ACQUISITION SYMPOSIUM

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By: Priscilla E. Irick Chief Commercial Accounts Branch, NIH

Commercial Accounts BranchOrganization Structure: 

Commercial Accounts Branch Organization Structure COMMERCIAL ACCOUNTS BRANCH Priscilla E. Irick Accountant, Branch Chief Office of the Chief Marie A. Watson, Accountant, Assistant to the Chief Marie Davis, Lead Acting Technician Idah Maindidze, Administrative Assistant(t) Payables Linda Acker, Accountant, Lead Team Leader Customer Service Marie A. Watson, Accountant, Team Leader Contracts Robin Herring, Accountant, Ruth Laughner, Accountant, Backup Team Leaders Karyn Addison, Accountant, Team Leader Malti Bhatnagar Acting Team Leader Karyn Addison, Accountant, Team Leader Sheila Gopie Justin Hershman Isabel de Otero Martha Tuttle Christopher Porter (t) LaJoyce Thomas Katie Roberts Carolyn Clark Sista Sastry Mike Walsh Natasha Cepeda (t) Weldon Payne (t) Kristin Rhoads Rubina Ahmed Robin Jackson Cynthia McFadden Carlos Reyes Chisa Harris Irina Rozina Karen Johnson Davida Haynes Lawanna Deas Marlene White Ellen McColl Angela Stinney (t) Sheree Brown Kionna Jones Ruth Laughner, Accountant, Backup Team Leader Mary McFadden Jaime Otero-Zuazo Nicolas Lalekos Diane Johnson Dorothea Scott Frankie, Gibson The Commercial Accounts Branch is comprised of four areas: Office of the Chief, Customer Service, Payables, and Contracts

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In Fiscal Year 1996 the NIH processed : 489,212 invoices for payment 121,685 invoices were late 362,527 invoices were on-time 74.1% on-time payments In Fiscal Year 2002 the NIH processed : 613,281 invoices for payment 25,980 invoices were late 587,301 invoices were on-time 96% on-time payments

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28,203 invoices were returned to vendors in 2002 because they were unpayable. But, what may surprise you is that….

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EDUCATION AND COOPERATION …Key to decreasing the number of unpayable invoices returned to vendors and the number of invoices on the (Unpaid) In-House Invoice Report.

HOW DO WE GET THERE ?: 

HOW DO WE GET THERE ? Educate vendors and the NIH community on …. Bill payment process Invoicing process Federal Regulations affecting bill payment (i.e., Debt Collection Improvement Act, Prompt Payment ; Final Rule) Information Technology Systems (i.e., VIEWSTAR, PAID, PACER, TOPS)

HOW DO WE GET THERE ?: 

Bill Payment Process HOW DO WE GET THERE ?

Bill Payment Process: 

A valid procurement mechanism must be obtained before ordering goods or services. Record of Call Purchase Order Contract Training Nomination Purchase Card Be sure to fax a copy of the order to the vendor, especially when making procurements over the phone. This will ensure the vendor has the correct order number when they bill NIH. Bill Payment Process

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Goods must be delivered to the correct delivery point. When placing the order, make sure the order taker has the correct ship to address. A proper invoice must be submitted to the Designated Billing Office. Commercial Accounts is the Designated Billing Office, not the Designated Ship to Office Bill Payment Process

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Inform vendors that problems, discrepancies, changes, modifications, inquiries should be made to the appropriate official. The Display Order Screen accessible to Commercial Accounts technicians displays the name of the Purchasing Agent and the Ship to person. These individuals are contacted first in an attempt to determine the correct receiving official for the order. Bill Payment Process

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For name changes or assignments, vendors should contact Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs): the BPA Branch at (301) 496 -5212 Purchase Orders & Record of Calls: the Procurement Agent Contracts: the Contracting Officer Bill Payment Process

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If a name change or assignment occurs, all invoices submitted by the vendor from that point on, must have the new information. However, once a payment has been made on an order, a name change can not be made to that order. The company will have to submit invoices with both the new and the old name. Bill Payment Process

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For inquiries concerning the status of invoices, In-House personnel can call the Commercial Accounts, Customer Service office at (301) 402-1595 THIS NUMBER IS FOR IN-HOUSE PERSONNEL ONLY ! or In-House personnel can utilize the Customer Viewer Application located in the Customer Service office to view the progress of any invoice in the workflow. Bill Payment Process

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Customer Service hours of operation are Monday - Friday 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. however, the office is closed each day from 12:00 P.M. to 1:00 P.M. Bill Payment Process

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Vendors may contact Customer Service at (301) 496-6088 or they may visit the Treasury PAID website at http://fms.treas.gov/paid/ Bill Payment Process

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Let vendors know when they contact Customer Service, they should know what they want: * invoice inquiry * receiving status * payment status * ACH/check tracer status They should provide: * order number * invoice number * invoice amount Bill Payment Process

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Invoicing Process

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In order for vendors to get paid, they must invoice in accordance with the Prompt Payment; Final Rule. A valid invoice must include: Name Address Vendor’s TIN Invoice Date Order Number Discount Terms Invoice Number (Not required by PPFR, but highly recommended) The vendor remittance name on the invoice must agree with the name on the order/contract. Invoicing Process

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When a vendor submits a proper invoice to Commercial Accounts, the invoice is Indexed and tracked into the ADB and the ViewStar system. If the invoice is payable, it can be scheduled for payment. On the PAID INVOICE DISPLAY SCREEN the JT (for ACH payments) and JS (for check payments) are Treasury payment schedules. The numbers after the JT or JS represent the fiscal year and Julian date. Invoicing Process

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Invoicing Process On this order, the Treasury schedule JT3038 is an ACH payment that will close on the 38th day of the year (02/07/03). This payment will be certified and transmitted to Treasury on the next business day. Treasury has 48 business hours, from that point, to disburse the funds.

