8  Financal Overview

8.1 Compensation

Overview: Total maximum direct compensation will be approximately $900 per participant, varying slightly month to month. Additionally, we also pay $600 ($50/month) to offset the costs of participants’ cellular plans. These payments are deposited directly onto the participant’s payment debit card unless otherwise specifically requested.

Timing: Participants will be on a bonus cycle fixed to the calendar, defined by ~two-week intervals (i.e., two intervals per month). If they start the study mid-interval, they will not be able to earn bonuses for high compliance rates with the surveys, but they will be able to earn payment for completed tasks and phone and GPS bonuses. Bonuses will be awarded monthly in the days following the end of the 2nd two-week bonus cycle.

8.1.1 Direct Payments

Detailed descriptions of payment procedures are described in SOPs.

Participant payment for study tasks (completing the daily update, daily video check-in, monthly update, and providing GPS and SMS/phone data) will be made in the form of refillable debit cards once a month by default (or by check if requested).

We may provide pilot participants with additional compensation if they are completing additional study tasks that help us improve study materials. 

Our contact at US Bank is Evgeni Iliev (evi.iliev@usbank.com). He is our first contact if we need help with payments. Jane Foldy (jane.foldy@usbank.com) is a secondary contact for us. We have unassigned cards that we will assign in the US Bank web portal, issue payment, and reconcile activity. We can reissue cards if they are lost and help people reset their portal passwords. We will not see how people spend their money.

To create an account, we need people’s name, DOB, a physical address (no PO Box; we can use the Psychology Dept mailing address if people do not have a permanent physical address), and a mailing address.

8.1.2 Study Task Compensation

8.1.2.1 Compensation Plan (Current)

  • Phone visit payments - Participants will be paid a fixed rate for each phone visit with study staff.

    • $20 For the Consent/Onboarding Phone Visit

    • $10 For the One Week Check-In with Study Staff

    • $10 For the Final Phone visit

  • Training Videos. Participants will get a $20 payment for completing the Training Video Qualtrics.

  • Phone bill payments. Participants will get a $50 credit on their phone bill each month they are enrolled in the study.

  • Task completion bonuses. Participants will be paid for task completion. The amounts they will be paid will vary depending on the value of the signal to the study.

    • $10/month for submitting the monthly update (i.e., clicking through to the end of the survey, regardless of item completion)

    • About $48 per month for submitting daily updates (i.e., answering all questions).

    • Participants will earn $1.25 per survey plus an additional $5 for completing at least 12 surveys in the first half of the month and an additional $5 for completing at least 12 surveys in the second half of the month (total range of $6.25 - $48).

    • $5/ month for sharing location by not disabling location sharing, regardless of length of discontinuation.

    • $5/ month for sharing SMS and phone logs by not disabling SMS and phone log sharing, regardless of length of discontinuation.

    • $5/ month for sharing SMS content by not disabling SMS content, regardless of length of discontinuation.

  • NOTE: We cannot tell when participants disable SMS and phone logs OR SMS content

8.1.2.2 Compensation Plan (03/21 - 02/22)

  • Phone visit payments - Participants will be paid a fixed rate for each phone visit with study staff.

    • $20 For the Consent/Onboarding Phone Visit

    • $10 For the One Week Check-In with Study Staff

    • $10 For the Final Phone visit

  • Training Videos. Participants will get a $20 payment for completing the Training Video Qualtrics.

  • Phone bill payments. Participants will get a $50 credit on their phone bill each month they are enrolled in the study.

  • Task completion bonuses. Participants will be paid for task completion. The amounts they will be paid will vary depending on the value of the signal to the study.

    • $10/month for submitting the monthly update (i.e., clicking through to the end of the survey, regardless of item completion)

    • About $15 per month for submitting daily updates (i.e., answering all questions).

    • Participants will earn $0.25 per survey plus an additional $3.70 for completing at least 12 surveys in the first half of the month and an additional $3.70 for completing at least 12 surveys in the second half of the month (total range of $14.40 - $15.15).

    • About $10 per month for daily video check ins(i.e., submitting a video).

