2026
24 posts
How to Build a DCAA-Compliant Hour Timesheet Process for Government Contracting Teams
For companies in Government Contracting , timekeeping is not just an HR or payroll task. It is a core internal control that directly affects labor charging,...
DCAA Audit Preparation for Government Contractors
DCAA audit preparation starts long before an auditor requests records. For government contractors, labor is often one of the most closely reviewed cost...
Teaming Agreement Risks: Avoiding Affiliation Issues in DCAA Audits
A teaming agreement that wins you a contract can also be the document that costs you your small business status — if it's not structured correctly. I've...
The Automated ICS: Future Tools for Instant Incurred Cost Filing
The incurred cost submission deadline doesn't move. But for most small contractors, the preparation process still looks like it did twenty years ago. I've...
Internal Audit Charters: Building an Independent Review Function
The contractors who handle DCAA audits best aren't the ones who prepare hardest when DCAA calls. They're the ones who never stopped auditing themselves....
Cost Estimating System Requirements: Accuracy in Bid Development
A proposal isn't just a sales document. In federal contracting, it's a legal representation of your costs — and DCAA treats it that way. I've watched...
How to Set Up a DCAA Compliant Timekeeping System for Government Contractors
For government contractors, adhering to DCAA compliance is not just a regulatory requirement but a vital component of efficient operations and financial...
Progress Payments vs. Performance-Based Payments: DCAA Logic
Most contractors understand that the government pays them. Fewer understand that how the government pays them determines how DCAA audits them — and those...
The Role of the Compliance Officer in a DCAA-Regulated Firm
The single most expensive position a government contractor can leave unfilled isn't a billable engineer. It's a compliance officer. I've audited firms where...
MMAS Compliance: The 10 Standards Every Government Contractor Must Know
If your material accounting system can't pass scrutiny, neither can your contract. I've sat across the table from contractors who genuinely believed their...
Interest Penalties under the Prompt Payment Act: GovCon Guidelines
Your company submitted a proper invoice on June 15 for completed contract deliverables, but the government didn't process payment until September 3—79 days...
Subcontractor Oversight: Monitoring Financial Health for DCAA Compliance
Your company awarded a $4.2 million critical path subcontract to a vendor whose financial statements showed strong revenues and growth—but during contract...
CPSR Readiness: Designing a Compliant Contractor Purchasing System
Your company won a $15 million cost-reimbursement prime contract requiring you to manage $8 million in subcontracts, triggering a mandatory Contractor...
Stop Struggling With 2 CFR Part 200 Compliance: Hour Timesheet Makes It Easy
Organizations receiving federal funds know one thing for sure: 2 CFR Part 200 is non‑negotiable . The Uniform Guidance governs how every dollar is tracked,...
What Is PIEE for Invoicing—and Why Hour Timesheet Makes It Easier for Government Contractors
Government contractors hear a lot of acronyms, but few matter more to getting paid than PIEE —the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment . If you’ve...
Entertainment and Travel: Distinguishing Personal vs. Billable Costs
Your company's VP of Business Development traveled to a conference mixing customer meetings with recreational activities, charging the entire $8,500 trip to...
Legal and Consultant Fees: Documentation Required to Avoid Disallowance
Your company incurred $145,000 in legal fees defending against an employment discrimination claim and $78,000 in consultant fees for "business advisory...
Executive Compensation Caps: Calculating the DCAA Ceiling
Your company paid your CEO $875,000 in total compensation and charged the full amount to indirect pools allocating across all contracts including government...
Service Center Accounting: Allocating IT and Facilities Costs DCAA
Your company allocated IT department costs using headcount—each employee charged equal share regardless of actual technology consumption—while facilities...
Allocating Fringe Benefits: DCAA Best Practices for Compliance
Your company calculated fringe benefit rates by dividing total fringe costs by total payroll including both direct and indirect labor, then applied those...
Indirect Rate Structure Design: One, Two, or Three-Tier Pools
Your company operated with a single overhead rate pooling all indirect costs—engineering support, facilities, administrative staff, and executive...
Labor Distribution: Bridging the Gap Between Payroll and General Ledger
Your DCAA auditor traced September labor costs from contract invoices backward through job costing to general ledger to payroll registers to approved...
Uncompensated Overtime: Managing Fair Labor Standards in GovCon
Your company discovered that salaried engineers routinely worked fifty to sixty hours weekly but recorded only forty hours on timesheets because "that's...
Automated Timekeeping Systems: DCAA Requirements for SaaS Platforms
Your company migrated to a popular cloud-based timekeeping platform promising "DCAA compliance in minutes" with automated features, mobile access, and...