Defense contracting compliance path · self-paced
Know what your contract clauses commit you to. Cost, export, CUI and parts, clause by clause.The clause lands on your desk. You know what it asks and what proves it.AI can read a clause. It can't sign for one. Be the one who knows what it commits you to.
Read CAS coverage off the contract and keep your books matching what you disclosed. Then learn where ITAR draws the line on technical data and people, score NIST 800-171 honestly, and keep counterfeit parts off your dock.
For contracts, finance and compliance staff at defense suppliers.
- 4 live courses, in order
- 4 more on the way
- Step 1: about 17.5 hours
- Coach Q in every course
Sound familiar?
Each of these sounds reasonable until someone checks.
The prime flowed down a CAS clause. So we're covered now?
Maybe not. Coverage attaches to each contract, not the company, and contracts with small businesses are exempt. Cost Accounting Standards teaches you to read coverage off the clause, tell full from modified from exempt, and document the call, because an exemption you can't document looks like a missed flow-down.
We don't export, so ITAR isn't our problem.
If you manufacture defense articles, you register with DDTC whether or not anything leaves the country. And showing technical data to a foreign person is an export, even inside your own building. ITAR Compliance shows where the line falls on technical data, people and shipments.
Our prime wants our SPRS score in writing.
That score is a statement of fact to the government, and a senior official affirms it every year. What you send has to match what's posted. CMMC and NIST 800-171 teaches you to grade each requirement the way an assessor does, so your evidence backs the number.
The broker has them in stock at half the price.
FAA AC 21-29D lists a price significantly lower than other distributors as a suspect-parts indicator. An indicator isn't proof, and neither is the seller's own C of C. Counterfeit Parts Avoidance covers the sourcing rules in DFARS 252.246-7008, the receiving checks and what to do with a suspect lot.
What it does for you
Become the one they ask before anyone signs.
The one primes get a straight answer from
When a prime asks for your SPRS score or your counterfeit prevention plan, you can answer in writing and point to the record behind every line.
The person contracts, finance and quality call
Cost, export, CUI and parts rules usually land on different desks. You'll know how each one reaches your company and what it asks, so a new clause comes to you first.
Proof you can bring to your next review
No course can promise you a raise or a title. What you can bring is the work: a coverage call, a Technology Control Plan, an SPRS worksheet, and a certificate anyone can verify.
No course can promise you a raise or a title. What you'll have is the skill, the work to show for it and a certificate anyone can verify. That's what those conversations run on.
Why it matters
Every clause on your contract is a promise someone checks.
In fiscal year 2025, the Defense Contract Audit Agency examined nearly $788B in contract costs and identified over $18B in total audit exceptions.
Source: Defense Contract Audit Agency, Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Estimates, April 2026
That's one agency, checking cost. On cost-type work you submit actual costs and final rates after year end, and the government audits them. DDTC can ask for your export records. Your prime asks for your SPRS score in writing. An auditor asks how you knew a broker lot was genuine.
Most of these duties don't stop at the prime. They flow down on the purchase order, and someone in contracts, finance or quality has to know what each clause asks. This path builds that: read the clause, do the work it asks, and keep the record that proves it.
The full path
From your books to your receiving dock.
Start with cost, because on cost-type work your own books set the bill. Then the technical data and people ITAR controls, the systems that hold CUI, and the parts on your dock. Each course stands alone.
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Step 1 · Know what CAS asks of your books
Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)
Read coverage off the 52.230 clause on each award, sort every standard by the question it answers (how much, when, which job pays), and keep what you disclosed matching your books. Updated for the 2026 CAS Board rules.
You walk out with a coverage call on a new award, an allocation base you can defend, an unallowables close-out and a year-end rate true-up.
- About 17.5 hours
- Certificate anyone can verify
- Lesson 1 free
See what you get →The course page shows everything included, then the price.
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Step 2 · Know when it's an export
ITAR Compliance
Classify parts from the USML paragraph, not the end use. Learn who counts as a foreign person, match each transfer to a license, agreement or exemption, and build a Technology Control Plan. Ends with a final exam.
You walk out with a jurisdiction and classification record, a Technology Control Plan review, an exemption analysis and a 90-day roadmap of your top ITAR priorities.
- About 10 hours
- Final exam
- Certificate anyone can verify
- Lesson 1 free
See what you get →The course page shows everything included, then the price.