    • Participants will earn $0.17 per video plus an additional $2.50 for submitting at least 12 updates in the first half of the month and an additional $2.50 for completing at least 12 updates in the second half of the month (total range of $9.76 - $10.27).

    • $5/ month for sharing location by not disabling location sharing, regardless of length of discontinuation.

    • $5/ month for sharing SMS and phone logs by not disabling SMS and phone log sharing, regardless of length of discontinuation.

    • $5/ month for sharing SMS content by not disabling SMS content, regardless of length of discontinuation.

8.1.2.3 Phone Payments

NOTE: As of April 2023 no participants remain on study who are getting payment sent to their phone provider. All participants are now receiving phone payment on their focus blue card.

Payments will be made to participants’ phone providers directly from the p-card. For certain pilot participants, we will deposit $0.25 or $1.00 into their account before the one-week check-in. We will ask them to confirm this at the one week check-in and will get any information we need from them if that payment fails (e.g., an account number to write a check to their provider)

Resources:

For most phone providers, the only information you need to credit money to an account is the name of the account holder and the billing zip code.

If we are unable to make payments directly to a participant’s cell phone service provider, we will deposit the $50 payment directly to the participant’s Focus Blue card  

Payment will be issued on the same day that participants are scheduled to receive their monthly study task payment.

  • Participant Cell Phone Service Payment Log: P:/studydata/risk2/administration/financial/participant_payment_logs/participant_cell_payment_log_risk2.xlsx ## Payment SOP Risk2 Payment SOP (The purpose of this SOP is to detail the instructions for issuing payments to for study tasks and cellphone service) Instructions for issuing payments Notes: Participants are paid immediate after Consent, on the 15th and 30th of each month, and following their final visit.

Payday = 15th for those enrolled on/between the 15th and 29th/30th (or 27th of Feb) of each month compliance_period_1 = 15th - 29th (or 27th for Feb) compliance_period_2 = 30th of last month (or 28 for Feb) - 14th of this month

Payday = 30th for those enrolled on/between the 29th/30th (or 27th of Feb) and the 14th of each month compliance_period_1 = 30th of last month (or 28 for Feb) - 14th of this month compliance_period_2 = 15th - 29th (or 27th for Feb) Timing: • First payment: for Consent Onboarding session, loaded on card when mailed ($20). • Second payment: for 1-week check-in and training videos, loaded on card immediately after that visit ($30) • Third payment: Paid for all tasks thus far at first actual paydate (approx. $20-40 depending on number of days since consent). ALSO paid for cellular service at this date ($50) • Subsequent payments as expected at the assigned pay date, based on the 2 week compliance periods above.

Direct payments. Payments totaling between $60 to $665.04 over the course of the year will be made directly to participants in monthly increments of $0 - $50.42 based on their compliance with study tasks. In addition, during the first month after participants have enrolled in the study, they will receive $20 each for the consent onboarding visit and for completing pre-study training; and $10 for the 1 week checkin.

  1. First Payment/System Card Entry
  1. Participant enrolls successfully and the consent onboarding form is submitted. An email trigger is fired to Susan & Ali.
  2. Ali will pull a new focus blue card from the box and fill out a new line in the participant payment log (P:\studydata\risk2\administration\financial\participant_payment_logs\participant_payment_log_risk2.csv).
  3. This line will have the following format: subid date amount ra_initials notes upload_notes cardholderID (for registrations) 1004 4/16/2021 20 SW card registration/consent payment 4049524335
  1. Cardholder ID is the 10 digit number visible on the card envelope (eliminating the first 3 digits which are our site ID).
  2. NB the date should be the actual date on which the $20 is added in Focus Blue. If Susan takes a while to run the registration script after Ali makes this entry, Ali will modify this date when she does the funding. b.c. Susan uses an R script (INSERT LINKrun_register_payment_card.RMD) to get this assigned Focus Blue card number from here and generate an upload spreadsheet which includes the participants’ mailing address from Qualtrics and assigned Focus Blue card number. (NOTE: initially card numbers will be entered manually) c.d. Participants Susan uploads this spreadsheet iare uploaded into Focus Blue to be assignedwhich formally assigns the to a card number to the person, and Ali is notified that this step is complete. d.e. Ali enters payment amounts of $20 into Focus Blue for each participant (for consent session) and notifies Susan that this step is complete. e.f. Susan generates the mail merge letters letter (P:\studydata\risk2\methods\sops\messages_sops\first_payment_2021_04_21.docx INSERT LINK) and mailing address addresses labels for each participant.
  1. Each participant is mailed a 6x9 envelope containing the following:
  2. Get the 6x9 envelope; add the STAR return address label and participant address label
  1. their personalized letter,
  2. Their Focus Blue card envelope
  3. A printed W2 form with the important fields highlighted (see sample), f.v. and W2 form withA self-addressed stamped Psych letterhead envelope with a stamp and a Star Study address label for them to mail back the W2. g.h. Participants will be DMd’ by Ali to alert them that the payment materials are in transit.
  4. Hello,

