Contracts are closed and retained in different timeframes, depending on agency to agency. The average retention period is at least six years. The contract closeout process is complicated when contracts have been administered by separate ACO (administrative contract office) and PCO (procuring contract office) offices, since each office has a different set of modifications that must be reconciled. Complicating the process even more is the fact that contract closeout can occur prior to the funds being formally closed since fiscal close is an independent process.
Closed documents (and the documents associated with them) must be retained for a period of time, either on paper or electronically, before being destroyed by their specified retention date. The contract closeout process takes place before archiving.
There are 4 closeout statuses that an approved award or IDV may have during the closeout process:
Physically Complete: As indicated in FAR 4.804-4, a contract is considered to be physically completed when
Paragraph (a): Except as provided in Paragraph (b) of this section, a contract is considered to be physically complete when
The contractor has completed the required deliveries and the agency has inspected and accepted the supplies;
The contractor has performed all services and the agency has accepted these services; and
All option provisions, if any, have expired; or
The agency has given the contractor a notice of complete contract termination.
Paragraph (b): Rental, use and storage agreements are considered to be physically complete when -
The agency has given the contractor a notice of complete contract termination; or
The contract period has expired.
Administratively Complete: A contract will go through the administrative closeout process after it is considered physically complete. A contract is administratively complete once the contract administration office has gone through the closeout procedures as outlined in FAR 4.804-5 which includes completing the contract closeout checklist and contract completion statement.
In Closeout: Contracts in which contract administration personnel have initiated the closeout process, but the contract is not physically or administratively complete. The document status will be In Closeout when the Checklist tasks are completed and the Contract Completion Statement is pending to be signed by Administration Office.
Closed out: The contract closeout procedures have been completed for the contract and it is considered both physically and administratively complete. At which point, it is closed for further action and can only be accessed in a read-only state. If additional actions are required, it would need to first be reopened. The Reason field is enabled and is a required field only for the Closed out value.
The system will not initiate the closeout process for the following contract documents:
Award or IDVs that have a status of Draft
IDVs that have orders cannot be closed out, until all their orders have been closed out
Terminated awards or IDVs
Awards or IDVs that are already closed out.
Modifications and Orders referencing IDVs are not created if the status of the award or IDV is Administratively Complete, In Closeout or Closed Out. However, modifications can be created if the document is in Physically Complete status, provided there is a need for Checklist and Contract Completion Statement. Modifications are not available when there is no requirement for Checklist and Contract Completion Statement.
The Closeout process can be initiated for Contract document even if there are open modifications.
The Closeout Process
The following closeout scenarios outline the closeout process along with the closeout status changes in the contract document as it transitions in the closeout process.
Closeout Scenario 1:
When the closeout process is initiated for a contract document and the user does not need to add a checklist and a Contract Completion Statement:
The contract document is validated by the system for possible exceptions. If no exceptions are found by the system, then the status of the contract document will be updated to Closed Out.
The contract document is validated by the system for possible exceptions. If the validation results in warning messages and the Award Administrator agrees to initiate the Closeout process, then the document status will be updated to Closed Out.
The contract document is validated by the system for possible exceptions. If one or more of the checks results in an error message, the closeout process cannot be initiated. The Award Administrator has to correct the errors before initiating the closeout process once more.
Closeout Scenario 2:
When the closeout process is initiated for a contract document and the user needs to add a checklist only:
The system validates the contract document for exceptions and if there are no exceptions, then the status of the contract document will be updated to Physically Complete. All tasks are activated and the Due Date for task completion will be calculated by the system. Notifications will be sent to the responsible parties of each task. When all the tasks in the checklist are completed, a notification is sent for obtaining signatures for the Checklist PDF. When the signature process is complete, the contract document will be re-validated for exceptions. If the result of the validation shows no warning messages, the status of the contract document is updated to Closed Out.
The system validates the contract document for exceptions and if there are warning and error messages, and if the Award administrator continues with closeout process, the status of the contract document is updated to Physically Complete. All tasks are activated and the Due Date for completion of the task is calculated by the system and notifications are sent to the responsible parties of each task. When all the tasks in the checklist are completed, , a notification is sent for obtaining a signature for the Checklist PDF. When the signature process is complete, the document is validated once more. If the validation result still displays error message(s), the closeout process is on hold and the Award Administrator has to correct the error message(s) and then continue the closeout process. If the validation results show a warning message and the Award Administrator agrees to close out the contract, then the document status will be updated to Closeout.
