Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF DECEMBER 11, 2004 FBO #1111
SOLICITATION NOTICE

99 -- Third Party Draft Payment System

Notice Date

12/9/2004
 

Notice Type

Solicitation Notice
 

Contracting Office

WASO-APC Administrative Program Center Washington 1201 Eye Street NW, 12th Floor Washington DC 20005
 

ZIP Code

20005
 

Solicitation Number

Q262605005A
 

Response Due

12/24/2004
 

Archive Date

12/9/2005
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERICIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN SUBPART 12.6, AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; REFERENCES ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION NUMBER IS Q262605005A AND IS BEING ISSUED UNDER FAR PART 13 AS A REQUEST FOR QUOTES. THIS SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED AS A FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. THE NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) FOR THIS PROCUREMENT IS 522110. AWARD WILL BE A FIRM FIXED PRICE CONTRACT FOR A BASE YEAR WITH 4 OPTION PERIODS. THE BID SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS: BASE YEAR, 12 MONTHS, ESTIMATED CLEARED DRAFTS: 100,000, UNIT PRICE/PER DRAFT CHARGE, EXTENDED AMOUNT; OPTION YEAR 1, ESTIMATED CLEARED DRAFTS: 100,000, SAME LINE ITEM INFORMATION REQUIRED; OPTION YEAR 2, ESTIMATED CLEARED DRAFTS: 100,000, SAME LINE ITEM INFORMATION REQUIRED; OPTION YEAR 3, ESTIMATED CLEARED DRAFTS: 100,000, SAME LINE ITEM INFORMATION REQUIRED; OPTION YEAR 4, ESTIMATED CLEARED DRAFTS: 100,000, SAME LINE ITEM INFORMATION REQUIRED. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE ALL LABOR, MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, AND FACILITIES FOR THE REQUIRED SERVICES IN THE ATTACHED STATEMENT OF WORK. THE FOLLOWING FAR PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES ARE APPLICABLE TO THIS ACQUISITION: FAR 52.212-01, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS, FAR 52.212-2, EVALUATION - COMMERCIAL ITEMS?THE FOLLOWING FACTORS SHALL BE USED TO EVALUATE OFFERS: 1) TECHNICAL APPROACH TO STATEMENT OF WORK; 2) PAST PERFORMANCE; AND 3) PRICE. THE OFFEROR SHALL SUBMIT REFERENCES FROM THE PAST 3 YEARS FOR SIMILAR OR LIKE CONTRACTS WITH FEDERAL OR COMMERICIAL ENTITIES FOR PROJECTS SIMILAR IN COMPLEXITY AND DOLLAR VALUE INCLUDING CO NAME OR OTHER POC, TELEPHONE NUMBER, CONTRACT NUMBER, CONTRACT VALUE, PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE. THE OFFEROR SHALL DEMONSTRATE THEIR TECHNICAL CAPABILITY BY SUBMITTING ONE (1) ORIGINAL AND THREE (3) COPIES OF A PROPOSAL TO PERFORM THE REQUIRED SERVICES IN THE ATTACHED STATEMENT OF WORK THAT INCLUDES TRANSITION METHODS, QUALITY OF CUSTOMER SERVICE; AND SAMPLE DRAFT. THE OFFEROR SHALL SUBMIT ONE (1) ORIGINAL AND ONE (1) COPY OF A PRICE PROPOSAL; TECHNICAL APPROACH IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN IMPORTANCE THAN PAST PERFORMANCE; TECHNICAL APPROACH IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN IMPORTANCE THAN PRICE. FAR 52.212-3, OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS - COMMERICIAL ITEMS. OFFERORS SHALL PROVIDE A COMPLETED COPY WITH ITS SUBMISSION; FAR 52.212-4, CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS - COMMERICIAL ITEMS; FAR 52-212-5, CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS - COMMERICIAL ITEMS, FAR 52.232-18, AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS, FAR 52.217-9, OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT, FAR 52.232-33 PAYMENT BY ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER - CENTRAL CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION. PROPOSALS AND ALL REQUIRED SUBMITTALS ARE DUE BY 4:00 PM EST, DECEMBER 24, 2004. IF HANDCARRIED OR FED-EX TO NPS, ATTN: DAVIS T. SMITH, Q262605005A, 1201 EYE STREET, NW, 12TH FLOOR, WASHINGTON, DC 20005, IF MAILED TO NPS, ATTN: DAVIS T. SMITH, Q262605005A, 1849 C STREET, NW, MAIL STOP 2623, WASHINGTON, DC 20240. CONTRACTORS MAY SUBMIT THEIR PROPOSALS ON COMPANY LETTERHEAD WITH A SIGNATURE OF AN AUTHORIZED COMPANY OFFICIAL. FAX QUOTES WILL BE ACCEPTED - FAX NUMBER IS 202-371-6437. QUESTIONS MAY BE FAXED OR E-MAILED TO DAVIS_SMITH@NPS.GOV. TELEPHONE QUESTIONS OR REQUESTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED OR ACKNOWLEDGED. Attached: Statement of Work: Third Party Draft System The Contractor shall furnish the necessary personnel, material, equipment, services and facilities (except as otherwise specified), to perform the Statement of Work and Specifications included herein: C.1 Definitions and Terms used in this SOW AOC (Accounting Operations Center): This is the central finance office of the National Park Service. Located in Herndon, Virginia. Check 21 Technology: New legislation that allows for the creation of a new negotiable instrument a "Substitute Check". This instrument can be used in the same way the original could be used in the check clearing process. Cleared Draft: A payment instrument becomes cleared on the day that it is honored by the Contractor. Payment-stopped and dishonored drafts are not tallied in the number of cleared