Contracting officers request dcaa perform these audits when there is a government need. What is the best small business accounting software for. Procas is the best small business accounting software for govt contractors to meet all of the dcaa requirements with the least manual manipulation of data. Official website of the defense contract audit agency. Compare products like jamis prime erp, gcas government cost accounting system, efaact, and more. At a minimum a small business contractor needs to maintain the following. Dcaa does not approve products or continue reading dcaa compliance. The way you use the software in conjunction with best practices, policies, and procedures, ultimately determines if your system is sufficient in supporting contracts. The software package alone cannot guarantee compliance. Eliminate charging errors authorized charge codes restrict employees to only charge to what you allow. Dec 11, 2015 procas is the best small business accounting software for govt contractors to meet all of the dcaa requirements with the least manual manipulation of data. As a small business going at this alone is not a good idea, with all the underlying complexities. Small businesses doing business with the us government with flexibly priced sub and prime contracts must maintain compliance to the federal.
The need for a compliant accounting system depends on the contractors circumstances and contract types. Erpgov cloud is dcaa compliant accounting software for government contractors, uniquely designed to ensure accurate cost accounting, compliance, invoicing and project tracking. For this reason, no software can be approved as dcaa compliant on its own. Find services, tools for compliant government contracting. Our mission is to bring you small business success. To gain approval normally an audit is conducted by dcaa. Small business government compliance government dcaa audit. Dcaa approved system myth cheryl jefferson assoc cpa. Deltek costpoint for smb erp software for small business. Further, contrary to what i hear, there is not any such thing as a dcaa approved accounting system software package. Costpoint is purpose built to keep your business compliant with dcaa requirements while streamlining project and financial management. Sympaq sql is a farcompliant cost accounting system that enables unmatched flexibility for the reporting of activities. I have also developed the corrective actions for contractors and have secured dcaa compliance and government approval in all cases. I am asked this question all the time and thought i would offer some insight.
Very few time keeping systems available are able to meet the stringent regulations of the dcaa and provide services for the elite group of government contractors. Mar 21, 2019 now that you know what the dcaa is, you need to learn a little about dcaa compliant policies and procedures. To ensure compliance, the defense contract audit agency dcaa conducts contract audits for the department of defense and other federal agencies. Just because you buy a dcaa compliant accounting system and use it does not mean you are automatically compliant. The dcaa cares more about the compliance of the overall accounting system rather than whether you use procas or deltek or quickbooks. The system does real project cost accounting and computes indirect rates and applies to pro. With a basic understanding of dcaa requirements and most standard accounting platforms, qualified bookkeepers, controllers and accountants can meet and exceed the regulatory guidelines. Dcaa will not audit you until a government agency asks them to. Dcaa quickbooks solutions for government contractors. Further, contrary to what i hear, there is not any such thing as a dcaa approved accounting system software. Dcaa compliance requires that your accounting and related business.
The phrase dcaa compliance is used widely in the government contracting industry, but dcaa does not actually certify contractors as compliant. For instance negotiated fixed price contracts do not require an adequate. Dcaa software solutions govcon connect for quickbooks. Government contract accounting system approval dcaa news. The answer is no, quickbooks is not compliant by itself. Dcaa compliant accounting systems dcaa audit and government. Aspire is a compliant projectbased accounting, financial management and collaboration platform for growing government contractors. Erpgov cloud dcaa compliant accounting software for.
Small businesses looking forward to bidding on prime, costtype contracts must maintain dcaa compliance while also being as cost effective as possible to keep indirect rates at a competitive level. We have very experienced executives in the human resources hr, accounting, chief financial officer, contracts administration, business developmentproposal, software solutions, and procurement. It has easy to setup cost pools, automatically generates standard government invoices, calculates indirect rates, and guides your organization into full dcaa and far compliance. Jamis dcaa compliant accounting software built for the unique needs and demands of government contractors. Before any contract is awarded, dcaa auditors will examine your companys accounting system to validate that it is. Clockwise by ghg with clockwise by ghg, we make it easy for companies to track time and save money. If knowledge is power, in federal contracting, ignorance is weakness. Having been in the industry for over 25 years, there are a number of key topics that continue to come up when talking with a government contractor about dcaa timekeeping requirements.
