Recharge centers are Washington University operating units that provide products and services for a fee, primarily to other WashU departments. Recharge centers recover their costs through charges to benefiting users. In some cases, these services/products may also be offered to external (non-WashU) customers.

Examples of services/products offered include, but are not limited to: novel technologies; equipment; sample and data collections; informatics; analysis tools; consultation, evaluation, specialized technical training, and expertise. The provision of these services/products is the primary function of the recharge center. Accomplishment of that function requires certain administrative duties that are outlined below.

Recharge Center Types
Roles & Responsibilities
Policies
Costs
Annual Review
Maintaining Accounting Records
Recharge Center Closing Process
Setting Up a Recharge Center

Recharge Center Types

Recharge Center (RC)

University operating units that provide goods and services, and have total annual revenue (internal and external) of less than $2 million. The establishment of a recharge center should be coordinated with the Cost Analysis Office.

Include direct costs in rates
Include equipment depreciation (optional)

Specialized Service Facility (SSF)

University operating units that provide highly complex services, primarily to other university departments, and have total annual revenue (internal and external) of more than $2 million. The establishment of such a facility requires coordination with school, institutional administrative offices, and the Cost Analysis Office.

Specialized service or product
Include direct cost in rates
Include equipment depreciation
Include building depreciation, interest, and Operations & Maintenance (O&M)

Roles & Responsibilities

Center Personnel

Comply with RC/SSF policies and procedures
Develop and administer annual budget
Prepare schedule of rates and maintain supporting documentation
Submit rate schedule and supporting documentation to the Cost Analysis Department on an annual basis
Generate and distribute invoices for service activity provided to users
Maintain sufficient and accurate documentation for RC/SSF activities
Communicate and provide RC/SSF information to division/department/school management, as necessary
Support data requests, audit requests, and other reviews that may occur
Provide advice and consultation to RC and SSF Managers about compliance with University policies
Support data requests, audit requests, and other reviews that may occur

Division/Department/School Personnel

Provide oversight and support to RC and SSF Managers
Facilitate communications to WashU faculty and staff about RC/SSF rates and billing issues
Manage accounts, program income and other financial responsibilities

Policies

Washington University Policies

Federal Policies

The government monitors, by routine audits, the University’s compliance with federal regulations regarding recharge centers. The WashU Recharge Center Policy helps assure that WashU consistently applies sound cost accounting practices and complies with the regulations. To minimize the consequences of non-compliance with regulations, it is important that recharge centers comply with all policies.

Identifying the Cost Elements Related to Service/Product

Annual Review

Cost Analysis will provide financial statements no later than October 31st for the previous FY.

Centers should provide an explanation of any surplus
Centers should provide the following before the end of the FY for the subsequent FY: Asset and Depreciation List, Rate Schedule, Rate Calculations
Cost Analysis requires applicable centers to submit Asset Listings to claim Depreciation Expenses

Workday Reports

RPT6778 – Recharge Center Financial Statement
RPT6780 – Specialized Service Facility Financial Statement
RPT6163 – Unallocable Spend Categories list

Recharge Center Closing Process

Responsible Group	Tasks
Recharge Center	Send notice to IDC regarding desire to discontinue your Recharge Center. ACTION: Based off reserve balance (RPT5930) IDC will provide instructions to center: Surplus: Surplus reduction Plan/ Refund to grant. Deficit – Journal back to Departmental Reserve
Recharge Center	Upon completion of an action item above, send communication to IDC that the closing center’s reserve balance is $0
IDC	Provide formal Approval or additional instructions if needed.
Recharge Center	Submit separate ServiceNow ticket to the Workday Support Team for the following: deactivation of existing Recharge Center CC must include evidence of approval from IDCdeactivation of existing Recharge Center BU must include evidence of approval from IDCcreation of new (non-recharge center) CCcreation of new (non-recharge center) BU
Recharge Center	Using the “create request” task in Workday, request deactivation of existing ISP. Follow the Workday Tutorial.

Maintaining Accounting Records

See Research Data/Record Retention Requirements for information on the records requirements for different funding sources.

See the WashU Records Management Policy for university record retention and disposal policies.

Setting Up a Recharge Center

ISP Entity Creation Process

Department

Consult IDC and SPA groups

Requires completion of Recharge Center Checklist
Initiate discussion to determine if it is a generic ISP, Recharge Center, or Program Income

Formal approval from SPA, IDC, and Workday FIN Core Team must be obtained prior to creation of worktags.

Department

Fill out FDM Change Form

Make sure to include ISP, Program Income, or Recharge Center in description

See the Workday Create Request: New ISP Tutorial for step-by-step directions.

Workday FIN Core Team

Cost Center Setup

Mutually exclusive Business Unit and Cost Center will be created for Recharge Center and Program Income
Update cost center subtype to appropriate value
Will also need to know the default revenue categories

Customer Accounts

ISP Setup

ISP Admin can now be assigned
Will use unique Cost Center and default revenue categories determined in previous step
Will use unique business unit and subtype if necessary

Acronym Key

FDM: Foundation Data Model
IDC: InDirect Cost
ISP: Internal Service Provider
SPA: Sponsored Projects Accounting
Workday FIN Core Team: Workday Finance Core Team

Recharge Centers