Per Diem Billing Automation: A Complete Guide for Vivaria
Summary
Per diem billing, charging researchers a daily rate per cage, is how most animal facilities recover their operating costs. When done manually in spreadsheets, it is the single most time-consuming administrative task in many vivaria. Automated per-diem billing in colony management software eliminates the monthly rebuild and produces grant-ready chargeback reports from the housing records you already maintain.
How Automated Per Diem Billing Works
Colony.care knows which animals are in which cages, which cages are assigned to which projects and PIs, and how long each cage has been active. It applies per-diem rates based on species, cage type, and care level, you configure the rate table once. At the end of each billing period, the system calculates cage-days for every active cage, multiplies by the applicable rate, and generates a chargeback report broken down by project, PI, or cost center.
Multi-Rate Support
Different species and housing types have different per-diem rates. A mouse in a standard cage costs less per day than a rabbit in a large pen. Colony.care supports multiple rate tables, you assign rates by species, cage type, care level, or any combination. When a cage changes type or moves to a different care level, the rate change is applied automatically from that date.
Grant-Ready Reports
Billing reports break down charges by the categories your grants and cost centers require: project, PI, species, time period. Reports export as CSV or PDF. The underlying data is auditable, every cage-day calculation traces back to specific housing records with timestamps and user attribution.
FAQ
Can we set different rates for internal vs external users?
Yes. Rate tables can be configured per project or per cost center. Internal academic labs can have one rate structure while external commercial clients have another.
What happens when a cage moves between PIs mid-month?
Colony.care calculates cage-days per PI based on exact transfer dates. If a cage spends 12 days with PI-A and 19 days with PI-B in a 31-day month, each PI is charged for exactly their portion.
For the organization's view, with totals by team and by project, see Colony.care for core facilities and multi-lab organizations.