Deltek Costpoint and Unanet are the two dominant DCAA-compliant PSA platforms for architecture, engineering, and government contracting firms — but they serve different firm sizes and complexity levels. Deltek Costpoint is enterprise-grade: it targets 200–1,000+ employee A&E firms and large government contractors with complex financial structures, multi-tier subcontract flows, and deep federal integration needs. It requires dedicated IT staff, a certified implementation partner, and 6–18 months to go live. Starting costs run $50–$90/user/month plus $50,000–$150,000 in implementation. Unanet targets 20–300 employee A&E and GovCon firms that need a purpose-built PSA without the cost, complexity, and timeline of enterprise ERP. It goes live in 3–5 months and starts at $35–$65/user/month plus $25,000–$75,000 implementation. If you're an A&E or GovCon firm under 200 employees, Unanet is almost always the better value — comparable DCAA compliance, faster time-to-value, roughly half the cost.
At a Glance
Quick Comparison
| Deltek Costpoint | Unanet | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Market | Large A&E, enterprise GovCon | Mid-market A&E, GovCon, professional services |
| Ideal Firm Size | 200–1,000+ employees | 20–300 employees |
| Starting Price | ~$50–$90/user/mo | ~$35–$65/user/mo |
| Implementation Time | 6–18 months | 3–5 months |
| DCAA Compliance | Enterprise-grade | Solid DCAA |
| Requires Own GL/ERP | Yes — full ERP built in | Integrates with QuickBooks, Sage, SAP |
| Government Reporting | ✅ Deep federal integration | ✅ FAR/DFAR compliant invoicing |
| CRM Built In | Yes — native Deltek CRM | ❌ Integrates via third-party |
| Time Tracking | ✅ Advanced with labor categories | ✅ Configurable timesheets |
| Resource Management | ✅ Enterprise capacity planning | ✅ Capacity planning |
| Needs Dedicated IT Staff | Typically yes | Not required |
Year-One Cost by Firm Size
What You're Actually Spending
Both platforms have multi-year contracts and substantial implementation costs. Year-one total cost includes licensing + implementation (typical range).
| Firm Size | Deltek Costpoint Year One | Unanet Year One |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Employees | $50,000–$150,000+ (licensing + implementation) | $30,000–$65,000 |
| 50 Employees | $75,000–$200,000+ | $42,500–$107,500 |
| 100 Employees | $120,000–$350,000+ | $70,000–$160,000 |
| 250 Employees | $250,000–$600,000+ | $140,000–$320,000 |
| 500+ Employees | $400,000–$1,000,000+ | $280,000–$600,000 |
* Deltek pricing varies significantly based on modules, user count, and implementation scope. Unanet pricing shown for professional services base tier. Implementation costs are typical ranges — actual costs vary by partner and firm complexity.
Feature Breakdown
Head-to-Head: Seven Dimensions
Capability
Deltek Costpoint
Unanet
Time & Expense
✓ Advanced labor category tracking, contract CLIN/SLIN management, project expense allocation. Native integration with government contract billing.
✓ Configurable timesheets with labor categories, cost codes, and indirect allocation. Good for T&M, CPFF, and FFP contracts.
DCAA Compliance
✓ Deep DCAA compliance: indirect rate pools, labor distribution reports, timekeeping audit trail, EVMS-ready. Industry benchmark for federal contractors.
✓ Solid DCAA compliance suitable for most A&E and GovCon firms. FAR/DFAR compliant invoicing, indirect rate management. Sufficient for standard contract types.
Project Accounting
✓ Full project P&L, revenue recognition, multi-currency, multi-entity consolidation, subcontract flow-throughs. Enterprise financial depth.
✓ Budget vs actual, project billing, over/under reporting. Less complex than Costpoint — appropriate for firms up to 300 employees.
CRM
✓ Native Deltek CRM integrated with Costpoint. Pipeline management, opportunity tracking, project setup workflow.
✗ No built-in CRM. Integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, and other third-party CRMs via API.
Billing & Invoicing
✓ All contract types: T&M, CPFF, CPFF-AF, FFP, IDIQ. SF1034, government invoice formats. Revenue recognition and progress billing.
✓ T&M, fixed-fee, time-and-materials. Syncs to QuickBooks/Sage for invoicing. Less deep on complex GovCon invoice formats.
Implementation & Support
◐ 6–18 months. Certified implementation partner required. Dedicated IT staff typically needed for ongoing management. Higher training investment.
✓ 3–5 months. Guided implementation available. No dedicated IT staff required for most firms. Lower ongoing support burden.
Scalability
✓ Built for enterprise scale — multi-office, multi-entity, thousands of concurrent projects. IDIQ and BPAS contract support.
◐ Best for firms 20–300 employees. Some firms above 200–300 outgrow its reporting depth and financial integration capabilities.
