DCAA Compliant Bookkeeping DCAA Compliant Chart of Accounts TMG

The final chart of accounts should reflect the company’s indirect cost pools, as identified by the root parent-level accounts in the expense section of the chart of accounts. Indirect costs are incurred to support a business segment or the administrative functions of the business.

Government contractors need to have a specifically designed accounting system to be awarded certain contracts. They also need to pass the checklist items on the Pre-Award Survey Form SF1408. SF1408 is a checklist used by a Defense Contract Audit Agency auditor to determine if a government contractor has an acceptable accounting system to be awarded a cost-plus contract. Even if a government contractor is a subcontractor to a prime, they may need to pass the checklist items regardless of their contract.

Accumulating Costs by Contract

The primary benefit to QBO is definitely the accessibility, but remote access can be established for QB Desktop as well. From a cost perspective, QB Desktop is still the less expensive option. For 2022, Intuit is transitioning to a subscription-based platform for QB Desktop, which is a significant dcaa chart of accounts change from the past. Historically, you could purchase QB Desktop and not have to upgrade it for 3 years. Going forward, subscriptions will have to be renewed at least annually even for QB Desktop. Even so, the annual price tag will still be a little less than the subscription cost for QBO.

• Our firm has expertise in industries including manufacturing, construction, real estate, financial services, healthcare, government, education and retail.
• For example, if you have five contracts with a government agency, you need to ensure that revenues, costs and billing for each contract can be distinguished.
• PROCAS, LLC may, but is not obligated to, monitor or review statements made by third parties on PROCAS, LLC’S Web Site.
• Unfortunately, government contract, job cost accounting differs substantially from the commercial bookkeeping and accounting that a traditional bookkeeper or CPA is familiar with.
• An accounting system represents a combination of records, internal controls, and written policies and procedures that function together in the process of accumulating and reporting financial data.

Set up QuickBooks with employee information, compensation data and payroll items to generate a labor distribution report. Every type of labor, including paid time off and holidays, should have a payroll item. Correctly mapping these will allow labor costs to be posted to the relevant general ledger accounts. To set up QuickBooks for the class method, create a class in the class list for each indirect cost pool structure identified in the indirect cost allocation policy.

How to Register a Business in Washington, DC

Organizing the cost pool structure in the chart of accounts has the added benefit of accommodating an add-on application such as ICAT . ICAT reads costs recorded in the QuickBooks general ledger chart of accounts, automatically calculates indirect rates, and allocates indirect costs to intermediate and final cost objectives as required under the SF1408 item 2. You can watch a video on how to set up a QuickBooks chart of accounts for ICAT here. The best way to organize these costs is using a DCAA-compliant chart of accounts. In addition, a DCAA-compliant chart of accounts has cost pools that contain these direct and indirect expenses. Such as the direct cost pool which contains direct expenses, and indirect cost pools such as a fringe benefit pool, overhead pool, or general administrative pool which contains indirect expenses.

Regardless of your approach to the allocation process, the following steps will help you record the costs to be allocated. Analyze current policies and procedures – primarily focusing on stronger Internal Controls – for limited, small business resources. Recommend specific additions and https://quickbooks-payroll.org/ deletions with explanatory comments. Using templates, tailor ten draft policies and procedures to address gaps. Explain Accounting System Review process and recommend a priority-order for addressing findings. Explain labor and labor-related month-end adjustments and their timing.

Do you have an existing accounting system needing improvement?

An accounting system represents a combination of records, internal controls, and written policies and procedures that function together in the process of accumulating and reporting financial data. During the performance of government contracts, the contractor is required to develop its accounting systems in a manner consistent with generally accepted accounting principles . However, government regulations, particularly FAR Part 31 and the CAS, play a significant role in the tailoring of a contractor’s accounting system.