Core facility billing is usually straightforward when a service only happens once.

A user books an instrument, submits a service request or orders an analysis. The work is completed, the charge is recorded and the facility moves on. 

But many core facility services continue over time.

A sample may remain in storage for several years. A freezer position might be used from the middle of one billing period to the next. Equipment or shared space may be leased for an open-ended period. In a vivarium, animal housing and care may be required for part of a month or much longer.

The service continues, so the billing needs to keep pace. That is where things can quickly become complicated.

When Recurring Services Become a Billing Burden

Imagine a biorepository managing thousands of stored samples.

Some remain in place for years. Others are removed partway through a billing period. Each sample, box or storage position may be linked to a different researcher, project or financial account.

The same challenge appears across other facilities.

A cryogenic facility may allocate positions within tanks or freezers. Another core may lease equipment, benches or shared space over several weeks or months. A vivarium or animal care facility may manage animal housing, husbandry or isolator services charged according to the length of use.

For every resource or service, the facility needs to know when it began, how long it remained active, who should be charged, which account applies and when billing should stop.

Without the right system, much of this work ends up in spreadsheets.

Staff review dates, calculate partial-period charges, check which services are still active and enter billing information manually. As the number of resources grows, so does the workload.

The result can be missed charges, inconsistent calculations, billing delays and invoices that are difficult to explain. Not to mention a lot of admin time. 

Let Stratocore PPMS Keep Track

The Recurring Order feature in PPMS is designed for services charged according to time.

When a service begins or a resource enters use, the facility records it in PPMS. The system then follows it until the service ends or the resource is released.

During the usual billing cycle, PPMS calculates the appropriate charge based on the period of use.

If the service was active for the full period, the full charge applies. If it started or ended partway through, the charge can be adjusted accordingly.

Staff don’t need to recreate the same order each month or calculate every partial period by hand.The facility records the start and end and PPMS manages what happens in between.

Less Admin Load, Fewer Missed Charges

For core facility managers and staff, this means less time checking dates, updating spreadsheets and maintaining separate billing files.

Service information, users, projects, financial accounts and charges can all be managed within the same platform.

It also helps facilities capture revenue more consistently. Active services can be included in each billing cycle, reducing the risk that a stored sample, cryogenic position, leased asset or animal care service is overlooked.

Clearer Invoices, Quicker Answers

Recurring charges can be difficult to explain when calculations happen outside the main facility management system.

A user may ask why they were charged for part of a month or why a storage fee continued into the next billing period.

With PPMS, the facility has a clear record of when the service began, when it ended and how long the charge applied.

That makes invoices easier to understand and gives managers, administrators and finance teams the information they need to answer questions or make corrections.

Keep Billing and Availability Aligned

Of course, the end of the service matters just as much as the beginning.

When a sample is removed, a storage position becomes free, a leased resource is returned or animal housing is no longer required. PPMS can stop future charges and update the availability of the resource.

This helps prevent resources from being billed after they have been released or appearing available while they are still in use. 

For facilities managing limited space or high-demand resources, that alignment is essential.

Make Recurring Billing Easy to Manage

What starts as a simple spreadsheet can quickly become a demanding monthly task involving multiple staff, large numbers of resources and repeated checks.

By following each service or resource from the moment it begins until it ends, PPMS helps facilities reduce administration, improve billing accuracy and maintain clearer records.

Whether you manage a biorepository, cryogenic storage facility, equipment leasing service, vivarium or another resource charged according to time, PPMS can bring recurring billing into the same platform as the rest of your facility operations.

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See How It Could Work in Your Facility

Get in touch here to ask for a demo and discover how PPMS can support sample storage, cryogenic space, equipment leasing, vivariums and other recurring services.