Closeout Scenario 3:
When the closeout process is initiated for a contract document and the user needs to add a Contract Completion Statement only:
The system validates the contract document for exceptions and if there are no exceptions, the status of the contract document is updated to In Closeout and notifications will be sent to the responsible parties for obtaining signatures. However, the status is updated to Closeout, if signatures are not required. When the signature process is completed by the Award Administrator, the status of the contract document is updated to Administratively Complete. When the signature process by the Purchasing Office is also completed, the status of the contract document is updated to Closed Out.
The system validates the contract document for exceptions. and if there are warning messages, and if the Award administrator continues with closeout process, the status of the contract document is updated to In Closeout and notifications are sent to the responsible parties for obtaining signatures. When the signature process is completed by the Administration Office, the status of the contract document is updated to Administratively Complete. A notification is sent to the Purchasing Office for obtaining the signature. When the signature process is complete by the Purchasing Office, the status of the contract document is updated to Closed Out.
The contract document is validated by the system for possible exceptions. If one or more of the checks results in an error message, the closeout process cannot be initiated. The Award Administrator has to correct the errors before initiating the closeout process once more.
Closeout Scenario 4:
When the closeout process is initiated for a contract document and the user needs to add a checklist and a Contract Completion Statement:
The system validates the contract document for exceptions and if there are no exceptions, the status of the contract document is updated to Physically Complete. All the tasks are activated and the Due Date for completion of the tasks is calculated by the system. Notifications are sent to the responsible parties of each task. When all the tasks in the checklist are completed, a notification is sent for obtaining signatures for the Checklist PDF. When the signature process is complete, the contract document will be re-validated for exceptions. If the result of the validation shows no warning messages, the status of the contract document is updated to In Closeout and the Contract Completion Statement (CCS) will be generated and sent for signature to the Administration Office. When the Administration office signs the CCS, the status will be updated to Administratively Complete and the document is forwarded to the Contracting Office for obtaining signatures. When the contracting office signs the document, the contract document status is updated to Closed Out.
The system validates the contract document for exceptions. If there are warning and error messages and if the Award administrator continues with closeout process the status of the contract document is updated to Physically Complete. All the tasks are activated and the due date for completion of the tasks is calculated by the system and notifications are sent to the responsible parties of each task. When all the tasks in the checklist are completed, a notification is sent for obtaining a signature for the Checklist PDF. When the signature process is complete, the document will be validated again for exceptions. If the validation result still displays error message(s), the closeout process is on hold, and the Award Administrator has to correct the error message(s) and then continue the closeout process. If the validation results show a warning message and the Award Administrator agrees to continue with the closeout process the status of the contract document is updated to In Closeout and then the Contract Completion Statement is generated and sent for signature to the Administration Office. When the Administration Office signs the CCS, the status is updated to Administratively Complete and the document is forwarded to the Contracting Office for obtaining signatures. When the Contracting Office signs the document, the contract document status is updated to Closed Out.
Manual or Automatic Closeout
Closeout of awards and IDVs can be a manual (user driven) process or an automatic (system driven) process. The manual process consists of the following steps:
Query the awards or IDVs that have a status Approved, these approved documents are eligible for manual closeout. A notification is sent to the contracting officer listing the awards or IDVs that are eligible for closeout.
The contracting officer attaches the checklist of tasks that need to be validated before closing the award or IDV document. Additionally the contracting officer enters the retention period and staging period for the document and assigns the users responsible for completing the tasks, along with expected date for completion of the task.
The contracting officer submits the document for Closeout.
Notifications are sent to the assigned users regarding their assigned action items/task that need to be completed.
Reminders and alerts are sent on a periodic basis if the assigned user do not act upon the action items/tasks.
When the assigned users inform the contracting officer that they have completed their assigned tasks, the contracting officer updates the status of those tasks to Completed. When all the action items/tasks attached to the document are completed, the document is then routed for e-signature.
When e-signing of the checklist is complete, the status of the document is updated to In Closeout
A contract completion statement is generated for the award or IDV document and the contract completion statement is routed for e-signature.
When the e-signing of the contract completion statement is completed by the Administration Office, the status of the award or IDV document is updated to Administratively Complete. When the Contract Completion Statement is signed by the Purchasing Office, the status of the award or IDV document is updated to Closed Out.