drafts. COTR (Contracting Officer's Technical Representative): A Government employee designated by the agency to perform contract administrative activities on behalf of the Contracting Officer within the limits of delegated authority. In general, the COTR has the day-to-day responsibilities for ensuring that the contractor performs in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. Draft Site: Any National Park Service unit that has an authorized draft writer. The site may be located anywhere within the US and US territories. Draft Agent: Any person who is authorized by the NPS and the Contactor to issue and sign third party drafts that are to be cashed by employees or vendors. FFS (Federal Financial System): Mainframe computer based accounting system used by the National Park Service. The program was originally developed by American Management Systems (AMS) and is written in COBOL. It uses VSAM files to organize and store accounting data into tables. Each type of transaction; e.g., receivables, payables, fixed assets, etc has its own subsystem designed to handle that type of transaction. Fiscal Year: The fiscal year used by the National Park Service is from October 1 through September 30. HHS Payment Management System (PMS) SmartLink: A payment system serviced by the Department of Health and Human Services. Reimbursement of funds can be electronically transferred to the Contractor within one day. MICR ( Magnetic Ink Character Recognition): The machine-readable method that enables drafts to be processed through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) check processing system. The MICR characters are routing numbers and account numbers that are imprinted on the bottom of each draft. Payment Instrument: A financial instrument that resembles a check. The face amount is drawn against the Contractor's account and paid by the contractor. TPD (Third Party Draft): Refers to the payment instrument provided by the Contractor. TPD Site Manager: An individual authorized by the NPS at each draft site to administer and oversee the operation of the TPD system. This person accepts delivery of payment instruments and reports that are sent from the Contractor. Workdays: Monday through Friday exclusive of Federal holidays. C.2 Background The National Park Service (NPS) has used a third-party draft (TPD) system since 1994. This popular payment option is widely used throughout the NPS, which is comprised of 388 individual park units in every state except Delaware. Additional park units are located in District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The TPD system gives NPS administrative staff the convenience of writing a check for small purchases and payments under $2,500. The most common payments made using the TPD system are utility payments, miscellaneous transactions, and to vendors who do not accept credit cards. TPD System Description: The TPD system utilizes a payment instrument that resembles a paper multi-copy check. The drafts are imprinted with Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) linking them to the issuing office. As the draft is presented for payment, the face amount is cleared against an account maintained by the Contractor. Once the draft reaches the Contractor all information on the face of each draft is input by the Contractor. On a nightly basis, the Contractor presents the total of all cleared drafts for reimbursement through the PMS Smart Link System. PMS Smart Link is an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) system that is administered by Health and Human Services (HHS). The next business day the contractor sends an electronic data file to the NPS Accounting Operations Center (AOC). This data file contains the daily cleared and rejected draft information with the associated transaction information. At this time the previous day's activity is then uploaded into the Federal Financial System (FFS) the NPS accounting system. The Contractor is required to provide daily and monthly transaction reports to aid in reconciliation and management of the system. C.3 Scope of Work The NPS requires contracting services to implement and maintain a TPD payment system that allows the agency to make selected payments using payment instruments rather than cash. The system requires a controlled, third party draft or it's equivalent, using 'Check 21' electronic technology. The draft will be drawn on the Contractor's account and will be reimbursed on a daily basis as described in section C.8. The contractor must be able to service approximately 1,500 draft agents issuing about 100,000 drafts annually, with total payments estimated at 30 million dollars. The TPD system is used throughout the NPS as a regular payment system. Utilization of the system between Draft sites varies widely with heavy use in some locations and just a few drafts issued a year for other sites. Drafts must be negotiable in all fifty states and US territories. C.4 System Design The TPD system uses a third-party payment instrument or its equivalent using "Check 21" technology. Section J, Attachments 1 and 2 