MRPBS - Forms - AD Forms - AD-474 Instructions

Automatic Payment Account at NFC for Telephone Bills

The following pages are the NFC procedure for setting up payment accounts for telephone bills at NFC. Once you complete the form AD-474 (PDF; 89Kb) you may mail it along with a copy of the first telephone bill to:

USDA National Finance Center
Attn.: Misc. Payments Section
PO Box 60000
New Orleans, LA 70160

Or you may fax the form and the bill to NFC at (504) 255-4013, be sure to include a cover sheet with the above address to insure it is routed to the Misc. Payments Section. If you need help in finding the T&A Contact Number or the Geographical Location Code, please phone or e-mail the Minneapolis MRP BS Telecommunications Team. See contacts below. You will also need to notify the telephone company to mail the bills to the above address. If you choose not to have the bills mailed directly to NFC, be aware that delay in your office forwarding the bills to NFC will delay the payment and could result in the telephone company cutting off service.

Geographical Location Code on the Web: http://www.gsa.gov./glc/

CONTACTS AND AREAS SERVICED:

FAX NUMBER: 612-370-2336

Arlette Johnson 612-370-2229

Voucher & Invoice Payments Manual
Special Vendor Payments Telephones

The block numbers below correspond to the same block numbers on the AD-474 (PDF; 89Kb). If you need a form faxed to you please call in or e-mail a request along with your FAX number to the Minneapolis MRP BS Telecommunications Team. The number of positions for each block is indicated on the form. The form should be typewritten and the signed original forwarded to NFC, PO Box 60000, New Orleans, LA 70160. Agencies should make a photocopy for their records.

Completion Instructions
Form AD-474

SECTION A - IDENTIFICATION

Block 1 - Check Service Center, if cost is shared by more than one agency. Check Single Agency, if total cost of telephone account is charged to one agency. [Use Single Agency for APHIS].
Block 2 - Enter 10 digit contact point of office or unit preparing this AD-474.
Block 3 - Enter “32” plus the 4-digit sequential number assigned by your office to identify each transmittal.
Block 4 - Enter “1” for new account. Enter “2” for all changes to an existing account, other than T&A Contact Point change. Enter “3” for deletion of account . Enter “4” for changing from one T&A Contact Point to another.
Block 5 - Enter maximum of ten digits. Enter number consecutively, do not use dashes (-). For Phone Service and Credit Card billing, enter area code plus 7-digit number. For Miscellaneous and LongLines (Unique account numbers provided by the vendor.), enter the account number up to 10 digits. See also Block 22. [NOTE: The FTS telephone card is paid through SIBAC. Commercial telephone cards are not authorized, do not set up an account for telephone credit cards.]
Block 6 - For NFC use only.
Block 7 - Enter the GSA Worldwide Geographical Location Code for state, city, and/or county where the telephone or other service is located. Must agree with city and state entered in Blocks 19 and 20. MUST BE 9 DIGITS. You can look up your geographical location code at the Web Site: http://www.gsa.gov./glc/
Block 8 - Use only with Action Code 2 to correct or change code previously entered. Show existing incorrect code in Block 7.
Block 9 - Use only with Action Code 2 to correct or change code previously entered. Show existing incorrect number in Block 5.
Block 10 - Use only with Action Codes 2 or 4 to show effective month of change. (e.g., “08” for August).

SUBJECT B - VENDOR

Blocks 11-15 - Enter name and mailing address of vendor’s office which is to RECEIVE THE PAYMENT. Use full name of vendor; for example, Mountain Bell Telephone Company, South Central Bell Telephone Company.
Block 16 - For NFC use only.

SECTION C - SERVICE LOCATION

Blocks 17-21 - Enter name and mailing address location of agency office using the service.

SECTION D - SERVICE DESCRIPTION

Block 22 - Enter “P” for phone; “C” for credit card; “L” for Leased-Dedicated Line; “M” for Miscellaneous or Long Lines. Miscellaneous (M) is used for those account numbers that are formatted other than area code plus 7-digit number, or that have an alpha character in the number (e.g., AT&T, SPRINT, MCI), or the number is a long line account. See Block 5.
Block 23 - Not applicable for telephones.
Block 24 - For Action Code 1, enter beginning date for service being added. For Action Code 3, enter ending date for service being deleted. Enter month and year; e.g., “0886” for August 1986. Do not use this block with Action Code 2 or 4. Show effective date of change for Action Code 2 or 4 transactions in Block 10.
Block 25 - Not applicable for telephones.
Block 26 - Enter billing frequency code: BM - bimonthly; SM - semimonthly; M - monthly (This is normal for billing cycle.); Q - quarterly; A-annually; SA - semiannually.
Block 27 - Enter “S” and the amount of your expected monthly service charge for local service and/or equipment rental . Enter “T” plus the amount of your estimated toll billing. (See Paragraph 5A3 on page 7.) Round to nearest dollar - do not enter cents. When establishing the account for local service and/or equipment rental and toll charges will not be included, show S25T0. Enter S0T325 when establishing account for toll charges only. [Since all long distance should be on FTS and the FTS charges are paid through SIBAC do not establish any accounts for Toll (long distance) service. If you receive a bill for commercial long distance service contact the Telecommunications Team. They will need to verify that FTS service is available for your loaction and establish the service for you].

SECTION E - MISCELLANEOUS

Block 28 - Agencies are responsible for determining tax exempt status of an account .Enter “Y” if a tax is payable (Utility, franchise, municipal, school taxes, and the state sales tax for the seven nonexempt states.) (See Paragraph below) The telephone company billing office must be informed by agency of tax status.

State and Local Sales Tax (Block 28) The agency office establishing the telephone account must indicate whether or not to pay state or local taxes. Only 7 states have tax laws that permit passing on the sales tax to Government agencies: Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Texas. For all other 43 states, agency offices should request the telephone companies to delete state sales taxes from the bill. The National Finance Center will pay any taxes shown on the telephone company billing if this block is coded “Y”. If this block is coded “N”, NFC will not pay taxes against that account regardless of whether taxes are charged on the billing. Agencies should determine the tax status for the service location and inform the telephone company whether taxes should be billed or not at the time the account is established. If the telephone company is not so informed and the National Finance Center deducts the tax exemptions from their bill, an arrearage charge will appear on subsequent bills which interrupts the efficient processing of telephone payments.

Block 29 - Enter anticipated bill adjustments for any significant nonrecurring charges or credits (Exclusive of telephone toll credits.) that will appear on a future bill, such as an installation charge. Enter “+ “ for a charge and “-” for a credit, followed by the amount. Explain on reverse of transmittal, If not applicable, leave blank. Blocks 30-31 - Not applicable

SECTION F - ACCOUNTING CLASSIFICATION

ENTER AGENCY - Assigned management codes or accounting classification codes to which the cost of the telephone service is to be charged. See Appendix B for accounting format. The accounting code must be in the exact format for your agency as shown in Appendix B. This section must be completed when a change of T&A Contact Point involves a new agency.
DIST. RATIO - Enter the percentage of total bill to be charged to each line of accounting in this column. The total distribution ratio must equal 100%.
FUND CODE - Enter the NFC Assigned Agency Fund Code. [The APHIS Fund Code is WT. APHIS does not have unit codes]. If Forest Service, enter the 2-digit unit code in column provided. If “Service Center” is checked in Block 1, the fund code should only be shown on the first line of accounting. If “Single Agency” is checked in Block 1, the fund code should only be shown on the first line of accounting. Sign, date, and provide your telephone number on the bottom line. Use reverse of form for remarks, as necessary.