If you have a federal contract, you almost certainly have to use Wide Area Workflow to invoice. WAWF is the Department of Defense's electronic invoicing system, and under DFARS 252.232-7003, it is mandatory for most DoD contracts. Non-DoD agencies are increasingly requiring it too. Paper invoices get rejected. Getting your WAWF submission wrong means waiting an extra 30 days — or longer — to see your money.
This guide walks you through setup, picking the right document type, understanding the acceptance workflow, and tracking payment status once your invoice is submitted.
What WAWF actually is
WAWF (pronounced "woff") is a web-based system run by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). It sits between you and the government's payment engine. When you invoice through WAWF, the system routes your document electronically to the contracting officer, the inspector or acceptor, and ultimately to DFAS for payment.
The system lives at https://wawf.eb.mil. You do not need to buy software. You need a Common Access Card (CAC) or a WAWF-issued username and password. Most small businesses without a CAC use the username/password path.
Setting up your account
Go to https://wawf.eb.mil and click "Register." You will create a vendor account under your company's CAGE code. Have your CAGE code, DUNS/UEI number, and contract number handy before you start.
After registering, you request access to specific contracts. The contracting officer on your award has to approve your access request before you can submit against that contract. This step surprises a lot of new contractors. Plan for 24-72 hours of lead time before your first invoice is due.
A few things that kill new registrations: CAGE code not matching your SAM.gov registration exactly, using a personal email instead of a business email, and registering before your UEI is active in SAM.gov. All three are fixable, but each one adds delay.
Choosing the right document type
WAWF has three main invoice document types. Picking the wrong one is the single most common error for new users.
Invoice (standalone): Use this when inspection and acceptance happen at a separate location from delivery, or when there is a separate receiving report already in the system. Your contract's DFARS clauses and the contract's delivery terms specify this.
Invoice 2-in-1: This is the most common form for service contracts. It combines the invoice and receiving report into a single document. When the inspector accepts the 2-in-1, they are confirming both that the work was performed and that they approve payment. Most time-and-materials, fixed-price service, and cost-plus service contracts use this form.
COMBO: Use this for contracts that require both a receiving report and a separate invoice, where both documents get routed together. It is common on supply contracts where physical delivery must be confirmed before invoicing. If your contract involves shipping goods to a government facility, COMBO is likely what you need.
Your contract's Section G or the DFARS 252.232-7003 clause should specify which form applies. When in doubt, call your contracting officer's representative (COR) before you submit. A wrong document type means a rejection and a restart.
Filling out the invoice
WAWF pulls in your contract data once you enter your contract number and delivery order number. The fields you fill manually:
- Invoice number: Your internal invoice number. Make it unique. WAWF rejects duplicate invoice numbers.
- Invoice date: The date you are submitting, not the period end date.
- Period of performance: The start and end dates of work being invoiced.
- Ship to / Pay DoDAAC: These six-character codes identify the receiving activity and the paying office. Both are in your contract. Get them wrong and your invoice routes to the wrong place. Look in your contract's Section F and Section G.
- Line items: Match your CLIN (Contract Line Item Number) structure exactly. If your contract has CLIN 0001 for labor and CLIN 0002 for ODCs, invoice each separately.
For service contracts on a 2-in-1, you will also mark whether acceptance is at origin or destination. Most service contracts are destination acceptance, meaning the COR at the delivery location accepts the work.
The acceptance workflow
After you submit, the invoice moves through a multi-step electronic routing. Understanding this prevents a lot of confusion when an invoice sits for days with no movement.
- Submitted: You hit submit. The invoice is in the system.
- Routing to inspector/acceptor: WAWF sends an email notification to the person designated to accept the work. On a 2-in-1, this is usually your COR.
- Acceptor review: The COR logs into WAWF, reviews the invoice against the work performed, and either accepts or rejects. They have 7 days under the Prompt Payment Act to act before the government starts accruing interest.
- Contracting officer review: Some contracts require a secondary review by the contracting officer after the COR accepts. This adds another routing step.
- DFAS processing: Once accepted, the invoice moves to DFAS. Standard payment terms are Net 30 from the date of a proper invoice. For small businesses, some contracts carry Net 15 terms.
If your invoice sits in "Routing to Inspector" for more than 2-3 business days, follow up directly with your COR. They may not have received the WAWF notification email, which happens when the email address in the system is outdated.
Tracking payment status
WAWF shows you the status at each routing step. Log in, go to "Vendor" and select "Invoice Inquiry." Enter your invoice number or contract number to pull up the record. The status field tells you exactly where it is in the workflow.
For payment status after DFAS picks it up, WAWF links to myInvoice at https://myinvoice.csd.disa.mil. myInvoice shows the scheduled payment date and the EFT transaction details once payment is released. You need the same login credentials to access it.
Payment goes to the bank account on file with your SAM.gov registration. If your bank information changes, update SAM.gov immediately. DFAS will send payment to whatever is in SAM.gov, not to whatever you put on the invoice itself.
Common rejection reasons
Rejection codes in WAWF are cryptic. The ones you will see most often:
- RR001: Duplicate invoice number. Change your invoice number and resubmit.
- RR003: Contract not found or not accessible. Verify your contract number and check that you have been granted access to that contract in WAWF.
- DoDAAC mismatch: Your Ship To or Pay DoDAAC does not match what is in the contract. Pull your contract and copy the codes character by character.
- Period of performance error: The dates you entered fall outside the contract's active PoP.
None of these require you to start from scratch. WAWF lets you correct and resubmit a rejected invoice.
Three action steps
- Register in WAWF before you need to invoice. Request contract access the day your award is signed, not the day your first invoice is due. The COR approval step can take longer than you expect.
- Pull your contract's DoDAAC codes before you open WAWF. Every rejection for mismatched codes is preventable. Find the Ship To DoDAAC in Section F and the Pay DoDAAC in Section G. Write them down.
- Set a calendar reminder to follow up with your COR 3 business days after submission. The Prompt Payment Act requires acceptance within 7 days, but proactive follow-up catches routing failures before they cost you two weeks of cash flow.
