ReliAscent QuickBooks® file review

I often hear people say they want to buy accounting software that is “DCAA Approved”.  Or sometimes they say that they need an accounting system that is “DCAA Approved”.   This is a bit of a misnomer.  First of all, the DCAA does not “approve” software packages nor do they “approve” accounting systems.   A software package may be designed to meet FAR and DCAA requirements, or as it sometimes is referred to, to be “compliant” with DCAA requirements.  As we have discussed in previous blogs, there are accounting software packages out there that are designed to be compliant with DCAA requirements.  There are also accounting software systems that are not designed to be compliant with DCAA requirements but they can usually be incorporated into a compliant system by adding on some external features to cover all of the compliance issues.  These “external systems” usually include things like timekeeping systems, expense reporting systems, indirect rate calculation systems and complete subsidiary job cost reporting systems among others.  Finally, whether the software is designed to meet DCAA requirements or not, the company employing the system must have a set of policies and procedures to support operation of the system in a uniform manner. 

At ReliAscent we realize that a large number of small government contractors use QuickBooks® as their accounting system.  Since QuickBooks® is not designed to meet FAR & DCAA requirements, there must be some add-ons as well as a strong system of policies & procedures in order to have a compliant system. 

The first step in such a system is with the General Ledger system (in this case QuickBooks®).  ReliAscent has been evaluating and making QuickBooks® based systems compliant for over 20 years.  As a small part of the DCAA compliance review, ReliAscent can perform a quick review of the QuickBooks® file to see if it has the set-up capable of being the heart of a compliant system.  Right now ReliAscent is offering this review to small government contractors as a free service.    Of course, in order to evaluate the company’s complete system for compliance (such as would be done in a DCAA Systems Audit), all other components would need to be evaluated as well.  A complete system evaluation would incur charges for the time spent by ReliAscent to perform such a “Mock Audit” of a company’s system.  Having said that, I really think the QuickBooks® review is a powerful tool.  This can quickly tell a company if there are any “gaps” at the core of the system.  It is like building a house, you need a solid foundation on which to start.  If you need a review done, please contact me today to take advantage of this offer.

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