Compliance solution
Cost accounting a DCAA auditor can actually follow.
Cortrova is a manufacturing ERP whose finance and job-costing module is built to support DCAA-compliant cost accounting for government contractors. Job costing, timekeeping, and indirect-rate structure sit on a GAAP-aligned ledger with full audit trails, so incurred-cost evidence under FAR Part 31 and DFARS is traceable from the general ledger down to the job.
The challenge
- !Job costs, labor, and indirect rates spread across QuickBooks, spreadsheets, and the shop floor, impossible to reconcile for an incurred-cost submission
- !Timekeeping that cannot show the daily, audit-ready labor distribution DCAA expects
- !No clean segregation of direct and indirect costs or a defensible indirect-rate structure
- !Cost accounting disconnected from the production data that actually drives the numbers
How Cortrova answers
- ✓Job costing captures direct material, labor, and overhead against the job, traceable from the general ledger down to the work order
- ✓Timekeeping records labor distribution with attributed, time-stamped entries suited to DCAA labor-audit expectations
- ✓Direct and indirect costs are segregated with an indirect-rate structure aligned to FAR Part 31 cost principles
- ✓A GAAP-aligned ledger applies audit trails to journal entries and approvals, so every number has a defensible history
- ✓Because finance shares the production data model, cost evidence ties directly to the parts, jobs, and hours that generated it
What an adequate accounting system needs
Direct, indirect, and traceable end to end.
DCAA looks for a system that segregates costs, distributes labor, and produces a defensible trail. Cortrova finance is built to those expectations.
Job cost accounting
Direct material, labor, and applied overhead accumulate against each job and work order.
Labor & timekeeping
Daily labor distribution with attributed, time-stamped records for defensible labor audits.
Indirect-rate structure
Segregated direct and indirect pools with a rate structure aligned to FAR Part 31.
Audit trail
Journal entries and approvals carry full audit trails for incurred-cost evidence.
How it works
Adopting DCAA-compliant ERP.
Structure the cost model
Set up direct and indirect pools, rate structure, and job cost accounts aligned to FAR Part 31 cost principles.
Capture cost as work happens
Material, labor, and overhead post against the job from the same production data the floor already generates.
Distribute labor daily
Timekeeping records the labor distribution DCAA expects, attributed and time-stamped.
Produce the evidence
Incurred-cost and job-cost reports trace from the general ledger to the job, with audit trails intact.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is Cortrova DCAA compliant?
DCAA does not certify software; it evaluates a contractor's accounting system and practices. Cortrova is built to support a DCAA-compliant cost-accounting system: job costing, daily labor distribution, segregated direct and indirect costs, a FAR Part 31-aligned indirect-rate structure, and a GAAP-aligned ledger with full audit trails. Confirm your specific requirements, such as an SF1408 pre-award survey, with our team and your DCAA representative.
Does Cortrova handle indirect rates and cost pools?
Yes. Direct and indirect costs are segregated into pools with an indirect-rate structure aligned to FAR Part 31, so overhead and G&A are applied consistently and defensibly across jobs.
How does timekeeping support a DCAA labor audit?
Timekeeping records labor distribution with attributed, time-stamped entries, so labor can be traced from the individual to the job and reconciled to payroll and the general ledger, which is what DCAA labor floor-checks look for.
Can the same system also cover ITAR and CMMC for defense work?
Yes. Cortrova's document marking, attribute-based access, and audit infrastructure support ITAR technical-data handling and CMMC 2.0 Level 2 readiness, and it deploys on-premises or air-gapped, so a defense manufacturer can run cost accounting and controlled-data handling on one platform.
Get started
Bring this into your compliance boundary.
We'll tailor a demo to your program, controls, and deployment constraints.