If your business is considering becoming a federal contractor, you probably want to consider using a GSA Schedule Contract, especially since many federal agencies use GSA Schedules, including the Armed Forces. Although applying for a GSA Schedule can be challenging, these contracts can be fiscally rewarding and offer several benefits that make it worthwhile. If you’re a small business, another point to consider is that 80% of GSA MAS contracts go to small businesses. What is a GSA Schedule? GSA Schedule Contracts, also known as GSA Schedules or Federal Supply Schedules, arean indefinite delive ..read more

Last month, I spent a considerable amount of time supporting a favorite client in answering “Clarifications and Discussion” coming from the government.  My client and his subcontract team had submitted a proposal earlier in the year and the government was asking them to support their costs. As it turned out, neither the prime nor the subcontractors had developed the support before submitting their cost proposals.  In fairness to the team, the government had not required them to submit supporting cost and pricing data at the time of submission.  So, our response to clarification request entaile ..read more

If you’re a small business owner who feels overwhelmed by the myriad tasks involved in keeping the books, you’re not alone. Accounting takes a lot of time and effort, but it’s time and effort well spent because every successful business relies on solid accounting information to operate smoothly on a daily basis and realize long-term growth. On the flip side, poor accounting and failure to keep good financial and business records can be devastating to a company. Small and startup companies can benefit by outsourcing several aspects of their business, but accounting is one of the most important ..read more

If you’re a small business owner and realize that you need to outsource your accounting, the next step is to find an accountant; but what should you look for? Although there are plenty of options, it’s important to choose your accountant wisely because that individual will be an important asset to your business and help it grow. Conversely, a bad accountant could impact your business financially and even get you into legal trouble. Two things you’ll want to think about as you start the process are: 1) what accounting tasks you need help with and 2) whether you need help on a long-term basis or ..read more

An important part of any business is record keeping. You should keep records about payrolls, invoices, and taxes. Not only will these records keep you in compliance with the law, but will also help you understand your business’ financial health. A large amount of paperwork is accumulated each year, and it can be difficult to determine how long you should keep this information. When determining how long you should keep records, you first should consider the type of information you’re looking at. The IRS has given businesses specific guidelines for particular pieces of information, such as how l ..read more

A Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audit is an evaluation of a condition within your company measured against particular government standards and/or regulations. This post will address the types of DCAA audits, the conditions that initiate them, the purpose of the audit, and how to prepare. Below is a list of the various types of DCAA audits in order of the life cycle of a typical contractor, along with some helpful tips to ensure DCAA approval. Preaward Pricing Proposal Review Condition: The contractor has submitted a cost proposal on a Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 15, Neg ..read more

Congress has passed a tax bill that will take effect in 2018, ushering in some of the most significant tax changes in three decades. There are a lot of changes in the new bill, which was signed into law on December 22, 2017. You can use this memo as a high-level overview of some of the most significant items in the new bill. Because major tax changes like this happen so seldom, it may be worthwhile for you to schedule a tax-planning consultation early in the year to ensure you reap the most tax savings possible during 2018. Contact us to schedule your consultation today. Key changes for indivi ..read more

As most government contractors know, DCAA is extremely serious about effective and accurate timekeeping. In short, your government contractor timekeeping must be perfect. In the few instances that one of our clients failed to have their accounting system approved, it was caused by their timekeeping being less than perfect. The two criteria included on the SF1408 are: A timekeeping system that identifies employee’s labor to the appropriate cost objectives A labor distribution system that charges direct and indirect labor to the appropriate cost objectives So this means that the employees must b ..read more

Budgets are of vital importance to government contractors. First, your budget is a great planning tool. It forces you to think about your company’s direction and the associated expenditures. In addition, your budget provides the basis for determining the pricing on cost proposals. This budget will be the document that government auditors and pricing specialists will want to see as justification for the indirect rates bid in your cost proposals. It provides an important component in determining whether you will make money on the contract. Second, the budget will provide a yardstick to use in ..read more

A common question that I field is: “Does this mean that we have to pay the government back?” Let’s go through the situations where a contractor will be in a government payback position. First, the obvious: The Government overpaid you; such as paying an invoice twice. A contract that you have has disincentive clauses that you activated. Other overbillings need to be viewed from the prism of the contract type. Fixed Price: You billed the Government and got paid, but you did not provide the goods or services required. Or the goods or services did not meet the Government standards. The goods and s ..read more