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Step 3 · Back up your SPRS score
CMMC & NIST 800-171
Sort FCI from CUI, find the DFARS clauses your contracts carry, draw the smallest boundary that holds, and grade the NIST 800-171 requirements the way an assessor does, so the score you post is one your evidence backs.
You walk out with a data inventory, asset categories and a one-page enclave, a System Security Plan outline, a sample score and POA&M sort, and a pre-affirmation review.
- About 7.5 hours
- Certificate anyone can verify
- Lesson 1 free
See what you get →The course page shows everything included, then the price.
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Step 4 · Keep counterfeits off the dock
Counterfeit Parts Avoidance
Learn the six types of counterfeit and their tells, which DFARS and FAR clause sets which duty, and what to do in the first 15 minutes with a suspect lot. Ends with a final exam.
You walk out with a prevention plan outline, a sourcing hierarchy memo, a 15-minute containment checklist, a GIDEP summary and a 90-day prevention roadmap.
- About 10.5 hours
- Final exam
- Certificate anyone can verify
- Lesson 1 free
See what you get →The course page shows everything included, then the price.
On the way in this path
More courses for defense suppliers are on the way. Join the waitlist for the ones you need.
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On the way
EAR Export Controls
Most dual-use items fall under EAR, not ITAR.
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On the way
DFARS Flowdowns for Suppliers
What a purchase order clause actually commits you to.
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On the way
CUI Handling on the Shop Floor and in the Office
Find where CUI leaks: drawings, email, travelers and shared drives.
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On the way
Incident Response for Small Defense Suppliers
Work the 72-hour reporting clock before you ever need it.
Not like training used to be
Short, hands-on, built around you. And the coach stays.
Training used to mean days in a classroom or hours of video. Here are real screens from this path: short sessions where you make the call, a plan that fits your week, and an expert in your pocket in every course.
Coach Q · from Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)
Probably not on that award. Contracts with small businesses are exempt from CAS under 48 CFR 9903.201-1(b). Coverage attaches to the contract, not the company, so confirm it award by award: check the CAS clause the contracting officer wrote in, and your small business status for that contract.
Exempt from CAS isn't exempt from the cost rules. Whether a cost is allowable is a separate FAR Part 31 question, and a cost-type contract still needs books that keep unallowable costs out and track cost by contract.
Want me to prepare a one-page coverage check you can run on every new award?
Coaching, not decisions. You make the call. Comes with every course, no renewal fee.
Study plan · Your personal trainer
Tell it your goal date. It builds sessions around your week and shows each day whether you're on plan, so the course actually gets finished.
Focus timer · 25 minutes, no tab-hopping
One click starts a focused session, and it follows you from lesson to lesson. Short sessions are how busy people finish.
Apply at work · Proof your boss can see
Log what you tried, what happened and how you know. Record your manager's sign-off with their name and date, and export the log for your performance review.
Built around you
Give the study plan your goal date and it sizes each session to your week. Coach Q works on the facts you bring from your own job, never CUI or technical data, so the examples are yours, not a textbook's.
Hands-on, not hours of video
Lessons are built around calls you make: read the record, sort the evidence, catch the mistake. Checks and labs score you on the spot, and your first win comes in the first few minutes of lesson 1.
Stays with you. Stays current.
Coach Q doesn't leave when you finish. It comes with your course, no subscription and no renewal fee, so it's there for the next award and the next flow-down clause, in general terms and never with CUI or technical data. When the rules behind this course change, we update the lessons and the coach's setup, and we move the coach to newer AI models as we test them.
What you walk out with
Working documents for your own company, not notes.
In Course Hub you pick a template and give Coach Q facts you're allowed to share, never CUI or technical data. It drafts a first version. You edit it, and it's yours to keep and use.
Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)
- CAS Applicability & Coverage DeterminationDraft with Coach Q
- Incurred Cost Submission (ICS) ChecklistDraft with Coach Q
- Disclosed-vs-Actual ReconciliationDraft with Coach Q
ITAR Compliance
- Jurisdiction & Classification Determination WorksheetDraft with Coach Q
- Technology Control Plan (TCP)Draft with Coach Q
CMMC & NIST 800-171
- SPRS Score Worksheet (DoD Assessment Methodology)Draft with Coach Q
- Subcontractor Flow-Down PackageDraft with Coach Q
Counterfeit Parts Avoidance
- Receiving Inspection Criteria for High-Risk PartsDraft with Coach Q
- Suspect Counterfeit Part Investigation FormDraft with Coach Q
Who built it
Built from the audit table and the supplier side.
