One Record for Sites, Contacts and Payees: Why It Matters for Trial Payments

In a Tufts CSDD study of 257 sponsors and CROs, companies used an average of six applications to support each clinical study (Tufts CSDD via GlobeNewswire). Many of those systems keep their own copy of the same basic records: which sites are in the study, who the contacts are, and who should be paid.

These records look simple, but they are where many payment problems start. A site is set up in CTMS by the start-up team and again in the finance system by finance. A coordinator changes, and only one system is updated. A site asks for payments to go to its institution instead of the investigator, and the change reaches one record but not the other. When CTMS and CTFM share one record for sites, contacts and payees, those copies do not exist.

What both teams use, and what goes wrong when it is copied

1. The site is set up once

When the start-up team creates a site in CTMS, the same record is available to finance in CTFM. There is no second set-up, and no reconciliation of names, addresses or site numbers between systems.

2. Contacts stay current for everyone

Sites change coordinators, finance contacts and sub-investigators during a study. When contacts are held once, an update by the CTA or CRA reaches finance immediately, so invoice queries and payment notices go to the right person.

3. Payee details are clear and controlled

The payee is not always the site or the investigator. It may be the institution, a research foundation or a site network. Holding payee details against the site record, with approval for any change and an audit trail, reduces the risk of payments going to the wrong entity.

4. Study and site status guide payments

If a site is put on hold or closed in CTMS, finance needs to know before the next payment run. When status is shared, payments follow the site's actual status.

5. Every team works from the same facts

Operations, finance, start-up teams and CRAs all see the same site, contacts, payee and status. Disagreements about which version is right stop happening, because there is only one version.

Master data checklist

• One site record used by CTMS and CTFM
• Contact roles defined, including site finance contact
• Payee recorded separately from the site and investigator where they differ
• Approval and audit trail for any payee change
• Site status visible to finance before each payment run
• A named owner for keeping site records current

What this means by role

• CTAs and start-up teams: set up sites and contacts once.
• Study finance leads: payments use the same site, payee and status as operations.
• CRAs: contact updates made after a visit reach finance too.
• Clinical operations managers: one place to see a site's status, contacts and payments.
• Site finance teams: payments and notices reach the right entity and the right person.

How Cloudbyz approaches this

Cloudbyz CTMS and CTFM are built natively on Salesforce as one platform, so sites, contacts, payee details and study status are held once and used by both. Because they share one data model, no integration is needed between them, and changes are recorded in a single audit trail. Integrations remain available for external finance or ERP systems where needed.

See one site record in action

Book a demo or visit cloudbyz.com.