describes the two draft types. One format could be an 8 1/2 by 11 laser-jet printer compatible draft imprinted with MICR and at least two perforated distribution copies. The second type could be a multi-copy document, configured as an original draft with two copies; it will also be imprinted with MICR. Draft copy distribution is as follows: the original draft will go to the payee, one copy is included with the draft writer's files and one copy for the unit or units incurring the expense covered by the draft payment. The NPS has established procedures that require each draft site to designate both a TPD draft agent and a TPD site manager. The draft agent is authorized to issue and sign drafts; the site manager oversees operations, receives and controls all replacement drafts and receives the monthly reports. The Contractor is required to maintain a list and information on both of these types of individuals for each site. At the time of contract award, AOC will provide the Contractor with a list of authorized draft sites, site managers and draft agents. The Contractor will provide and store signature cards or a signature verification system for all draft agents. Any additions, deletions, and changes made to this list will be provided in writing to the Contractor by the park or office using the system. Site managers will be responsible for submitting signatures of newly authorized employees. Draft agents will issue these payment instruments in lieu of cash. Individual payment instruments shall be limited to $2,500. This maximum amount will be reviewed annually and may be changed during the course of the contract. Initially there will be no minimum dollar amount but one may be implemented. The payee must negotiate the draft within 60 days or it will be stale dated. The payment instruments will be processed through the ACH banking system or Check 21 system and presented to the Contractor for acceptance. The following system controls are required: " Signature verification " Dollar limit per draft $2,500. " Stop payment capability " Date verification, drafts go stale after 60 days, and postdated checks are not honored " Any alterations to the dollar amount indicating possible fraud C.5 Services to be Provided by the Contractor The Contractor will provide the following services and information deemed necessary to implement and operate the TPD system: Payment Instruments: Print and deliver numbered, pre-MICRed instruments with a sequence number that incorporates the draft site organization code (a 4 digit code used in FFS to ID the site where the draft originated). Initial delivery of drafts by the Contractor to the site manager will be within 45 calendar days after award of contract. Telephone, written, Fax, or e-mail requests for replacement drafts will come directly to the Contractor from the site manager. These subsequent deliveries shall be made to the site manager within 30 calendar days of the request. Liability: Assume liability against forged drafts, stop payment drafts, and against the required system controls described within this document. See section C.4. Draft Storage and Retrieval: Copies of cleared payment instruments will be stored at the Contractors' site in industry standard format either electronically, CD-ROM, or similar system. The Contractor will store copies of all drafts written during the fiscal year ending September 30th. The NPS must be able to request and obtain front and back copies of any cleared or rejected drafts for a period of 3 years after the close of the fiscal year. Retrieval of drafts using the Internet is encouraged. The Contractor will not charge any additional fees for this service. Signature Verification: Prepare and maintain an electronic list of authorized draft agents, sites and site managers. Maintain signature cards or other type of signature verification for authorized draft agents and site managers. Make timely additions and deletions to the list as requested by the park or office using the system. Validation & Reimbursement: Provide validation of all payment instruments each day as they clear and are presented to NPS for acceptance and payment. On a daily basis all drafts that clear are totaled and presented to the PMS Smart Link system for acceptance and reimbursement. Draft Data Capture: Input all keyed data from the face of each draft of up to 26 characters, plus additional keystrokes for control purposes, in 80 character length records. Or the contractor will provide a method for Third Party Draft information (i.e. document number, cost account information, budget object code, dollar amount etc) to be captured from the face of the draft and transmitted back to the NPS accounting system (FFS) in an electronic file. List of Authorized Draft Agents and Site Managers: Prepare and maintain a list of authorized draft agents and site managers, and make changes to this list as prescribed by Parks or offices using system. Electronic Data Transmission File: Prepare electronic data files for transmission by noon each workday. The transmission file needs to conform to NPS specifications. It