The checklist and contract completion statement are attached to the contract file.
The automatic process consists of the following steps:
The Automatic closeout process begins with querying for contract documents that are eligible for closeout. The contract documents that are fully received, invoiced and paid are also considered for closeout. In addition, the available contracts for automatic closeout will not include the documents that fall in any of the categories specified below:
Awards/IDVs and orders with a status of Draft.
Awards/IDVs and orders with open modifications.
Awards and IDVs that have orders cannot be closed out until all of their orders have been closed out.
Terminated awards or discontinued agreements do not get closed out.
The contracting officer selects all the contract documents or some of the contract documents for closeout process.
Attributes for all the selected documents such as Checklist and Contract Completion Statement will not be set to yes and the process of closeout will be initiated.
When the documents do not require the Checklist and Contact Completion Statement, the status of the documents is updated to Closed Out.
The Manage Closeout action enables you to closeout awards and IDVs. The Manage Closeout action is available in the Actions list of values in the Award and IDV Summary pages (for approved awards and IDVs) Thus you can simply select an award or IDV from the Summary page and choose Manage Closeout from the Actions LOV. Select the Manage Closeout action and click Go to open the Closeout page for the award or IDV.
The Closeout page consists of the following regions:
Closeout Details: Enter the Retention Period and Staging Period, this information is useful when archiving the document. Select Days, Weeks, Months or Years as the duration from the list of values.
Ensure that the Retention Period value is greater than the Staging Period value, otherwise an error message displays. The initial status of the closeout is Open.
Checklist Details: You can specify if you need a checklist of tasks that need to be completed before you close out the document. If you select Yes from the Checklist Required list of values, then you also need to specify if the checklist to be e-signed or not (E-Signature Checklist list of values). If you select Yes for E-Signature Checklist, the Signing Authority search LOV displays, and you need to select the person who will e-sign the checklist when the tasks are complete.
Contract Completion Statement Details: Select Yes from the Contract Completion Statement Required list of values if you need a contract completion statement and signatures from the administration contract office and the purchasing contract office. Additionally, if you select Yes for the E-Signature Contract Completion Statement, the fields for e-signature display. You need to specify if you will sign the Contract Completion Statement (value selected is Self in the Administration Office Signature and Purchasing Office Signature fields) or sign on behalf of the contracting officer (value selected is Acknowledge in the Administration Office Signature and Purchasing Office Signature fields). Select values for the Administration Office Signing Authority and Purchasing Office Signing Authority from the search LOVs. Optionally, enter comments in the text boxes as required.
If you need to capture the voucher number and the invoice number, then the Additional Information region (that will be printed in the contract completion statement PDF) displays.
Additional Information: The fields in the Additional Information region are:
Final Payment Voucher Number
Payment Date: When the award or IDV is fully invoiced and all the invoices are paid, the Final Payment Voucher Number is defaulted with the last payment voucher number created for the award or IDV document and Payment Date is defaulted with the last payment voucher date.
Final Invoice Number
Date Forwarded: When the award or IDV is fully invoiced and the invoice is not been paid fully, the Final Invoice Number and Date Forwarded are defaulted with the last invoice number created and date in which the last invoice is created for the award or IDV.
Note: Either the Final Payment Voucher Number or the Final Invoice Number is defaulted depending on whether the award or IDV is fully invoiced or paid.
Excess Fund Amount
When the award or IDV has a status of Physically Complete, you can update the data in the Additional Information region. However, if the award or IDV has a status of Administratively Complete, In Closeout and Closed Out, you cannot update the data in the Additional Information region.
Attachments: The Attachments region enables you to attach various kinds of files - including the ability to annotate the closeout with a note. Click Add Attachment to open the Add Attachment page and specify the kind of attachment you would like to use: Desktop File/Text/URL or From Document Catalog.
Select a Category from the list of values. The Category defines the purpose of an attachment, and controls which forms or pages can access it.
Select the attachment Type:
File - specify a file name to upload. Enter the file location, or use the Browse button to locate the file.
URL - enter the URL for a Web page.
Text - Enter text that is less than 2000 characters. If the text you want to attach is more than 2000 characters, upload it in a file.
From the Document Catalog:
Use the Search regions to query existing documents.
Select the Document Name link to view a document before attaching it.
Select the document(s) to attach.
Click Apply.
Save your work in the Closeout page. The attachments are not added until you save your work.
