DCAA-Compliant Timekeeping with TimeRewards and Sage Intacct

Government contractors need more than a basic timesheet app. They need a repeatable process for recording time daily, charging labor to the right cost objective, approving timesheets, documenting corrections, and carrying that labor into the accounting system without re-keying.

TimeRewards handles the employee-facing timekeeping and approval workflow. Sage Intacct handles project accounting, labor costing, dimensions, and financial reporting. Connected, they support an accurate, controlled, and audit-ready labor accounting process.

What does DCAA-compliant timekeeping actually mean?

DCAA states plainly that there is no such thing as a “DCAA-approved government accounting system.” An accounting system is more than a software package — it includes the organization’s accounting methods, procedures, and controls. The same software can be configured as part of an acceptable system, or implemented in a way that fails.

For labor and timekeeping, DCAA guidance emphasizes these controls:

• Employees record time daily.
• Timesheets include all hours worked, including uncompensated overtime.
• Time is charged to the correct direct or indirect cost objective.
• Employees complete and certify their own timesheets.
• Supervisors review and approve employee time.
• Changes and adjustments are controlled and documented.
• Labor distribution reconciles to timesheets, payroll, job-cost records, and the general ledger.

Technology supports these requirements. The contractor remains responsible for defining and following the policy.

Is Sage Intacct automatically DCAA compliant?

No — and no vendor should claim otherwise. Sage Intacct provides financial management, project accounting, dimensions, reporting, and time-and-expense capabilities that can support a government contractor’s requirements. Whether the system is acceptable depends on configuration, how labor data enters accounting, and whether procedures and controls are actually followed.

For organizations that need a more specialized employee timekeeping process, TimeRewards operates as the timekeeping and approval layer connected to Sage Intacct.

How TimeRewards and Sage Intacct work together

1. Sync accounting data from Sage Intacct. Employees, customers, projects, tasks, items, departments, locations, classes, and other configured dimensions become available in TimeRewards.
2. Employees enter time in TimeRewards. They select the project, task, activity, contract, or indirect code that applies to the work performed.
3. TimeRewards applies timekeeping controls. Project restrictions, validation rules, required fields, reminders, locked periods, and approval workflows improve record quality.
4. Employees submit timesheets. Submission creates a clear line between time being prepared and time formally certified for review.
5. Managers review and approve. Supervisors, project managers, department managers, or other designated approvers check hours and charge codes.
6. Approved time syncs to Sage Intacct with the appropriate project, task, item, employee, and dimension references.
7. Finance uses the data for labor costing, contract reporting, project analysis, billing, and reconciliation.

Supporting daily, contemporaneous time entry

The single most cited DCAA timekeeping principle: employees record time daily, rather than reconstructing a week from memory on Friday afternoon.

TimeRewards gives employees one place to record hours by project and task from supported devices. Pair time-entry rules with reminders and management reporting to surface who has not completed their time — reinforcing the written policy instead of relying on memory.

Recording all hours worked (total time accounting)

Contractors may need to account for all hours worked, not only hours billed to a government contract. Employees may need to record:

• Government contracts
• Commercial projects
• Internal administration
• Business development
• Training
• Paid time off
• Uncompensated overtime
• Other direct or indirect activities

Capturing only billable hours distorts labor rates. TimeRewards can present the right direct and indirect activities so every working hour is recorded and categorized.

Separating direct and indirect labor

TimeRewards organizes these as projects, tasks, or charge codes and restricts employees to authorized selections, so people choose from defined codes instead of guessing at accounting references. Sage Intacct then uses the synchronized labor data inside the organization’s accounting and project-reporting structure.

Controlling project and task access

Giving every employee access to every contract increases the risk of mischarging. Assigning employees only to relevant projects and tasks helps:

• Reduce incorrect project selections
• Protect confidential customer and project information
• Prevent charging to closed or unauthorized work
• Simplify employee time entry
• Support work-authorization controls
• Improve the quality of data sent to Sage Intacct

Maintain restrictions as employees change assignments and as contracts are opened, modified, or closed.

Employee certification and manager approval

Employees own the accuracy of their own records. A compliant process does not let a supervisor routinely create or complete someone else’s timesheet — the manager reviews and approves after the employee enters and submits.

