Three Different Things
Receipt records that an output arrived. Acceptance is the decision under the actual contractual criteria by the named acceptor. Payment authorization is a separate decision under its actual trigger and financial authority. The checker records evidence and asks questions; receiving a file proves neither acceptance nor entitlement to its invoice amount.
Input
Use the actual service criteria, payment schedule/trigger, delivered output/version, receipt evidence, invoice and prior-payment records. Confirm who may inspect them. Preserve permitted originals and use references in shared summaries rather than confidential source material.
Steps
- Copy each criterion and the payment trigger with exact contract locators.
- Log the received output's version, format and actual date.
- Check each criterion against the delivered evidence.
- Record met, partial or failed with a specific observation and missing evidence.
- Send the acceptance question to the actual named acceptor.
- Send the separate payment/trigger question to the authorized finance role.
This original sequence does not itself accept work or release money.
Fictional Worked Case
A 6,000 USD volunteer-handbook contract schedules M1 draft 30%, M2 final 50% and M3 editable-file handover 20%. M1's supplied trigger is written draft acceptance by the named acceptor. The draft arrived June 2, 2027; M1 invoice arrived June 3 for 1,800 USD. All facts/criteria are invented.
| Contractual draft criterion | Supplied delivered evidence | Check status |
|---|---|---|
| Covers all six listed topics | Five of six covered | Partial; missing topic remains |
| Includes review checklist | Checklist absent | Failed |
| States reading-level target | Target stated | Met; this is not proof it achieves that target |
| Agreed format | Correct format supplied | Met |
Two met +one partial +one failed =four criteria. Preserve each result rather than averaging them into an acceptance score. This is service-output checking, not a lesson in measuring recipient outcomes.
Scheduled values are 0.30 x 6,000 =1,800;0.50 x 6,000 =3,000;0.20 x 6,000 =1,200; total 6,000. The invoice matches M1's scheduled 1,800, but matching the schedule does not establish its acceptance trigger or absence of prior payment. Check actual payment records; their result is not supplied here.
Output: Two Routed Questions
To the named acceptor: Does the delivered draft satisfy the actual M1 criteria? The attached observations show partial/failed evidence; please record the actual acceptance/remedy decision and authority.
To authorized finance: What actual acceptance/trigger and prior-payment evidence is required before any M1 authorization? Written acceptance is NOT SUPPLIED in this packet; no payment approval is inferred from invoice receipt.
Exception and Human Boundary
The contract excerpts do not say whether partial acceptance or part payment is allowed. The contract owner must establish that route; do not prorate 1,800 by topics or criteria, invent a right to withhold, or assume a remedial deadline. The named acceptor decides acceptance; authorized finance decides payment. Keep any later accepted revision and actual authorization separate.
Before handoff, check criteria/trigger locators, actual receipt, all four statuses, invoice/milestone identity, prior-payment gap and both routed questions.
Sources and Scope
World Bank Contract Management (September 2018,first edition, printed 83-87) gives supporting-record and milestone/pricing examples for Bank-financed consulting. The UN Handbook's section 7.7 distinguishes certification, authorized partial acceptance and milestones in UN practice; opened-copy edition date is unestablished. CC 8 (November 27, 2024), decision guidance (November 2, 2020),England/Wales, and NHS Scotland (April 29, 2021) inform evidence, authority and duplicate checks. None supplies a universal partial-payment rule or this original criterion table. Checked November 1, 2026.