A Closer Look at DPS Payment Times

In our recent newsletter, we posted the following chart displaying payment times in DPS vs. TOPS during 2009. This chart has generated considerable discussion from both the TSP and Government side, and there has been some discussion about the chart and what it really says about invoicing in DPS. We thought it would be helpful to offer a little context to the discussion, and share what we feel the take away is from this chart.

Obviously, the first thing that is clear is that it does take longer to get paid in DPS than in CWA/TOPS. This is not unexpected and does not necessarily mean that DPS invoicing is problematic. There are a couple of factors that come into play to cause longer payment times in DPS. The first is that PPSOs generally treat the invoicing approval process in DPS as a lower priority than CWA, which is natural considering about three-fourths of the invoices were handled by CWA. We can see that as DPS ramped up early in the year, and PPSOs were clearly focused on it, the payment time was lower, even besting CWA/TOPS payment times in April. Then, after short fuse shipments were removed, and DPS settled in as the secondary system to CWA, the payment times increased.

The other factor to consider is that although invoicing in DPS has worked pretty well, there have been some issues which caused some invoices to be held up for months. This usually occurred when there was a data fix needed in order get an invoice paid, and the delay on getting that done could last months. Also, as DPS came online with new PPSOs, there have been some bases that have had trouble getting DPS worked into their processes, and were letting invoices sit for over a month. While these were temporary, and not unexpected problems, they can affect the DPS numbers. The DPS invoice are a smaller sample size, and having some 60-90 day payment times can really stretch out the average payment time, especially considering it is extremely rare to see any invoice in CWA take longer than 30 days to pay.

Of course, the real question about these numbers for 2009 is what do they predict for 2010. Without a crystal ball, it is impossible to know for sure, but I do not believe the chart shows that the problems are getting worse as DPS continues. (The slight bump in December was due to a temporary PowerTrack problem that has been rectified.) Daycos will continue to monitor payment times closely, and will alert TSPs and Government officials to any significant changes in payment times.

Related Posts

1. A Look at DPS Payment Times Before the Billing Peak Season - July 13th, 2010
2. Offsets Causing “Payment Initiated” Delays in US Bank Payment System - October 14th, 2011
3. Payment Detail Delays - September 16th, 2005