QuickBooks for Government Contractors
Many small and mid-sized businesses grow and manage successful operations with QuickBooks as their accounting system backbone. QuickBooks is powerful and scalable, and provides the functionality that enables businesses to effectively manage their finances.
As the government contractor's business grows, so do the requirements for functionality and compliance in their accounting system. QuickBooks on its own does not offer the capabilities required of a government contractor subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.301-3(a)(3) for an adequate accounting system and the criteria enumerated in Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.242-7006. That's where ICAT comes in.
ICAT and QuickBooks together enable your Accounting System to:
- Calcuate indirect rates
- Allocate indirect costs to contracts
- Track costs to the appropriate final cost objectives
- Generate fully-loaded contract cost reports
- Run a P&L by Job including indirect cost allocations
- Track contract status in labor, T&M, and cost formats against contract budgets, and cumulative billings against funding thresholds (Limitation of Costs)
- Produce labor distribution reports to provide an audit trail for labor allocations
- Generate all schedules for an adequate Incurred Cost Proposal pursuant to FAR 52.216-7, auto-populated with cost data from QuickBooks
- Develop contract-focused budgets for future periods
- Develop Provisional Billing Rates
Regulatory Compliance
Accounting system compliance is a top priority for government contractors and contracting officers alike. A compliant cost accounting system offers contractors more opportunities to develop new business, positions businesses to team with prime contractors, and sets the business up for growth.
DFARS section 252.242-7006 lists all elements required of an acceptable accounting system. Standard Form 1408, the Preaward Accounting System Adequacy Checklist, was devised as a checklist for contractors and auditors to document how the contractor's accounting system is designed to meet the required criteria. Our on-demand course, Make QuickBooks DCAA Compliant for Government Contracts, guides you through the set up and configuration of QuickBooks to satisfy the SF1408 criteria.
ICAT adds essential contract management and reporting capabilities to QuickBooks, so contractors can satisfy the functional and compliance needs of government contracting.
Pass Your Accounting System Review
Using ICAT with QuickBooks, together with proper policies and procedures, and compliant timekeeping practices, hundreds of companies have passed their DCAA accounting system review to qualify for cost-reimbursement type contracts, SBIR awards, and subcontracting and teaming opportunties.
ICAT's cost accounting and fully-loaded reporting capabilities not only enable a government contractor using QuickBooks to have a DCAA compliant system. ICAT provides the financial insights necessary to effectively manage a government contractor's growing business.