Redstone Government Consulting Blog | Quickbooks

Government contracting moves fast and brings with it a dense web of compliance requirements. For small to mid-sized contractors, staying compliant with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) standards, and other regulations, while also focusing on growth, can feel like solving a puzzle with missing and shifting pieces. Each contract award introduces new requirements for cost tracking, timekeeping, reporting, and audit readiness, often with little room for error. What’s more, evolving guidance, shifting contract types, and limited internal resources can make it difficult to build a financial infrastructure that both supports operations and withstands government oversight. Without the right support, compliance gaps can go unnoticed until it’s too late.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, DCAA Audit Support, Quickbooks

Time tracking isn’t just an HR or project management issue for government contractors, it’s a critical accounting function. Accurate timekeeping feeds directly into everything from billing and financial statements to compliance and audit readiness. Let’s explain why this matters for your business, especially through the accounting lens.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, DCAA Audit Support, Quickbooks

Job costing involves tracking all expenses related to a specific job or project, including materials, labor, subcontractors, travel, and various other costs. For government contractors, this is especially crucial. In the context of payroll, job costing means taking each labor dollar and accurately allocating it to the appropriate cost pool and project. So, theoretically, all you need to do is set up a few projects, establish a DCAA-compliant chart of accounts, ensure you're following FAR Part 31 cost principles, and you’re ready to go, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), Small Business Compliance, Quickbooks, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

QuickBooks Online, while not specifically designed for government contractors, is still considered a compliant software for government contractors. It can also handle the setup of any type of contract that you may be awarded. The process is straightforward, but there are some key considerations that need to be made before diving in headfirst into your project setup.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Quickbooks

QuickBooks Online is one of the most used accounting software for small to medium-sized businesses. The same is true for small businesses in the government contracting sector. QuickBooks Online does not label itself as a DCAA-compliant software to the extent that other software does (Costpoint, Unanet, etc.). However, it is a DCAA-compliant software, and it has the reporting capabilities needed to be considered as such. Let’s look at three essential reports you need to use as a government contractor for QuickBooks Online. Now, I realize these reports are not exactly groundbreaking reports. However, some people fail to realize the importance of each report and do not really understand how to utilize them to their full potential.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Quickbooks

QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop are great pieces of accounting software for small businesses. There is almost no accounting task that QuickBooks cannot handle, and the good news for those looking to calculate indirect rates is that it is considered a government-compliant accounting system when used correctly. This means you can use it to pass an SF1408 pre–award audit and can even use the system to handle your government contract accounting indefinitely.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Quickbooks

QuickBooks is considered a government-compliant accounting system and can definitely get the job done for a lot of small government contractors. However, there may come a time when you need to change your accounting system to something that is designed with government contractors in mind.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Quickbooks

The accounting function for a government contractor can be a tedious job at times. Be sure to utilize QuickBooks Online Workflows to its full potential to help simplify the process.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Quickbooks

The DCAA imposes strict requirements on government contractors when it comes to timekeeping. Make sure to utilize some of the key features in QuickBooks Time to help your business remain DCAA compliant.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Quickbooks

Intuit is constantly developing and improving QuickBooks, particularly the online version. And while it’s still not nearly as robust as some of the more complex accounting software solutions that are geared specifically toward government contractors (nor should we expect it to be with the price point difference), it will still get the job done, particularly for small to mid-size contractors that don’t have a bunch of overly complex contracts.

Topics: Quickbooks