Many answers to your billing questions can be found in the Vbill-User-Manual-Jan-2017 and in the Vbill User Manual_Service of Process.
Every vendor who is approved to bill the state for services receives a vendor code: “V-Code”
Once a vendor is approved they receive a letter from Finance with the approved hourly rate and instructions to set up their V-Bill account: https://vbill.publiccounsel.net/
Logging on:
- Login ID: Vendor’s email address
- Password: Temporary password is sent with the initial vendor approval email
- First time log in: Change temporary password; set up a security question and a passkey
- Forgot Password: a temporary password is sent to your email; you must type in the new temporary password. The system will not let you copy and paste it.
Notices:
The first page that pops up are “unread notices”. Vendor must open the notices and click that they were read/reviewed for the system acknowledge that the notice has been opened. If the vendor opens the notice but does not click that it was read, the system does not register that the notice has been “read”. The vendor cannot move pass this page until all the notices have been “read”.
Invoice Submission:
To submit an invoice for services provided:
- Click tab at the top of the page titled “Input Invoices”.
- Invoice Summary page:
-
- Choose Service Type: All SSE work falls under the “Social Work” category.
- “Enter NAC Number” (Notice of Assignment) in the box.
The NAC# self-populate other fields: attorney’s name, client’s name and the court.
If there is no NAC, choose from the drop-down menu for attorney type:
- CPCS Employed Attorney (they work in a CPCS staff office)
- Privately Retained Attorney
- Pro Bono Attorney
- Pro Se Representation
- Student
- At the bottom of the page, click “Enter Invoice Details”.
- Drop down box will have your name. For agencies, all your “employees” who have been approved to bill should be on this drop-down menu.
- Enter Rate. If you enter a rate that exceeds the approved hourly amount, an alert will come up. You can only bill up to your highest rate.
- Click “Continue Invoice Details”
- Vendor creates the invoice# for the invoice (this will be a reference and for all your invoice number will be created. Consider creating a system that helps you identify the cases).
- Date of Service
- Add “Type of Service”: 12 service categories
1. Conference with Attorney
2. Bonding/Parenting Assessment
3. Home Study
4. Client Interview
5. Conduct Evaluation
6. Prepare Report
7. Phone Calls
8. Court Appearance
9. Records Review
10. Other (Should rarely be used, immediate review of service is done; vendor needs to add a description of what was done)
11. Travel
12. International Home Study
- Mileage reimbursement at $.30/mile; dates will populate dates of service as inputted above. Put in starting town and ending town and total amount of miles. If round trip, check “RT” box, and have the miles total equal the RT mile amount. Note: you are still asked to track the actual miles traveled and to submit that tracking form with other documents. This is separate from the contemporaneous time sheet fir services.
- Expenses: Social Services Vendors rarely incur “expenses”. If a Vendor has an “expense”, they should contact the Social Services Director of the Division or Vendorbills for clarification.
- Once this page is complete, return to the V-Bill Invoice page.
- Click “Review Submit” -> Invoice Summary page comes up->Click Submit
A notice is then sent to the attorney to certify the E-Bill; the bill is either certified or not. Once that attorney certifies (or does not certify) the E-Bill submission, a notice is sent back to the Vendor.
Invoice Submission
When the E-bill is certified the notice will state “Awaiting CPCS Approval”. Once E-Bill is certified:
1. PRINT out the invoice and sign it.
2. Attach the CONTEMPORANEOUS TIME RECORD (time tracking sheet that has to match the time that was billed on the invoice; it can be from a billing software to an informal record on the vendor’s letter head).
3. Print and attach the travel mileage tracking form, if there is one.
4. Print or make a copy of the ENTIRE approved Motion for Funds (handwritten signature and date on it).
5. These documents are SENT by US postal mail to:
- CPCS
ATTN: Vendor Billing Department
75 Federal Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
- Questions on V-billing should be directed to: [email protected]