United States Department of Agriculture	July 13, 1998
Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services	MAP-98008
Foreign Agricultural Services	SUBJECT: TO:	1998 MAP Handbook for Reimbursement Claims All MAP Participants
1400 Independence Ave., SW Stop 1042 Washington. DC 20250-1042	Background:	Background: FAS is continually striving to streamline and simplify the MAP. This effort is reflected in the 1998 MAP reimbursement process in which FAS is requiring less data than in the past. Currently, MAP participants have two options available to them for submitting and receiving reimbursements, on paper through the mail, and electronically via the Internet. The Internet alternative has been available for MAP since November of 1997. Those participants using the Internet to submit reimbursement claims have been quite pleased. They have reported quicker response time from CCC and increased tracking ability on their part.
	Action:	Enclosed is a handbook which will guide you through submitting reimbursement claims on paper or via the Internet. The instructions on Internet submittal include how to acquire a verisign password and progress through the necessary data entry screens. FAS strongly encourages all participants to use the Internet for submitting reimbursement claims. This electronic system significantly reduces the amount of time it takes for you to receive payment (by up to 2 weeks) and it improves the efficiency of FAS operations.
	KENT D. SISSON Director Marketing Operations Staff

1998 MAP Handbook
for
Reimbursement Claims

Marketing Operations Staff

July 1998

The following information and procedures will assist you, as MAP participants, in submitting claims and receiving reimbursement for authorized expenses.

FAS is continually striving to streamline and simplify the MAP. This effort is reflected in the 1998 MAP reimbursement process in which FAS is requiring less data than in the past.

Currently, MAP participants have two options available to them for submitting and receiving reimbursements, on paper through the mail, and electronically via the Internet. The Internet alternative has been available for MAP since November of 1997. Those participants using the Internet to submit reimbursement claims have been quite pleased. They have reported quicker response time from CCC and increased tracking ability on their part. FAS strongly encourages all participants to use the Internet for submitting reimbursement claims. This electronic system significantly reduces the amount of time it takes for you to receive payment (by up to 2 weeks) and it improves the efficiency of FAS operations.

OPTION #1 - PAPER METHOD

The procedures for submitting reimbursement claims through the mail will remain virtually unchanged from prior years, except that participants will be required to provide less data. There are only four bits of information needed for any single line item: the activity code (now 10 digits), the market code (country or region), cost category (9 possibilities for MAP), and the dollar amount. Note: commodity aggregate information is no longer required on reimbursement claims.

1. Reimbursement Claim Numbering System:

A participant's U.S. office must assign a sequential number to every reimbursement claim. The Participant's name and reimbursement claim number must appear at the top of each page. The reimbursement claim number must be constructed as follows:

a. First Two Characters - two digits indicating the plan year (e.g., all claims for the 1998 program would have 98 as the first two characters).

b. Last Three Characters - three digits indicating the claim's chronological place among all other claims submitted by the participant for a given plan year (e.g., the first claim submitted by a participant against its 1998 activity plan must be identified as 98001. Subsequent claims would be identified as 98002, 98003, etc.).

2. Reimbursement Claim Contents:

Each reimbursement claim must contain the following information:

a. activity code;
b. market or region code;
c. cost category (see below for the list of cost categories); and
d. amount to be reimbursed.
e. Signatures - two original signatures must appear on the reimbursement claim, as authorized by the participant's Signature Card.
f. Certification Statement - each reimbursement claim must contain the following language:

We certify that the above expenditures were made in furtherance of approved activities and the expenditures are supported by original records and documents which are available upon request to authorized officials of the U.S. Government.

We also understand that if we receive a reimbursement which is later disallowed, we must within 30 days of such disallowance repay CCC the amount owed. We, the undersigned, are duly authorized to make this certification.

3. Cost Categories:

The cost category possibilities are as follows:

Participants are permitted to use only those acronyms listed in the second column, and they must appear on a reimbursement claim exactly as they are shown. That is, a claim may not contain "Technical Assistance" as the cost category, but rather "TECH".

4. Reimbursement Claim Format:

Activities must be divided into two sections: generic activities and brand activities with subtotals for each section and a grand total for the reimbursement claim.

5. Repayments:

a. A reimbursement claim may be used to repay amounts previously reimbursed by CCC, which are later disallowed. If a claim is used to repay a compliance finding, it must reference the relevant Compliance Report, including the number and date of the report.

Reimbursement claims may be used to offset an advanced payment.

c. If CCC overpays a reimbursement claim, a participant may repay CCC by offsetting its next reimbursement claim.

6. Method of Payment:

Reimbursement claims that request payment via electronic fund transfer should contain the following information: bank name, ABA routing number, account number and participant's mailing address for confirmation.

Reimbursement claims that request payment by mail should contain an accurate and complete mailing address.

7. Submission:

Send all reimbursement claims to: Director

Marketing Operations Staff
Stop 1042 Room 4932S
United States Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250-1042

SAMPLE REIMBURSEMENT CLAIM

Reimbursement Claim # 98001

August 1, 1998

We hereby request reimbursement for the following expenses incurred in accordance with MAP Program Agreement #101010.

¹Represents repayment of $4,000 to CCC for expenditures found to be unauthorized by the Compliance Review Staff in CRS Report #098355 dated September 12, 1997.

Please send an electronic transfer¹ in the amount of: $40,500

To the account of: Flower Growers Association
To the following bank: Griede National Bank
ABA number: 01Z1X1Y1
Account number: OU81-2

Please mail confirmation wire to:

E. Dudley
Flower Growers Association
0099 East Market Street
Rochester, CA 99999-0000

We certify that the above expenditures were made in furtherance of approved activities and the expenditures are supported by original records and documents which are available upon request to authorized officials of the U.S. Government.

