Create a payment application

The payment application process

Payment applications in Cost have a built-in process that controls the submission, review, and approval of the payment application. When a contract is shared, the downstream can submit a payment application but the upstream controls the assessment and approvals.

Payment applications go through several steps from creation, submission, assessment, and approval. In some cases payment applications can be created and approved in one step.

On shared contracts, payment applications can be created by either the downstream or the upstream organization. 

New payment applications and the assessment are created as drafts which remain private until the status is changed. Draft payment applications can be deleted on shared contracts, however once they progress to submitted or approved they cannot be deleted. Only the status can be changed.

There are opportunities for the downstream organization to retract a submitted payment application, or for the upstream to send it back by requesting a resubmission. The upstream organization can retract an approved payment application for editing, or send it back for resubmission. 

On non-shared contracts, your organization can create, edit, update the status, and delete payment applications.
 

Update a draft

When payment applications are created, they take a snapshot of the contract pay items. These typically don’t update even if a contract change is approved, or another payment application is added.

Payment applications are sequential in Cost, with the values from prior payment applications being reflected in the current one. The sequence no. is displayed on the payment application grid.

Before being submitted, draft payment applications can be updated with the latest contract values. Also, the latest payment application in the 'assess' stage can be updated.

Follow these steps if you have created a payment application and need to update the contract values.

1. Open the payment application.
2. Click the Actions menu in the top right corner.
3. Click Update Draft.
4. Click Update.
    

Create and submit a payment application

Payment applications can be created for contracts that are in the proceed, approved, and defects & liability status. 

Payment applications automatically show the contract pay items that existed when the payment application was created. If you add contract pay items after creating the payment application, they will not automatically appear. You may be able to use the update draft process to bring in new or updated pay items.

1. Start by selecting the Upstream or Downstream tab on the payment applications grid as appropriate.
2. Click the + icon on the toolbar.
3. Select a contract.
4. Enter an application no. and name, along with any other optional fields.
5. Click Add Payment Application.
6. Ensure the correct retention method has been set. If this is incorrect you will need to delete the payment application, change the contract retention method and create a new payment application.
7. Enter any data in the top part of the screen such as application date, pay period, and reporting period.
8. In the lower grid, work through each item and enter a requested amount or requested percent complete.
9. If retention is set to manual, enter the retention amount in the retention field.
10. Add any attachments, configured field, and tag values. On shared contracts, you can specify which attachments will be shared when the draft is submitted. Configured fields and tags are always private.
11. Make sure the requested amount, retention, and values are all correct.
12. When finished, click Submit. If you are the upstream or the contract is not shared, you can immediately approve the payment application. 
13. The payment application is now submitted and will be shared with the upstream organization if the contract is shared. You may be able to retract the submission if you need to make corrections.

Approve a payment application

As the upstream, when you receive a submitted payment application you can assess the requested amounts and either accept the application as-is, or enter a different amount and justification for each item.

On contracts that are not shared, you can still go through this process after creating and submitting the payment application, or you can create and immediately approve the payment application following the steps in the previous section.

1. Start by selecting the Upstream or Downstream tab on the payment applications grid as appropriate.
2. Find the payment application on the register and click the link in the application no or name column. Note: if you have already created a draft, you will see an icon in the draft column. You should click the draft icon to go directly to your draft version.
3. If you need to assess the payment application at a different value to the request, click Edit in the top right corner to create a draft. You can immediately approve the application if you agree with all the requested amounts.
4. When editing the assessment, many of the fields on the top screen are read-only, based on the submitted payment application, however some internal fields are editable.
5. In the lower grid, work through each item and enter an Accepted Amount or Accepted Percent Complete. Note: some regions require a justification for each item where the accepted amount differs from the request. This can be entered in the explanation column.
6. If retention is set to manual, enter the retention amount in the retention field.
7. Add any attachments, configured field, and tag values. On shared contracts, you can specify which attachments will be shared when the draft is submitted. Configured fields and tags are always private.
8. Make sure the accepted amount, retention and values are all correct.
9. When finished, click Approve.
10. The payment application is now approved and will be shared with the downstream organization if the contract is shared. You may be able to retract the approval if you need to make corrections.

Request a revision

The upstream organization can use the request revision action if a payment application needs to be updated after it was submitted, This typically occurs when there is a data entry error or mistake in the requested amounts or documentation and attachments are missing. The upstream organization can add an explanation as a summary or per item to explain what the downstream organization needs to amend.

Note: Only the upstream organization on a shared contract can use the request revision action. Downstream organizations can retract submitted payment applications on shared contracts to make amendments before it is approved.

1. Open the submitted payment application detailed view.
2. Click the Actions menu.
3. Click Request Revision.
4. Choose to submit the request directly to the downstream organization or add explanations for each payment application item.
5. (Optional) Click Add Explanations. A draft will be created for the payment application. Accepted amounts will become zero and the explanation column will be editable. 
6. Click Request Revision to send the payment application to the downstream organization in Revision Requested status.
7. The downstream organization will be notified of the updated status and can make the amendments and resubmit following their usual process.

Link and share attachments

Mail and documents along with photos and other files can all be attached to payment applications. They can also be kept private to your own organization or can be shared and visible to other organizations. 

Add an attachment:

1. Navigate to the payment applications grid.
2. Select a payment application and enter the detailed view.
3. Select the Attachments tab.
4. Click the + icon on the toolbar and select Mail, Document, or File as appropriate.
5. If you are attaching a file, drag the file into the dialog, or use the browse option. You can change the name after attaching the file if required.
6. When working with shared contracts, choose Shared to automatically display attachments to the other organization when the change is submitted or approved. Alternatively choose Private to restrict the visibility to your organization only. You can share private attachments later. Note for these options, the payment application must be in draft form.
7. Click Attach File.

Share a private attachment:

1. Navigate to payment applications grid and open detailed view by clicking the application number.
2. The payment application must be in draft to share the attachments, so you may need to retract approval of a application.
3. Once you are editing the draft, navigate to the Attachments tab.
4. Select the checkbox on the left column to select attachments to share.
5. Click Share from the toolbar.
6. Confirm you want to share the selected files by clicking Share in the dialog.