September 15, 2016<\/p>\n
~ Do NOT File in EPC – Use Old BEAR System ~<\/strong> If you did not receive discounted bills for FY 2015’s recurring services, and have not yet filed your Form 472 BEAR form to seek reimbursement from USAC, please conduct your calculations and submit the BEAR very soon.\u00a0 The deadline to submit the BEAR or to request an extension is October 28, 2016.\u00a0 I’ve attached am updated list of FRNs whose vendors have NOT invoiced USAC, which likely means these schools or libraries must submit BEARs for those FRNs.\u00a0 Not included in this list are entities that have already filed BEARs for any or all of FY 2015 (and where USAC has already authorized disbursement).\u00a0 Also, the list does not include internal connections FRNs as the deadline for those BEARs is January 28, 2017 (120 days after the last date to receive internal connections equipment which is September 30, 2016).<\/p>\n Very Important Notes – Please Read:<\/strong><\/p>\n A few important Q & A’s:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1) \u00a0Can I complete the BEAR online?<\/strong> 2) \u00a0Can I put all of my reimbursement requests on a single BEAR?<\/strong> 3) \u00a0Am I required to have the provider approve the BEAR?<\/strong> 4)\u00a0 How long will it take for my BEAR reimbursement to arrive?<\/strong> 5)\u00a0 How will I know when the BEAR reimbursement amount has been deposited into my bank account?<\/strong> 6) \u00a0I was committed more funding than I actually spent. Can I request reimbursement for the full amount that was originally committed?<\/strong> 7) \u00a0I spent more than what was committed on my funding commitment letter (my cap). What should I list on my BEAR — the cap or the actual amount spent?<\/strong> 8) \u00a0What if I receive my BEAR Remittance Letter and it lists that $0 was approved?<\/strong> 9) \u00a0What if I actually received a slightly different service\/equipment than what was originally listed on my Form 471 application? 10)\u00a0 What should I do if I didn’t use the service?<\/strong> If you have any questions about the FY 2015 Invoice Deadlines or completing the BEAR, please contact me at jtschell@comcast.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n — Julie<\/p>\n Julie Tritt Schell Penn*link<\/p>\n\n
\n~ Must Have Approved Form 498 Before Filing BEAR ~<\/strong>
\n~ List of Possible Affected Entities Attached<\/a>\u00a0~
\n~ BEAR Filing Guide Attached<\/a>\u00a0~<\/p>\n\n
\nA. All BEARs – regardless of funding year<\/em> – must be filed online beginning July 1, 2016.\u00a0 No paper BEARs will be accepted.<\/p>\n
\nA. No, a separate BEAR must be completed for each separate SPIN (vendor). For example, if you have 2 FRNs that list\u00a0Comcast, and one FRN that is for AT&T, you can submit both Comcast FRN reimbursement requests on a single BEAR, but the AT&T reimbursement request must be filed on a separate BEAR.<\/p>\n
\nA. No.\u00a0 Beginning July 1, 2016, vendors will not certify BEARs for any funding year<\/em>.\u00a0 Your BEAR will be submitted directly to USAC for processing.<\/p>\n
\nA.\u00a0\u00a0Because service providers have been removed from the BEAR approval\/reimbursement process, BEAR reimbursements will be directly deposited to the bank account that was listed on the Form 498 within a few days of BEAR submission, assuming the BEAR is not denied or held for further review.<\/p>\n
\nA.\u00a0 The General Financial Contact and the Remittance Contact listed on your Form 498 will both receive an e-mail containing a statement with the date the reimbursement amount was transferred and the amount.<\/p>\n
\nA. No. Applicants\u00a0may only seek reimbursement for the exact amount paid for the service instead of just listing the full funding cap (for example, if you were committed $10,000, but then only spent $6,000, you can only request E-rate reimbursements based on the $6000). \u00a0Please know that USAC has increasingly been requesting copies of invoices when they review the BEARs as proof that you are requesting the accurate amount.<\/p>\n
\nUSAC would like you to complete the BEAR with the\u00a0actual figures of what you spent for the service, and not just list your funding cap amount. For example, if you spent $10,000, and had a 50% discount, you would list $10,000 in Column 14 and $5,000 in Column 15, even if you were only committed $4,000. The reason is that USAC would like to show how much applicants are actually spending on services and also so they know that you are not just listing the funding commitment amount (the cap), but have actually added up how much was actually spent in each of the 12 months using the actual vendor bills. Unfortunately, they will only reimburse you up to the amount that you were committed.<\/p>\n
\nA. This typically means that there was an error made on the BEAR Form and the applicant must correct the error and resubmit to USAC.\u00a0 Many years ago,\u00a0USAC reached out to the applicant to correct the Form over the phone, but\u00a0no longer.\u00a0 Now USAC will “pass zero” the BEAR (meaning they won’t fund it), but it doesn’t mean the E-rate funding is gone. It simply means that the applicant must resubmit the BEAR with corrected information and typically there is an explanation on the BEAR explaining what was incorrect to help identify the error.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A. USAC has increased scrutiny of the BEARs to make sure that reimbursement requests are for exactly what services were approved for on the FCDLs.\u00a0 If you changed services during the 2015 funding year from what you originally listed on your Form 471, you should first seek a “correcting service substitution request” from USAC. The instructions for submitting a service substitution can be found at: http:\/\/www.sl.universalservice.org\/reference\/ServiceSub.asp<\/a><\/p>\n
\nA.\u00a0 File a Form 500 and cancel the FRN.\u00a0 The easiest version to use is available at: http:\/\/www.e-ratecentral.com\/formsRack\/app\/Form500.asp<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nPA E-rate Coordinator
\n717-730-7133 – o
\n717-730-9060 – f
\njtschell@comcast.net<\/a>
\nwww.e-ratepa.org<\/p>\n