Check a tool’s answer

A tool gives you a worked answer quickly. You are still the one who signs the proposal, so treat every result as a draft until you have checked it. This guide is a method for doing that. It works for any tool, here or elsewhere, and it takes less time than explaining a wrong number later.

1. Step 1Find the sourceLocate the cited regulation, standard, and paragraph.
2. Step 2Open current textRead the rule on acquisition.gov, ecfr.gov, or nist.gov.
3. Step 3Compare datesVerify the tool data matches the effective date of the rule.
4. Step 4Work by handRecalculate one simple example with a hand calculator.

Find the source#

Each listed tool has to say which regulation, standard or guide it is built on. Look for that reference in three places:

• in the tool itself, next to the result or under a heading such as “Sources” or “How this is calculated”
• in the README of the tool’s repository, which the Source link in the catalog opens
• in the code, where formulas and data tables should carry a comment naming where they came from

A good reference is specific. “FAR Part 31” tells you which book to open. “FAR 31.205-6(a)” tells you which paragraph to read. If a tool gives a result and no reference at all, treat the result as unverified and report the gap.

Open the current text#

Read the rule where the government publishes it, not in a summary. These are the places most tools will point to:

Where the rules live has the full list, with notes on how each source is organized and how to cite it.

Compare the dates#

Regulations are revised, and a tool is a snapshot of the day it was written. Before you trust a figure, check that the tool and the current text agree on it. Some things change on a schedule:

Two habits help. First, read the “effective date” or “last amended” line on the source page. Second, check which revision of a standard your contract names. A contract can require an older revision than the newest one published, and the contract is what you are held to.

DecisionDoes the tool result match the current regulation?

• Matches
  Use in proposalNote the citation and verification date in your proposal records.
• Disagrees
  Official text winsUse the published statutory figure and open an issue or email us.

Work one example by hand#

Arithmetic tools can be tested the way an auditor would test them. Pick one simple case, work it out with a calculator, and compare.

For example, to test a labor rate calculator, take an hourly wage of $50.00, a fringe rate of 30 percent, an overhead rate of 20 percent applied to wages plus fringe, a G&A rate of 10 percent and a fee of 8 percent:

If the tool shows $92.66 for the same inputs, you know how it combines the rates. If it shows something else, you have found either a mistake or a different convention, such as overhead applied to wages alone. Both are worth knowing before you use the tool on real numbers. Labor rates and wrap rates explains the conventions.

Round numbers make good tests because a wrong result is obvious.

Follow the solicitation#

A solicitation can set its own rules for format, page counts, pricing structure, rounding and more. When it says something different from a tool’s default, follow the solicitation and change the tool’s inputs to match.

Common places where a solicitation overrides a default:

• Rounding. Some require rates rounded to the cent before they are multiplied by hours. Others want the extended price rounded. The totals differ.
• Labor categories. The solicitation’s category names and descriptions are the ones to price, even if yours differ.
• Page and font limits. These count differently from one solicitation to the next. Tables, covers and resumes may or may not be included.
• Templates. If a pricing workbook or a compliance matrix is supplied, the deliverable is that file, filled in. Use a tool to work out the answer, then put it in the government’s format.

If the solicitation is unclear, ask. Solicitations name a contracting officer or specialist and a deadline for questions. A written answer from them outranks any tool and any guide.

Read the code#

Every tool is open source. You do not have to be a programmer to get something from the repository:

• The README says what the tool covers, what it leaves out and which sources it uses.
• The issue list shows mistakes other people have reported and whether they were fixed.
• The commit history shows when a figure or a formula last changed.

If you do read code, look for the data tables and formulas first. They are usually short, and they are where an out-of-date figure would be.

Keep a record#

When a number from a tool goes into a proposal, write down enough to reproduce it later. A pricing reviewer, an auditor or your own future self may ask where it came from.

• the tool’s name and its version or the date you used it
• every input you entered
• the result
• the regulation or standard the result rests on, with the paragraph number
• the date you checked that text

A note in the proposal file is enough. The point is that the number can be rebuilt without the tool.

Report a mistake#

If a tool gets something wrong, say so. Email [email protected] or open an issue in the tool’s repository. A useful report has four parts:

1. what you entered, using made-up values if the real ones are sensitive
2. what the tool showed
3. what the correct answer is
4. the section of the regulation that shows it

A wrong result is the most useful thing you can report. Do not include real contract data, real rates or controlled information in a report. Issues are public.

What the tools are not#

They are not legal, accounting or compliance advice, and they do not know your contract. For a decision that carries real risk, such as an indirect rate structure, a certification you sign or a compliance score you submit to the government, talk to a qualified professional. A tool can make that conversation shorter. It does not replace it.