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Government Contracting

Quick Facts about Fiscal Year 2020 Per Diem Rates

Timing: Fiscal year 2020 Per Diem rates will go into effect October 1, 2019.

 

Background: Each Fiscal Year the Government determines the per diem rates for the Continental United States (CONUS). These rates are the maximum allowances Federal employees can incur for expenses while on official travel. The Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) determines the rates for non-foreign locations outside the Continental United States, also known as non-foreign OCONUS (e.g. Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and other U.S. territories and possessions). The Department of State (DoS) sets rates for foreign locations.

 

Three allowances of the CONUS per diem rate:

  1. Lodging
  2. Meals
  3. Incidentals

 

Helpful DoD Per Diem links:

Access the Quick find Per Diem rates here on October 1st

Per Diem Rates Calculator

Per Diem Reporting Procedures & Responsibilities

If you are required to have GSA per diem rates, access them here.

Three Reasons Why Your Small Business Should Attend Insight 2019

Deltek’s annual user conference, Insight, consists of over 3,000+ attendees, hundreds of product specific tracks, direct access to Deltek product experts and more! As most small businesses, budget is always a large concern. We’ve outlined three reasons this investment should be a no brainer:

 

  1. Professional Growth – Expanding your product knowledge with over hundreds of breakout sessions to choose from and opportunity to network with other like-minded professionals will only increase your product skills and industry expertise. You can also earn those CPE credits you’ve been putting off all year.
  2. Networking – Insight is a great way to mix and mingle with not only industry peers but the Deltek product experts themselves. You can find these product connoisseurs during expo hall hours and even schedule one-on-one appointments to ask questions and share feedback. The expo hall is also a perfect time to stop by booth #2 and say hello to the PCI team!
  3. Return Home as the Office Hero – Your ERP system helps to run your organization. The content covered at Insight will provide you with best practices on how to efficiently run your back office. Your new relationships with Deltek experts and industry peers will also come in handy if you find yourself stuck on a task or need assistance. The sessions at Insight will also prepare you with what to expect regarding product road maps, ensuring your organization stays ahead of the curve on what’s to come!

 

This year’s Deltek Insight is taking place from November 18-21st at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, FL. If your organization is interested in attending, contact us today for a $100 discount code.

 

Register now for Insight!

Tidying Up Your Government Contracting Travel

Contract travel can be a messy and complex process. Employees may be using multiple booking tools and credit cards making it next to impossible to track whether your employees are staying within your travel policy guidelines. Below we’ve outlined the four largest concerns government contractors face with travel.

 

Top 4 Concerns for Government Contracting Travel

  1. Per Diem – It’s often difficult to manually track employee travel to ensure they are booking approved per diem rates.
  2. Corporate Travel Policy Compliance – Guidelines set by employers for business travel are often not followed.
  3. Accurate Travel Spend Reporting – If employees are using personal credit cards, booking travel through Expedia and managing their own expenses it can be somewhat impossible to ensure you are accurately tracking all their expenses.
  4. Manual and time-consuming expense process – Employees often delay submission of expense reports as it can be a tedious and time-consuming task.

 

An integrated travel and expense solution will ensure employees are following company travel policies. It will also allow access to real-time reporting tools and automate the expense reconciliation process. Learn more about how ARCH can be used as the single solution for booking, reporting and managing your travel policies.

 

For more information, contact us today.

The Basics of Incurred Cost Submission (ICS)

Do I need to file for Incurred Cost Submission (ICS)? If you have performed one or more Cost Reimbursable or Time and Materials (T&M) contracts (prime AND subcontracts) during your fiscal year in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 52.216-7, you will need to complete and submit Incurred Cost Submission (ICS) to the DCAA and DCMA.

 

When is the due date for ICS submissions? Incurred cost claims are due six (6) months after completion of the contractor’s fiscal year end.

 

What documentation do I need to provide? In accordance with the DCAA ICE Model, the following information is required in an ICS.

 

Schedule A – Summary of Indirect Expense Rates

Schedule B, C, D – Indirect Cost Pools

Schedule E – Claimed Allocation Bases

Schedule F – Cost of Money Schedule G Booked and Claimed Direct Costs

Schedule H – Direct Costs by Contract at Claimed Rates

Schedule H-1 – Government Participation by Pool

Schedule I – Cumulative Allowable Cost Worksheet

Schedule J – Subcontract Information

Schedule K – Hours and Amounts on T&M Contracts

Schedule L – Payroll Reconciliation

Schedule M – Accounting/Organization Changes

Schedule N – Certificate of Indirect Costs

Schedule O – Contract Closing Information

 

Why should you care? You may have to lower your rates and pay the government back the difference if your overhead costs are less than projected. It is important to monitor your costs, particularly overhead costs before your ICS is due. Should your costs be lower than projected maybe it’s time to make an investment that you have been putting off in efforts to maintain your billing rates. On the other hand, if your costs are much higher than expected you don’t want to wait until the end of the year to try to cut costs or tell your client that rates are going up. Lastly, if submissions are late, you may be at risk to lose the ability to bill the government and could even be subject to penalties.

 

Now What? Do you have questions about your ICS? Contact PCI’s government contract specialists to prepare or review your Incurred Cost Submission. Contact us today!