In order to create new fee items, you must first create a new fee structure. The fee structure are used for both Cost Estimation and Invoicing.
Create a Fee Structure
Click Administration >Request Management >Fee Structure. The Fee Structure screen displays as shown below.
Click New. The New Fee Structure screen displays as shown below. Group will be selected as the default Item Type.
Enter information in the fields described below per your agency's requirements.
Field
Description
Item Type
The type of fee structure. Options include Group, Fee Item and Independent Fee Item.
Group Name
The name of the new fee structure.
Description
A brief description of the fee structure.
Action Office(s)
The Action Office with which the fee structure is associated. All will be selected by default.
Active
When selected, activates the fee structure for use in the application and appearance on the Fee Structure grid. This field will be selected by default.
Show in Statistical Report
When selected, displays the new fee structure in the Statistical Report.
Click Save to accept the settings. A verification message displays as shown below.
Click OK.
Fee Items
Before you create fee items, you need to design the fee structure. The fee structure is located under Administration > Request Management > Fee Structure and displays a list of all Fee Items. The Fee Items are listed by Name, Description, Rate (per unit cost), Per Unit (unit of measurement), Charge Type (fixed or variable), Active (fee is activated for use in the application), Created Date, Modified Date and Modified By (user who modified the Fee Item). On the Fee Structure screen shown below, users can perform multiple actions including: New (create new fee structure), Filter, Refresh, Edit, Delete, Move Down, Move Up and Close.
Fees are charged for:
Fee Type
Description
Document Reproduction
Fees charged to recover the cost of copying documents. A Requester is usually charged the actual cost of copying computer tapes, photographs and other nonstandard documents.
Search
Fees imposed to recover the costs of searching for documents, including the time ATIP analysts spend searching for materials responsive to a Request.
Review
Fees charged to recover review costs. Review is the process of examining documents to determine whether any portion is exempt from disclosure. Review charges only include costs incurred during the initial examination of a document.
In addition to the above fee charges, you can also create new fee items. There are generally three types of fee items:
Fee Item
Description
Group
A group that includes multiple fee items.
Fee Item
A general fee item listed under a specific group.
Independent Fee Item
Fee Items not included in the above two categories.
Create a Fee Item
New Fee Items can be created if you find there are additional costs arising in the course of processing a Request. If you have already estimated the cost for a Request before adding new fee items to the fee structure, you can estimate the cost again with a new fee structure.
Follow the steps below to create a Fee Item:
Click Administration > Request Management > Fee Structure. The Fee Structure screen displays as shown below.
Click New. The New Fee Structure screen displays as shown below
Select an Item Type. The New Fee Structure screen will change to display fee item settings depending on the item type selected. The options are Group, Fee Item, and Independent Fee Item. The Independent Fee Item screen is shown below.
Enter information in the fields described below per your agency's requirements.
Field
Description
Item Type
Type of Fee Item to be created. Options are Group, Fee Item, and Independent Fee Item. The options that follow depend on the Item Type selected
The following four fields are available if Group is selected under Item Type
Group Name
The title for the fee structure group. This field defaults to the name of the selected fee structure group when Fee Item is selected.
(!!) Note: This field is also available if Fee Item is selected, but will not be available if creating an Independent Fee Item
Description
A brief description of the fee item
Action Office(s)
Indicates the office with which the fee item is associated. The default value is "All".
Active
When selected, activates the fee item for use in the application and displays it for the specified group on the Fee Structure grid.
In addition to the fields above, the following fields are available if creating a Fee Item or Independent Fee Item, as selected under Item Type
Fee Code
A unique identifier for the fee item
Rate
The fee amount per unit of measurement.
Per
The unit of measurement used to calculate the fee amount. This field requires you to enter a number in the Per field, and to select an option from the drop-down menu.
Fixed Charge
When selected, enables a set amount to be charged for the fee item.
Fee Code
A unique identifier for the fee item.
Use Extended Value for Administrative Calculation
When selected, uses the extended values of the fee items for Administrative Cost Calculation. Administrative Cost Calculation is configured under Administration > System Configuration > Billing Configuration.
Commercial Organization
Educational or Non-Commercial Scientific
Federal Government
News Media
Other
None: The total cost (Extended Value) will become the charged value (i.e. Unit rate X Quantity).
All: The total cost will automatically become the Incurred Value.
Up To: The incurred quantity value will be added to the Incurred Value column on the Cost Estimate/Billing screen, and the remaining amount will become the charged value.
For example, if the incurred quantity has been set to 10 units and the actual quantity is 15 units, (10 units X unit rate) will be apportioned to the Incurred Value column and the remaining (5 units X unit rate) will be apportioned to the Charged Value column on the Cost Estimation/Billing screen. The Extended Value column will display the total cost i.e. (15 units X unit rate).
Click Save to accept the settings. A verification message displays as shown below.
Click OK. The new Fee Item displays on the Fee Structure screen.
Edit Fee Item
Users with the required Permissions can edit Fee Items in a group. The changes will be reflected for all Requests created prior to and after the change.
