03 · Indirect rates

Rates that move when the ledger does.

In development · TBD 2027

Most small contractors compute indirect rates in a spreadsheet once a quarter and discover the drift at year end. A rate that recalculates on every posting is not more accurate in theory. It is earlier.

rates.snapshot · fringe, overhead, G&A · monthly, on the first

Pools

Three, conventional

Fringe, overhead and general and administrative. Deliberately the standard structure: a bespoke pool arrangement is a thing to defend at audit, and most small firms have nothing to gain by it.

pools · fringe · overhead · G&A

Bases

Declared, not inferred

Each pool carries a written allocation base and the reason it is the right one. The reason is part of the record, because area 03 asks whether the allocation is logical and consistent, not whether it is arithmetically correct.

SF 1408 area 03 · base and rationale on the record

Provisional to final

One object

A provisional rate and its final are the same object in two states, not two spreadsheets. The variance between them is a query, and the reconciliation is a ledger row.

rate.state · provisional → final · variance queryable

Snapshots

First of the month

A dated snapshot is taken on the first of every month and kept. You can always answer what the rate was on a date, which is the question billing disputes actually turn on.

rates.snapshot · monthly · immutable

Every run, reviewable

Rate calculation is AI-assisted analysis. Every operator commit is recorded. The draft is the platform's. The number is a named person's.

RUN 2026-09-15 · 12:10:40
INPUT Q3 indirect pool · posted rows to date
TOOLS rate_calc · ceiling_check
OUTPUT provisional fringe rate · exceptions listed
REVIEWED BY finance@ · 2026-09-15 14:02
LEDGER seq 21,977 · chain ok

What "reviewed" means here

The output is visible to the reviewer with its inputs and the tools that produced it, before it can be accepted.

rate.accept · blocked until reviewer_id is set · no auto-accept path

Where this shows up in the survey

03Logical, consistent indirect allocationsettled

07Interim (at least monthly) determination of costssettled

13Reliable data for pricing follow-on worksettled

settled attention · reason on record live · never finished, kept

Questions we get asked

The short answers.

Can we run more than three pools?

The data model allows additional pools; the product does not encourage them. If your structure needs a fourth, that is a conversation before implementation, not a toggle after it.

Does CRATON file the incurred cost submission?

No. It produces the underlying data with its record intact. Filing is on the roadmap and is not claimed as a capability. Request a walkthrough to see what the data supports today.

How is a provisional rate different from an estimate?

A provisional rate is computed from posted ledger rows to date. It is a real number over an incomplete period, not a forecast.

Who can accept a rate?

A named person with the finance role. There is no path in which a rate is accepted by the system, on a schedule, or by the person who ran it.

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