DCAA Compliance Blog

The Department of Defense's SBIR 19.1 and STTR 19.A BAA's are Now Open for Proposal Submission!

 
Small Businesses may now submit their Phase I proposals for the SBIR/STTR 2019.1/A Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) through the Department of Defense (DOD) SBIR/STTR proposal submission website. All proposals for this BAA must be received by 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 6, 2019. 

SBIR/STTR Dates to Remember: 

• January 8, 2019: SBIR 19.1 and STTR 19.A open 
• January 23, 2019: SITIS closes to new questions 
• February 6, 2019: SBIR 19.1 and STTR 19.A close at 8:00 p.m. ET

Proposal Submission
Proposals must be submitted via the DOD SBIR/STTR submission website at https://sbir.defensebusiness.org following the DOD instructions contained in the Announcement, as well as the instructions specific to the Service or Component to which you are applying.

SITIS Q&A
During the open Announcement period, no further direct contact between proposers and topic authors is allowed. However, proposers are encouraged to review relevant information and submit written questions through the SITIS Q&A System at https://sbir.defensebusiness.org/topics. 

The SITIS Q&A service for this Announcement opened on November 28, 2018 and closes to new questions on January 23, 2019. Proposing firms are advised to monitor SITIS during the Announcement period for questions and answers.

Good luck to all of you submitting proposals, and remember: if you do not have a DCAA compliant accounting system required for a Ph II award (or any cost type contract awarded by NASA, the DoD, DHS and other agencies), or are not sure if your current system is fully compliant, please feel free to contact the experts at ReliAscent! 

Contractors with cost-plus fixed fee contracts always feel the squeeze of submitting their current year budgeted billing rates within 90 days of the close of their fiscal year end. While using your 2018 rates for January-March billings should still be approved for payment, you will save yourself from the large headache of reconciling if you submit your 2019 Billing Rate Proposal to get current provisional billing rates sooner than later.

Your Billing Rate Proposal is a required part of contracts containing FAR 42.7. The “BRP” establishes the indirect rates you can apply to your direct costs for your current Fiscal Year. For companies with a December 31 year end, this means you must submit this no later than March 31.

As the year comes to an end, it is the best time to put your budget together and prepare for your on-going efforts for the coming year. If you are unsure of where to start, you can always contact your ReliAscent accountant for help- we have spent years analyzing, developing and preparing Billing Rate Proposals.  We help you look at your current contracts as well as estimated efforts, your anticipated contracts and anticipated efforts, where your current staffing may fall short to fill the gaps, and what costs to plan on increasing in the coming year.

By establishing your 2019 provisional rates now, you will be able to utilize these “new” rates to keep your invoicing in line with your budget, and more accurately see how your current rates are comparing to your budgeted rates throughout the year.  

The Department of Defense SBIR/STTR 19.1/A Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) were pre-released yesterday on the DOD SBIR/STTR Small Business Portal. During the pre-release period, contractors may now view topics and ask technical questions directly to topic authors (contact information can be found at the bottom of each individual topic). Topics can be viewed at: https://sbir.defensebusiness.org/topics.

The DOD will begin accepting proposals on January 8, 2019, and will close to proposals on February 6, 2019, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Plan ahead and submit your proposal early to avoid heavy traffic on the site during the final week.

Dates to Remember:

1) SBIR 19.1 and STTR 19.A Pre-release: November 28, 2018
2) SBIR 19.1 and STTR 19.A Open: January 8, 2019
3) SITIS Q&A Close: January 23, 2019
4) SBIR 19.1 and STTR 19.A Close: February 6, 2019

Good luck!

ReliAscent would like to remind all Small Business Federal Contractors that the DoD's SBIR/STTR 2018.3/C BAA closes to proposal submission tomorrow, Wednesday October 24th, at 8 PM ET. As always, we highly recommend that you submit your proposals as early as possible in order to avoid potential complications (due to the high volume during the final hours of the announcements). All proposal are submitted through the DOD SBIR/STTR submission portal: https://sbir.defensebusiness.org/.

If you have any questions about SBIR contract compliance requirements, or require a DCAA compliant accounting system for a pending Ph II award (or other cost type contract), please feel free to contact us at any time!

Good luck!

*Photo Credit: https://sbir.defensebusiness.org/

Government Contractors: do you know if your accounting system is DCAA compliant?  When was the last time it was audited? Has it been properly maintained since?

What if you have a grant with the Department of Energy (DoE), or National Institutes of Health (NIH)? Do you know if your accounting system meets 10 CFR 600 or 45 CFR 74?  Are you aware of the risks posed to your company by not having a compliant accounting or timekeeping system? 

