Contract operations for small federal services contractors
For federal prime contractors and subcontractors with about 5 to 100 people in professional, engineering, technical, IT and logistics services, whose books are in QuickBooks, whose hours are in a timesheet tool, and whose contracts are run from spreadsheets beside them. We build a web system for the contract side: funding burn by contract line, funds notices on time, deliverables, CPARS evidence and the subcontracting limit. It works beside the accounting system you already have, not in place of it. A typical build costs $8,000 to $25,000 at a fixed price, and hosting and support start at $350 a month, with no per-user fee.
Last reviewed: November 11, 2026
What services contractors need that a burn spreadsheet handles badly
- "When does this line run out of money?" Funding, spending and the weekly rate on each contract line (CLIN), from the hours actually worked, at each contract's own rates.
- "When is the funds notice due?" The date each contract's own clause sets, before it passes, not after.
- A modification nobody has checked. The option year, new funding, a new CLIN or deliverable, a change to key personnel, and the one figure in it that doesn't match your records.
- Deliverables on time, with due dates in business days around federal holidays, and the resubmission clock running when one is rejected.
- The evidence for CPARS, gathered as the work happens, not hunted for in the 14 days after an evaluation arrives.
- "Are we still under 50 percent?" What you've paid subcontractors against what the government has paid you, before a new subcontract takes you over.
Even firms that own a government contracting ERP do this in Excel: one federal services firm's job post describes tracking "funding burns and needs" in its ERP and Excel.
The rules behind the work
Each rule is stated on the screen where it applies, and each contract carries its own figures.
- Limitation of Funds (FAR 52.232-22): written notice when costs to date plus those expected in the next 60 days will pass 75 percent of the funds allotted. Your contract may set it anywhere from 75 to 85 percent and 30 to 90 days.
- Time-and-materials ceilings (FAR 52.232-7(d)): notice when payments in the next 30 days will pass 85 percent of the ceiling price.
- Limitations on Subcontracting (13 CFR 125.6): on a services set-aside, no more than 50 percent of what the government pays you may go to subcontractors that are not similarly situated, measured over the base period and then each option period.
- CPARS (FAR 42.1503): up to 14 calendar days to comment on an evaluation that agencies use for three years.
- Option notices (FAR 52.217-9): the government's preliminary notice before an option period, tracked on each contract.
What we build for a federal services contractor
The demo shows each piece working for a fictional contractor, Ardenmoor Mission Services. The contract line structure, labor categories, rates and clauses are your own.
- Modifications read by AI: your contracts manager confirms the document carries no CUI or distribution marking, and the AI reads it into separate proposed changes. The system checks each one against your records and flags any figure that disagrees. They accept or reject every line, with a reason for a rejection, and nothing changes until they apply them. A marked document is entered by hand and never goes to the AI.
- Funding burn by contract line and labor category: the week's timesheet export is checked first (every row placed on a contract line and a labor category, and any row that can't be placed listed for you), then imported. Each line shows its funds, spending, weekly rate, a runway chart, the date its notice is due under its own contract's clause, and when its money runs out.
- The funds notice, drafted for you to send: when a line reaches its notice point, the system drafts the letter with the figures the clause asks for. You edit it, send it from your own email, and record what you sent and when. The system never emails anyone.
- A CPARS comment drafted from your evidence: when an evaluation arrives, the AI drafts your comment from the ratings, the assessor's note and your evidence file (dates, roles and one line per item, never a document), and lists the evidence it relied on and what to check. Your program manager edits it beside the evidence and enters it in CPARS; the system keeps the text that was entered.
- A deliverables register and CPARS evidence: due dates follow each deliverable's rule, rejections start the resubmission clock, and every acceptance and word of praise is filed as it arrives, so the comment window opens with your evidence already beside the evaluation.
- The subcontractor ledger and the 50 percent meter: each subcontractor's size and status decide, contract by contract, whether its work counts, with the reason shown on every row. "What if" shows whether a proposed subcontract would take the next period over the limit before anyone signs it. Each subcontract lists its flow-down clauses and when the sub acknowledged each.
- The owner's week: one page with the decisions that are yours this week, the risks, and every contract's runway against its notice point.
- Excel everywhere: every list and the runway table export to Excel.
