Budget Consultation & Billing Inquiries
Managing the many complexities of your research project can be challenging enough without worrying about the financial aspects associated with animal care and use. That’s why the ULAM Business Office is available to assist Study Teams with questions and concerns about budgeting, billing, and per-diem rates.
Budget Consultation
If you’d like assistance with budget planning for your next project proposal, the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) can:
- Provide current prices for animal and other ULAM-related supply purchases,
- Help estimate animal care costs,
- Estimate costs for special research support services, including:
- ULAM Pathology Core pathology and animal diagnostics
- Animal surgery operating room fees
- Germ-free facility usage, and
- Technical support services such as blood collection, compound administration, animal identification, and more
Billing Inquiries
The University tracks many of the costs associated with day-to-day animal care and use through a barcoding system, which is primarily managed through the eResearch Animal Management System (eRAM). Billing for the costs associated with the purchase of animals and supplies, daily care of animals, technical assistance, and specialized research support services are billed monthly to departmental or investigator accounts.
Specific information about ULAM rates, including current per-diem rates for animal husbandry, animal acquisition, and research support services, can be found on the Rates page. For details on how to access eRAM, please visit our eRAM page.
Additional information about how barcoding is used to keep track of animals in our facilities is available on the Animal Ordering & Acquisition page.
Billing FAQs
The ULAM Billing Team can assist with questions regarding the ULAM Statement of Charges and short code activities (e.g., transfers, sharing). The team also provides guidance and resources to help researchers self-manage their short codes in eRAM.
- For invoice questions, contact the ULAM Finance Team at [email protected]
- For animal purchases, contact the ULAM Procurement Team at [email protected]
If you are unsure about whether your issue is related to billing, send an email to [email protected] and your question will be routed to the appropriate party.
In order to prevent charges from hitting your original short code, you will need to perform a short code transfer.
Step-by-step instructions on how to perform a short code transfer are available via the eRAM: Manage Shortcodes Self-Guided Help document.
For assistance with moving specific charges, please email [email protected] with the following information:
- the original short code that was charged
- the new short code where the charges should be moved
- the month that the charges hit your short code
- a list of all charge(s) that should be moved
You may also include a copy of your billing statement (if available) with all relevant charge(s) to be moved clearly highlighted or otherwise denoted.
To expedite processing, please also include the name and preferred method of contact (e.g., email, phone number, etc.) for one individual in case the ULAM Billing Team may need to reach out with any additional questions about your request.
NOTE: The Billing Team is unable to look up charges, statements, or accounts by Project Grant Number (PGNS) or USE Numbers, so it is critical that short code information be included in all requests.
General questions may be sent to [email protected].
Please include the following details (where applicable):
- Affected PI name
- Protocol number
- Short code
- Charge ID (from the ULAM Statement of Charges)
- A brief explanation of your billing issue or question
References and Resources
Questions?
Questions about billing, budget consultations, or requests for billing information should be directed to the ULAM Business Office at [email protected] or (734) 764-0277.