Government Code §2251.042 requires a government entity to notify a vendor of an error in an invoice submitted for payment by the vendor no later than the 21st day after the date the entity receives the invoice. This means that the TRF-BTS Program Manager should not wait until the last possible day to review the vendor’s invoice packet. As soon as the TRF-BTS Program Manager has identified an error, he/she should notify the vendor and request they submit a corrected invoice.

Just as the vendor is required to submit their original invoice directly to FIN, any revised and corrected invoices should also be submitted to FIN. The same process will be followed (as stated in the “Receiving and Date Stamping Vendor Invoices” subsection) with any revised invoices, and the most recent receipt date will be used for the purposes of calculating the 30-day payment due date.

In summary, if the original invoice proves to be incorrect, the payment clock starts when a corrected invoice is received. After further review and/or discussion with the vendor, if the original invoice is determined to be correct, the clock starts on the date the invoice was first received by TxDOT. In other words, TxDOT does not get a reprieve on the payment due date for “debating” with the vendor on questionable costs, if in fact the original invoice is eventually processed.

If, for some reason, the TRF-BTS Program Manager and vendor decide to manually revise the original invoice, lining through the incorrect charges and agreeing to pay a reduced amount on the invoice, the Program Manager should retain complete and thorough documentation of the agreed-upon revisions. This information would be best documented through e-mail instead of verbal conversations. All documentation/e-mails should be printed and filed with TRF’s copy of the approved invoice.

In the case that the vendor’s original invoice is manually revised, a new date should be assigned for the purposes of calculating the 30-day payment due date. TRF should forward all e-mail documentation to FIN and then work with FIN personnel in determining the appropriate due date.

FIN will not typically pay a partial invoice to a vendor, so all receipt discrepancies must be resolved in a timely manner to avoid late penalty charges.