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| To: | Chief Fiscal Officers and MMARS Liaisons | |
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| From: | Martin J. Benison, Comptroller | |
| Date: | August 16, 2010 | |
| Re: | Prompt Payment Discount Statistics from FY2007 through FY2010 - 4th QTR | Comptroller Memo FY#2010-35 |
Executive Summary |
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The purpose of this memo is to update CFOs and MMARS Liaisons on the departments' utilization of the Commonwealth's Prompt Payment Discount (PPD) program in FY2010 and offer opportunities to expand use in FY2011. |
Discounts Taken* Discounts Not Taken*
| FY07 | FY08 | FY09 | FY10 |
| FY07 | FY08 | FY09 | FY10 |
1 st QTR | $546 | $689 | $1,025 | $1,242 |
| $462 | $496 | $449 | $567 |
2 nd QTR | $482 | $707 | $835 | $946 |
| $371 | $404 | $340 | $306 |
3 rd QTR | $557 | $876 | $821 | $1,049 |
| $326 | $468 | $328 | $267 |
4 th QTR | $709 | $1,100 | $1,418 | $1,418 |
| $363 | $456 | $528 | $379 |
Total | $2,294 | $3,372 | $4,099 | $4,655 |
| $1,522 | $1,824 | $1,645 | $1,519 |
* in Thousands
Over $15.8 million has been retained by departments for Prompt Payment Discounts realized since FY2006. As the success of this program grows so, too, could your department's line item spending power.
During the fourth quarter of FY2010, the Commonwealth continued to favorably increase its opportunities for discount savings . Vendors who have not offered discounts in the past should be approached again and asked to enroll in the PPD Program now. With a tight budget and tight credit market, PPD is a sensible way departments can use to save money and provide timely cash flow to their vendors.
Departments can save thousands of dollars by reviewing the Discounts Not Taken Report, and instructing Accounts Payable staff to process payments consistent with discount terms. Realizing the "Discounts Not Taken" would mean further savings to your appropriations. CTR continues to assist department CFOs by identifying additional contracts that could potentially offer prompt payment discounts. In addition to the listing of Active MAs that offer Prompt Payment Discounts that is available on the Contracts page of the CTR Web Portal, and in order to provide departments a quick and easy way to take advantage of more discounts, CTR posts a list%20of%20vendors%20that%20offer%20discounts on department contracts on our Payments page. This list, refreshed daily, is derived from department encumbrances in final status which offer prompt payment discounts in FY2010.
Successful discount implementation needs the full support and participation of each department's payment, contracting, and vendor management staff. Departments should verify that the discount terms entered on encumbrances are accurate in both the vendor and commodity sections. Departments processing invoices in a timely manner should assure that the discounts offered are taken automatically.
To analyze and report FY2010 and FY2011 activity the following attachments offer department specific and summary data.
Attachment A 
is a report (on selected object codes), sorted by department, for the fourth quarter of FY2010. This report shows discounts taken, partial discounts taken and discounts missed due to payments scheduled after the discount terms expired. Capturing future discounts is within each department's control.
Attachment B
is the statewide summary discount report (on selected object codes) through the 4 th Quarter of FY2010.
Attachment C
is a report that summarizes by department the FY2011 encumbrances on MMARS on selected object codes. The charts below summarize all departments.
FY2011 Encumbrances With and Without Discount | |||||
Dept | Total Dollars Encumbered Eligible for Discount | Dollars Encumbered with Discount | Dollars Encumbered without Discount | % of total dollars with Discount | % of total dollars without Discount |
All | $564,649,107.15 | $120,691,075.02 | $443,958,032.13 | 21.4% | 78.6% |
Dept | Count Total Encumbrances Eligible for Discount | Count Encumbered with Discount | Count Encumbered with no Discount | % of encumbrances with Discount | % of encumbrances without Discount |
All | 9,137 | 3,405 | 5,732 | 37.3% | 62.7% |
Attachment D
lists encumbrance transactions with "with discount" offered on one tab and those encumbrances in selected object codes offering "no discount" on the second tab. It is sorted by department, transaction, and object code; it includes the discount percentage, commodity line number, accounting line number, and line amount for FY11. Records can be filtered by department. Those encumbrances in the tab "no discount" should be reviewed with the vendor for the addition of prompt payment discount terms for FY2011. It is crucial that department CFOs and contract managers review these contracts and take the initiative to capture lost opportunities by encouraging the vendors to offer a mutually agreeable discount rate.
The Prompt Payment Discount Policy states that "Even if a Department has not included the Prompt Payment Discount Form as part of the RFR process, or for contracts when a procurement is not required, the Department is strongly encouraged to have a Contractor complete a Prompt Payment Discount Form during the contract execution, renewal or amendment process to ensure that Prompt Payment Discounts are available to departments to the maximum extent possible."
Through queries, CTR has identified eligible contracts with many vendors who offer discounts on other department contracts. This information is forwarded to department fiscal staff to assist them in requesting discounts directly from vendors. It is crucial that CFOs and Contract Managers review the discounts missed report and instruct relevant staff to ensure that payments are processed on a timely basis so that your department can receive the maximum discount offered under the contract.
To assist with department analysis, CTR has provided starter queries that departments can run in the Commonwealth Information Warehouse to identify payments made with discount terms offered. These Discount Starter Query instructions are available here
Please review your discount statistics and, if you have any questions, please contact Michael Weld Eyob at (617) 973-2310.