October 12, 2015<\/p>\n
* PA has 1534 FRNs – worth $19,891,290.49 – that need BEARs submitted The deadline to submit FY 2014 Form 472 BEARs for recurring services is October 28, 2015.<\/strong>\u00a0 This means that both the applicant and service provider must certify the BEAR before this date (you can’t just hit submit online by this deadline — your vendor also must certify the online BEAR on their end).\u00a0 Under the new FCC rules, if you cannot make the October 28 deadline, you MUST request an invoice deadline with USAC on or before October 28.\u00a0 USAC will then grant a single, 120-day extension.\u00a0 USAC IS NO LONGER PERMITTED TO APPROVE EXTENSIONS REQUESTS SUBMITTED AFTER THE INVOICE DEADLINE, NOR ARE THEY PERMITTED TO APPROVE A SECOND EXTENSION REQUEST.<\/strong>\u00a0 If you cannot make the October 28 deadline, an invoice deadline extension request form is attached for you to complete and submit (on or before October 28).<\/p>\n Attached to this message is a spreadsheet containing a list of all PA entities that, as of\u00a0October 12, have\u00a0either not submitted a BEAR or have had their BEAR $0-funded.\u00a0 The spreadsheet contains the service provider’s name, the amount that was committed, and the actual invoice deadline date for each FRN.<\/p>\n Who should submit a BEAR?<\/strong>\u00a0 Unless your vendor provided you with discounted bills, you must file a Form 472 BEAR to seek reimbursement. \u00a0If you have a PIN, this form can be filed online at: http:\/\/www.sl.universalservice.org\/menu.asp<\/a>.\u00a0 Or it can be filed manually (print and mail it) and is available at: http:\/\/www.sl.universalservice.org\/form<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0A guide to filing the online BEAR is attached.<\/p>\n IF YOU SUBMITTED YOUR BEAR ONLINE MORE THAN 2-3 WEEKS AGO AND YOUR NAME IS STILL ON THE ATTACHED LIST, CALL YOUR VENDOR AND MAKE SURE THEY CERTIFIED THE ONLINE BEAR.\u00a0 Some vendors can’t certify online BEARs, and others have difficulties getting the USAC notices that a BEAR is waiting to be certified. \u00a0If your vendor can’t certify the online BEAR, then you must file a paper BEAR (with the vendor’s signature on page 4).<\/p>\n Please keep in mind that the SLD’s website only provides information on what\u00a0disbursements have been authorized, not whether a BEAR has been submitted yet.\u00a0 So if you submitted a BEAR in the last 2 weeks and your name is still on the list, it is likely due to the fact that the funding disbursement hasn’t shown up yet in the USAC database.<\/p>\n After the SLD has reviewed and approved your BEAR, they will mail to you a BEAR Approval Letter, listing the amount of your check. Your check is mailed to your service provider\u00a0within 20 days after the mailing of the approval letter. Service providers are required to mail you a check for the same amount within 20 days of receiving the check from the SLD.<\/p>\n A few important Q & A’s:<\/p>\n 1) Can I complete the BEAR online?<\/strong> 2) Can I put all of my reimbursement requests on a single BEAR?<\/strong> 3) Am I required to have the provider sign the BEAR?<\/strong> Also, make sure the service provider signs the last<\/em> page — the Service Provider Certification Page — and not the Applicant Certification Page which looks very similar. Also make certain that the provider includes the date beside their signature; dates are considered a minimum processing standard.<\/p>\n 4) I was committed more funding than I actually spent. Can I request reimbursement for the full amount that was originally committed?<\/strong> 5) I 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> 6) When will I receive my BEAR reimbursement check?<\/strong> 8) What if I actually received a slightly different service than what was originally listed on my Item 21 attachments? 9)\u00a0 What should I do if I didn’t use the service?<\/strong> If you have any questions about the FY 2014 Invoice Deadlines or completing the BEAR, please contact me at jtschell@comcast.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n — Julie<\/p>\n Julie Tritt Schell 717-730-7133 – o Penn*link<\/p>\n\n
\n* Attached spreadsheet shows all affected entities and FRNs<\/a>
\n* Strict new invoicing deadlines<\/strong>
\n* Sample Invoice Deadline Extension Request is attached<\/a> – due by Invoice Deadline
\n* Guide to filing Online BEARs is attached<\/a><\/p>\n
\nA. Yes!\u00a0 The BEAR Form — 472 — can be submitted electronically to the SLD — if your service provider is accepting Online BEARs and if you have an E-rate PIN.\u00a0 If you cannot file online or choose not to, you can complete the Form 472 online using the PDF format, fax or e-mail it to your service provider for their signature on page 4, then mail the completed 5 pages to the SLD. The paper BEAR is located at: http:\/\/www.universalservice.org\/sl\/tools\/forms.aspx<\/a> under Form 472.\u00a0 The Online BEAR can be filed at https:\/\/www2.sl.universalservice.org\/bear\/login.aspx<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nA. No, a separate BEAR must be completed for each provider. For example, if you have 2 FRNs that list\u00a0Comcast, and one FRN that is for AT&T, you can submit both Verizon FRN reimbursement requests on a single BEAR, and submit the AT&T reimbursement request on a separate BEAR.<\/p>\n
\nA. Yes and No.\u00a0 You need the service provider’s signature on the PAPER BEAR Form before you submit it to the SLD.\u00a0 For the Online BEAR, the completed form will automatically be transmitted to the service provider for their electronic signature and then automatically filed with USAC.\u00a0 No separate signature is needed. To find the fax number of your service provider to have them sign the PAPER BEAR, use the SLD’s SPIN search database (http:\/\/www.sl.universalservice.org\/Forms\/SPIN_Contact_Search.asp<\/a>) and call the number listed.<\/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 the SLD has increasingly been requesting copies of invoices when they review the BEARs as proof that you are requesting the accurate amount. Don’t send the invoices with the BEAR, but know they might be requested.<\/p>\n
\nThe SLD 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 the SLD 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. After the SLD has reviewed and approved your BEAR, they will mail to you a BEAR Approval Letter, listing the amount of your check. Your check is mailed to your service provider\u00a0within 20 calendar days\u00a0of the date of the approval letter. Service providers are required to mail you a check for the same amount within 20 calendar days of receiving the check from the SLD. And if the\u00a0past is any indication, the BEAR Approval Letters are mostly being issued within\u00a010-20 days of their receipt at the SLD.
\n
\n7) What if I receive my BEAR Approval Letter and it lists that $0 was approved?<\/strong>
\nA. This typically means that there was an error made on the BEAR Form and the applicant must correct the error and resubmit to the SLD.\u00a0 Many years ago,\u00a0the SLD reached out to the applicant to correct the Form over the phone, but\u00a0no longer.\u00a0 Now the SLD 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. The SLD has increased scrutiny of the BEARs to make sure that reimbursement requests are for exactly what services were approved for on the FCDLs and Item 21 attachments. If you changed services during the 2012-2013 funding year from what you originally listed on your Item 21 attachments, you should first seek a “correcting service substitution request” from the SLD. 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<\/p>\n
\n717-730-9060 – f
\njtschell@comcast.net<\/a>
\nwww.e-ratepa.org<\/a><\/p>\n