Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Contract Closeout application

1. I receive email notices for our various Location codes. What do they mean? Does the contract email filter into the worksheets? Who else receives these emails - ACOs within the location code?

Answer:

• Auto Closeout Initiation: notice that a contract will be systematically closed out which is sent to the issuing office location code organization email address if available, and if not, the email is sent to the PFL Government Administrator for the issuing office.
• Contract Closeout Worksheet Initiation: notice that a contract closeout worksheet has been generated which is sent to the administrative office location code. In the case of contract closeout reassignment, these emails are also sent to any additional email addresses that are added by the user performing the reassignment. (Note: reminder emails are sent as well.)
• Contract Closeout Worksheet Needing Release: notice that a contract closeout worksheet needs to be released to responsible parties for action which is sent to the administrative office location code organization email address if available. If this email address is not available, the email is sent to the PIEE Government Administrator for the administrative office.
• Contract Closeout Worksheet Completion: notice that a contract closeout worksheet is ready to be completed and signed which is sent to the administrative office location code organization email address.
• Action to be taken by responsible parties: notice to parties responsible for taking action prior to contract closeout which is sent to the email addresses of the responsible party organizations, as well as additional email addresses that are added by the user assigning the action. (Note: reminder emails can be sent as well by clicking the 'Send Reminder' link on the Contract Closeout worksheet.)
• Contract Closeout Completion: notice that the contract has been closed and a 567C has been generated which is sent to the initiator CAGE code organization email address and to the administrative office location code organization email address if available. If these addresses are not available, the email is sent to the PFL Government Administrator for the administrative office.
• The subjects of these emails are formatted such that email filters should work for them as they do in WAWF.

2. Is there a difference between a worksheet the system creates and an individual worksheet?

Answer: There is no difference on the worksheet itself between one that is system-created and one that is user-created.

Are the worksheets shared/viewed across the location code among same users?

Answer: The worksheets are workable/viewable by users with roles signed up for Contract Closeout with location codes that are on the Contract Closeout worksheet as the administrative office and/or purchasing office, as well as by the PIEE Super Administrator or PIEE Administrator (view only).

Roles and their respective Contract Closeout access in production today are as follows:

• EDA User with Special Role "Upload/Inactive Contracts" – For current 'hold' functionality in production today
• Contracting Officer – To view, hold, create, update, release and close a manual Contract Closeout worksheet
• Contracting Specialist - To view, hold, create, update and release (if authorized) a manual Contract Closeout worksheet
• PIEE Administrator – View only
• CCO View Only role – View only

3. I receive the email for "contract ready to close". Who ideally should receive these - the ACO within the location code?

Answer: The system sends the 'Ready to Close' email to the organization email address for the Administrative Office location code that is on the worksheet. The parties who are responsible for administering the contract should receive these.

Is the assignment of an ACO to a contract close related to any workflow email?

Answer: Please see answer to #1.

4. I receive the email for "automatic closeout". What action should be taken? Please provide examples.

As POC for Contract Closeout, should these emails be forwarded to the appropriate location code ACO?

If the auto close should not be closed due to a pending issue, what are the steps the CS or ACO need to take? This should be an alert of some sort that not all auto close contracts are ready to be closed.

Answer:

• The emails for Automated Contract Closeout are being sent to the PCO at this time (based upon the Issue By location code on the contract). The actions to be taken are mostly dependent upon your internal business processes for closing a contract. At the minimum, these should be to review the contract and ensure that there are no factors requiring PCO/ACO intervention in that closure.
• Whether the email is forwarded to the ACO depends upon whether the contract has been delegated for Administrative oversight. It is presumable that there should be some coordination between the PCO/ACO staff to ensure that there are no factors prohibiting permitting the contract to be automatically closed within the current Automated Contract Closeout timeframe (current 120 days).
• If there are factors prohibiting that closure, someone from the PCO staff with appropriate suite access should access the Contract Closeout module and place the contract "on hold." This hold status will prevent the contract from closing until the flag is removed.

5. If the contract qualifies for auto close, can Contracting Officer/Specialist find the contract in the Contract Closeout Module and close it manually?

Answer: No, the contract cannot be closed manually. However, the contract can be placed on hold via the Contract Closeout Module so that it will not be auto closed. Once the Contracting Officer/Specialist removes an existing Hold, the contract will then be auto closed.

