March 2008Business Affairs -Your Partner for Successful Solutions 1 SERVICE CENTERS

March 2008 Business Affairs -Your Partner for Successful Solutions 1

SERVICE CENTERSSERVICE CENTERS


Service Center Definition:A unit that performs specific technical

or administrative services primarily for the internal operations of the university and charges users for its services.

A service center can be authorized to provide services to external customers.


OMB Circular A-21OMB Circular A-21

• Requires that all costs be reasonable, allowable, allocable and consistently treated.

• Contains a list of allowable and unallowable costs.

• Unallowable costs cannot be budgeted or expensed on service center accounts.


Specialized Service Specialized Service FacilityFacility(SSF)(SSF)

A service center that offers highly complex or specialized services that are not readily available from outside sources – for example, animal care facilities.


Service CentersService Centers

• Facilities• Telephone Services• General Stores• Core lab facilities• Electron Microscope Research Ctr


Billing Rates/User FeesBilling Rates/User Fees

•Customer Base•General Guidelines for Rates•Key Compliance Issues


Customer BaseCustomer Base• Internal

– University Departments– Sponsored Programs

• External– Those who do not have a university

account number– Industry– Students, faculty or staff acting in a

personal capacity


Billing Rates – Internal Billing Rates – Internal UsersUsers

• All internal customers must be charged the same rate for the same level of service under the same circumstances.

• Federal grants or contracts must be charged a rate equal to or lower than the rate charged to any other customer.


Billing Rates – Internal Billing Rates – Internal UsersUsers

•Rates must be designed to recover the direct costs of the services or goods.

•Rates cannot be marked up to accumulate reserves.

•Rates must break even over time.


SurplusSurplus

Must be used to adjust future billing rates.

• Used to purchase equipment? No• Used to fund salary increases? No• Transferred to other activities unrelated to the center?

No


Billing Rates – External Billing Rates – External UsersUsers

• Recover all costs – and • Include a surcharge equal to the

current approved F+A rate.• Rates cannot constitute unfair

competition.• External customers cannot be

charged less than internal customers or the Federal government.


Federal ConcernsFederal Concerns

• Administrative– Inadequate policies and procedures.– Records not retained by the Service

Center for a period of 5 years.– Fund balance not properly monitored.



• Administrative– Surplus funds were transferred to

other university accounts.– Surplus funds were used for purposes

unrelated to center activities.



• Billing Rates– Cost studies not done to insure that

rates represented actual costs.– Unallowable costs were included in

the rates.– Rates not adjusted to eliminate

operating surpluses and deficits.



• Billing Rates– Some users billed at reduced rates

and the federal programs subsidized the difference.

– Surplus balances not always used to reduce future rates.


Administrative Operational Administrative Operational GuidelinesGuidelines

Establishment and Financial Management of Authorized Service Centers and Specialized Service Facilities

https://rowdyspace.utsa.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-86089_1-t_wcQmjthn

Orhttps://www.utsa.edu/grants/

Documents

March 2008Business Affairs -Your Partner for Successful Solutions 1 SERVICE CENTERS