Thank you again for talking with me earlier today and joining our study. Here are some links that might be helpful as you get started.

Our website

A list of frequently asked questions about the app and study

The STAR training video survey (this is the same link I texted you)

I’ll be calling you again in about a week. You should receive a letter in the mail from us with your payment card and instructions on how to get paid. You can reply to this message or call (608)-262-1362 if you have any questions before our call.

Thanks again, - The STAR Team

  1. One week visit/training payments
  1. As soon as the one-week visit is complete, Ali will add in Focus Blue a $30 payment for the participant’s training ($20) and visit ($10).
  2. The amount can be modified if training is not complete; or if it is, but the visit is skipped.
  3. A record of this will also need to be added into the payment log. The note should indicate if the payment is for one or both items.

2.3. Subsequent Regular monthly payments a. Ali Susan runs the daily monthly script (INSERT LINKrun_monthly_payments.RMD) which on the 15th and 30th , which will generate an upload csv of participants who need payment, with the amounts. (including 1 week check-in payments for new participants and final visit payments for participants going off-study). i. Susan will use the WOG entries to determine if there is any compliance forgiveness and adjust the amounts accordingly. a.ii. This script will also generate lines in the payment log for each participant. If it is a batch upload, the total amount will be noted on each row for ease of reconciliation. b. After visual verification and manual edits if needed, Ali will upload this spreadsheet to the Focus Blue payment system. i. If the upload is being done a day after the script was run, please correct the dates in the payment log to match the actual upload date. b.ii. Also please check that the correct participants are included! c. Participants will be DMd’ by Ali to alert them of the payment. The DM text is generated by the payment script, and saved to an individual subid text file in P:\studydata\risk2\administration\financial\participant_payment_logs\payment_messages i. Hello, You are about X% of the way through the study! During your first study month you completed X daily updates, X daily video check-ins, and X intake survey. To earn the highest possible bonus in the next four weeks, be sure to complete six daily updates per week, and six daily video check-ins per week, and the monthly update.

We issued a $47.64 payment to your study card on 2021-05-14. Between 2021-04-21 and 2021-05-14 you earned $35.24 for study tasks and $12.40 in bonuses. We issued a $50.00 payment to your study card on 2021-05-14 to help cover the cost of service for your phone.

Do you have any questions about the payment or the study?

  • The STAR Team
  1. Final payments (early)
  1. When a participant goes off study early, Susan will use the monthly payment script to determine how much they are owed since their last payday.
  2. No fund upload spreadsheet will be generated; Ali will add this amount in Focus Blue and also manually add it into the payment log.

Cellular plan payments. Payments are made to participants’ cellular plan provider in monthly increments of $50 at the end of each month of study participation. (first payday after 1 week visit, either 15th or 30th depending on signup date) If Susan is unable to make a cellular plan payment to a participant’s provider, she will pay the participant directly At this time, as the sole authorized P-card holder, Susan will make all cellular payments.

