at least 15 years later, when I started teaching the then-called “small pur - chase” course. And in fact, a student (AP) in a recent class is working in a similar office now, which prompted me to write this article. To summarize, if you are purchas - ing supplies for delivery to a remote location and you meet the condi - tions, consider using Fast Payment procedures unless there is evidence to the contrary. This is especially valid if your order includes shipping items overseas, to a ship afloat, or to a deployed unit, and experience difficulty finding suppliers willing to wait for payment. JONES is an intermittent professor of Contract Management in the Warfighting Acquisition University South Region. She has worked in the warfighting contracting field for 46 years and holds a B.S. from the College of William and Mary. The author can be contacted at jennifer.jones@dau.edu . The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the Department of War. Reproduction or reposting of articles from Defense Acquisition magazine should credit the authors and the magazine.
Te government is willing to take some risks to help the vendor with its payment timeframes. But in return, we put some
of that risk back on the vendor. Specifcally, when we include that clause in our purchase orders, it means that by submitting an invoice, the vendor is certifying the supplies have been delivered in accordance with the contract.
I was curious about how this all works considering DoW’s use of Wide Area Workflow (WAWF). Well, the De - fense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.232-7006 Wide Area Workflow Payment Instructions specifically state that “Fast Pay re - quests are only permitted when FAR 52.213-1 (sic) is included in the con - tract.” So Fast Pay is considered and allowed when using WAWF. I also was curious about the Gov - ernment Accountability Office (GAO)’s take on Fast Payment procedures. In 1968, the GAO issued an appropriation act decision in B-155253 . In this decision, GAO opined on the legality of Fast Payment procedures as included in the Armed Services Procurement Regulation (predecessor to the De - fense Acquisition Regulation, prede - cessor to the FAR/DFARS). GAO stated that initially they disapproved of us - ing such procedures unless the DoD included reviews and internal audits as outlined in their letter to DoD. The revised Fast Payment procedures included such internal controls, so they were approved. This emphasizes how critical it is to “close the loop” on items paid for as discussed in the procedures. Also, to avoid an illegal advance payment, you will recall that the government takes title to the sup - plies at the same time that the vendor is allowed to invoice. Later GAO decisions, often mo - tivated by savings, followed. In B- 158487 , the concern about advanced payments was addressed, and docu -
mented savings swayed the GAO to approve a similar procedure for the General Services Administration. In B-205868 , GAO addressed the use of similar procedures by the former Veterans Administration (VA) to en - able the VA to take prompt payment discounts. In all of these decisions, a main concern of the GAO was risk and the need for internal controls to ensure that the government actually receives the supplies and services it purchases. The safeguards estab - lished in Fast Payment procedures provide those internal controls. I refer you to the purposes for us - ing SAP as noted at the beginning of this article. Clearly, the use of Fast Payment procedures contributes to at least two of those purposes: It improves opportunities for small businesses (who find it more diffi - cult to carry the finance costs) and it avoids the unnecessary burden doing so imposes on vendors. Missions accomplished! When I was an intern, my first real assignment was working in an office entitled “Special Purchase Urgent Requirements.” We were running fast and hard, with minimal time for on-the-job training. I will never for - get preparing my first purchase order and wondering whether to include the Fast Payment clause. I asked my mentor, and she said I should use it whenever the delivery location was far away from the vendor’s facility. So, I took that advice and ran with it. I did not understand what it meant until
Related Resources
– CCON 022 Simplified Acquisition Procedures Credential (Purchasing) Credential – CON 2370 Simplified Acquisition Procedures Online Training – Contracting Subway Map Learning Tool – Contract Strategy Fact Sheets Learning Tool – Simplified Acquisition Procedures Acquipedia Article
JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2026 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION MAGAZINE 45
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