Chart of accounts and indirect rate templates for small government contractors
Books for government contract work sort costs into three kinds: direct, indirect and unallowable. This page explains those three buckets, shows a one-page excerpt of a chart of accounts template, and says exactly what each template is and is not.
These are Excel templates for educational use. They are not accounting, tax or legal advice. No template makes an accounting system adequate or approved, and this page does not claim approval by DCAA or any other agency for any product. Talk to an accountant who has worked with government contracts before you use any of this for pricing or billing.
The three buckets
- Direct costs. Costs charged to a specific contract, such as direct labor, materials, subcontracts and contract travel.
- Indirect costs. Costs that support the work but are not charged to one contract. The templates use three pools: fringe benefits, overhead, and general and administrative (G&A).
- Unallowable costs. Costs that cannot be billed to the government. The FAR says costs that are expressly unallowable must be identified and excluded from any billing, claim or proposal applicable to a Government contract (FAR 31.201-6(a)). That is why the chart of accounts gives them their own accounts.
The cost principles, including which kinds of cost are allowable, are in FAR Part 31. Read the sections that apply to you in the current FAR text. A template cannot decide that for you.
How the rate calculator works
The calculator uses one common three-tier structure and says so in its own notes. Fringe rate is total fringe benefits divided by total labor. Overhead rate is overhead costs plus fringe on overhead labor, divided by direct labor. G&A rate is G&A costs plus fringe on G&A labor, divided by total cost input. The fully burdened (wrap) rate is (1 + fringe + overhead) x (1 + G&A). Other structures exist and need different formulas. The notes call the results provisional rates used for billing, to be reconciled at fiscal year end.
Free sample: part of the chart of accounts
Download the free excerpt (PDF, 1 page)
Two of the template's nine sections, copied as written: Direct costs, and Unallowable costs (must track separately). It shows the columns: account number, name, type, pool, FAR reference and notes. Use it to see whether the structure fits how you work. The FAR references and notes are the template's own, so check them against the current FAR.
What the paid versions add
Chart of accounts. The full template is one worksheet with 84 accounts in nine sections: assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, direct costs, fringe, overhead, G&A and unallowable costs. It is a list. You enter the accounts into your own accounting software; it does not post transactions or connect to anything.
Indirect rate calculator. An Excel workbook with eight tabs: Instructions, Direct Labor, Fringe Benefits, Overhead, G&A, Direct Costs, Rate Summary and Forward Pricing. Yellow cells are inputs and green cells are formulas. The Rate Summary includes an absorption check that should read $0.00. The file says it was tested in Microsoft Excel desktop for Windows and has no macros. It does not cover other rate structures, such as a value-added G&A base.
Where to get them
DCAA Chart of Accounts Template
Excel chart of accounts for small government contractors, 84 accounts.
DCAA Indirect Rate Calculator
Excel workbook for fringe, overhead and G&A rates, the wrap rate and forward pricing projections.
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