U.S. Geological Survey Manual

This Instructional Memorandum (IM) applies to Remote Data Entry (RDE) of payments against contract obligations.

The Remote Data Entry program has been expanded to include RDE payment processing of contract invoices.

Contracting officers may elect to exclude, suspend, or alter certain contracts from the RDE payment process because of Federal Acquisition regulation requirements to examine invoice costs in detail or because of other business considerations such as the need to monitor the contractor's financial condition, the need to verify work progress before making a milestone or progress payment, the complexity of the work involved, or contract termination. In all such instances, the paying office will be the Office of Financial Management (OFM), Reston, Virginia. The cover sheet of the contract will clearly indicate that OFM, and not the RDE office, is to be the paying office. Absent such considerations, the RDE site will be listed on the cover sheet as the paying office.

The effective date for beginning bureau-wide Remote Data Entry payments of contract invoices is February 1, 2000. RDE sites will now be responsible for processing contract invoices that have been properly certified by a Contracting Officers Representative (COR) and/or an Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO) for all new FY 2000 contract awards. All prior year contract awards will continue to be processed by OFM until completion. Current processing procedures for contract payments prior to this IM will remain in effect.

Background

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) and the Office of Acquisition and Federal Assistance (OAFA) initiated a RDE payment of contract invoices pilot in June 1999, with the Water Resources Division (WRD) and the Biological Resources Division (BRD) of the USGS. Two locations were involved in the preliminary testing, WRD's National Water Quality Laboratory and BRD's National Wetlands Research Center. The Central Region Branch of Acquisition and Federal Assistance worked with these locations to develop the procedures that are delineated in this instruction.

Processing Procedures for RDE Payments of Contract Invoices

1. Invoice received against Contracts (CN) and any Delivery Orders (DO) or Task Orders (TO) Issued Under Such Contracts.
1. Payments Under $50,000:
1. Original invoice is mailed by the contractor directly to the billing office (RDE site) designated in Section G of the contract, with a copy to the ACO.
2. RDE site immediately date stamp the invoice (see Attachment 4) according to RDE requirements (i.e., Prompt Payment Act guidelines) and reviews the invoice to be sure that it meets the definition of a "proper invoice" as defined in the Prompt Payment Act and the Federal Acquisition Regulation 32.902.
1. Any invoice not meeting the definition of a proper invoice is to be promptly returned to the contractor under a cover letter prepared by the RDE site stating why the invoice is not acceptable for payment. A copy of the invoice and the cover letter is forwarded to the COR and the ACO. Any question about the propriety of an invoice is to be immediately referred to the ACO.
3. RDE site enters the payment information into FFS and places it on "HOLD" until COR certification is received.
4. RDE site prepares a cover memo (see Attachment 1) and forwards a copy, not the original, of the invoice to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) for certification (RDE policy requires original documentation to be maintained at site of payment origination).
5. If all goods and services called for by the contract, D.O., or T.O. have been delivered or performed, the COR signs/certifies the copy of the invoice and returns the cover memo and the signed/certified copy of the invoice to RDE site.
1. If the COR can not certify that all of the required goods or services have been received, the COR is to stop processing the invoice, immediately notify the ACO in writing or by email of the problem, and notify the RDE site that certification of the invoice is being withheld pending further direction from the ACO.
2. If the ACO elects to disapprove the invoice for payment, the RDE site and the COR shall receive copies of any correspondence from the ACO to the contractor.
6. After receiving the certified invoice from the COR, RDE site processes "HELD" payment in FFS, stamps invoice "Paid" with date processed, and sends copy of certified and stamped invoice to the ACO.
2. For payments over $50,000:
1. Follow procedures outlined in the preceding subparagraphs A. through A.1.e.
2. RDE site will notify OFM by faxing invoice and receiving/certification information to OFM at 703-648-4112, attention Chief, Accounts Payable for appropriate FFS approvals to be applied.
3. OFM will apply the proper approvals and will notify RDE site by e-mail upon completion within 24 hours of request.
3. Original cover memo, certified invoice and OFM e-mail approval notification are retained in the RDE site's contract files.
4. RDE site is responsible for updating the Payment Log Sheet with FFS payment document number, invoice number, invoice date, invoice amount, date invoice received and date payment was processed in FFS (see Attachment 2).
5. A copy of the log sheet is sent to the CO on a quarterly basis for auditing.
2. Changes in Location of Invoice Submission
   The Standard Form cover sheet on all contracts gives contractors explicit directions concerning contract administration, including where to "submit" or "mail" invoices for payment. Because this direction is a part of the terms of the contract or purchase order, changes in the location of submission of invoices can only be made by a contracting officer by means of an administrative modification against the contract. Whenever a change occurs, the awarding or administrative contracting officer should be contacted and requested to issue a modification. Do not contact the contractor and attempt to change payment office information yourself.
3. Contracts Involving Multiple Divisions
   In such instances, all Divisions involved in the contract must agree to designate one RDE office as the one that will process the payments and maintain the log sheets and the contract payment file. For occasions where the Divisions feel that the contract payment and maintenance will be too complicated, the Office of Financial Management (OFM) will be available to process these transactions. The Divisions will be responsible for providing OFM with a copy of the contract and forwarding all invoices.
4. Deobligation of Contract Obligation Balances
   Each RDE payment site must be aware of the contract's period of performance and at which point obligated amounts can be deobligated. Deobligations can be performed by submitting a requisition (DI-1 form) to the appropriate ACO requesting the funds be deobligated. The ACO will approve the request and forward the approved requisition to Procurement for processing via the IDEAS-FFS Interface.
5. Contract Processing to be Performed by Office of Financial Management
   The Office of Financial Management (OFM) will be available for use by the RDE sites to process payments relating to contract invoices when needed. If a RDE site is unable to process a contract invoice or a series of invoices and perform the maintenance of those invoices, OFM can be used as a backup processing site. An RDE Transmittal Form (see Attachment 3) is to be filled out by the RDE site. This form will provide explicit processing instructions for OFM. The RDE site will attach the transmittal form to the contract information and forward the package to OFM at the following address:
   U.S. Geological Survey
   Office of Financial Management
   274 National Center
   Reston, Virginia 20192

Each RDE payment site needs to maintain the original invoice and receiving/certification information for a period of 75 months.

For Further Information

If you have any questions about RDE payments of contracts, please contact: Brenda Fulk, Chief, Accounts Payables at 703-648-7654 (bfulk@usgs.gov).

For questions concerning Remote Date Entry , please contact the FFS Hotline at 703-648-7600 (ffs hotline@usgs.gov).

This IM is effective upon date of issuance.

This IM will remain in effect until superseded or canceled.

/s/ John J. Blickley, Acting Chief
Office of Financial Management

Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Cover Memo (PDF)

Attachment 2 - Payment Log Sheet (PDF)

Attachment 3 - OFM Document Transmittal (PDF)

Attachment 4 - Stamp Samples (PDF)