Expense management tools that integrate with Unanet must map costs to project charge codes, CLIN/ACRN structures, and cost elements at the point of capture to eliminate manual rekeying. Vergo's native Unanet integration handles this directly, with built-in per diem enforcement and FAR/DFARS allowability coding applied before expenses reach the GL.
Unanet handles project accounting, timekeeping, and billing for government contractors — but expense capture typically happens outside the system. Field personnel submit receipts through email, spreadsheets, or disconnected apps. By the time expenses reach the Unanet project record, they've been rekeyed at least once, often losing cost-element detail and introducing coding errors.
For defense contractors, this gap is more than a workflow inconvenience. FAR 31.2 cost principles require expenses to be classified as allowable, unallowable, or limited-allowable at the time of coding. If that classification happens after the fact — in Unanet, manually — you're relying on an AP clerk to apply cost principles to expenses they didn't review in context.
Controllers and project accountants on government contracts face specific problems that generic expense tools don't address:
Each of these problems compounds when expense data lives in a separate system and syncs to Unanet on a lag.
When evaluating expense management software for a Unanet environment, defense contractors should apply these criteria:
Vergo is a card-agnostic expense management platform built for construction. Connect any corporate or project credit card and get full visibility and control over field spending.
Unanet includes basic expense reporting functionality, but many defense contractors find it lacks mobile receipt capture, granular FAR allowability enforcement, and real-time per diem validation. Teams often supplement Unanet's native expense module with a dedicated tool that writes approved expenses back to Unanet project records automatically.
FAR 31.205 defines categories of unallowable costs — entertainment, certain lobbying, fines, and others. Best practice is to flag these at the point of submission, before they enter the approval queue. Expenses that reach Unanet already coded must be manually segregated, increasing audit risk and rework for the controller.
DCAA requires that employee expense reports include original receipts, business purpose documentation, project charge codes, and an approval signature from a supervisor. Expenses must be contemporaneous — submitted close to the date incurred. Electronic systems must retain an unalterable audit trail linking the receipt image to the approved transaction and the posted general ledger entry.
Yes. Vergo enforces GSA per diem rates by location at the point of submission. When an employee submits a lodging or meal expense that exceeds the applicable GSA rate, Vergo flags the overage and can block submission or route it for exception approval — before the expense reaches the Unanet project record.
Vergo syncs active projects, tasks, and cost elements directly from Unanet into the mobile app. Employees select from a live, pre-loaded list rather than entering free-text codes. Approved expenses write back to the correct Unanet project record and cost element automatically, eliminating manual import and reducing coding errors on cost-plus and T&M contracts.
Defense contractors often run Unanet alongside Deltek, QuickBooks, or Acumatica for specific accounting functions. An expense tool should integrate with all systems in the stack. Controllers need expenses to flow to the correct ledger account regardless of which ERP handles project billing versus corporate financials — ideally through a single submission and approval workflow.