EFTS and DOCLINE® Assist Libraries with Billing
The DOCLINE EFTS Transaction File Builder provides libraries the ability to create the transaction file used to upload request information to the Electronic Fund Transfer System (EFTS) for billing. The DOCLINE EFTS Transaction File Builder feature was first made available in DOCLINE 3.0 which was released October 11, 2006.
The EFTS is a transaction-based electronic billing system operated since 1996 by the University of Connecticut Health Center for interlibrary loan (ILL) and document delivery charges. EFTS eliminates the need to bill and pay individual libraries for ILL between participating libraries. NLM® encourages all libraries to consider joining EFTS to reduce ILL costs and labor, and eliminate waiting for outgoing checks to be issued and incoming payments to be received.
The EFTS Transaction File Builder lists filled requests by the lender from borrowers that are also EFTS participants. DOCLINE displays summary request information that the lender can use to determine charges (see Figure 1), as well as links to the borrower's institution profile and the full request record.
Lenders can choose to exclude transactions from libraries in specific library groups to which they belong. For example, if the borrower is a member of FreeShare, there is no charge according to the library group agreement so transactions from FreeShare borrowers could be eliminated from the list of transactions to review to save time.
Lenders enter their charges for each request, confirm the data entry, and then DOCLINE creates a file of the transactions in the layout prescribed by EFTS. Lenders can skip transactions if they are unsure of charges at that moment — the request would be displayed again the next time the EFTS File Builder is used. Libraries can also enter a '0' to indicate that there is no charge for an item.
Once the transaction file is downloaded to the library's PC, the library uploads it to EFTS at their convenience to process their ILL charges. Upon the submission of the lender's transaction file, monies are immediately and automatically transferred from the borrower's account to the lender's account. Libraries can create files in DOCLINE and upload them to EFTS as often as needed based upon their ILL volume and policies. Requests are available in DOCLINE for 40 days after completion.
For those interested in more information about EFTS, contact your Regional Medical Library or EFTS staff. See the DOCLINE EFTS FAQ at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/faqdocline.html#EFTS and the EFTS Web site at: https://efts.uchc.edu for service details and contact information.
Collins ME. EFTS and DOCLINE® Assist Libraries with Billing. NLM Tech Bull. 2007 May-Jun; (356):e6.