Recommendations
Which Platform Fits Your Firm
Choose Deltek Costpoint if…
- Your firm has 200–1,000+ employees with complex multi-office or multi-entity structures
- You have large federal contracts with IDIQ, BPAS, or complex subcontract flow-through requirements
- You need native CRM + ERP in one platform with integrated pipeline-to-project workflows
- Your team includes dedicated ERP administrators and IT staff to manage the implementation
- You need advanced revenue recognition, multi-currency, and enterprise financial consolidation
- You're targeting very large federal contracts where DCAA compliance depth is strictly scrutinized
Choose Unanet if…
- Your firm has 20–300 employees in A&E, engineering, or GovCon
- You want a purpose-built GovCon PSA without hiring dedicated ERP administrators
- You need to be live in 3–5 months, not 12–18 months
- You prefer to keep your existing accounting system (QuickBooks, Sage) rather than migrate to a full ERP
- Your contracts are primarily T&M, CPFF, or fixed-fee with standard invoicing requirements
- Year-one cost and time-to-value matter more than enterprise feature depth
The Visibility Gap
What Neither Platform Reveals
Both platforms require significant data migration and behavioral adoption before you see margin insight.
- Deltek replaces your entire financial stack. You migrate from QuickBooks, Sage, or your legacy ERP to Costpoint — a multi-year commitment that requires significant internal resources and carries real implementation risk. It's the right call for large GovCon firms, but the cost and complexity are substantial.
- Unanet integrates with your existing books but still requires consistent time logging. Your margin visibility is only as good as your team's adoption of the new timesheet system. Every billable staff member needs to log time consistently — which is the behavioral challenge most implementations fail on.
- Neither platform tells you which of your current projects are eating margin — before you sign a contract. If your goal is understanding project profitability today (not 6 months from now), both platforms require months of data entry before that insight materializes. A margin diagnostic tool can show you where you stand right now, using your existing data.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Free Diagnostic
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Deltek vs Unanet — which DCAA-compliant PSA is better for A&E firms under 100 employees?
Unanet is almost always the better choice for A&E firms under 100 employees. It offers solid DCAA compliance, 3–5 month implementations (vs 6–18 months for Deltek), roughly half the year-one cost, and doesn't require dedicated IT staff. Deltek Costpoint's feature depth and enterprise scale only become advantages above 200 employees with complex multi-entity or IDIQ contract requirements.
How much does Deltek Costpoint vs Unanet cost in year one for a 50-person A&E firm?
Unanet at 50-person firm: $35–$65/user/month (~$17,500–$32,500/year) plus $25,000–$75,000 implementation = $42,500–$107,500 year one. Deltek Costpoint at the same firm size: $50–$90/user/month plus $50,000–$150,000 implementation = $75,000–$250,000 year one. Deltek also typically requires a certified implementation partner and dedicated IT staff, adding hidden costs beyond the stated implementation fee.
Which platform has deeper DCAA compliance — Deltek or Unanet?
Deltek Costpoint has the deepest DCAA compliance in the market — built from the ground up for federal contractors with complex indirect rate structures, EVMS readiness, and multi-tier subcontract management. Unanet provides solid DCAA compliance sufficient for standard A&E and GovCon contracts (T&M, CPFF, fixed-fee). For straightforward project types, Unanet's compliance is adequate. Deltek's advantage only matters for firms with large IDIQ contracts, complex revenue recognition requirements, or strict DCAA audit scrutiny.
Deltek vs Unanet implementation time — which is faster to go live?
Unanet is significantly faster. Most 20–100 person A&E and GovCon firms are live in 3–5 months. Deltek Costpoint implementations run 6–18 months for mid-size firms and can exceed 24 months for large enterprises with complex financial structures and data migration requirements. If speed-to-value and lower implementation risk matter for your firm, Unanet wins decisively.
Is Deltek Costpoint worth the premium for a government contractor with 100–300 employees?
For 100–300 employee GovCon firms, Unanet is typically the better choice unless you have very specific requirements: IDIQ/BPAS contract management, multi-entity financial consolidation, advanced EVMS requirements, or native CRM integration with your PSA. For standard T&M and cost-reimbursable government contracts, Unanet provides equivalent DCAA compliance at roughly 40–60% lower year-one cost and with a much faster implementation. The premium for Deltek only pays off at very large scale or with very complex contract structures.
Deltek vs Unanet: which scales better for A&E firms growing past 300 employees?
Deltek scales better for firms above 300 employees with complex project portfolios, multi-office operations, and enterprise financial requirements. Unanet handles firms up to 200–300 employees well; above that threshold, some firms begin to outgrow its reporting depth and need more sophisticated financial consolidation capabilities. The crossover point depends on your project complexity and how many concurrent contracts you're managing — but for most A&E firms under 300 employees, Unanet scales adequately for years of growth before you'd need to consider a platform migration.