How Do I Bill for my Travel in Ebill?

Overview

The Travel Entry section in Ebill allows you to enter in-state, inter-city, out-of-state mileage, and travel time for specific dates of service relating to the displayed NAC. Ebill requires that you enter all the mileage information first, in order to calculate the allowed travel time.

Please review CPCS travel policy in the CPCS Assigned Counsel Manual before entering mileage or travel time.

The following are instructions for entering mileage and travel time on the displayed date of service for the selected NAC.

1. Once a new record for legal service has been added and saved, the Travel button appears to the right of the Total column. Click the Travel button to bring up the Travel Entry Section. The basic NAC information remains above the Travel Input section.
   
   
   
   
2. Under Travel Input, click the + next to Add new record.
   
   
3. From the Reason drop down list, select the reason for travel. If the reason for travel does not appear in the list, select a reason that closely relates to the reason for travel and then note the actual reason on your contemporaneous time records.
   
   
4. In the From drop down list, select a city or town if you traveled from a city or town within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
   
   
5. In the To drop down list, select a city or town if you traveled to a city or town within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Out of State Travel

• If traveling from a city or town outside of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts select the Out of State option in the From and/or To drop down list under the Travel Input section . Ebill displays an empty field where you can enter the name of the city/town, and also displays a drop down list where you can select the appropriate State (e.g., Nashua, NH).
  
  Note: Do not enter the name of the location (e.g., “My Office”, “Clients Home”, “MCI Cedar Junction”) from where you traveled. This causes the removal and non-payment of your mileage and travel time for the corresponding date of service. Please see the CPCS Assigned Counsel Manual for information on Out of State travel over 150 miles.
  

Travel to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket

• If you are required to travel to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket, you may bill for mileage to and from the boat landing in Barnstable (Hyannis) or Falmouth (Woods Hole), and mileage while traveling on Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket Island (enter these trips separately on the mileage page).
• Please enter the mileage for each trip as instructed in this section of the manual. CPCS does not reimburse mileage for the boat ride to and from Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket. You may, however, submit an Ebill Voucher for the cost of the ticket.

Mileage

• If both the From and To entries are within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (excluding miles traveled while on Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket Island), Ebill automatically calculates and displays the allowed mileage in the Miles field. No data entry is required. The allowed mileage is calculated by CPCS according to the mileage information entered for this trip (From, To, Round Trip, and Reason). In this instance, the Miles field cannot be altered. 
  
  
  • If both the From and To entries are the same city/town, Ebill displays a drop down list so that you may select the proper mileage. CPCS allows up to 5 miles for a one way trip and up to 10 miles for a round trip within the same city/town.
  • If you travel out of state, on Martha’s Vineyard or on Nantucket Island, Ebill displays a data entry box. Enter the total mileage traveled in this field. If a round trip was made, enter the total round trip mileage.

6. Click the Round Trip box if the From and To entries are a round trip. Note: If this box is left blank (un-checked) then the allowed mileage for which you are reimbursed is calculated as one-way.
7. Click the Save button to add this trip to your travel list.
   
   
   • After you have added mileage information to a date of service, you may click the Editbutton to make changes to the mileage information for this trip. You may edit this trip any time prior to submitting it with your bill for legal services.
   • After you have added mileage information to a date of service you may click the Deletebutton to remove this trip from the date of service. You may delete this trip any time prior to submitting your bill for legal services.
     
     
8. Click the Miles Entry Complete button when you are finished entering all of the mileage information for the displayed date of service and NAC. Ebill calculates the allowed travel time for this date of service. The Miles Entry Complete button no longer appears on the page, and the Travel Time data entry field now displays.
   
   
   
   
   • Make sure to round the actual time traveled down to the nearest tenth of an hour. CPCS policy on billing in tenths of an hour increments can be found in the CPCS Assigned Counsel Manual.
   • The allowed Travel Time is a maximum of 1 hour for every 30 miles of allowed travel. You may modify the entered Travel Time any time prior to submitting it with your bill for legal services.
     
     
   6. Click the Save button to save the entered Travel Time.
   7. Click the Close Form button to return to the NAC Time Entry page.

Notes

• Ebill does not allow you to exceed the applicable maximum daily billing limit for a date of service. If the travel time entered causes you to exceed this limit for the date of service, Ebill displays a warning message and instructs you to reduce the Travel Time to a time not exceeding the limit.
  
  
• Ebill will warn you of a possible reduction to your bill if you exceed the daily limit without a waiver for the displayed date of service. Please review the CPCS Assigned Counsel Manual.
  
  
• If you traveled between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ mainland and either Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket Island, CPCS allows the entry of an additional 1.5 hours of Travel Time for a one way trip or 3 hours for a round trip.
  
  
• If you modify or delete any mileage information on the displayed date of service, Ebill automatically re-calculates the allowed maximum Travel Time. If the Travel Time you previously entered is now greater than the new maximum allowed Travel Time, Ebill automatically adjusts the entered Travel Time to the re-calculated maximum allowed Travel Time.