3 Configure Service Providers, Billing Rates, and Inflation Rates

This chapter describes how to configure service providers, define their resource hourly billing rates, and add them to plans.

To view the list of existing service providers in your environment, from the Maintain menu, select Service Providers.

The Service Providers screen displays all the providers currently available in your environment (including ClearTrial-defined and any user-defined providers) that can be added to plans and to which tasks can be assigned.

If you are a sponsor and an early ballpark budget planner, the service offers five types of out-of-the-box composite providers to select from to add to plans. The ClearTrial-defined composite providers include the following types depending on the type or level of provider you are interested in outsourcing to and generating a forecast:

  • Premium: Global presence in all major regions. Studies can be fully outsourced to them; more expensive than other leading CROs.
  • Major: Global presence, in all major regions. Studies can be fully outsourced to them.
  • Medium: Incomplete global presence. Studies can be fully outsourced to them but they may have to sub-contract some of the work.
  • Niche: Typically operate in only one country or region, and often only offer a subset of services.
  • Average All CROs: Rates are an average across the other levels/types of composite providers.

For the most accurate budget forecast, attain the actual provider-specific billing rates by rate year from your providers and upload them by selecting Billing Rates from the Maintain menu.