The AI reads and proposes; the system checks, and a person decides. You own all of it: the code, the data and the address.
What it holds, and what it doesn't
- Dates, amounts, statuses and links only. Deliverables, technical data and marked documents stay in your own compliant document store, and the system keeps the link to each.
- It sits beside your accounting system, not over it. QuickBooks or your ERP and your accountant stay responsible for cost accounting, indirect rates, billing and timekeeping. The system makes no DCAA or CMMC claim. A subcontractor's CMMC self-assessment date is kept as a record, nothing more.
What it costs, and how long it takes
A federal services system is a fixed-price build, typically $8,000 to $25,000, then hosting and support from $350 a month, with no per-user fee. The price depends on how many contracts and contract lines you run, how your hours come in, and how your spreadsheets are kept today, and you see it in writing before anything starts.
| Blueprint | From $1,500: the written plan and the fixed price for the build, credited in full to it |
|---|---|
| Build | Fixed price per phase; most projects $8,000 to $25,000 |
| Included | The first 3 months of Standard support |
| After that | Support plans from $350 a month, hosting included, month to month |
Your spreadsheets keep running beside the new system until the day you switch.
How it compares with the alternatives
| Option | Cost | Fits best when |
|---|---|---|
| Excel and SharePoint lists | Already in Microsoft 365 | One or two contracts, and someone who remembers every rule |
| A government contracting ERP (Unanet, Deltek Costpoint, JAMIS) | Quoted per firm, plus implementation | You run many cost-type contracts and have staff to run an ERP |
| AI contract tools (GovDash and others) | Quoted per firm, on annual plans | You want help with proposals and documents more than burn and limits |
| Rowhouse Systems | $8,000 to $25,000 once, then from $350 a month | You want your own contract lines, notice figures and subcontractor mix in one system you own, beside the books you already keep |
Prices change, so check each vendor's own quote.
See it working
The demo is Ardenmoor Mission Services, a fictional federal services contractor. Sign in with one click as the contracts manager, the program manager, subcontracts and finance, or the owner. Let the AI read a modification and find the figure that disagrees with the records, see which contract line needs a funds notice and draft it, and test a subcontract against the 50 percent limit before it's signed. The data resets every night, so you can't break anything.
A guide for this trade
The Limitation of Funds notice, line by line: FAR 52.232-22 requires written notice when costs incurred plus those expected in the next 60 days will exceed 75 percent of the funds allotted.
Questions
We already have QuickBooks and a timesheet tool. Does this replace them?
No. It imports their exports each week and keeps the contract side they don't: funding by line, notices, deliverables and the subcontracting limit. They stay the record of your books and your hours.
Is it DCAA-compliant, or CMMC-ready?
It makes no such claim. Your accounting system and your accountant stay responsible for cost accounting and timekeeping, and the system holds no controlled information to protect.
Where is our data, and can it hold our deliverables?
It holds dates, amounts, statuses and links. Deliverables and controlled documents stay in your own compliant store, and the system keeps the link to each.
Does the AI change our records, or write to the government, on its own?
No. It proposes each change from a modification, the system checks it against your records, and your contracts manager accepts or rejects every line before anything changes. It drafts a CPARS comment from your evidence file; a person edits it and enters it in CPARS. Marked documents never go to it.
Our contracts word the funds clause differently. Will it follow ours?
Yes. Each contract carries its own clause and figures (75 to 85 percent, 30 to 90 days), and time-and-materials lines follow the ceiling-price rule.
Does it send the funds notice to the contracting officer?
No. It drafts the notice with the figures; you edit it, send it yourself, and record what you sent.
How does it decide whether a subcontractor counts toward the 50 percent limit? From the set-aside on each contract and the sub's recorded size and status, with the reason shown on every row. Which costs are left out is your contracts manager's decision, recorded with their name. How your contracts measure the period is a question for your counsel, and the system can follow either reading.
What happens to our spreadsheets?
Your contracts, contract lines, funding history, labor categories and rates, subcontracts and deliverables are imported as part of the build, with every correction shown.
What does it cost, and who owns it?
A fixed-price build, typically $8,000 to $25,000, then from $350 a month for hosting and support, with no per-user fee. The system, the code and the data are yours, with an export to Excel at any time.