GOVERNMENT CONTRACT ACCOUNTING & CONSULTING SERVICES

Government Contract Accounting refers to the accounting practices, policies, and procedures required by the United States Federal Government. However, this encompasses a wide range of different requirements depending on factors like the type of contract or grant your business receives, the size of the award, and even the size of your business.

While most Federal Government contracts are Firm Fixed Price (FFP) or Time & Material (T&M) and do not require a specialized accounting system (meaning any commercial accounting or bookkeeping system and firm will be sufficient for your small business), Cost type contracts (Cost Plus and Reimbursable), or certain grants that are treated like Cost type contracts (SBIR Phase II awards, for example), will require a DCAA compliant accounting system. This means the system is compliant with the requirements outlined in FAR Part 31, meets each of the requirements listed in the SF1408 Preaward Accounting System Adequacy Checklist, and is set up and maintained in accordance with the guidance provided in the DCAA’s Contract Audit Manual (DCAM).

More specifically, per FAR 16.3, if your business has a Cost type contract, you must prove your actual costs of doing business and have the ability to project your future costs (including direct costs, overhead, G&A, and fringe). The government requires this because they must be assured they are paying their fair share of your indirect/overhead costs (and not a penny more), and that you can properly track and adjust for changes in these indirect rates throughout the period of performance. The only way to do this is to implement and properly maintain a DCAA compliant accounting system.

Regardless of the accounting software your business implements, from QuickBooks to Deltek, or even NetSuite, at its core, what the government will require from your business if you have a Cost Type award is project job cost accounting. Not only will your accounting system need to properly separate each contract or grant (“job”), but it must segregate direct from indirect costs, allowable vs unallowable costs, be accrual-based (not cash), and will need to have the capability to generate indirect rates calculations and job cost reports. It must also be paired with a DCAA compliant timekeeping system (among many other requirements).

ReliAscent provides government contractors and grantees with outsourced (DCAA compliant) job cost accounting systems and services that can be tailored to meet the complex accounting requirements for nearly any award from the Federal Government. With our unique, team-based approach, we offer small businesses the accounting expertise, and the fractional CFO & Contract Management services they will require to not only remain compliant, but succeed and grow in the highly competitive government contracting industry.

 

A GOVCON ACCOUNTING FIRM LIKE NO OTHER...

Govern Approved Accounting Systems

What separates ReliAscent® from other accounting and consulting firms serving the government contracting industry?

We Don't Sell Software, Unnecessary Products, or Training Services: we aren't here to sell you expensive seminars, unnecessary and overpriced packages, or software (and leave you to fend for yourself). We don't lock your business into an accounting system that costs tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars or one that is nearly impossible to get out of or grow beyond. 

While these platforms can be ideal for defense contractors making more than ~$50M in annual revenue or those with dozens to hundreds of contracts at any given time (with an accounting staff that can be intensively trained to operate the software), they are not realistic or cost-effective for most small businesses.

At ReliAscent®, we don't waste your time with pushy sales tactics.  We don't try to sell you products or services you don't need, provide little to no value, or simply set you up for failure. We are here to help you grow through our expertise and guidance.

 

We're Not Just Accountants—We're Strategic Financial & Contract Consultants: ReliAscent® is a full-service government contract accounting and consulting firm that focuses on making sense of your financial data and helping you to turn that insight into a competitive advantage for your business.  We are not simply a "DCAA bookkeeping firm" or an overpriced CPA firm.  These firms are a dime a dozen and generally have two models (these probably sound familiar): 

1) A Bookkeeping firm with a knowledgeable CPA at the head, but several inexperienced bookkeepers that perform all the work (following a template). You think you are getting expert support for the money you spend each month, but they are constantly making errors and can't answer simple questions about the FAR, DCAM, or even provide basic guidance on the critical issues you face every month.

2) A CPA Firm with overpriced personnel (charging higher rates than ReliAscent®) but lacking Contract & Grant Management and CFO & Business Management expertise and services. "Need help? Call someone else, and good luck!"

In both cases, your business is left at a serious disadvantage.

 

 

YOUR BUSINESS DESERVES A TEAM OF EXPERTS

A "DCAA bookkeeping firm" that simply performs data entry provides no real value other than to (hopefully) keep your business from failing an audit.  If you are serious about wanting your business to succeed and grow in the highly competitive government contracting industry, you also need to have expertise in: financial strategy, government contract management, administration, and negotiation, business management, IP rights, legal support, and even cybersecurity.  That's a lot of expertise and positions to fill in a company with only a few or few dozen employees.

That's where ReliAscent® comes in. Our accounting teams include a Bookkeeper, Senior Accountant, (optional) Controller, and the Account Executive (your very own CFO and Contracts Manager, who runs the accounting team and provides additional services on an as-needed basis).  This approach is entirely unique in our industry, but purposefully structured to strengthen your business. 

We also provide clients with an extensive Partnership Network of CPA's, Law Firms, Proposal Writers, Subject Matter Experts (to support SBIR/STTR awards), Business Development Consultants, and Software Companies, so they have instant access to the other specialized services they need (from taxes, to Uniform Guidance or A133 Audits, to SBIR proposal writing, commercialization support, and legal representation, to name a few). 

To learn more about our team-based approach to serving our clients, visit our popular blog, "Why Does a Team Matter? How the Account Executive Positions Your Business for Success": 

 

Government Contract Accounting - Team based appraoch

 

GOVCON ACCOUNTING BASICS - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The United States Government is the largest consumer in the world.  They purchase more goods and services than any other entity, and they are one of the best customers in the world that a small business can have as they always pay on time, and it seems their demand is always increasing in some capacity.  They will even pay for a portion of your overhead.  As such, they demand preferential treatment as a customer.  They not only have a long list of terms and conditions for which they expect their suppliers to comply with, they also can dictate how a company does their accounting, their billing and other seemingly standard business tasks.  This is the cost of doing business with the world's number one consumer.  Companies that do not prepare for and then comply with these requirements, will not be viewed as suppliers of value to the Federal Government and will not be doing continuing business with the Government.

The rules for supplying goods and services for the United States Government are extremely detailed and found in many places.  The basic rules are found in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (see FAR below) and there are a number of other interactive regulations found in the Code of Federal Regulations, the Office of Management and Budget, as well as each agency modifying these basic requirements to fit their individual agency mission.  This maze of regulations is very intertwined and can be confusing to the uninitiated.