Tag Archives: Level-3 and government

Guest Post- Jennifer Schaus of Jennifer Schaus and Associates

 Today Government Charge Card is pleased to publish a piece by Jennifer Schaus. Jennifer is the principal of Jennifer Schaus & Associates, a boutique government consulting firm in Washington, DC with offices in Rome, Italy.  The organization helps small, mid-size, Fortune 500, domestic and international firms with government contracting; GSA Schedules to 8a Certification as well as sales, marketing and lobbying.

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Yes, “Clear Winners and Losers” – GSA’s words, not… Read More »

Many banks, especially in the Washington, DC area, have developed special programs for lending to federal contractors.  These include Virginia Commerce Bank, John Marshall Bank, First Virginia Community Bank, Capital Bank, Virginia Heritage Bank, Sandy Spring Bank, Xenith Bank, United Bank, Access National Bank, Cardinal Bank, Bank of Georgetown, and Freedom Bank of Virginia.  These institutions understand that working with businesses that have the government as their main customer requires specialized knowledge and expertise.

Washington Technology had an article about one… Read More »

A memo released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on December 5, 2012 focused on continuing to new direction on federal procurement practices. As OMB’s Deputy Director Jeffrey Zients notes in his Dec. 5 memo, “One key way agencies have saved money is by pooling their spending, either by centralizing the agency’s contracting decisions or by using government-wide strategic sourcing vehicles, in order to lower prices and reduce duplication and reduce administrative costs.” Building on established… Read More »

In previous posts, we have mentioned that a new law was in the works that would require federal agencies to put new safeguards and controls on government charge card use by federal employees.  As Jack Moore of Federal News Radio reports, the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 was signed into law on October 5th, and agencies will now face stricter rules for issuing and tracking government charge cards.  The legislation was introduced by Sen…. Read More »

In an earlier article, I wrote about how the cost of processing a credit card (the interchange) is dependent on multiple factors such as the type of card issued, how it is processed, and the type of business that it is used in. Taking the data that is required a step farther, below is a summary of the required data elements that make up all levels of processing:

LINE ITEM DATA

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 3

Merchant Name

X

X

With the many challenges facing contractors today, it’s no wonder that they have relied on their banks to set-up their credit card processing. Unfortunately these bank processors are ill-equipped to properly manage this level of Business-to-Business (B2B) processing.  It is regrettable that many in the contracting industry are unaware of the advantages that correct processing solutions can present.

Financial Transaction Services primary focus in our partnership with contractors is the education of their decision makers and hands–on employees on using the… Read More »

In a recent blog (http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/best-value-means-low-price) at GovLoop, Jaime Gracia writes that:  “A recent protest decision . . . illustrates the reality of the federal budget: price is the most important factor in source selection decisions.”  And : “Firms will need to tighten belts even further, as cutting the margins to the bone is the only way firms can expect to win business.”   It is evident that cutting costs by as little as one percent could mean the difference between… Read More »

Often times when the subject of level 3 processing comes up, a blank stare and glazed eyes all of a sudden come to life. Many government contractors just don’t understand the nature of how credit card transactions qualify with the credit card processing networks, let alone how the money magically appears in their bank account or how the fees that they are charged for those transactions are calculated.

While Visa/MasterCard Interchange tables, the mechanism that determines how much the card transactions… Read More »

The Chief Visionary at ASBC, Guy Timberlake, recently wrote an article regarding the Simplified Acquisition program of the Federal Government in the state of Virginia.  The article points out that 1790 funding offices account for the FY12 simplified spending in the state.  Over $11 million was spent via Smart Pay Purchase Cards.

The article also notes that the  TSA, Federal Prison Systems, Navy, VA and the Army are the top five contracting agencies issuing simplified acquisition payments via the purchase… Read More »

Most government contractors are paying too much for their credit card transactions. This might seem strange, since contractors today are grappling with a tough federal budget climate that threatens to hurt their profit margins. Yet many don’t take simple steps to become more efficient on the financial backend.

How does this happen? In my view there are three main reasons.

First, many local banks don’t specialize in processing technology. They are not equipped to give the best counsel in this area. Since… Read More »