6. In the Contract Closeout Module, there are different worksheet statuses. Can you tell me what each status means?

Answer:

• Initiated status: Document is initiated by the utility
• Saved status: User began working but saved while in work, not ready for Service/Agency Review
• Awaiting Release status: Document requires Contracting Officer review following Contracting Specialist initiation
• In Progress status: Document is submitted for Service/Agency Review
• Ready to Close status: Document is ready for Contracting Officer Closing Review and signature
• Complete status: Signed by Contracting Officer and flagged for EDI 567C release
• 567C Sent status: EDI 567C has been forwarded to EDA
• 567C Failed status: EDI 567C extract was not successful

7. Why was Automated Contract Closeout brought into the PIEE?

Answer: Automated Contract Closeout was brought into the PIEE because the DOD had limited capabilities to do automated contract close out (ACCO).

It was also noted that many contract writing systems do not share close out transactions, like the 567 or 1594, amongst other interfaces that are involved in the CCO process. This implementation allows electronic solution and manual solution to close contracts.

8. What data does Automated Contract Closeout (ACCO) use to perform ACCO in the PIEE suite?

Answer: The automated solution integrated into the PIEE suite leverages off data from the WAWF (Invoice Receipt Acceptance Property Transfer), EDA (Electronic Data Access) and myInvoice Applications. Also, it is based on the authority of FAR 4.804-5(a) and DFARS 204.804-3.

9. What criteria must be met for Automated Contract Closeout to work successfully?

Answer:

• All shipments for a contract must be in a “processed" status or "extracted” status in WAWF.
• A final invoice for the contract resides in WAWF and is in a “Paid” status.
• The Admin office is not DCMA.
• The contract stored in the EDA application is in PDS (Procurement Data Standard) format.
• Must be Firm Fixed Price and must not exceed 500,000.
• For a manually closed contract, the contract value is unlimited.

10. For contracts that meet Automated Contract Closeout (ACCO), how long will the contract remain open before closing?

Answer: If a contract meets ACCO eligibility, the contract will then be placed on a virtual list. It will remain on this list for 60 days, during which the Contracting Officer can access the Contract Closeout module on “hold”. Once placed on “hold”, the contract will not close via the ACCO process.

11. What happens if the Contracting Officer does not place a contract on hold?

Answer: If the Contracting Officer is not mindful of actions taking place in the PIEE, then at the end of the 60 day period, an email will be sent to the Organizational email address for the Cage/Company awarded the contract.

12. How does Manual Contract Closeout work if my contracts do not meet Automated Contract Closeout (ACCO) eligibility?

Answer: Based on much of the same criteria ACCO uses, the CCO worksheet will be auto generated by the CCO utility or created manually by the Contracting Officer. In either case the CCO worksheet will be populated with clauses and data from WAWF and EDA.

13. Once the system generates a worksheet or a Contracting Officer/Contracting Specialist creates it, what will happen next?

Answer: Following review by the Contracting Officer, the worksheet will be sent to the next responsible party in the workflow to perform their part of the close out actions. Once all action items on the worksheet are accounted for, the completed worksheet will be signed by the Contracting Officer releasing a 567C transaction to the EDA application closing the contract.

14. Can attachments be added to Contract Closeout worksheets when being worked through the review process?

Answer: Yes. There is a 5MB limitation per attachment, but users can attach an unlimited number of attachments.

15. What roles are available to my organization for Contract Closeout to view, work, or review contract close out worksheets?

Answer: Contracting Officer, Contacting Specialist and View only. It is also recommended to have roles within the Contract Deficiency Report (CDR) module. These roles include Initiator, ACO Assignee, PCO Assignee, Reviewer, and CDR POC. This allows Contracting Officer to open deficiency reports against the contract when warranted.

16. Do reminder emails go to contracting Officers who have an action to take on a closeout worksheet?

Answer: Yes. Since the clock starts at 60 days, if 30 days pass during which no activity to close out action items has occurred, a reminder will be sent to the Organization email set up in the application for the Location code that needs to take action.

17. How long does a Contract Closeout worksheet stay in the active database before being moved to the archive?

Answer: 30 days after the worksheet has been completed, it will be moved to the archive. Users of the Contract Closeout module can still see older worksheets by toggling to the archive from their search screen.