TimeRewards separates entry, submission, review, rejection, and approval into distinct stages. Approval routing can follow your management structure: direct supervisors, project managers, department managers, contract managers, finance or payroll, or multiple levels. Incomplete or miscoded entries can be returned for correction before anything syncs to Sage Intacct.

Maintaining an audit trail for corrections

Corrections happen. The compliance question is not whether they are allowed — it is whether they are traceable. A strong correction record identifies:

• The original entry
• The corrected entry
• Who made or requested the change
• When the change occurred
• Why the correction was necessary
• Who approved the revised record

TimeRewards provides administrative controls, timesheet locking, approval workflows, and a complete audit trail. Define in writing when employees may correct their own entries, when a manager may request a correction, and when finance may post an accounting adjustment.

Using Sage Intacct dimensions

Dimensions add business context to financial transactions without bloating the chart of accounts — project, task, customer, employee, department, location, class, vendor, item, and configured categories such as grant, program, or contract.

Through the integration, relevant dimensions can be presented during time entry and retained when approved time syncs. A single entry can carry the government contract, project, contract task, labor category or item, department, location, employee, and direct/indirect activity. Available fields depend on your Sage Intacct configuration.

Connecting timekeeping to labor distribution

Compliance does not end at approval. Approved hours must become labor costs charged to the correct cost objectives, and those labor-distribution records must reconcile to timesheets, payroll, job-cost records, and the general ledger.

TimeRewards captures and approves the operational record; Sage Intacct provides the accounting, project-costing, and reporting environment. Connecting them removes manual re-entry and preserves the chain from time record to accounting transaction.

Preparing for DCAA floor checks

Floor checks may include employee interviews, observation of work, review of timekeeping procedures, reconciliation with payroll, and tracing labor charges to contract requirements. Systems hold the records — but employees must be able to explain:

• How and when to enter time
• Which project or activity to select
• The difference between direct and indirect time
• How to correct an error
• Why all working time must be recorded
• Who may approve or modify a timesheet
• How to answer an auditor honestly

Business benefits beyond compliance

• More accurate project costing — labor tied to project, task, contract, and dimensions.
• Fewer manual entries — approved time flows into accounting instead of spreadsheets.
• Better labor reporting — direct vs. indirect, project hours, budget performance, utilization.
• Stronger approval controls — reviews by the people accountable for the work.
• Easier reconciliation — a traceable path between timekeeping and accounting.
• Better employee experience — people see only what applies to them.
• Improved audit readiness — approvals, changes, and history retained as documentation.

What software cannot do by itself

The contractor must still establish written timekeeping policies, train employees and managers, define direct and indirect charge codes, authorize project assignments, monitor daily entry, review late timesheets, investigate unusual labor transfers, reconcile labor with payroll and accounting, preserve supporting records, and apply policy consistently. A well-configured system makes this manageable — it does not replace it. Documented procedures must match actual practice.

DCAA timekeeping readiness checklist

A “no” does not mean the accounting system is unacceptable — it identifies an area that needs attention.

Frequently asked questions

Is Sage Intacct DCAA compliant?

Sage Intacct provides accounting, project management, time and expense, reporting, and dimensional capabilities that can support an acceptable government-contract accounting system. It is not automatically DCAA compliant simply because you use it. DCAA treats an accounting system as software plus the contractor’s methods, procedures, and controls.

Is TimeRewards DCAA certified?

DCAA does not certify commercial timekeeping products. TimeRewards provides features and workflows designed to support DCAA timekeeping requirements; the contractor remains responsible for configuration, policies, controls, training, and practice.

Does DCAA require electronic timesheets?

No. DCAA guidance recognizes both paper and electronic timecards. Either way, the system must provide appropriate controls and reliable supporting records.

What can TimeRewards synchronize with Sage Intacct?

Depending on configuration: employees, customers, projects, tasks, items, departments, locations, classes, and other dimensions — plus approved timesheet data mapped to the appropriate Sage Intacct references.

Can TimeRewards prevent employees from charging the wrong project?

TimeRewards supports project and task restrictions so employees are limited to authorized assignments, reducing the risk of mischarging.

Does this combination guarantee passing a DCAA audit?

No software combination guarantees an audit result. Acceptability depends on the complete accounting system, contract requirements, configuration, internal controls, written procedures, supporting records, and how people follow them.

This article provides general information and is not legal, accounting, or audit advice. Review your specific contract requirements and consult qualified government-contract accounting professionals.