How to Request Invoice (BEAR) Deadline Extensions for FY 2018 FRNs

September 30, 2019

Attached: Invoice Deadline Extension Request (IDER) Guide

*Note:  Last week I sent a message to the listserve with a list of PA entities that had not yet invoiced USAC for FY 2018.  If you are on this list, you may wish to consider requesting an invoice deadline extension. http://e-ratepa.org/?p=31867*

Applicants that do not receive discounted bills and instead elect to pay their vendor invoices in full, must submit the Form 472 BEAR Form to obtain their E-rate reimbursements from the fund.  The deadline to submit the BEARs is 120 days from the last date to receive service, which, for FY 2018, is October 28, 2019 for recurring services, and January 28, 2020 for one-time purchases such as equipment.  However, applicants that cannot meet this deadline may request a single, 120-day extension of that deadline, but the request MUST be submitted by the original BEAR deadline.  I strongly encourage you to submit all BEARs by their original deadline but if you want some breathing room, or if you already submitted a BEAR that has not yet been paid, you may wish to consider requesting an extension for safe measure.

All invoice deadline extension requests (IDERs) must be submitted within EPC using their Invoice Deadline Extension Request Tool.  Multiple FRNs may be submitted at the same time, and the approvals (if eligible) are shown instantly.  Users submitting the request must have full or partial rights in EPC for that entity (cannot be view-only).

In general, the tool is very easy to use, but does require a 2-step process that first checks the FRN for extension eligibility and then requires the applicant to submit the request to receive the extension request decision.  Be sure not to forget this second step.

Attached is an IDER Guide showing each step and here are the written steps:

1. From your EPC Landing Page, click on Name of District/Library under USAC Logo.
2. Click on ‘Related Actions.’
3. Scroll to the bottom of the list, and click on ‘Invoice Deadline Date Extension Request.’
4. Enter FRN number(s) in the text box, separated by commas if submitting for multiple FRNs.
5. Click ‘Check Eligibility’ (this determines if the deadline has already passed to make this request).
6. Assuming the FRN(s) is eligible, you must THEN click ‘Submit’ to actually submit the IDER request to USAC.
7. System will then show the status of your request.
8. An e-mail also will be sent to the submitter, containing a spreadsheet showing the status of the IDER request.  A News post and Notification also will be created in EPC showing the IDER action

Note:  Consultants may submit IDERs for multiple BENs in the same request (under Actions in their EPC portal).  Service providers also may submit IDERs for multiple BENs (under Related Actions in their EPC portal).

As always, I strongly encourage you to submit all BEARs by their original deadline because the risk that you’ll forget to do it later is too high.

If you have any questions about using the tool or any other details related to submitting FY 2018 BEARs, please e-mail me!

– Julie

Julie Tritt Schell
PA E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
717-730-9060 – f
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org