Executive Office of the President, Office of Administration, Procurement Branch, 725 17th Street, NW, Room 5001, Washington, DC 20503

70 -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON ACCOUNTING/TRAVEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Due 121196. POC Contracting Officer, Lynnae C. Roscoe, 202-395-3314. The White House Travel Office (WHTO) provides full travel and convention services support for the National Press Corps and staff that accompany the President on domestic and international trips. WHTO acts as a non-profit broker for the Press Corps, who are billed a dollar-for-dollar pro-rata share of the expenses incurred on any given trip. WHTO does not have a capital account through which to pay or pre-pay for services and can only remit payment to vendors after receipting monies from the Press who traveled for that given trip. WHTO is conducting market research to develop requirements for a new Management Information System and related transaction processing services that will integrate its travel reservation tracking, accounting, and information dissemination systems. This document illustrates WHTO's current environment and general performance requirements. WHTO would like to reengineer its processes to increase the focus on customer service by reducing WHTO staff time processing transactions. WHTO is open to the concepts of capturing transactions electronically wherever possible and outsourcing transaction processing whenever appropriate. Please utilize the information below in responding with information and suggestions. At a minimum, we expect information on accounting packages, as described in Option 1. For purposes of economy and lower-cost maintenance, WHTO also expects that information and suggestions will utilize off-the-shelf or minimally customized software and vendor provided services. Vendors should provide information on a full range of products and associated services, including software packages, service, training, data conversion, installation and implementation support. We also request pricing, and encourage vendors to provide GSA schedule pricing for goods and services. Please make submissions by no later than December 11, 1996 to: The White House Travel Office, ATTN: Accounting System, Room 87, Old Executive Office Building Washington DC 20502. Faxes to (202) 456-6670 should be followed by a hardcopy. Background: WHTO has press revenues and expenses of approximately $15 million per year, and does not have the capacity to write off losses. Revenues are determined to exactly match expenses per trip by prorating costs per traveler per requested service. To accomplish this, billing occurs only when the full extent of trip obligations is known, usually 1 or 2 weeks after the event. WHTO must also invoice, track and remit upon collection Federal Excise Tax on chartered flights. WHTO arranges approximately 100 trips per year (150 cities) involving between 50 and 200 different travelers on each trip. Usually, there is only a 2 to 5 day period before each trip for reservations and cost planning. Services provided include: airplane charters and charter legs, phone installation and services, buses, work space, hotel reservations, meals, and car rentals. Because of the differing nature of Press and non-Press travel, different rates may be charged to different individuals for the same service. Travelers often join and depart on different legs of a trip with little notice. System Requirements: WHTO system will operate on a Microsoft NT and Novel 4.0 client-server environment with a maximum of 10 to 15 simultaneous users. The system must provide for management controls consistent with the type and volume of business. The system must provide access to financial and management information in real-time and electronically transfer information between the different parts of the system. (1) Accounting System--At a minimum, the accounting system must contain modules for a general ledger, accounts payable, and accounts receivable. The accounting system must comply with generally accepted accounting principles and produce auditable annual financial statements. The system must be capable of meeting diverse reporting needs including custom reports, graphs and charts. To avoid manual reentry at the point of data conversion, it would be helpful if the system could import data from DACEasy, the system currently in use in WHTO. The system also must perform the following functions: (a) Billing and Collections--Each year, WHTO generates approximately 10,000 receivable invoices, processes 10,000 checks, and makes about 250 deposits. About 2,000 accounts receivable open item statements are processed each year. The system must age accounts, maintain account payment histories and generate follow-up letters. While WHTO needs to generate invoices on-site (or on an exception basis - if services to be provided off-site), automating collections by accepting credit cards and processing invoices elsewhere (e.g., through a service bureau) could substantially streamline WHTO billing activity. (b) Payments--Each year, WHTO generates approximately 1,000 payables. While WHTO needs to generate payables and make payments thereon, automating payables by using a commercial purchase card where possible, processing bills and making payments elsewhere could substantially streamline WHTO paying activity. Vendors should describe the costs and benefits of providing document imaging services. (2) Reservation Tracking and Cost Allocation System--At a minimum, the reservation tracking system must track information by trip code, traveler, organization, vendor, or request and must capture: seat reservation on a charter flight, hotel room, ground reservation (bus or rental car), ground services, and phone and work space requirements. (a) Manifesting--WHTO manifests Press and staff on each leg of the trip including flight segments, ground transportation, meals, phone and work spaces. Initial trip manifests are generated by the reservation system prior to the trip and final manifests are reconciled against the reservation system afterwards. Because of the diverse nature and location of events, a flexible solution is needed. (b) Expense Planning--WHTO must track estimated expenses and automatically convert expenses into payables once services are complete. Preferably, expense planning would be performed in a module of the accounting system. (c) Cost allocation--WHTO must accept expense information electronically, prorate expenses per individual reservation (allocate costs), and generate detailed invoices based on the cost allocation. (d) System Security--The system must provide for data and information security. Implementation Options: WHTO is interested in vendors' judgment on the relative merits of the following approaches: (1) Turnkey--In-House: Turnkey Accounting System Operated by WHTO--Vendor supplies a commercial or minimally customized off-the-shelf accounting system to be operated by WHTO personnel. This system would be open to data importation from Lotus 123, Lotus Approach or other database systems. The system will be handed over to WHTO after provision of implementation services and technical support, a projected duration of 90- days. (2) Turnkey--In-House Integrated: Turnkey Integrated Accounting and Reservation Tracking Systems Operated by WHTO--Vendor supplies a commercial or minimally customized integrated accounting and reservation tracking system to be operated by WHTO personnel. The system will be handed over to WHTO after provision of implementation services and technical support, a projected duration of 90-days. (3) Standard Commerical--In-House Processing: Standard Commercial Travel Management with High WHTO Participation--Vendor supplies WHTO with purchase card services and credit card acquiring services that integrate with a vendor-provided, WHTO operated accounting and reservation tracking systems. For example, travelers could register billing information once prior to traveling and WHTO would imprint and bill their credit card for services at the completion of each trip. (4) Standard Commercial--Outsourced Processing: Standard Commercial Travel Management with Low WHTO Participation--Vendor supplies the WHTO with purchase card services and credit card acquiring services as well as invoice management and other payment services. These services will integrate with a vendor-provided, WHTO operated accounting and reservation tracking systems. For example, WHTO might access the vendor system to provide final approved traveller manifest and total pro-rata costs. (5) Full Reengineering: Enhanced Technology Travel Management--Vendor supplies WHTO with off-site enhanced technology travel management services in addition to the standard commercial travel products and services described in Options 3 and 4 (accounting and reservation tracking). For example, the vendor may enable WHTO to issue an automated smart card Press credential which would interface with WHTO card reader for manifesting. The vendor could allow the Press to make their own reservations using a secure Internet (web) site. Alternatively, the vendor could perform the cost allocation based on an algorithm and transmit the results to WHTO for acceptance. Creative suggestions are encouraged. (326)

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