Posts by Jennifer Eubanks
Setting Financial Goals for Government Contractors: A Q1 Planning Guide
Summary of Key Points Financial goals for government contractors must align with contract strategy, focusing on competitive indirect rates, adequate working capital, compliant accounting systems, and sustainable profitability. Revenue goals should be built from realistic pipeline analysis, distinguishing between bookings and recognized revenue while considering contract type mix and margin profiles. Indirect rate targets should…
Read MoreGetting DCAA Audit-Ready in Q1: A Year-End Close Checklist for Government Contractors
Q1 preparation is essential for DCAA audit readiness, particularly for contractors with cost-reimbursement contracts facing a six-month incurred cost submission deadline. Systematic preparation in January through March reduces the risk of questioned costs, delayed audits, and billing suspensions. January focuses on year-end close and compliance validation, including completing reconciliations, calculating and analyzing final indirect rates…
Read MoreLast-Minute Tax Moves Small Business Owners Should Make Before Filing Season
Summary of Key Points Business owners can still reduce 2025 tax liability before filing by maximizing SEP IRA or Solo 401(k) contributions, funding an HSA, organizing deductions, and paying outstanding estimated taxes to minimize penalties. Several major tax strategies required action before December 31, 2025, including Section 179 equipment purchases, establishing new retirement plans, prepaying…
Read MoreIn-House vs. Outsourced Bookkeeping: Which Is Right for Your Business?
Summary of Keypoints Bookkeeping involves more than data entry, including transaction recording, reconciliations, payroll coordination, accounts payable/receivable, organized charts of accounts, tax-ready categorization, financial reporting, and compliance, all of which form the foundation for accurate decision-making. In-house bookkeeping carries significant true costs beyond salary, including payroll taxes, benefits, office space, software, recruitment, training, management time,…
Read MoreThe Cost of Non-Compliance: How FAR & CAS Compliance Mistakes Can Undermine Your Entire Contract Strategy
Summary of Keypoints FAR and CAS non-compliance can eliminate opportunities before award or destroy profitability after award, causing proposal rejections, cost disallowances, billing suspensions, or forced contract type changes that undermine otherwise strong technical performance. Common compliance failures include indefensible indirect rate structures, double-charging costs, and inclusion of unallowable expenses, which lead to proposal inadequacy…
Read MoreWhen Financial Planning Ignores CAS Standards
Summary of Keypoints Not being formally CAS-covered does not eliminate CAS-related risk, because early financial planning choices can create cost structures that later become expensive to unwind and can still trigger DCAA scrutiny during proposals, pre-award surveys, and accounting system reviews. CAS coverage is described as kicking in through CAS-covered awards thresholds, with full coverage…
Read MoreHow to Build a Forward Pricing Rate Proposal (FPRP) That Survives DCAA Review and Wins Contracts
Summary of Keypoints A Forward Pricing Rate Proposal (FPRP) establishes pre-reviewed indirect rates for future proposals and billing, allowing contractors to avoid rebuilding rate justifications for every bid and giving contracting officers confidence in pricing for cost-reimbursement, T&M, and IDIQ contracts. An FPRP is built on verifiable historical cost data adjusted for documented future changes,…
Read MoreFAR & CAS Compliance Is the Backbone of Your Financial Strategy
Summary of Keypoints FAR and CAS compliance governs nearly every financial aspect of government contracting, including allowable costs, indirect rate structures, proposal pricing, billing practices, audit standards, and accounting system design, making it the foundation of whether and how contractors get paid. Contractors often treat compliance as an afterthought, delaying attention until audits, questioned costs,…
Read MoreUnderstanding the Difference Between Cost Proposals and Pricing Proposals and Why Getting It Wrong Could Trigger a Rejection
Summary of Keypoints Cost proposals and pricing proposals are not interchangeable, and submitting the wrong one is a common reason for proposal rejection, even when the numbers themselves are reasonable. Cost proposals require full cost transparency and detailed buildup, including labor by category and hour, fully supported indirect rates, subcontractor cost data, other direct costs…
Read MoreHow to Use Historical Costs to Justify Forward Pricing: A GovCon Guide to Data-Driven Bids
Summary of Keypoints Historical cost data is the foundation of defensible forward pricing, because FAR 15.404-1 requires agencies to assess cost realism by comparing proposed costs to verifiable past performance, not estimates or intuition. Well-maintained historical costs reveal true cost behavior, including actual labor productivity, indirect rate trends, differences between contract types, and subcontractor or…
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