Unless invoices will be sent to an accounting service center (ASC) for processing, they must be sent to an individual designated in the contract or order. The method of submission for invoices will depend on the particular contract. In addition, invoices submitted to anyone other than the designated individual specified in the contract or order are not considered to be properly submitted, and invoices that do not contain the relevant and necessary data (e.g., contract number, point of delivery, payment terms) are also not considered to be properly submitted. Invoices submitted before contract performance or order delivery violate the certification requirement established in Clause 4-1: General Terms and Conditions, Invoices (paragraph g) and Clause B-20: Invoices.
The Contracting Officer and purchase/SCM team must devise a process whereby invoices are reviewed, approved, and retained by the individual designated in the contract or order, or the ASC, and review, approval, and retention may be accomplished by electronic or non-electronic means. Regardless of the method used, all applicable records must be retained. If the individual reviewing and approving invoices is not a CO or a COR, the CO must ensure that the individual is fully apprised of his or her responsibilities in this area. The contracting officer is responsible for ensuring at contract close-out that all necessary records are retained and, if archived, can be accessed and retrieved.
Billing amounts should accurately reflect the contract or order amount. When the amount owed to the supplier is correct, the designated individual or ASC should certify the invoice, the accuracy of which is verified by reviewing the prices established for products and/or services in the contract or order. Proper invoices must be certified by the individual designated in the contract or order, or the ASC, within seven days of receipt. When considering the use of alternate payment terms and discounts, the contracting officer should coordinate with Accounting as necessary to ensure payments can be promptly processed to take advantage of proposed discount terms.
When the amount on the invoice does not accurately reflect the contract or order amount, or an otherwise improper invoice is received, the individual designated in the contract or order, or the ASC, must: (1) verify, (2) reject, and (3) give notice to the supplier within seven days of receipt. Notification must specify the reason(s) why the invoice is not proper and may be made by phone, memorandum or letter, and/or return of the invoice with appropriate annotation. Notification is deemed to be made as of the date of the phone call or the date of mailing. When the ASC or the individual designated in the contract or order (if that individual is not the contracting officer) rejects an invoice, the contracting officer must be copied on the notification sent to the supplier.
Failure to notify a supplier within seven days reduces the number of days for making payment by the number of days that the seven day limit was exceeded, on a day-for-day basis, when a proper invoice is received.
Problems with invoices arise when the amounts charged are different from the amounts documented in the contract or order. In such cases, the supplier resolves these problems by submitting a corrected invoice or a credit memo to be applied to the original invoice. A credit memo is the document issued by the supplier to record an adjustment against, and applied to, an invoice.
The activities associated with making payments on a certified invoice are discussed in 5-12, Make Payment.
