Payment Information
All Office of Naval Research (ONR) recipients should be thoroughly familiar with the payment terms outlined in terms and provisions of their ONR award. The standard terms for all categories of ONR assistance awards are available on the ONR website. Unlike many civilian agencies, billing requests must be submitted on an award-by-award basis. The authorized means for submitting grant or agreement payment requests is the Standard Form 270, or its electronic equivalent in EDI/EFT.
Recipients may bill on an advance basis or a reimbursable basis. Whether you bill on an advance basis or a reimbursable basis, processing and payment time is greatly shortened by participation in the ONR EDI/EFT program.
ONR terms do not provide specific guidance on how frequently a recipient may bill. The Department of Defense (DoD) implementation of OMB Circular A-110 (DODGARS) states in Section 32.22(c)(3) that "Recipients shall be authorized to submit requests for advances and reimbursements at least monthly when electronic fund transfers are not used." It does not address frequency if EFT is being used.
Research programs are carefully reviewed by ONR, by DoD and by others to monitor satisfactory program performance. One measurement that is always assessed is current information on billings and payments for expenditures recorded. Programs that do not reflect expenditures commensurate with expectations are subject to reduction of future funding levels or termination.
To gain a better understanding of the payment workflow, download a payment office flowchart. If you have any questions, or need additional information about the information provided and/or other aspects of the billing and payment process, contact your contract representative.
Frequency of Requests for Payment Under ONR Assistance Awards
As a grant recipient, you can help ensure the success of your program by following these general guidelines:
- Assure that allowable, allocable expenditures are promptly recorded in your financial management system
- Have an internal system in place that identifies programs which are not recording an anticipated level of expenditures, and provide early notification to the agency of significant issues
- Make sure that billings are done on the correct form (ideally utilizing the EDI/EFT program), and that they are complete and accurate and sent to the right place
- For reimbursable billings, assure that the billing process takes place in a timely fashion after the recording of costs
- For advance billings, bill fully for the amount needed for outlays through the next anticipated payment date
- Bill not less frequently than monthly
- Follow up with your ONR field office representative if you do not receive payment on a billing within a reasonable timeframe
Check Payment Status
Vendor Pay is an interactive system providing information on invoices submitted against awards with the DoD and paid by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). By entering the award number, the customer will view a list of invoices currently received by DFAS with the status of each invoice. Check numbers or electronic funds transfer trace numbers may also be entered and the customer will view a list of invoices that are included in the payment with explanations of elements that make up the payment.
If additional assistance is needed for a particular award or payment, please contact your cognizant administrative contracting officer.