SOP. 1. For known vendors, reference the list of payment URLs belowin the Study Manual 2. For new vendors, find the payment URL and enter belowin the Study Manual. 3. Use the P-card, the user’s phone number, and billing zip code (if needed) to make the payment. 4. Print the confirmation page as a PDF. 5. Enter the SubID, Vendor, Payment amount, etc in the participant cell payment log at P:\StudyData\risk2\administration\financial\participant_payment_logs

AT&T - Verified as of 2/24/2021
• Payments of any amount can be made using an in-store payment kiosk at the West Univ or State St locations ONLY using a cell number. • Advance payments (i.e., account credits) can be made on accounts if we have the account number, cell phone number, and the account holder’s name and billing zip. • References: https://www.att.com/acctmgmt/fastpay Boost / Virgin- Verified 6/11/2020 Need to testverified 03/21 • Payments can be made online using a cell number at https://myaccount.boostmobile.com/primary/guest-replenish Cricket - Verified 6/11/2020 Need to test • Payments can be made online using a cell number at https://www.cricketwireless.com/quickpay.html MetroPCS (Metro by T Mobile) - Verified 6/11/2020 Need to testVerified 4/21 • Payments can be made online using a cell number at https://www.metrobyt-mobile.com/payment Sprint -Verified 6/11/2020 Need to test • Payments can be made online using a cell number at https://www.sprint.com/apps/express-payment/?INTNAV=Support:Howtopay:ExpressPayment USCellular – Verified as of 2/24/2021 • Payments on ongoing plans can be made online using a cell number at: https://m.uscellular.com/uscellular/app/anonymous/payment/ • Payments on a prepaid plan can be made online at: https://www.uscellular.com/plans/prepaid/refill-options.html Verizon – Verified as of 2/24/2021 • Payments can be made online using a cell number and billing zip at https://ebillpay.verizonwireless.com/cws/viewLogin.action#/payments Straight Talk - Verified 6/11/2020 Need to tes4/21 says RESOURCE NOT FOUNDt https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/h/refill/ondemand/anonymous • “Buy a plan” with credit card only needs cell number? • Add service cards needs service PIN? tMobile - Verified 6/11/2020 • NEW: https://www.t-mobile.com/guestpay? Need to test • prepaid – need cell and PIN numbers – NO RECEIPT will be given since I am not authorized user. • Ask Sue if we could get permission to not have receipts? • Any amount • postpaid – need cell number and need to be an authorized user • Any amount • Phone owner can add me as authorized user by dialing 611. Only needs to give my name. Can rescind same way. 6.

8.2 Focus Blue Account Reconciliation SOP

Focus Blue account reconciliation SOP (The purpose of this SOP is to describe the process of how to prepare and submit a Focus Blue account Reconciliation sop) Overview The purpose of account reconciliation is to compare different records of deposits and expenses to make sure that they match. Specifically, we compare information directly from our bank account (via the document Focus Blue reconciliation report) and from our payment log that ties to our calculated and manually entered payments (Participant payment log). The other documents described here document replenishment and help us calculate totals and document expenses. Document templates are in P:_blue_templates Submitting reconciliations 1. Reconciliations are to be submitted within 30 days of the end of each month, e.g., March reconciliation is due before April 30. 2. Reconciliation is done in the Custodial Funds system: https://www.busserv.wisc.edu/custfundsys; detailed instructions below. 3. Deindentified required attachments are also sent by email to Gian in Business Services, at cstdnfnd@bussvc.wisc.edu, with a CC to Psychology Reimbursement at reimb@psych.wisc.edu using the template at the end of this document, so the department can sign off and approve. 4. Reconciliation materials are to be saved in P:_blue_YYYY and the filename suffixed with YYYY_MMDD. The date should be the last day of the month being reconciled in _YYYY_MMDD format, e.g., March reconciliations should be suffixed_2021_0331 regardless of the day they are actually prepared/submitted. Required attachments 1. Focus Blue reconciliation report. [Gian suggested deleting all names before uploading.] 2. Participant payment log. 3. Replenishment request. 4. Check register worksheet. 5. Bank reconciliation worksheet.

