GSA OASIS+
On OASIS+ but locked out of cost-reimbursement task orders?
Winning a seat on OASIS+ does not make you eligible for every task order on it. Before a cost-reimbursement order can be awarded, the ordering contracting officer has to determine your accounting system is adequate. Most holders find this out late.
- 12 years inside DCAA
- 100+ DoD contractors audited
- CPA led
- QuickBooks, Costpoint, SAP & NetSuite
- Remote, nationwide
The gap most OASIS+ holders discover too late
OASIS+ is GSA’s Best-in-Class multiple award contract for professional services, the successor to the legacy OASIS and OASIS Small Business vehicles. Getting on it is a significant achievement and a substantial proposal effort.
Here is the part that catches contractors out. Accounting system adequacy is generally not required to receive the master OASIS+ contract itself. But under the accounting system requirements at OASIS+ Section G.3.1.9.1.1, before an ordering contracting officer awards a cost-reimbursement type task order, they must determine that your accounting system is adequate for determining costs applicable to that order.
The practical effect is a two-tier vehicle. Every holder can compete for firm-fixed-price and, depending on the requirement, T&M work. Only holders who can demonstrate an adequate accounting system can realistically compete for cost-reimbursement task orders, which are frequently the larger and longer ones.
Worse, the determination is made at task order level and on the ordering activity’s timeline. Discovering the requirement when a solicitation drops usually means you cannot fix it in time, and you watch that opportunity go to a competitor who prepared earlier.
What this means in practice
The requirement is straightforward. The timing is what hurts contractors.
You are not disqualified, you are unprepared
Nothing about holding OASIS+ prevents you from being ready. The adequacy determination is a design review of your accounting system, and it is entirely achievable for a small contractor who starts early enough.
The clock belongs to the ordering activity
You do not control when a cost-reimbursement task order solicitation appears. If your system is not ready when it does, the practical answer is that you cannot bid it.
SF 1408 is the framework
The adequacy determination is generally documented against the pre-award survey criteria in Standard Form 1408. Being SF 1408 ready is the concrete goal.
It is a design test, not a history test
The review asks whether your system is capable of accumulating cost properly, not whether you have years of cost-type performance behind you. New entrants pass regularly.
Timekeeping is usually the blocker
The most common failure is not the general ledger. It is labor: daily entry, documented corrections, and supervisor approval. This is the piece that takes longest to fix because it is a behavior change, not a configuration change.
Readiness compounds
Once determined adequate, you are positioned for every subsequent cost-reimbursement order rather than scrambling each time. The work is done once and reused.
How we get OASIS+ holders ready
Assess against SF 1408 now
Not when a solicitation drops. We evaluate your current system exactly as a reviewer would and tell you what would fail today.
Close the gaps
Chart of accounts and cost segregation, indirect pools and bases, unallowable cost screening, and above all a compliant timekeeping process.
Document it
Accounting manual, timekeeping policy, and internal control narratives. The documentation is what a reviewer asks for first.
Rehearse the review
We run it the way DCAA runs it, including the questions your staff will face, so the real determination holds no surprises.
Support the determination
We work the actual review with the ordering activity or DCAA, respond to data requests, and address any deficiency raised.
Questions
Frequently asked
Do I need an approved accounting system to get on OASIS+?
Generally no. Accounting system adequacy is not typically a requirement for award of the master OASIS+ contract. It becomes a requirement at task order level, before a cost-reimbursement type order can be awarded to you.
So when exactly does it matter?
When you want to compete for a cost-reimbursement task order. The ordering contracting officer must determine your system adequate for determining costs applicable to that order before award. If you are only pursuing firm-fixed-price work, the pressure is lower, though your pricing discipline still matters a great deal.
What is the difference between OASIS and OASIS+?
OASIS+ is the successor vehicle to the legacy OASIS and OASIS Small Business contracts, restructured with new domains and an on-ramping approach. If you are still working from OASIS-era assumptions, the requirements and structure are worth re-reading.
How long does it take to get ready?
For a small contractor with reasonably clean books, a matter of weeks. Timekeeping is usually the long pole, because changing how people record labor daily is a behavior change that needs a genuine adoption period before it will survive a floor check.
Does this apply to other GSA vehicles?
The same underlying principle applies wherever cost-reimbursement work is involved, including MAS task orders and other GWACs. Cost-type work requires a system that can account for cost properly. The vehicle changes; FAR 16.301-3 does not.
We already hold OASIS+. Where do we start?
With an honest assessment against SF 1408. It takes little time, it costs far less than a missed task order, and it tells you whether you are weeks or months from ready.
More
Related services
DCAA-compliant accounting systems
Design, configure, and document a system that meets DFARS 252.242-7006 and survives a system review.
SF 1408 pre-award surveys
Get your accounting system judged adequate so you can accept a cost-type award.
Incurred cost submissions
Adequate ICE submissions filed on time, with schedules that reconcile the first time.
Indirect cost rate structures
Pool design, allocation bases, provisional billing rates, and the annual true-up.
Contract pricing & proposal support
Cost volumes and basis of estimate for FFP, cost-reimbursable, and T&M solicitations.
Government audit support
Preparation and representation for DCAA and DCMA audits and buying command cost analysis.
Forward pricing rates (FPRP & FPRA)
Forward pricing rate proposals and agreements so every future bid prices faster and with less argument.
CAS Disclosure Statements
Form CASB DS-1 preparation, cost impact analysis, and disclosed practice compliance.
Post-award & business system reviews
DFARS 252.242-7006 reviews, material weaknesses, payment withholding, and corrective action.
Terminations, REAs & claims
Termination settlement proposals and requests for equitable adjustment. Frequently underclaimed.
Get ready before the task order drops
Tell us which OASIS+ domains and pools you hold and what your accounting system is today. We will tell you how far you are from an adequacy determination.