1. The Office of Information Technology Telephone Services Billing Process Changes April 2013

2. The Office of Information Technology Billing Fast Facts Telephone Services (TS) provides Installation, Relocation, Conf-Call Support, Trouble- shooting, Equipment Replacement, Cabling, UTSA Call Center, Billing for Equipment (phones) and Long Distance, and ensures all “back-office” equipment supporting communication is managed; Services funded through billing for Phones/Equipment Two components to billing: Phones/Equipment and Long Distance (LD) Over 400 bills monthly 3500 users/voice-mails 5500 phones/equipment (offices, labs, conf rooms, classrooms, etc.) Long Distance totals about $120,000/year

3. The Office of Information Technology Today’s Process Phones/Equipment 360 bills annually Except for Academic departments, each area billed separately Provost moves money to a single account for all Academic departments Long Distance Over 400 bills monthly Admin separates personal from business LD charges: Personal - user contacted via email w/their charges, and university must be reimbursed by user via Fiscal Services; which is then processed. Admin must keep a record for each user for each incident – up to 3500 x 12 = 42,000 files per year,…for Audit. Business - department moves funds to account, and the bill is reconciled or researched when issues arise, i.e., account number changes, fraud, etc. @4800 statements/bills per year - If average only 30 minutes each, the cost of tracking, billing and reconciliation for LD alone can easily exceed funds recovered.

4. The Office of Information Technology Setting the Stage View UTSA in 8 high-level groupings for our discussion: President’s Office Academic Affairs Business Affairs Research Student Affairs Community Services External Relations Grants (generic)

5. The Office of Information Technology Billing Cycle We started with the Provost’s Academic departments and now bill for Phones/Equipment annually from a Single Account. This is working very well and has reduced work-effort. Extend and Simplify – Move to a full annual, single-bill cycle across UTSA; Phones and Long-Distance,… patterned after groundwork by Provost. Each group consolidates money into a single account; Withhold during budgeting process (recommended), or Departments transfer money into the account. The benefit to Every organization is they don’t have to deal with telephone bills on a monthly basis which saves the university money; in exchange for a one-time annual effort. Note: Grants - majority end in May or December, but conceptually another account when grouped accordingly.

6. The Office of Information Technology Next Steps Billing detail ready and provided upon approval to proceed. One annual bill in Sep/Oct to be based on equipment and LD charges from previous year. Alerts will be set to notify when individual bills reach certain level. LD will Not be shut-down if an area trending to exceed. LD reporting detail can be provided online. If costs vary significantly, adjustments can be made in following year or can IDT* specific department. *IDT – InterDepartmental Transfer

7. The Office of Information Technology Questions April 2013