Customer Records and Information System (CRIS) is one of the systems Qwest uses to bill various products and services, which are not billable via any other Qwest billing system.
Qwest will bill you for products and services you purchase from Qwest. The system used to format your bill depends on the type of output requested during the Getting Started process and the products and/or services purchased. CRIS is one of the systems Qwest uses to bill various charges.
If you are a new CLEC and are ready to do business with Qwest, view Getting Started as a Facility-Based CLEC or Getting Started as a Reseller. If you are an existing CLEC wishing to amend your Interconnection Agreement or your New Customer Questionnaire, you can find additional information in the Interconnection Agreement.
Customer Records and Information System (CRIS) is one of the Qwest billing systems.
Some of the charges billed by CRIS are:
Qwest CRIS billing is offered in Qwest's 14-state local service territory which are organized into three regions (Central, Eastern, Western). They are organized as follows:
| Central Region | Eastern Region | Western Region |
| Arizona | Iowa | Idaho (Northern) |
| Colorado | Minnesota | Oregon |
| Idaho (Southern) | Nebraska | Washington |
| Montana | North Dakota | |
| New Mexico | South Dakota | |
| Utah | ||
| Wyoming |
Each region has a separate CRIS billing system. There are some regional differences which could cause the bills to look slightly different; however, the basic information appearing on the bill will be the same.
The bill format media is specified on the Qwest New Customer Questionnaire. If you wish to change your bill format media after initial establishment, refer to Getting Started to update your media choice and forward it to the person listed on the questionnaire.
Your CRIS bill can be received in the following media in all Qwest regions:
The following electronic media is available only with the CRIS paper bill as the Qwest Official Bill of Record:
Bill and CSR data provided in the CABS/BOS format is available as an EBCDIC file available via NDM or a downloadable ASCII file from the Qwest Protected Internet Delivery (QPID) site. This type of billing format is available on certain commercial local exchange services products, including QLSP and Unbundled Local Loop type billing only. You must indicate on the UNE-P Amendment Questionnaire that you wish this type of format.
Deviations from the CABS/BOS standard are documented on a Differences List. If you have selected the CABS/BOS format in an EBCDIC file, then refer to Qwest's Bill Data Tape (BDT) Differences List.
The CABS/BOS format can be selected as the Qwest Official Bill of Record. When you choose the CABS/BOS format as the Qwest Official Bill of Record, the paper bill can be optionally suppressed.
CABS/BOS is a Telecom Industry Guideline format, which is copyrighted and maintained by Telcordia™. You must contact Telcordia directly in order to obtain the CABS/BOS documentation. Contact Telcordia at 800-521-2673 or http://www.telcordiatechnologies.com/ to order any or all of the CABS/BOS volumes.
The New Customer Questionnaire requires you to provide information concerning the type of bill(s) you will receive.
Unless you otherwise specify, paper bills will be provided for all products and services ordered. The paper bill, unless otherwise specified, is considered the Qwest Official Bill of Record.
Another billing media option is Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). EDI is a series of standards for transmitting billing data electronically between companies in a structured data format. To receive and process EDI you must utilize the 811 transaction set, and you must have an EDI "translator" to translate the EDI data into a format your system can process. EDI can be delivered using one of the following methods that you select, NDM, FTP, VAN, or Web. More information regarding NDM and FTP can be found at Qwest Interconnect OSS Electronic Access. VAN is a data communications network. Typically, VAN buys basic transmission and switching services from a telecommunications provider and then adds something of "value" to the network. It normally acts as a "mailbox" to house data for end-users.
The EDI bill can be selected as the Qwest Official Bill of Record instead of paper. When you choose the EDI bill as your Qwest Official Bill of Record, the paper bill can be optionally/partially suppressed.
For additional information access the EDI User Guide
ASCII media is a comma delimited format separated into logical subject areas such as payment, toll, monthly service, etc.The paper bill is considered the Qwest Official Bill of Record.
The customer may also request the 'partial suppression' of the paper bill (at no charge). The customer must be an ASCII or EDI subscriber to qualify for this option. The 'partial paper suppression' will provide the summary pages of the bill in the paper format. The related sub accounts will have the paper suppressed. This request can be accomplished by contacting the Service Delivery Coordinator (SDC) who will handle the necessary paper work to complete the transaction.
For additional information access the ASCII User Guide
Electronic bill delivery via the Web, is either EDI or ASCII.
A Customer Guide is available to help explain more about EDI or ASCII.
After the New Customer Questionnaire has been received at Qwest, the Qwest Implementation and Deployment Team will schedule a technical meeting with you. This Qwest group can assist you with technical aspects of receiving your bill. You will be assigned a technical contact within this group, once you are established with Qwest.
