How to handle the costs of calls made by PS RAS Connection Manager

How to handle the costs of calls made by PS RAS Connection Manager

Document number: 55101

Note: The legacy RAS (dial-up networking) and PeopleSoft RAS Connection Manager (also known as PSRC or PSRCM) are in the process of being retired. To standardize dial-up access, the integrated PeopleSoft company is deploying iPass and VPN as the dial-up solution. For more information, see Eureka! document 54040 — iPass Frequently Asked Questions.

If you incur phone costs when using the PS RAS Connection Manager, you can include them on an expense report. For most users, the line item is Telephone (Home or Hotel). Please note the following tips and information:

Cost issues:

Local calls: The costs do not include long-distance charges. YOU are responsible for changing your phone number information in PS RAS Connection Manager to make sure that the number you dial is a local or a toll-free call. Numbers provided automatically by the application are either toll-free or local. In some cases, a local call can have a different area code than the one you are currently in. If you are unsure, please contact the local phone company to confirm. We have found that the local phone book is NOT always correct, so you are better off calling the Operator instead.
Second phone line or special phone plan: Some of you may be on a special phone plan that charges more once you exceed a certain number of miles or minutes when making a call. In the long run, it would be cheaper for you to go to an unlimited plan of some kind where you pay one flat fee for an unlimited amount of local calls for an unlimited time. You will need to make this calculation yourself, based upon the number of hours you RAS in on average per month. Again, you will need to contact your carrier for all the cost information.
Don't abuse the system: While "toll-free" calls are "free" to you, they cost quite a bit of money per minute for PeopleSoft. So the costs have been "hidden" from you in the past. We need to watch and justify every expense. Please DO NOT try to "get around" the local number use. It may be slightly more inconvenient for you to learn a new method of RASing in, but in the long run, it can save PeopleSoft quite a bit of money. We can monitor usage of the RAS servers. Employees who frequently fail to make use of available Focal numbers will be contacted.
Hotels:
- Please be aware of the costs your call may incur at a hotel. Some hotels only charge a single flat connection fee per local call. Other hotels may charge more after you have been using the phone line for a certain period of time. Read the hotel policy or contact the front desk to inquire about the policy.
- Our vendor has advised us that when you make your room reservation or when you check in, ask for a "local call charge waiver". Many of the major hotels will waive the charge for local calls if you request the waiver. It is not an automatic waiver and you must request the waiver when checking in or checking in.
- PS RAS Connection Manager is set up to give numbers for a flat residential rate phone line. Many, if not all, hotels charge business rates per minute on their phone lines. You should always check with your hotel to find out exactly what their charges are. Even though a call to a different area code would not be charged from a residence phone line, it may be charged from a hotel phone line, even if the 2 buildings are right next door to each other.
- Some hotels even charge for toll-free calls. Any of the following can be charged:
  - A per-call access charge (for example, $1 every time you access a toll-free number).
  - A per minute charge (yes, even on toll-free calls).
  - Free calls, up to a certain number of minutes, then a per-minute charge after that.

How to be more efficient while using RAS:

If you read your email via RAS, consider replicating your mail file so that you can read and reply to the emails offline. Then dial in and replicate your changes. For more information about replicating your email, see Eureka! document 10082 — How to create a database replica in Lotus Notes.
If you anticipate moving large files, you may wish to consider going to a PeopleSoft office to move the files over a network link. Even the most reliable phone lines may fail in mid-transmission. Such tasks are best NOT done over RAS. Also, consider using PKZIP to compress the files to a smaller size. For more information about PKZIP, see Eureka! document 15095 — How to zip files using PKZIP.
For more tips for working outside a PeopleSoft office, please see the Road Warrior Quick Reference Guide in Eureka!.

If you have a billing issue using PS RAS Connection Manager:

If you think you have been erroneously charged for a phone call using PS RAS Connection Manager, be sure that you have read the information above in this document. If there is still an issue, please submit a NorthStar ticket. Please be prepared to send a copy of the phone bill with the charges - we will be requesting it when the ticket is processed. You must include the following information in the ticket. A screen shot of all the information would be the most helpful:

The number you entered into the Area code and Phone number fields for the number you are calling from.
The number you got in the PeopleSoft local number field.
Any information you entered in the Outside access field below the area code and phone number you entered.
Your contact information.