The fast, trusted way to stay compliant
Continuous, audit-ready project cost accounting for CEC-funded projects.
Audit readiness
98%
Match funded
64%
Supporting teams funded by
NSF
DOD
Navy
Air Force
DOE
CDC
NIH
NATO
USDA
NYSERDA
Alberta InnovatesNSFDODNavyAir ForceDOECDCNIHNATOUSDANYSERDAAlberta InnovatesDISCLAIMER: The logos and brand names are used for informational purposes only and do not imply any endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation with our company.
Trusted by CEC award recipients
Founders stop thinking about CEC compliance
How we work
Audit-ready project cost operation without the headache
Engineered for projects funded with complex cost tracking requirements
Real-Time Budget Actuals
No more v1, v2 ... v16. Always see the latest actuals with transaction drill-down
Marriott Union Square exceeds the SF lodging cap of $421/night by $121. Pre-approved under Task 6 — recommend justification before approval.
Average cost during summer was above $400.
AI-checked, expert-reviewed compliance
Forge AI checks every transaction against CEC Budget Guidance and your budget justification. Edge cases get a second look from a CPA who's worked CEC awards — so what hits your books is already audit-defensible.
March '26 Invoice Package
ReadySupport from Accountants
All reports prepared and reviewed by experienced CPAs who specialize in government contract accounting.
Monthly invoice and reports
Invoice template, quarterly progress report, receipt backup, match docs — assembled on demand and formatted against CEC's review checklist so reviews go faster.
Payroll
Gusto
Timesheets
38 entries
Invoices
Bill.com
Materials
3 POs
Subcontracts
2 active
Travel
Ramp
Compliance across operations, not just the ledger
Audits don't just check your numbers — they check the paper trail behind every labor hour, piece of equipment, subcontractor invoice, and material receipt. Forge connects to the systems where that work lives — payroll, bill pay, POs, timekeeping — keeps the supporting documentation organized by project and resource, and flags the transactions that need extra approvals like CAM sign-off so the right forms get filed on time.
8h logged · Apr 24
PO-1182 · $1,284.50
INV-2847 · $8,420.00
Capture the costs that don't live in a system yet
Daily hours, field POs, on-site receipts, subcontractor invoices — the costs that usually get chased down at month-end. Forge meets your team where they already work (Slack, Teams, email), pre-fills timesheets so logging hours takes seconds, and accepts uploaded POs and receipts in the same thread. Everything routes straight to the right project, task, and cost category.
Integrates with your accounting system
Forge plugs right in your existing accounting system
Secure, compliant, and built for the long haul
Enterprise infrastructure
SOC 2-grade hosting, end-to-end encryption, daily backups.
Compliance Assured
Compliant with key regulations and audit requirements
Your data, your data
You own everything. We never train AI on your books.
How it works
From kickoff to closeout, on autopilot
Four touchpoints. The rest runs in the background.
Send the agreement, connect your accounts
Share your agreement and link accounting, banking, and bill pay. We stand up your budget, match plan, and milestones — usually inside a week.
Your team works. We watch the books.
Hours, purchases, and bills flow through tools that capture what's needed. No new processes.
We close the books and track match
Every transaction categorized, match position updated. You get a clean monthly report — and a 30-min review if you want it.
Closeout, filed
Final invoice, final report, match certification — submitted.
[Comparison Eyebrow]
Pay for outcomes, not hours
Traditional accounting firms sell you hours. Forge sells you the finished outcome.
| Forge | Traditional Firm | |
|---|---|---|
| Expertise | Built for project cost accounting | Generalists learning on your dime |
| Pricing | Flat fee, ~30% less | Hourly billing |
| Visibility | Live, transparent dashboard | PDFs and emails |
| Your team's time | Take time back to build | Chasing receipts |
| Audit readiness | Daily, no more monthly scramble | Monthly scramble |
Questions founders ask us
Straight answers about CEC accounting.
Go deeper
ECAMS, explained
What CEC's agreement system is, and the handful of things every recipient needs to get right.
A match fund plan that holds up
How to document cash, in-kind, and third-party match so it survives CAM review.
What CEC reviewers look for
The structure of a progress report that holds up — and the common gaps that send reports back for rework.
CEC vs. federal awards
How CEC differs from SBIR and DOE — and what it means for your books.
Transparent pricing for funded projects
Traditional firms don't list pricing — you schedule a call just to learn the cost. Forge is transparent.
Starter
$499/mo
For single funded projects with straightforward budgets.
Growth
$899/mo
For teams with multiple grants or complex match requirements.
Custom
Custom
For organizations with multi-funder portfolios spanning multiple programs.
Get your team back to the project
Forge runs your accounting end-to-end — invoices, match, reports — so your engineers stay on the project.