Cost Dockets are state-mandated rates, determined by each state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) or state regulatory agencies. You will be notified of Cost Docket rate changes when the rates in a specific Interconnection Agreement are updated. You can request a copy of the updated Interconnection Agreement from your Qwest Service Manager. If, after the billing systems have been updated with new rates, you would like to request USOC, Class of Service and Rates for the CRIS billed products affected by the Cost Docket, send a written request to your Service Manager. You will be notified by a second notification at least 15 days prior to the implementation of the new rates in the Qwest billing system.
| Features | Benefits |
| Summary Billing | Allows you to manage your financials at the Summary Billing Level |
| Sub-Account billing | Allows you to identify all rates and charges for services you have ordered for each specific end-user |
A requirement prior to any Local Service Request (LSR) activity is the establishment of the Summary Billing Account Number (BAN). The Summary BAN will be established 30 to 45 days after the New Customer Questionnaire is completed, any required deposits paid. Once the BAN is established and a Qwest Billing Service Delivery Coordinator (SDC) is assigned to your account, you will be notified of the Summary BAN number and the LSR activity can begin.
When you submit a LSR, Qwest will complete the requested work and send the service order(s) information to the CRIS billing system. You will receive a daily report of completed orders.
Once the CRIS billing system receives the completed service order(s), it does the following:
You are billed out of the CRIS billing system on a Summary Bill. A Summary Bill provides one bill and payment document per month for multiple accounts, within the same state (mixed Numbering Plan Areas (NPAs) acceptable). The Summary Bill contains Sub Accounts for each end-user account number and depicts detailed charges associated with each end-user. Your Summary Bill will summarize all the billing data from the end-users accounts.
There is a limit of 6000 Sub Accounts per Summary Bill. If you have more than 6000 end-users in one state, Qwest will establish a new Summary Bill. Your Service Delivery Coordinator (SDC) will notify you a minimum of three business days prior to the new Summary Bill effective date. Once a new Summary Bill account number has been established, any new end-user accounts should not be assigned to an old Summary Bill account number. Your Qwest Billing SDC will advise you when you have reached the limit and will advise you of the new Summary Bill account number. The new Summary account number will be assigned for new services and changes as the order flows into Qwest via IMA.
The components of the Summary Account Number will include NPA, Numeric Numbering Plan (NXX), line number (XXXX), and customer code (XXX). Summary Bill accounts are assigned a unique account number, which varies by region as follows:
The Central CRIS region paper Summary Bills will have the NXX value converted to a numeric value. So B11 would become 111. Because this value is changed, a unique alpha letter precedes the account number and customer code. This is known as an alpha type account. The State Alpha code is assigned by state as follows:
| STATE | ALPHA |
| Arizona | J |
| Colorado | K |
| Idaho | L |
| Montana | M |
| New Mexico | N |
| Utah | O |
| Wyoming | P |
The account appearance on the paper Summary Bill for Colorado would be i.e., K-303-111- XXX-XXXX.
Summary Bills produced in ASCII would show 303111XXXXXXX K with the Alpha character floated behind any alpha account
Summary Bills produced in EDI would only show the numeric values. Ex: 303111XXXXXXX.
This is also the format used for Central Alpha sub accounts. The following table identifies the NPA values for each Central Alpha and the numeric conversion. Colorado examples are used but would reflect the same Alpha value to Numeric value for each Central state.
| Central only NPA Conversion Values |
| C = 2 Ex 303-C22 is the same as K 303-222 |
| D = 3 Ex 303-D22 is the same as K 303-322 |
| E = 4 Ex 303-E20 is the same as K 303-420 |
| F = 5 Ex 303-F30 is the same as K 303-530 |
| G = 6 Ex 303-G91 is the same as K 303-691 |
| H = 7 Ex 303-H22 is the same as K 303-722 |
| No I value |
| J = 8 Ex 303-J30 is the same as K 303-830 |
| K = 9 Ex 303-K89 is the same as K 303-985 |
A UNE Summary Bill is referred to as a "Z" account. The UNE account number consists of the Compressed area code (NPA) followed by "Z", then the 2-digit billing date in the NXX field, the line number, customer code, e.g., E-Z01-XXXX-XXX.
The following Compressed NPA table to can be used to convert the compressed NPA to the full NPA, e.g., E-Z01-XXXX-XXX would be 712-Z01-XXXX-XXX.
| State | NPA | Compressed NPA |
| Iowa | 319 515 563 641 712 |
C D B A E |
| Minnesota | 218 320 507 612 651 763 952 |
1 R 3 2 S T U |
| Nebraska | 308 402 |
W V |
| North Dakota | 701 | F |
| South Dakota | 605 | 9 |
CRIS identifies, formats, rates, and stores all billable call detail records until the time for the calls to be billed on the end-users Sub Account. This only applies as long as Qwest is the underlying toll provider for all toll records of usage by your end-users.
Following usage processing, CRIS produces a Daily Usage File (DUF).
If you have purchased Centrex Plus products, you can elect to receive a Station Message Detail Recording (SMDR) file.
Qwest will establish separate Summary Billing accounts, per state, for the following product groupings:
NOTE: For the states of Oregon and Washington, the Resale Summary Bills will be separated by Qwest Business accounts and Residence accounts.
CSR data is created when service order activity takes place on a Sub Account.
Specific information is created for every main Billing Telephone
Number (BTN) and Working Telephone Number (WTN). This includes
all bill, listing, service and/or feature information, per
line, for each account. CSRs can be requested in either paper
or ASCII format (Web). NOTE: Click on the ASCII link
to identify the state location. Once your state selection
is made, the ASCII reference material will be accessed.