If you are a small to midsize business, you dont have to spend thousands of dollars implementing a new. Buying the software will not make you dcaa compliant or cas compliant you do that through careful process development, specific to your company, utilizing software as a tool to operate your own unique business processes. Dcaa compliance requires daily timekeeping and audit trails. A driving purpose of procas software is to make this process as painless and attainable as possible. Katie is the unanet practice lead at redstone government consulting, inc. Dcaa audits and small business job cost accounting introduction. However, industryspecific software can be tweaked to segregate direct and indirect costs and to track labor costs by job or project.
Government contract cost accounting system adequacy and dcaa compliance a critical prerequisite to government contracting and particularly to negotiated contracts is an adequate cost accounting system. This book in the 3 module series provides to the reader detailed screen shot driven instructions on how to make quickbooks accounting software dcaa compliant. I have conducted many of these assessments and helped contractors secure compliance. In some cases, this comes down to solvency and resource reduction if audits are not passed. Aspire offers a powerful combination of the best cloud technologies and dcaa compliant accounting features for small to midsized businesses. Many small businesses come to us with the question of what do i need to do to have an accounting system that is dcaa compliant. The following jamis capabilities help government contractors meet dcaa compliance standards. Dcaa compliance requires that your accounting and related business processes which collectively including policies, manual procedures and tools be compliant. Dcaa compliance for small business is the same as it is for big business. Small and emerging government contractors cannot afford the risk of a system conversion if it can be avoided. Dcaa conducts audits on behalf of procurement agencies at their request. We understand the strain federal contractors are placed upon to pass the audits. Dcaa compliant accounting software for government contractors.
These are the rules your business must follow to meet dcaa requirements. Software alone is not audited for dcaa compliance or certified, nor approved as dcaa compliant. Dcaa compliant accounting system jamis software corporation. From webbased dcaa compliant timekeeping software, to hosting for icat and quickbooks, these businesses offer tools that help growing businesses succeed in government contracting. Rather than convert to a more expensive system, upgrade to dcaa compliant quickbooks. Being dcaa compliant means following dcaa s recommendations and guidance so that you remain compliant with federal law and are prepared for audits. Founded in 2003, small business trends is an awardwinning online publication for small business owners, entrepreneurs and the people who interact with them. If you are a business that often operates as a government contractor, this could be good news. Are you ready to adopt a modern, cloudbased offering that is priced to meet the needs of your business.
Affordable dcaa compliant accounting systems for small businesses. Quickbooks can provide value for smaller companies but as the company grows it can stretch thin in the areas of inventory, internal controls, erp, gaap. Dcaa compliant accounting system for small businesses. Thus, be prepared to not only exceed the dcaa audit but to shine like a pro with software that is dcaa compliant. Now, dcaa will not conduct this audit simply because the contractor wants an approved system.
Dcaa audits support the construction of the f35b lightening ii joint strike fighter, which gives the marines vertical landing and short runway takeoff capability. What is the best small business accounting software for defense contractors dcaa compliant. Here is a small sampling of the dcaa regulations that a compliant accounting system must. Buying dcaa compliant software for a little bit of money or a whole lot of money will not bring a dcaa approval. There are many options to choose from, and business owners must determine the best fit for their company. Small businesses are required to set up dcaa compliant accounting systems if they want to compete for government contracts, but these tools need not cost a fortune. What is the best small business accounting software for defense. The book is free as a download in the right margin of this site in the box net cube. Govcon helped myself cfo and the president of our small business pass the dcaa.
Dcaa approved accounting system and software reliascent llc. Our advanced time keeping system serves contractors for the department of defense. If there is one overwhelming reason to make an investment in software that is compliant with defense contractor audit agency guidelines, it may quite simply be the difference between getting and not getting those. Just to be clear, there is no such thing as dcaa compliant software. Its important to note that the dcaa requires that each government contractors processes, including accounting policies and procedures be compliant. Using tsheets dcaa compliant timekeeping software, its easy for supervisors and employees to keep detailed records and be prepared for government audits. How to make your quickbooks system dcaa compliant govcon. Her areas of expertise include supporting government contract businesses with a special focus in dcaa compliant unanet time and expense tracking, project portfolio and financials.