Did you fill out your timecard today? I'm talking about exempt employees mainly here since non-exempt employees have always had fairly difinitive ways to record time for both government and non-government jobs. Does anybody remember the "good old days" where you filled out a what looked like a punchcard for all of your hours worked? How about feeling like your employer didn't trust you even though you were salaried? Do you have trouble remembering to record your time spent let alone remembering to record the time each day? You are not alone. Timecards for government contractors are some of the most difficult paradyme shifts when entering the world of government contracting. Many systems exist but not all will pass DCAA muster. The most common problem system involves filling out Excel spreadsheets electronically. These systems typically don't have the type of controls the DCAA wants to see and will fail a DCAA audit as a result. There are various "manual" versions of timekeeping (reminiscent of the punch card mentioned above) and there are a host of web-based systems that have been developed specifically to meet the DCAA requirements. If you have any questions about your system, seek professional help prior to your DCAA audit to make sure your system will pass.