To request paper format CSR's refer to the Pre Ordering Overview.
To request ASCII format CSR's contact your Qwest Service Manager.
If EBCDIC billing files in CABS/BOS format are ordered, CSR information will also be included. Each sub account CSR requested appears in the same CABS/BOS format and will be delivered with the EBCDIC file.
Summary Bills and Sub Accounts must have the same bill date. Each Summary Bill is composed of various sections as follows:
Bills are calculated as follows:
The following table provides some basic examples of commonly found bill charges. These charges could appear on the Summary Bill or Sub Accounts billing. (NOTE: Refer to either your individual Interconnection Agreement or the tariff for applicable rates and calculations).
| Charge | Basic Description |
| Cancellation Charges |
|
| Expedite Charges |
|
| Fractional | Determining the daily rate in all three regions:
Determining the actual number of days billed:
|
| Deposit Interest Credits |
|
| Late Payment Charges |
|
| Minimum Billing Period |
|
| Non Recurring |
|
| Out of Service Credits/Adjustments |
|
| Primary Interexchange Carrier (PIC)/Local Primary Interexchange Carrier (LPIC) Change Charge |
|
| Recurring |
|
| Subscriber Line Charge/Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge (PICC) |
|
| Surcharges |
|
| Taxes |
|
| Testing Charges |
|
| Usage Charges |
|
To ensure correct billing, Qwest uses a Toll Guide record. This record resides within CRIS and is able to identify and ensure that once any type of usage has been processed through CRIS, it is correctly stored and passed to the correct billing number. A Toll Guide is created for each main line and each additional line. Toll Guides may change at times, such as when service orders are issued that add, change, or delete any of the following:
A Toll Guide is a telephone number and date-based record which reads the billing number and the date of the usage record to identify which account should be billed that usage. This also ensures that accounts, which have changes, are billed for the correct usage. The guide is not time sensitive, only date sensitive.
When a new account is established, the completion date on the service order will be the Toll Guide established date. When a service order has been issued to establish service on a specific date, any toll from that date forward will be guided to that account until a change or disconnect occurs. For example, a new service order completion date is 6-1-01, the account and guide will establish on the same date, 6-1-01, unless the new account is associated with a disconnect on the same day. In this case, the new guide will establish on the next date, 6-2-01.
When a CLEC responsible for a service is changing, the new account information and Toll Guide establish date will be the completion date plus one-day. This allows the system to final out the old account and Toll Guide effective with the service order date. The new account is established along with the guide the following day. For example, if a change of responsibility service order is completed on 6-1-01 the new account information would be established 6-2-01. This allows any usage created for the old account on 6-1-01 to be properly guided and billed to the old account. This applies to all retail and wholesale migration scenarios including the following types of account migrations:
When disconnect orders are issued, the service order completion date is used as the date of final service for that account. For example, a disconnect is issued with a completion date of 6-1-01, the guide would show an end date of 6-1-01.
General dispute process activities are described in the Billing Information – Dispute Process.
Qwest has a process for validation of rates. When Qwest determines a billed rate correction is necessary, you will be notified by your Qwest Billing SDC at least 10-days prior to the correction being made. The 10-day window will begin when the Qwest Billing SDC sends a detailed Rate Change Notification form to you. The Rate Change Notification form will include information explaining the old and new rates, effective date of the correction, etc.
There are three different Rate Correction Notifications Forms that may be received depending on the product/service that is being corrected. The forms are as follows:
You may contact your Qwest Billing SDC regarding any questions you have regarding the Rate Validation process and/or Rate Change Notification form.
There may be times when you wish to have a copy of a bill resent to you. To do this, you should contact your Qwest Billing SDC.
EDI, ASCII, and Web may only be available up to 90 days from the bill date. After 90 days there is a potential that the information is no longer available.
When EDI resends are requested, you should refer to the specifics of your individual Interconnection Agreement for information regarding the charges for these services.
When ASCII resends are requested, there is no charge. The data is provided onto the Secured WEB site and will reside there for 31 days. An e-mail is provided to the customer advising the data is ready for their retrieval. After the 31 days the data is archived for 90 days.
If you have requested a resend of a bill and the time frame has passed in which you should have received it, you should contact your Qwest Billing SDC.
Web-based training is available to assist in the interpretation of the various sections of the bill.
Local Qwest 101 "Doing Business With Qwest"
View additional Qwest courses by clicking on Course Catalog.
Billing Questions, Disputes and Resends
Bill Media Technical Questions (Once Established)
1. What information is NOT included when the bill is produced via ASCII or EDI?
2. What is EDI?
EDI is a series of standards for transmitting billing data electronically between companies in a structured data format. For you to receive and process EDI transmissions you must utilize the 811 transaction set, requiring you to have an EDI "translator" at your end to translate the EDI data into a format your particular system can process. When you order EDI service you will be provided with an EDI Customer Guide.
3. Can a dispute be issued verbally?
No, all billing disputes must be submitted in writing.
Last Update: August 3, 2009
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