From Timekeeping to Trust: Why Employee Compliance is the First Line of
Defense in GovCon
In government contracting, conversations about compliance often begin with acronyms: FAR,
CAS, CMMC, DFARS. Each comes with dense regulations, audits, and serious financial
consequences for failure to adhere to compliance. Yet before the auditors arrive, before even an
invoice is submitted, compliance really starts with something much more basic: whether
employees record their time honestly, accurately, and consistently.
Timekeeping is sometimes viewed as an administrative chore, a box to be checked at the end of
the day. In GovCon, however, it is the foundation for everything that follows. Labor charges
drive cost allowability, billing, indirect rate calculations, and ultimately profitability. An error in
time entry, whether accidental or deliberate, can ripple out to touch contract compliance, audit
findings, and even future eligibility for government awards.
This is why timekeeping is not simply a process. It is a cultural signal. An organization that
treats time collection as a critical responsibility rather than a perfunctory step communicates
something essential to its workforce: trust begins with compliance.
Compliance at the Human Level
Most contractors invest in systems and internal controls, and rightly so. But the most elegant
compliance architecture collapses if employees fail to follow procedures. The Department of
Defense and oversight bodies like the DCAA know this, which is why employee interviews
remain a central part of audits. Auditors want to see whether individuals understand the rules, not
just whether software has been configured to enforce them.
It is not unusual for a DCAA auditor to walk into a facility, sit down with a junior engineer or
field technician, and ask a simple question: “Can you explain how you record your time?” The
right answer is often straightforward: that time must be recorded daily, against the correct
contract or indirect account, without alteration. If an employee struggles to answer, or worse,
admits that they usually “catch up” at the end of the week, it signals a breakdown in compliance
culture that no software can mask.
This places employees squarely on the front line. A workforce that understands why their
compliance matters (and how to comply) reduces organizational risk. For government
contractors, risk is not limited to financial penalties. Reputational damage, strained customer
relationships, and even suspension from federal work are all possibilities when compliance fails.
Building Systems that Encourage Trust
Deltek Costpoint provides the guardrails GovCon organizations need to reinforce compliance
from the ground up. Its timekeeping capabilities ensure that employees can record labor against
the correct contracts, projects, and tasks in a way that aligns with DCAA standards. Mobile
accessibility makes it easier for teams in the field or on travel to stay current, minimizing the risk
of late or inaccurate submissions.
But Costpoint does more than just enforce rules. It provides visibility for supervisors and
compliance officers, who can monitor time entries in real time, flag anomalies, and maintain the
audit trail auditors expect to see. This reduces the chance of errors slipping through and makes it
easier to demonstrate accountability when questions arise.
Proper configuration of rules, segregation of duties, and workflow alerts all reinforce the idea
that compliance is part of daily work, not a scramble before an audit. And when employees see
that their compliance is supported by transparent systems rather than hidden oversight, trust
grows both inside the organization and with government partners.
Compliance as a Strategic Advantage
Too often, compliance is seen as a burden. But reframed, it is a differentiator. Contractors that
demonstrate maturity in timekeeping and labor practices inspire confidence during audits and
proposals. Prime contractors favor partners who can show a track record of reliable compliance.
Government customers notice when oversight becomes routine rather than adversarial.
Trust is not won in a single audit or lost in a single misstep. It is built day by day, in each
timecard, in each labor charge, in each employee’s decision to do the right thing. Timekeeping, at
its most basic, is a discipline. For government contractors, it is also the first proof point that
compliance is not just a policy but a lived practice.
With the right mix of training and technology, GovCon organizations can move compliance out
of the realm of anxiety and into the realm of confidence. Deltek Costpoint helps make this shift
possible, turning daily time entries into the first line of defense against risk and the first building
block of trust.
