Compliance Blog

Government contractors subject to FAR 52.216-7 are required to submit an adequate final indirect cost rate proposal within six months following the contractor’s fiscal year end. Learn the purpose of an Incurred Cost Proposal, the information required, and steps for submitting this report.

What our ICAT customers and other QuickBooks users should know about Desktop product availability for new and existing subscribers.

What are Provisional Billing Rates? How are provisional indirect rates set for cost-reimbursement type contracts? Using strong budgetary and historical data, you can support more precise indirect rates for interim reimbursement of indirect costs incurred to avoid under-billing the government for work performed, or over-billing and owing money back to the government. 

Government contractors gain a competitive advantage with a well-managed budgeting process. A budget provides a financial blueprint for the new year, establishes a plan for recovery of indirect costs through contract pricing, and establishes support for provisional indirect rate proposals.

Understand the implications of winning an SBIR award on your accounting practices. Learn when you need a compliant accounting system, what is required for an adequate accounting system, and how you can prepare your accounting system for a future audit.

Get up to speed on what is required for an adequate accounting system, know what to expect in an accounting system audit, and see how DCAA evaluates incurred cost proposal adequacy. We've compiled a list of key resources from DCAA that small businesses should be familiar with.

QuickBooks Desktop can be configured to use the QuickBooks Payroll function to support labor distribution to cost objectives based on timesheet data. Together with ICAT, implementing these capabilities enables government contractors to satisfy the labor distribution requirement of DCAA compliance.

Government agencies and prime contractors want contractors and subcontractors with low-risk profiles. Increase your chances of winning Federal contracts by demonstrating your business prioritizes risk management and operational standards with certifications and business systems compliance.

The life cycle of indirect rates for a government contract includes estimated indirect rates for pricing, provisional rates for billing indirect costs, and final indirect rates to settle the actual indirect costs reimbursed by the contract. While government contractors focus on pricing to win and recover costs, their accountants determine the actual indirect costs through the company’s books of account.

Learn what a Preaward Accounting System Review entails and the SF1408 compliance criteria you need to have in place for DCAA compliance.

New government contractors benefit from budget planning, pricing insights, and new contract opportunities with a DCAA compliant accounting system. Plan ahead to leverage insights from your accounting system, and support the growth of your business.

In government contract accounting, indirect costs are accumulated into cost pools, then allocated among those contracts benefitting from the indirect costs. How can you structure indirect cost pools in the QuickBooks chart of accounts to record indirect costs and satisfy SF1408 item 2(c)? 

As we approach year end, government contractors will want to keep an eye on key year-to-date numbers to close out the year on a high note, and prepare for continued success in the new year. We highlight 3 areas to monitor.

At a recent conference, an 8(a) firm told us they were advised that QuickBooks® cannot be deemed DCAA compliant. The truth is, countless businesses have passed the DCAA accounting system review using QuickBooks as their accounting system backbone.

ICAT Systems is excited to announce the first on-demand certificate program in government contract cost accounting. This comprehensive course is designed to help government contractors and their accounting professionals master the day-to-day accounting methods and compliance requirements for accounting system compliance, provisional billing rates, and final indirect cost rate proposals.

Estimate expected indirect rates during the proposed contract's period of performance. Determine the impact of winning a new contracts. Calculate the weighted average base labor rate and fully-loaded labor rate. Prepare more accurate pricing proposals.

ICAT enables a government contractor using QuickBooks® to set up a DCAA Compliant accounting system, and meet the requirements imposed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS).

Understanding the nuances of indirect rates will help government contractors better manage contracts and their business as a whole. In part 1 of a 3 part series, we’ll define indirect rates and explain how they are used in cost accounting.

Understanding the nuances of indirect rates will help government contractors better manage contracts and their business as a whole. Part 2 of our 3 part series on indirect rates examines the role of prospective indirect rates in contract pricing.

Understanding the nuances of indirect rates will help government contractors better manage contracts and their business as a whole. Part 3 in our series on indirect rates reviews the role of indirect rates in contract billing, including provisional indirect rates and indirect rate variances.

One of the toughest challenges small and medium-sized federal contractors face is setting up and implementing an accounting system that satisfies requirements imposed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. What do you need to know and how can you be prepared to meet these challenges, and even a government audit?

For many growing businesses, setting up a DCAA compliant accounting system can be daunting. Small business government contractors must develop policy & procedure statements, organize the cost pool structure into the chart of accounts, set up timekeeping, configure the labor distribution process, and manage indirect rate calculation, indirect cost allocation, and job cost reporting. Understanding a few fundamental points can help small businesses more confidently manage their contract accounting.