Purchase order software for government contractors with contract coded approvals and an audit trail
Procurer is purchase order software for US government contractors and subcontractors with 20 to 300 staff that buy materials, subcontract work and equipment against federal, state or local contracts. Every request is coded to a contract or project and a GL account, the program manager approves before money is committed, receiving records what arrived, and accounting pays only invoices that match the PO and the receipt. Every step lands in a read only audit log you can export for a reviewer. Pricing is per company from 149 USD a month.
On this page
- 01What is the best purchase order software for government contractors?
- 02Why contractor purchases become audit findings
- 03How purchase orders work for a contract based business with Procurer
- 04What contract driven purchasing teams use every week
- 05What Procurer covers for a contractor and what it leaves to other systems
- 06Choose a plan for your contract mix and controls
- 07A first month for a 40 person contractor
- 08FAQ
What is the best purchase order software for government contractors?
The best purchase order software for a government contractor ties each purchase to a contract number, records who approved it and at what price before the vendor ships, and holds any invoice that does not match the PO and the receipt. Procurer does that with project budgets, approval rules and an exportable audit log. It is not a contract management or a DCAA approved accounting system.
Why contractor purchases become audit findings
A reviewer asking about a cost on a contract wants the same few things each time. Who asked for it, who approved it, what was agreed, what arrived and why this contract paid for it. When the answers live in email threads and card statements, they take a week to assemble and some do not exist.
- Staff buy materials or services on a card and the cost is allocated to a contract weeks later, from memory.
- Subcontract and consultant work starts on an email, and the approval is a reply that nobody can find.
- A PO is raised after the invoice arrives, so there is no commitment record at the time of purchase.
- Deliveries are accepted without a receipt, and a short shipment is paid in full.
- Several people can approve their own requests because the rule lives in a policy document, not in the system.
A purchase order system fixes the order of events. Approval comes before the commitment, receipt comes before payment, and each decision is stored with a name and a time.
How purchase orders work for a contract based business with Procurer
1. A project lead raises a request, picks the contract or project and the GL account, attaches the quote and chooses the vendor.
2. The request goes to the program manager and, above your threshold, to finance or a principal. Approvers see the remaining budget on that contract before deciding.
3. The approved request becomes a PO and goes to the vendor as a PDF by email.
4. Receiving staff record what arrived, line by line. Accounts payable matches the invoice and exports the approved bill to QuickBooks Online or Xero, with three-way matching on Business.
Read more about approval workflows and project budgets.
What contract driven purchasing teams use every week
- Project budgets per contract or task order, with commitments and actuals, on Business and above.
- Approval rules by amount, department and vendor, so nobody approves their own request.
- Quotes and supporting documents attached to the request and kept with the PO.
- Line by line receiving, including partial deliveries and short shipments.
- Three-way matching of PO, receipt and invoice on Business.
- A read only audit log of requests, approvals, PO changes, receipts and supplier edits with the person, time and previous value, exportable for your auditor.
- Approved bill export to QuickBooks Online and Xero.
What Procurer covers for a contractor and what it leaves to other systems
Be clear about the boundary before you buy. Procurer handles purchasing approval, POs, receiving and the approved bill, with the records that go with them. It does not certify your accounting system, track timekeeping, manage the prime contract or generate flowdown clauses, and we make no claim that using it satisfies any contract requirement by itself.
| Need | Procurer | A government contracting ERP |
|---|---|---|
| Approval before a purchase, by amount | Yes | Yes |
| Contract or project coded PO | Yes, project budgets on Business | Yes |
| Receiving and invoice matching | Yes, three-way matching on Business | Yes |
| Exportable audit log | Yes | Yes |
| Published company price | Yes, from 149 USD a month | Usually a quote |
| Timekeeping, indirect rates, billing | No | Often yes |
| Contract clause and flowdown management | No | Sometimes |
- Approval before a purchase, by amount
- ProcurerYesA government contracting ERPYes
- Contract or project coded PO
- ProcurerYes, project budgets on BusinessA government contracting ERPYes
- Receiving and invoice matching
- ProcurerYes, three-way matching on BusinessA government contracting ERPYes
- Exportable audit log
- ProcurerYesA government contracting ERPYes
- Published company price
- ProcurerYes, from 149 USD a monthA government contracting ERPUsually a quote
- Timekeeping, indirect rates, billing
- ProcurerNoA government contracting ERPOften yes
- Contract clause and flowdown management
- ProcurerNoA government contracting ERPSometimes
If you need an accounting system built around indirect rates and cost accumulation, run that system as your book of record. Procurer sits in front of it for approved purchases and exports the bills.
Choose a plan for your contract mix and controls
- Team, 149 USD a month or 888 USD yearly: requests, approvals, POs, receiving, department budgets and accounting export for a single company.
- Business, 299 USD a month or 1 788 USD yearly: project and GL budgets, conditional approval rules, three-way matching and spend analytics.
- Scale, 699 USD a month or 4 188 USD yearly: up to 300 user accounts, 5 legal entities and the supplier portal for larger groups.
Most contractors that track cost by contract need Business. Compare the details on the pricing page.
A first month for a 40 person contractor
1. Add each active contract or task order as a project with its purchasing budget, and import the GL accounts your ledger uses.
2. Name the approver for each program and the threshold above which finance signs off.
3. Put subcontractor, materials and equipment buys on POs first. Leave card spend for a second phase.
4. Ask receiving to log deliveries for two weeks, then turn on invoice matching.
5. At month end export the audit log and spend by project, and agree the next vendors to move.
What is the best purchase order software for government contractors?
Pick the tool that proves approval, receipt and contract coding for each purchase. Procurer suits contractors that want requests, approvals, POs, receiving and project budgets at a published company price. A government contracting ERP suits firms that also need indirect rates, timekeeping and billing in the same system.
Is Procurer DCAA compliant?
No product is DCAA compliant on its own, because the review looks at your whole accounting system and its policies. Procurer supplies purchasing records a reviewer asks for, such as approvals, receipts and an exportable audit log. It does not replace an adequate accounting system and we make no certification claim.
How much does purchase order software for government contractors cost?
Procurer starts at 149 USD a month per company on Team, or 888 USD billed yearly. Business, which adds project budgets and three-way matching, costs 299 USD monthly or 1 788 USD yearly. Scale costs 699 USD monthly or 4 188 USD yearly. Pricing does not depend on the number of contracts.
Can I code purchases to a contract or task order?
Yes. Each request carries a project and a GL account, and the approver sees the remaining budget on that project. Project and GL budgets are included on Business and above, with commitments and actuals tracked for each project.
How do I prove who approved a purchase?
Every request, approval, rejection, PO change and receipt is recorded with the person, the time and the previous value. The log is read only and can be exported for your auditor, so the answer to who approved a cost is a record and not a search through email.
Does Procurer work for subcontractors on a prime contract?
Yes. A subcontractor can run its own purchases through Procurer, coding each to the prime contract or task order, and export bills to its ledger. Procurer does not manage the subcontract agreement or flowdown clauses, so keep those in your contract file.
Approve the order before the vendor ships
Create your account, add your contracts as projects and put the next subcontract or materials order through a request, an approval and a PO. Try the demo to see the process before choosing a plan.