should include all instruments that clear as well as all instruments that reject for any reason. In addition, the file should include any captured transaction data from the face of the Draft. Reports: Reports shall be made available in printed format or electronic format as specified by the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR). Printed reports shall be produced and mailed to the AOC and to the individual draft sites at no cost the Government. Reports that are on a monthly cycle are due 14 days after the end of the month. The minimum reports are: 1. A daily transaction summary report sheet that is faxed, e-mailed or made available over the internet each transaction day. This report will be used in the daily reconciliation process and will provide a check of Contractor reimbursement through HHS. This report needs to include: " Total number of drafts presented for payment. " Gross amount of all drafts presented for payment. " The number of drafts presented but not paid (returns). A daily report of dishonored drafts (returns) for each workday. This portion of the daily report will include: amount of each draft, draft number, document number, reject date and a copy of the front and back of each rejected draft. " The net reimbursement amount requested from HHS. " Any adjustments or corrections, with an explanation, that were credited or charged for the transaction day. 2. The Contractor must be able to produce a report of currently authorized draft agents, site managers and draft sites. This report will be made available to the AOC or individual site managers. This list must be updated as draft agents and site managers are added and deleted. 3. A monthly transaction statement, including rejects, will be generated for each draft site and made available to the site manager through e-mail or contractors' website. 4. A monthly transaction report, including rejects, will be generated for the entire TPD system. This report will be made available to AOC only in either a paper statement, e-mailed, downloadable file or by FTP. 5. The NPS reserves the right to revise any of these reports or create new reports throughout the life of the contract. Communication with the Contractor: Provide a way for TPD system users to directly contact the Contractor. Inquiries can be made through either a toll-free number that is staffed for at least 8 hours each workday, through FAX, e-mail or the Contractors' website. The following questions will need to be addressed: " Payment, error, and reconciliation problems. " Reporting lost or stolen payment instruments. " Requesting copies of drafts. " Stop payment requests. C.6 Deliverables Deliverables: " Numbered and MICR imprinted payment instruments, including either laser jet or multicopy type drafts as described in section C.5. " Samples of drafts prior to production or changes. " File format/layout of the daily activity file will be provided by the COTR. " Documentation describing the Contractor's system functions, operations and procedures. Five copies will be sent within 14 calendar days after award of contract. See address in section C.7. " Copies, front and back of requested Third Party Drafts. C.7 Pricing the Service Cost of the service and its maintenance will be assessed on the basis of the number of drafts processed, without extra price consideration for reports, draft-printing charges, changes to keying instructions or other requirements or deliverables in this statement of work. Payments to the Contractor for this service will be subject to provisions of the Prompt Payment Act of 1982. C.8 Reimbursable Practices NPS will reimburse the Contractor for payment instruments cleared on a daily basis by electronic transfer through the PMS Smart Pay System administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. In the event of a discrepancy between the payment instrument cleared data and the payment instrument issued data, the NPS will adjust a subsequent payment to the Contractor upon mutual agreement. In the event that PMS Smart Pay become unavailable and same day reimbursement does not take place, the float charges take affect. When the disbursement program is back on-line the float payment will be included with the reimbursement payments for the drafts that cleared on that date. Payments under the contract for cleared drafts are reimbursements for the use of the Contractor's funds and are governed by the specific terms of this contract. They are not subject to the 30-day holding period of the Prompt Payment Act of 1982. Per draft cleared charges shall be invoiced to the NPS on a monthly basis. These reimbursements are subject to the Prompt Payment Act of 1982. See government-wide numbered notes 22 and 26.
 

Web Link

Please click here to view more details.
(http://ideasec.nbc.gov/j2ee/announcementdetail.jsp?serverId=NP144302&objId=1676736)
 

Place of Performance

Address: Herndon, Virginia

Zip Code: 20005

Country: USA
 

Record

SN00719364-W 20041211/041209212053 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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