The actions you can perform on a Closeout document are:
Manage Tasks: Select Manage Tasks from the Actions list of values and click Go. This action displays only if you require a checklist and have selected the relevant Checklist checkbox. The Closeout: Tasks page displays. You can associate a closeout checklist template to the award or IDV using this page. For more information on creating closeout checklist templates, please refer to the Oracle Contract Lifecycle Management for Public Sector Implementation Guide. Use the Select Checklist Template list of values to search for and select a closeout checklist template. After you have selected a template, click Copy Tasks to copy the tasks you created in the template to the closeout document. The tasks you copied are displayed in the Tasks region. Additionally, you can create new tasks by clicking Create Task. A new row displays below the copied tasks, so that you can enter the new task details. Click the Update (pencil) icon to update the task information. Click Save to save your work or click Apply to save your work and return to the Closeout page.
View Contract Completion PDF: Select View Contract Completion PDF from the Actions list of values and click Go. This action is available only if there is a requirement for the Contract Completion Statement. You will be prompted to open or save the Contract Completion Statement PDF. Click Save if you require to store a copy of the PDF in your local drive.
View Checklist PDF: Select View Checklist PDF from the Actions list of values and click Go. This action is available only if there is a requirement for the Checklist. You will be prompted to open or save the Checklist PDF. Click Save if you require to store a copy of the PDF in your local drive.
Click Submit to proceed with the closeout. You receive a warning message, stating that Receipts, Invoices and Payments have not taken place. Click Yes if you wish to proceed and No if you do not want to proceed.
If you click Yes, the status of the award or IDV changes to Physically Complete. If you click on the status (Physically Complete) link, the Action History page displays, showing you all the actions that have occurred for this award or IDV. Click the Return to <Awards or IDVs> link to come back to the Summary page.
Manage Checklist: This action is only available when the status of your award or IDV is Physically Complete. Select Manage Checklist from the Actions list of values and click Go. The Manage Checklist page displays with the tasks that you copied from the template or created on your own. Click the task name link to view the task using the Contract Closeout: View Task page. The Manage Checklist page enables you to update the status of the task, actual date of completion and enter comments if required. You can update the status of the task to Completed if the assigned user has informed you that the task is complete. Click the Update (pencil) icon to update the task details using the Contract Closeout: Update Task page. You can change the Status, Actual Date of Completion, Description, and Notes. You can add attachments and also view the Status History region. The Status History region tells you the past and current statuses of the task, the status change date and the user who changed the status. Click Apply to return to the Manage Checklist page.
When all the tasks have been performed, you can change the status of the tasks to Complete and enter actual dates of completion and comments. Save your work and return to the Closeout page.
View Checklist: You can see this action only if the Closeout Status is Administratively Complete, In Closeout and Closed Out.
Signatures If you have specified a checklist and a contract completion statement and the corresponding acceptance signatures, the signing authorities for the checklist and the contract completion statement (Administration Office and Purchasing Office) will receive notifications as part of the closeout process.
The award administrator needs to login with credentials to view the notification for accepting and signing the checklist completion. Open the notification by clicking the notification link in the Worklist or Notification Summary page. Click Accept to proceed with the e-signature process. The Sign Notification page displays. Enter your User Name and Password in the relevant fields and click Sign. The e-signature process is complete and you will return to the Worklist or Notification Summary page. The status of your award changes to In Closeout.
The signing authorities for the contract completion statement need to e-sign on behalf of the Administration Office and Purchasing Office.
The Administration Officer needs to login with the appropriate credentials and open the notification by clicking the notification link in the Worklist or Notification Summary page. Click Accept to proceed with the e-signature process. The Sign Notification page displays. Enter your User Name and Password in the relevant fields and click Sign. The e-signature process is complete and you will return to the Worklist or Notification Summary page. The status of your award or IDV changes to Administratively Complete.
The Purchasing Officer needs to login with the appropriate credentials and open the notification by clicking the notification link in the Worklist or Notification Summary page. Click Accept to proceed with the e-signature process. The Sign Notification page displays. Enter your User Name and Password in the relevant fields and click Sign. The e-signature process is complete and you will return to the Worklist or Notification Summary page. The status of your award or IDV changes to Closed Out.
If you have specified a checklist or a contract completion statement which do not require e-signatures, the status of your award will display as Closed Out without showing the intermediate statuses described in the previous paragraphs.