Preparing the Focus Blue reconciliation report 1. Log into https://www.usbankprepaidadmin.com and on the top menu bar, select Reports 2. Under Report Category, select Financial 3. Under Report Name, select Account Reconciliation Report 4. Set the date range to the first and last day of the month being reconciled 5. Select the Program (only one option shows up, select that). 6. Select the Client Program (U of Wisconsin Madison -Psychology) 7. Under Select Card ID select U of Wisconsin Madison - Psychology Funding/Disbursement 8. Under Select Report Format, select Excel. 9. The download link will appear next to the Export button. 10. Delete all columns with identifying information. 11. Save the report in P:_blueas reconcilation_report_focusblue_YYYY_MMDD.xls 12. Note the amount under Total Debits. This is the amount to be reconciled and you will need this later.

Preparing the Participant payment log 1. Go to P:_payment_logs and open participant_payment_log_risk2.csv 2. Hit Save As, and save a copy as an EXCEL FILE, in P:_bluenamed payment_log_focusblue_YYYY_MMDD.xlsx 3. Delete all rows that are not for the current month and save again. 4. Make sure the total of Column C matches the Total Debits amount from the Reconciliation Report. If not, something is missing from this payment log, check in with Susan/Ali. Complete a Check Register Worksheet The purpose of this worksheet is to check and show that the balance that we think we have matches the balance that we do have.
1. Download a check register worksheet from the business services website under custodian forms https://businessservices.wisc.edu/documents/check-register-worksheet/ 2. Document the beginning balance and all written checks, using the information in participant payment log.

Complete a Bank Reconciliation Worksheet The purpose of this worksheet is to check and show that the balance that we think we have matches the balance that we do have.
1. Create a copy of the bank reconciliation worksheet from the *˜reconciliation templates’ folder. This form is not available online and was sent directly from Gian to Hannah. 2. Input the totals from the check register worksheet and the reconciliation report. Document any outstanding replenishments from all previous months. Preparing the Replenishment request 1. The replenishment report is in P:_blue_templates and is named CashAdvanceAccountingForm_focusblue_YYYY_MMDD.xlsx and the easiest way to modify it each month is to make a copy of last months’ form, then rename it with the appropriate dated name. 2. Open your copy. Change the date to the last day of the reconcile month, in 2 spots: B10 and G70 (you may have to search for date as UW has locked the form and you can’t see row and column numbers except of the cell you’re actually in). 3. In the center area under Participant Logs, paste the new Total Debit amount as a positive number for the current month (Cell O42). That amount should automatically be populated to 5 other cells in this document! 4. You should never end up with voided checks or a negative replenishment in the Focus Blue system, if you do, check in with Susan. 5. Add your digital signature if it’s not part of the form already.

Uploading into the Custodial Funds System 1. Log into https://www.busserv.wisc.edu/custfundsys with your netID 2. Click View on the line where Account Type = Research(Reloadable Debit Card) 3. In the lower left-hand corner under the Back to Search button, you sho0uld see a red text link, Reconcile Account 4. On the next page the top information should tell you what you need to upload. In the bottom left is a dropdown showing the Reconcile Month, be sure to choose the correct one. Hit Save. 5. A red text link Add Reconcile Document will appear. Hit this and it brings up a Choose File button for you to select the upload documents. The Description SHOULD already be populated but instructions say to add the account number and MMYYYY. Choose your file and hit Upload. 6. To add more documents, you need to hit the green plus icon in the header of the documents table. 7. When you finish, hit the radio button that says Send to Accounting Services for approval and then the Submit Selection button.

Sending the email Template To: cstdnfnd@bussvc.wisc.edu CC: reimb@psych.wisc.edu Subject:
$Month $Year Reconciliation and Replenishment Request for Focus Blue Funding Card 4045455948 (Curtin) Body: Hi all, attached please find the documentation for the $Month $Year reconciliation and replenishment for Focus Blue Funding Card 4045455948 (Curtin). These documents have also been uploaded to the Custodial Funds system. Please let me know if any questions or concerns. Thank you, $Yourname $EmailSignature Attachments: All deidentified reconciliation documents that were uploaded into the Custodial Funds system