GovWire

Current system status: Live

The statutory requirements for contract and supplier reporting are introduced by the Defence Reform Act 2014 (the Act) and defined in the Single Source Contract Regulations 2014 (the Regulations). The Defence Contract Analysis and Reporting System (DefCARS, the system) is an on-line, web-enabled system which facilitates submission of statutory reports to the SSRO and MOD.

When preparing reports, contractors must have regard to guidance issued by the SSRO. The SSRO has published three guidance documents: which can be accessed at the links below:

• reporting guidance on contract reports: DefCARS - contract report guidance - Version 11.1 published on 28 September 2022 (PDF, 2.78 MB, 140 pages)
• reporting guidance on supplier reports: DefCARS - supplier report guidance - Version 9 published on 28 July 2022 (PDF, 719 KB, 51 pages)
• reporting guidance on DefCARS functionality: Guidance on DefCARS functionality - Version 11.1 published on 15 February 2023 (PDF, 3.24 MB, 26 pages)

The 15 February 2023 release only impacts the guidance on DefCARS functionality, which is now version 11.1. This minor update confirms that DefCARS users with Editor permissions can now delete comments, supporting files and responses to compliance issues prior to approval by an Administrator or Submitter.

The guidance on aggregation principles included in the contract report guidance references notification templates which contractors can use once a QSC assessment has been undertaken. These templates are available on the SSRO Support page of the SSRO website.

DefCARS includes validation checks to help contractors comply with the reporting requirements and reduces the amount of data entry required by eliminating duplication. The SSRO has published a list of all the validation checks which are currently applied within the system and these were last updated on 15 February 2023 DefCARS validation checks published 15 February 2023 (PDF, 269 KB, 11 pages).

The SSRO has developed a spreadsheet to enable contractors to report details of pricing amendment(s) separately from other pricing segments. This spreadsheet SSRO on-demand CPS amendment spreadsheet (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 82.9 KB) should be attached to the profit page in an on-demand Contract Pricing Statement when reporting regulation 14 pricing amendment(s) and the re-determined contract price. Examples on how to complete the spreadsheet in different regulation 14 scenarios have been developed to provide assistance to contractors:

• Example 1: Regulation 14, paragraph 4 (PDF, 578 KB, 12 pages)
• Example 2: Regulation 14, paragraph 6 (PDF, 438 KB, 12 pages)
• Example 3: Regulation 14, paragraph 7 (PDF, 590 KB, 12 pages)
• Example 4 Regulation 14, paragraph 7 (bundle of tasks) - reporting of multiple tasking agreements onto a framework contract (PDF, 579 KB, 14 pages)

Copy and paste functionality is currently available in many parts of DefCARS. To allow contractors with Qualifying Business Units (QBU) to understand their reporting requirements and prepare their QBU Cost Analysis Reports, a copy and paste template is provided: QBUCAR template (XLSM, 76.5 KB).

Contractors or MOD staff who do not currently have access to DefCARS but wish to understand the Defined Pricing Structure (DPS) cost breakdowns, may access the DPS templates that preceded DefCARS. These previous templates are substantially the same as the current versions within DefCARS.

Contractors may also require access to previous reporting templates and user guides.

If you have any questions about how to access DefCARS or the guidance please contact the SSRO at helpdesk@ssro.gov.uk.