We also understand that if we receive a reimbursement which is later disallowed, we must within 30 days of such disallowance repay CCC the amount owed. We, the undersigned, are duly authorized to make this certification.

¹ If requesting a check by mail, provide the name of the participant and the mailing address.
² Must be the original signatures of two authorized officials to sign reimbursement claims, per the MAP Signature Card.

OPTION #2 - INTERNET

The Web Claim Interface is designed to provide MAP participants a faster and easier means of submitting reimbursement claims.

The reimbursement website employs both encryption and site certification for security. Encryption is accomplished through a secure sockets layer. Encryption scrambles communications so that those without the encryption key cannot read the data stream. Encryption only requires the participant to enable this feature in the browser.

Certification is achieved through the purchase of a verisign certificate. Certification provides a non-forgeable electronic signature that confirms the identity of each party. The verisign certification that is required for each participant replaces the two original signatures required on paper reimbursement claims. There is a limit of three certificates per MAP participant.

To obtain a verisign certificate, go to: www.verisign.com on the Internet.
Click on the arrow beside "Choose Your ID Type".
Select "All Digital ID Services".
Click on the "Go" circle.
Then under "Personal ID's", select "Enroll for a Digital ID" and follow the instructions.

When this is complete, contact your program specialist in the Marketing Operations Staff (MOS) at (202) 720-4327. MOS will supply a password, which will allow you into the USAM website.

The reimbursement website can be accessed at http://www.fas.usda.gov/cooperators.html.
Click on the USAM icon and the Log in Screen will appear as shown below.

The log-in screen allows access to the claims interface. Once the Participant ID, correct password, and program year are entered, the "View Claims" button becomes active for the selected program year.

Selecting "View Claims" takes you to the Expense Claims Screen as shown below.

The Expense Claims Screen allows the viewing of, and shows status information for, previously submitted reimbursement claims. It also permits the creation of new reimbursement claims. The only reimbursement claims that are viewable are those that have been entered via the Internet.

To view a previously submitted, or draft status claim, enter the claim number in the blank box to the far right, and click on the "View Line Items" button. Pressing the "Enter" key does nothing.

To create a new reimbursement claim, follow the procedures described below.

1. Reimbursement Claim Numbering System:

A participant's U.S. office must assign a sequential number to every reimbursement claim. The reimbursement claim number must be constructed as follows:

a. First Two Characters - two digits indicating the plan year (e.g., all claims for the 1998 program would have 98 as the first two characters).

b. Last Three Characters - three digits indicating the claim's chronological place among all other claims submitted by the participant for a given plan year (e.g., the first claim submitted by a participant against its 1998 activity plan must be identified as 98001. Subsequent claims would be identified as 98002, 98003, etc.).

2. Reimbursement Claim Contents:

Each reimbursement claim must contain the following information:

a. activity code;
b. market or region code;
c. cost category (see list of cost categories below); and
d. amount to be reimbursed.

The cost category possibilities are as follows:

Participants are permitted to use only those acronyms listed in the second column, and they must appear on a reimbursement claim exactly as they are shown. That is, a claim may not contain "Technical Assistance" as the cost category, but rather "TECH". A typical line item in a MAP reimbursement claim would look like this:

3. Creating the Reimbursement Claim:

Enter the new claim number in the blank box to the far right, and click on the "Add Line Items" button. This will take you to the Add Claim Line Items screen as shown below.

At the Add Claim Line Items screen, the individual line items associated with the new reimbursement claim can be entered in the data entry box in the lower left corner of the screen. Once again, there are four items needed per line: the activity code, the market code (FIPS code or region), the cost category, and the dollar amount claimed. This information can be entered either by hand or through a "cut and paste" method. In either case, the data fields must be delineated with a Tab in between each of them. The keystroke required for a Tab in most browsers is to simultaneously hold down the three keys, <alt> <ctrl> and <Tab>.

In most spreadsheets, such as Lotus, fields are already separated by Tabs. The easier method is to simply cut and paste from an existing spreadsheet or other tab-delineated format.

Please note: NEGATIVE GENERIC AMOUNTS CANNOT BE SUBMITTED WHEN THERE IS AN OUTSTANDING ADVANCE BALANCE.

Below the data entry box is a list of activity codes, markets, cost category codes, and available ceilings for the Participant. The format is similar to that of the reimbursement claim format. The list contains only those spellings and acronyms (pay particular attention to upper and lower cases as the database is case sensitive) that may appear on a reimbursement claim. This list also shows any remaining funds available within an established ceiling, which can be an important source of information.

When all the line items have been entered, click on the "Save Draft" button which will initiate a check on each line item, and identify any errors in the Line Items Submission Report. Lines with structural errors, such as a null value in the amount column, will show "unacceptable". Lines containing non-structural errors, e.g., the wrong activity code, will show "v-error". Lines identified with errors cannot be modified; they must be resubmitted. Error-free lines will show "draft".

The sum at the top of the page is the sum of error-free lines. At this point, the reimbursement claim may be saved without submitting it to FAS so the claim may be edited at a later point in time. When ready, click on the "Submit to FAS" button. The lines, as well as the claim, will change to a "Submitted" status, and no further changes can be made. Only error-free lines will penetrate the FAS firewall. When the reimbursement claim is approved by FAS, its status will change to "Approved", with a corresponding time and date.

Last modified: Tuesday, November 04, 2003