Administration Fee Questions and Answers
What is the Statewide Contract Administration Fee?
In accordance with their contractual agreement with the Commonwealth, Statewide Contract Vendors are required to pay a quarterly Administration Fee equal to 1% of total dollar amount, adjusted for credits or refunds, paid by Eligible Entities purchasing from the associated Statewide Contract.
Who has to pay the Administration Fee?
All Statewide Contract vendors are subject to the administration fee.
When are Administration Fee reports due?
Administration Fee payments are due within 45 days of the end of each reporting quarter.
| Reporting Period | Due Date |
|---|---|
| January 1 - March 31 | May 15 |
| April 1 - June 30 | August 15 |
| July 1 - September 30 | November 15 |
| October 1 - December 31 | February 15 |
Quarterly Statewide Contract reporting is based on a fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30.
How are Administration Fee payments submitted?
Vendors use the Vendor Report Management (VRM) system to submit their quarterly sales reports, as well as Administration Fee payments. Vendors may designate business contacts in the VRM portal to receive due date notifications.
The Invoicing Contact and the Primary Sales and SDP Reporting Contact – will receive Administration Fee notices from the VRM system notifying them that the invoice is available for payment. Vendors must ensure their VRM business contacts are accurate in the VRM portal.
Contractors who fail to meet the Administration Fee due dates will be considered to be in breach of contract.
How do staff who submit my Administration Fee payments get access to the VRM portal?
Statewide Contract Vendors may add Users and classify them as Invoicing Contacts in the VRM system by following these instructions. Businesses may designate two Users as Invoicing Contacts so they receive Administration Fee notifications from the VRM system.
What is the process to submit Administration Fee payments?
Once vendors submit their quarterly Sales Report through the VRM and the report is accepted by OSD, vendors receive an email from the VRM system advising that their Administration Fee invoice is available for payment. The invoice is calculated based on 1% of reported sales.
Vendors log into the VRM system to submit their Administration Fee payment. Vendors may submit payments by Automated Clearing House (ACH) debit or by credit or debit card (a convenience fee will be assessed for credit and debit card payments). Please note that OSD cannot provide its own ACH banking details.
My Administration Fee staff are not familiar with the VRM system. How will they get trained?
OSD has prepared a pre-recorded video on the Administration Fee submission process. Vendors are asked to watch this short tutorial for an overview of the VRM portal and the process to submit Administration Fees through the VRM system. OSD also offers several job aids on the Administration Fee payment process. Vendors who have questions may contact the OSD Help Desk at 888-MA-State (627-8283).
How are Administration Fee Invoices calculated?
Invoices are calculated based on 1% of total sales reported by vendors for the quarter. Invoice amounts are rounded to the nearest cent.
What should I do if my Administration Fee invoice is incorrect?
Adjustment and deferral requests may be submitted through the VRM system. Vendors must provide the Deferral or Adjustment amount requested, a detailed explanation, and supporting documentation. Requests are reviewed by OSD, and vendors receive notifications through the VRM system regarding next steps.
Deferral Example: A vendor is awaiting payment from the buyer for a large-dollar sale. The Administration Fee on this outstanding payment may be deferred to the next quarter when payment is received from the buyer. Note: Deferments approved by OSD are due the following reporting quarter.
Adjustment Example: A Prompt Pay Discount (PPD) reduces the buyer’s payment, thereby lowering total sales paid to the vendor. The vendor may request an adjustment for the PPD amount.
Note: If vendors require both a Deferral and an Adjustment within a reporting quarter, vendors should file a Deferral request first, then, once approved, vendors may request an Adjustment based on the new invoice created.
What is the Administration Fee process if I have no sales for a particular quarter?
If a Statewide Contract Vendor has no sales for a reporting quarter, they will submit a $0 Sales Report through the VRM portal. Once that report is accepted by OSD, the system will generate a $0.00 invoice, and the vendor has no additional quarterly reporting requirements unless they have outstanding reports or Administration Fees from a prior reporting quarter.
Is my information secure?
Yes. The Commonwealth is committed to protecting your personal data. The Commonwealth’s electronic payment application is hosted by a third-party website. The website is continually monitored for intrusion. Information regarding the transaction is stored in a secure environment behind multiple firewalls and through a dedicated circuit. The consumer’s bank account number is encrypted when stored using AES 256-bit encryption. nCourt also utilizes a secure transmission protocol (VeriSign’s Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)) with 128 byte encryption. SSL is a commonly used protocol for managing the security of an interactive web session on the internet. If the web page has an address that begins with https:// rather than http://, then the page is protected by SSL.
What if my contract starts or expires in the middle of a quarter?
Quarterly payments will include any periods less than a full calendar quarter if a contract does not start on the first day of a quarter or end on the last day of a quarter.