Our Experts know Government Contracting regulations can be difficult to manage, but terminology should not be. The GovCon industry uses a lot of acronyms so our team put together some of the most used terms as a quick resource.
Below are some of the most common acronyms and we created a printable document to keep handy or download as a file for quick access.
| ACO | Administrative Contracting Officer | FPRA | Forward Pricing Rate Agreement |
| BAFO | Best and Final Offer | GAO | Government Accountability Office |
| BOA | Basis of Award | ICS | Incurred Cost Submission |
| BOM | Bill of Material | IDIQ | Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity |
| B&P | Bid and Proposal | IRAD | Independent Research and Development |
| CACO | Corporate Administrative Contracting Officer | IR&D | Independent Research and Development |
| CAGE | Commercial and Government Entity | ITAR | International Traffic in Arms Regulations |
| CAS | Cost Accounting Standards | MMAS | Material Management Accounting System |
| CDRL | Contract Data Requirements List | NDAA | National Defense Authorization Act |
| CLIN | Contract Line Item Number | ODC | Other Direct Costs |
| CO/KO | Contracting Officer | OIG | Office of Inspector General |
| COTR | Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative | OMB | Office of Management and Budget |
| COTS | Commercial Off-The-Shelf | PCO | Procurement Contracting Officer |
| CPFF | Cost Plus Fixed Fee | RFI | Request for Information |
| DACO | Divisional Administrative Contracting Officer | RFP | Request for Proposal |
| DCAA | Defense Contract Audit Agency | RFQ | Request for Quote |
| DCMA | Defense Contract Management Agency | SAM | System for Award Management |
| DFARS | Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement | SAT | Simplified Acquisition Threshold |
| SCA | Service Contract Act | ||
| DOD | Department of Defense | T&C | Terms and Conditions |
| DOJ | Department of Justice | T&M | Time and Materials |
| EAC | Estimate at Completion | TCPD | Truthful Cost or Pricing Data |
| ETC | Estimate to Complete | (formerly Truth in Negotiations Act) | |
| EVMS | Earned Value Management System | TiN | Truth in Negotiations |
| FAR | Federal Acquisition Regulation | Truth in Negotiations Act (formerly Truth in Negotiations Act or TINA) | |
| FFP | Firm Fixed Price | Ts&Cs | Terms and Conditions |
| FOIA | Freedom of Information Act | WAWF | Wide Area Workflow |