Customer Base, Methodology & Invoicing Structure

Page updated 7/31/2024

Customer base and methodology

The customer base and methodology may differ for each allocation.

  • The customer base is selected based on existing (or hoped-for) state agencies using the services bundled within a specific allocation.
  • The methodology for spreading the total cost of the allocation across the customer base will be noted in the allocation sections below.
  • Office of Financial Management (OFM) publishes the Central Service Model Allocation Methodologies and Data Sources on its public website. This includes all allocations from central service agencies, including those that WaTech bills for.

Invoicing (billing) of allocations

Central service providing agencies are responsible for setting up a particular invoicing structure that relates to their funding structure.

Determining granularity and frequency

OFM provides the breakdown to the service-providing agency who then incorporates this into their billing/invoicing system. The agency has some discretion in terms of how they elect to bill agencies included in that allocation in terms of frequency or granularity of detail. Regardless of agency choices in these areas, the yearly amount billed must total the total amount of that allocation. (The exception is for Office of the Attorney General, Office of Administrative Hearings, and State Auditor’s Office, which bill based on actual use of the service.)

  • Frequency example:  The Washington Master Addressing Services (WAMAS) allocation is NOT part of the OFM Central Services Model. As a result, OFM did not allocate additional expenditure authority to agencies that were expected to absorb this cost from savings related to using this service. Because the total amount was fairly small, WaTech elected to bill agencies once yearly for their portion of this allocation rather than billing very small amounts monthly.

Changes during supplemental years

As noted above, sometimes changes are made during a supplemental budget year. When an allocation is adjusted retroactively, the provider agency must adjust the rate for the remaining months of that (and possibly future) fiscal year(s) and then bill or credit allocation customers to receive the appropriate revenue.