An evaluation of your accounting system today could save you severe (and costly) headaches when the Federal Government comes knocking. This evaluation can:

• Identify “gaps” in your system compliance
• Identify systems outside of the QuickBooks general ledger program that would be needed for full compliance
• Prepare you so you are ready to pass your next audit

As a small business government contractor, what keeps you awake most nights?  While most would understandably answer, "winning that next contract," “making a profit,” or “avoiding a DCAA audit,” for many small businesses, it is the lack of proper contract and grant management that can be far more costly and devastating to their bottom line and day-to-day operations.  But, isn’t that something your CPA or DCAA bookkeeping firm should help you with?

Unfortunately, the reality is Government Accounting CPA and Bookkeeping firms are a dime a dozen—but accounting is really all you get.  If you have problems with your contract, or are in desperate need of strategic financial or business consulting to stay profitable (or in the Federal Government’s good graces), you’re on your own…

That’s what makes ReliAscent unique. We have over 200 combined years of DCAA compliant accounting experience, and we provide outsourced monthly accounting for contractors and grantees working with all government agencies.  But, our expertise doesn’t stop there.  Each of our clients has direct access to outsourced CFO’s and government contract management experts, and ReliAscent has nearly 200 years combined experience in government contract management.

At ReliAscent, we provide contractors with critical functions that help set them up for success and mitigate risk.  This includes things like contract reviews, negotiations, modifications & requests for equitable adjustment, and contract closeouts and terminations for convenience.  It is this unrivaled combination of knowledge, experience, and services, that sets ReliAscent apart from all other government contract accounting firms.

Contact us today to learn how our complete compliance solution can help position your business for success.

In the world of government contracting, a company's indirect rates are absolutely critical in managing costs effectively and ensuring the business remains profitable.  However, your indirect rate structure is also one of the most important factors in your proposal when competing for a contract...and if you don't know HOW to properly manage your indirect rates—or, if you're not making strategic modifications to your rates at the right times—you may be setting yourself up for failure from the start.

If you don't know whether your rates are truly helping or hurting your business, now is the time to take advantage of ReliAscent's Free Indirect Rates Review.  Our review provides contractors and grantees with sound, valuable advice about their indirect rate system & structure, can help them to understand and maintain DCAA compliance, and can help a small business use their rates as a financial engine to grow their company.

TO GET YOUR FREE INDIRECT RATES REVIEW, CLICK HERE NOW!

With just a little information about your company, our experts can complete your indirect rates review and schedule a call to discuss the path forward, should you need help fixing any errors detected.

Request your Free Review today!

*Don't Forget to Also Download our Helpful White Papers on Indirect Rates:

• Indirect Rates Models - Are You Using the Right One?
• An Introduction to Indirect Rates

Yesterday, ReliAscent released our latest white paper, "Cost and Pricing Data Explained," written by our own, Dave Donley. This paper covers the basics of cost and pricing data, as well as some techniques to reduce risk.

To get your copy of "Cost and Pricing Data Explained," click here now!

We hope you find this white paper helpful, and be on the lookout for our next white paper coming in November: "Strategically Managing Your Indirect Rates."

ReliAscent^® is happy to announce the release of our first newsletter of 2018!

This issue features articles on the National Defense Authorization Act, as well as a discussion on why the Federal Government is concerned with your firm's financial success.

To download your copy of the newsletter, click here now!

As always: if you ever have questions about FAR & DCAA compliance, our services, or government contracting in general, please do not hesitate to call or email us at any time.

Are your Indirect Billing Rates Hurting Your Bottom Line?

Your Indirect Rates are critical for managing costs effectively and ensuring your business remains profitable.  However, if you don't know HOW to properly manage your indirect rates—or, if you're not making strategic modifications to their rates at the right times—you could be losing a lot of money. 

To help small business government contractors make the most of their indirect billing rates, ReliAscent offers the industry’s only, Free Indirect Rates Review.  This review provides contractors and grantees with sound, valuable advice about their indirect rate system & structure, can help them to understand and maintain DCAA compliance, and can help a small business use their rates as a financial engine to grow their company.

TO GET YOUR FREE INDIRECT RATES REVIEW, CLICK HERE NOW!

With just a little information about your company, our experts can complete your indirect rates review and schedule a call to discuss the path forward, should you need help fixing any errors detected.

We encourage small business federal contractors to take advantage of this helpful service, and as always, if you ever have any questions about FAR and DCAA compliance, or our accounting and contract management services for Federal Contractors & Grantees, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.

Helpful Indirect Rates White Papers

• Indirect Rates Models - Are You Using the Right One?
• An Introduction to Indirect Rates