Open Acquisition System

Every OAS purchase transaction has real time, 100% transparency. From contracts for major equipment acquisitions to office supplies, from high-level budget summaries to the most granular line-item detail, all transactions are permanently stored so managers and stakeholders can see who approved it, when it was approved, where it was sent, who received it and why. All the details are available to export for every transaction, anytime, anywhere in the world.

Advanced planning for purchasing is the difference between getting the right item at the right price at the right time, or not…as often exposed by the media when government purchasing goes wrong. OAS embeds acquisition planning in the Projects module so that the entire project team can collaborate in real time on all elements of the procurement process. OAS process efficiencies cut cost, reduce waste, and protect against fraud and abuse.

All data is automatically and securely stored in the cloud where backups and data protection are constantly applied. Every datum for every contract document and every change order and every project is instantly retrievable from storage, whether to perform analysis, reporting, auditing, or additional transactions. Every transaction is instantly and automatically stored and secured.

Acquisition planning involves defining or locating contract types and contract elements that pertain to a particular contractor, sub-contractor, or project. Such requirements vary depending on the private enterprise or government agency involved. Fortunately, OAS has acquisition planning built into the functionality of OAS so users can collaborate anywhere in the world and create appropriate contracts well in advance of required contract completion. Last minute year-end rushes and associated risks are minimized while completing work on time and on budget becomes the new standard.

Workflows route contract documentation instantly between every stop in the approval process, enabling virtually instantaneous review of the most complicated contract instruments. OAS users create workflows in moments for actions ranging from initial requirements to final invoice. Workflow participants receive immediate notification when it is their turn to act.

OAS is above and beyond the scope of traditional contract management systems. All parties to the development, management, modification, and approval of a contract instrument are in the loop. All T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted to mutual approval, and where the real work may begin with minimal delay.

Our browser-based contract lifecycle management system is a complete software product, but it is also available as an add-on to a contract writing system or to a complete enterprise reporting system via our extensive Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). This makes it possible for companies to “bolt on” elements of OAS to their own proprietary software, thereby providing their users with the best of both worlds. These APIs enable moving data effectively and seamlessly between OAS and any enterprise system.

Summary reports are available for every level of the project’s organization: 

• Analyze spending, deliverables, and authorizations.

• Compare budget to actual expenditures.

• Review comparative performance by buyer, contracting officer, organization, vendor, contract, and more.

• Identify and investigate abnormal data items or data sets.

• Track obligations and expenses.

• Easily review real-time financial, transactional, and contextual information.

• Identify training issues.

• Create, save, print, and file custom reports by drilling down to see all details behind the summary numbers.

Because the system is browser-based, it is available to managers and stakeholders anytime anywhere.

Government spending is typically bound by complex policies that, while well-meaning, typically toss a monkey wrench into the expediency of contract approval. OAS has all Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations (DFAR) standards built in and ready to quote verbatim or by reference so contracts can be approved more quickly, and real work can begin.

OAS provides protection for the budget and the overall spending process by allowing for extensive options to set and grant spending limit permissions for all users. OAS reporting capability allows managers and stakeholders to quickly spot and react to trends in spending. They can immediately see how much was budgeted, how much is committed and in process, and how much is still available to spend. With OAS real-time data, the answers are immediately accessible anytime of day, anywhere in the world.

OAS offers complete system transparency for auditing. When an auditor needs to know who, what, where, when, why, or how, the answers are instantly available, always using real-time data. The auditor can drill down to see details behind every number in the project, from preliminary budget to line-item detail.

OAS is constantly evolving as new features are added and as software bugs are fixed. New enhancements are always included at no extra cost or consideration. Such enhancements and bug-fixes are available instantly and automatically everywhere users are located. As users access the software, they may rest assured that they are always using the most current version with no risk of losing data.