to a certification outreach request is the applicant’s task. The service provider is added only for their awareness.
Last week’s News Brief also provides the following reminders on filing Form 470s for FY 2023:
- To start an FCC Form 470, you must have a One Portal username and password to access EPC.
- Your organization's profile must be established in EPC before you can file any program form, including a Form 470.
- You do not need to update your student counts (schools) or square footage (libraries) before filing the Form 470.
- If you issue a request for proposal (“RFP”) and/or RFP documents, you must upload these documents to your Form 470.
Note: E-Rate Central recommends that every Form 470 include an uploaded RFP, if only a simple narrative description of the products and services required. Unless such an RFP is included when the Form 470 is initially filed, the applicant will be unable to append any additional clarifications, such as responses to vendor questions, later in the process without filing an entirely new Form 470.
- Certify the form online in EPC.
- Your receipt notification will appear in your EPC News feed shortly after you certify your form.
- Service providers can view filed Form 470s either through EPC or on the USAC website.
The News Brief also includes reminders to service providers to file their Form 473 Service Provider Annual Certification (“SPAC”) forms for FY 2022.