Will Trikha
Founder and CEO, QMS Learning · Third-party registrar auditor
Will Trikha is a third-party registrar auditor with more than 20 years in aerospace and quality. He built these courses from the rules themselves: 48 CFR Chapter 99 and FAR Part 31 for cost, 22 CFR 120 to 130 for ITAR, NIST SP 800-171 and DFARS 252.204-7012 for CUI, and the DFARS and FAR counterfeit clauses.
He's COO of PTX Defense, an AS9100D-certified aerospace manufacturer, so he lives with these requirements from the supplier side: the clauses a customer flows down and the lots that cross the dock. He founded QMS Leader, which implements quality management systems for manufacturers. His own company, QMS Learning, is ISO 27001 certified.
Check us before you pay
- Take lesson 1 free. The real first lesson of any course on the path, with Coach Q. No card.
- Look Will up. His LinkedIn profile lists the work behind the courses.
- Check a certificate. Every certificate can be confirmed at academy.qmslearning.com/verify.
- Keep your exit. 3 days after you buy a course to ask for a refund.
Try before you buy
Try it before you pay. Change your mind after.
Before you pay
Lesson 1 is free.
Every live course on the path has a free first lesson, with the exercises and Coach Q. Start with step 1 and judge it yourself.
Try lesson 1 free ↑After you buy
3 days to change your mind.
Email will@qmslearning.com within 3 days of buying a course for a refund. A refund ends access to that course. Refund policy
Company pays
Send it to your manager.
We wrote the email for you, with each course on the path and a link to what it includes. Need a quote or a PO? Email will@qmslearning.com.
Send this to my manager →Questions
Straight answers.
Do I have to take them all?
No. Each course stands on its own, and lesson 1 is free on each one. The path is the order we'd take them in.
Which one should I start with?
Start where the pressure is. A new cost-type award or a DCAA question: Cost Accounting Standards. Drawings, a new hire who isn't a U.S. person or a shipment: ITAR Compliance. A prime asking for your SPRS score: CMMC and NIST 800-171. A broker buy or a counterfeit clause on a PO: Counterfeit Parts Avoidance.
Where does CMMC stand right now?
CMMC Phase 2 was suspended on July 13, 2026. Phase 1 wasn't. NIST SP 800-171, your SPRS score, the annual affirmation and DFARS 252.204-7012 all still apply, so the work in the CMMC and NIST 800-171 course still counts.
Is this a certification?
No. Each course ends with a QMS Learning certificate anyone can verify at academy.qmslearning.com/verify, and ITAR Compliance and Counterfeit Parts Avoidance also end with a final exam. It isn't a government credential or an accredited certification. It doesn't register your company with DDTC, approve your accounting system or make anyone an Empowered Official.
Can I give the coach our real drawings or data?
No CUI and no export-controlled technical data, in Coach Q or any other AI tool. Describe the situation in general terms, or work the course's fictional cases. The coach never classifies a part, affirms a score or releases a lot. Named people at your company do. This is practical training, not legal advice.
Training a team?
Open any course on the path and pick how many people before you check out. Five or more people get 10% off every seat, applied at checkout. Each person gets their own login, private coach, study plan and certificate. More than 50 people, or need an invoice instead? Email will@qmslearning.com for a quote.
How long do I keep access?
The lessons are yours for life, and Coach Q comes with your course and stays with you after you finish. There's no subscription or renewal fee.
Does the course keep up when the rules change?
Yes, for the edition it teaches. When the rules or guidance behind this course change, we update the lessons and the coach's setup, and you get the update at no extra charge. When a new edition replaces the standard, we point you to the transition training. Your conversations with Coach Q aren't used to train AI models.
The Defense Contracting Compliance path
Start free with CAS lesson 1: why your own books set the bill.
- Step 1: Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)About 17.5 hours
- Step 2: ITAR ComplianceAbout 10 hours
- Step 3: CMMC & NIST 800-171About 7.5 hours
- Step 4: Counterfeit Parts AvoidanceAbout 10.5 hours
Lessons for life. Coach Q comes with every course, no renewal fee.
Ready to buy? Pick a course from the path. Each course page shows everything included, then the price.