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If an invoice is not payable it is routed to a Pending Queue or a Process Hold Queue where it will appear on the (UNPAID) IN-HOUSE INVOICE REPORT. The invoices in the Pending Queue are awaiting receiving. The invoices in the Process Hold Queue are awaiting a resolution to a discrepancy, i.e.…quantity on invoice is 85, but on the order the quantity is 58. The quantity on the order could have been mistakenly transposed. Unpayable invoice Pending Queue Process Hold Queue Invoicing Process

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The (UNPAID) IN-HOUSE INVOICE REPORT is a report that lists all invoices that have been received by Commercial Accounts, that have not be paid due to receiving or other issues. This report should be reviewed often, however, make sure the report you are reviewing is current. It is updated weekly. Invoicing Process

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Invoicing Process

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Partial Rcvd - a particular line needs to be received Needs Rcvng - the entire order needs to be received Payable - the invoice is payable, however, the system did not route the invoice to the payables queue or the invoice is not necessarily payable due to a discrepancy with the amount of money or line line item received Invoicing Process

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Maybe Error - indicates the invoice has been paid and a duplicate is on file. Purged - an order is no longer in the ADB and was removed based on purge criteria. (see Purge Criteria memo) This order can still be paid through the Central Accounting System, however, a hardcopy receiving report signed by the receiving official is required before payment can be made. Invoicing Process

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Federal Regulations Affecting Bill Payment Debt Collection Improvement Act Prompt Payment; Final Rule

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The DEBT COLLECTION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1996: requires that all Federal payments to vendors be made via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Vendors must complete a Standard Form 3881, “ACH Vendor/Misc Payment Enrollment Form” for each Federal agency they conduct business with. If a vendor’s banking information changes, they must notify the OFM, Government Accounting Branch and submit updated enrollment form immediately prior to closing the old account. Federal Regulations Affecting Bill Payment

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The PROMPT PAYMENT; FINAL RULE : requires that all Federal agencies Make payments on time Pay interest penalties when payments are late Take discounts only when payments are made on or before the discount date Federal Regulations Affecting Bill Payment

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PAYMENT DUE DATE - once a proper invoice has been submitted and acceptance of the goods/services has taken place, the payment due date is established. PAYMENT DUE TODAY Federal Regulations Affecting Bill Payment

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Unless the contract specifies otherwise, payment is due on/before the 30th day from the later of : (1) The date a proper invoice is received in the designated billing office; or (2) The date the receiving official acknowledges receipt of the goods or services. Federal Regulations Affecting Bill Payment

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LATE PAYMENTS - Invoices that are paid after the payment due date are considered late. The Prompt Payment; Final Rule requires us to pay interest whenever an invoice is paid after the payment due date, however, interest under $1.00 need not be paid. Federal Regulations Affecting Bill Payment

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DISCOUNTS - are taken if the invoice can be paid within the specified discount period. The discount must be advantageous to the Government. EXAMPLE - if an invoice dated 05/20/03 offered the following payment terms [ 3%/10, Net 30], the check must be dated or the EFT must be deposited on or before the discount date of 05/30/03. Federal Regulations Affecting Bill Payment

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Information Technology Systems VIEWSTAR - Customer Viewer PAID PACER TOP

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VIEWSTAR - is not an accounting system. It is a workflow automation system that automates a paper-based process where multiple workers interact with the same information. Information Technology Systems Invoices are Scanned Invoices are Indexed/Tracked Payable invoices are processed Payments are disbursed by Treasury Invoices documents are archived Payments are validated by Customer Service

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CUSTOMER VIEWER - is a view only interface in the ViewStar system. It is located in the OFM, Commercial Accounts, Customer Service office. This application is for in-house personnel only. It provides customers with the ability to retrieve requested invoices and their related documents through the Optical Library. In addition, this application gives the customer a status of those invoices as they move through the Work in Process queues. Information Technology Systems

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PAYMENT ADVICE INTERNET DELIVERY SYSTEM (PAID) - is the Treasury internet system which provides vendors with invoice payment information PAID provides the order number, invoice number, payment amount, date of payment and other remittance information such as interest penalty or discounts taken. PAID provides information within 24 hours after the date of payment and retains the information for 60 days. PAID is a “no cost” service to the vendor. Information Technology Systems

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Vendors can register for PAID through the internet at: http://fms.treas.gov/paid/ The vendor must complete the on-line registration form using their Tax Identification Number (TIN). Information Technology Systems

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PACER - is an on-line check and ACH Tracer System. Using this system, Customer Service Technicians can view payment information, create claims and request digital images of negotiated checks for all payments issued by NIH. The disposition of claims are usually available within 72 hours, however, archived images can take up to a month. When a claim is requested on an ACH payment, the the disposition will include the vendor’s name, bank acct #, ABA#, payment amount, schedule #, and date payment was deposited into the account. Information Technology Systems

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TREASURY OFFSET PROGRAM SYSTEM (TOPS) - is designed to help agencies collect delinquent debt owed to the Federal Government. Treasury Offsets can occur on vendor payments for: Taxes Child support Alimony Student Loans Information Technology Systems

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Information Technology Systems Treasury will only take 99% of the vendor’s payment. Treasury will leave 1 % so that the vendor is aware that a payment was made to them. Vendors are provided written notification from Treasury when a payment has been offset.