Cost Recovery & Finance

Maximize Reimbursement

Every Dollar Is Future Capability

Capture It All

Cost recovery isn't just paperwork—it's the financial lifeline that determines whether your agency can rebuild capability after an incident. Every untracked hour, every undocumented equipment use is money left on the table.

The Reality You Face

Sound Familiar?

These challenges drain time, resources, and effectiveness from your operations every day.

Post-Incident Cost Archaeology

The incident ends and the real work begins: hunting down timesheets, equipment logs, fuel receipts. Personnel have moved on. Documentation is scattered across notebooks, truck glove boxes, and email attachments.

Rate Confusion

Which rate applies? Agency's standard overtime? FEMA equipment rate schedule? Contract rate for mutual aid? Different rates for different funding sources, and getting it wrong means leaving money behind.

Missing Documentation

FEMA denies reimbursement for $47,000 in equipment costs because the deployment authorization was never signed. The work happened. But without documentation, it might as well not have.

Mutual Aid Billing Delays

Your agency provided resources to a neighboring jurisdiction six months ago. The invoice still hasn't been sent because nobody compiled the deployment records.

FEMA Reimbursement Rejections

You submitted $2.3 million in claims. $340,000 was rejected for insufficient documentation. Reassembling it requires dozens of hours of staff time.

How NIMS Logic Helps

Purpose-Built Solutions

Every feature designed to eliminate friction and accelerate your mission.

Real-Time Cost Accrual

Costs accumulate automatically from operational data—no post-incident archaeology.

  • Personnel costs from check-in/check-out with overtime calculated
  • Equipment costs with run time tracked and rates applied
  • Cost rates captured at check-in, before memories fade
  • Supply and contract costs logged against incident

FEMA-Ready Documentation

Documentation packages ready for submission—nothing missing, nothing to chase.

  • Auto-categorization to FEMA Public Assistance categories (A, B, C-G)
  • Gap identification flags missing documentation before you submit
  • Complete audit trail with timestamps and approvals
  • One-click export of submission-ready packages

Cost Hierarchy Resolution

The right rate, every time—automatically.

  • Override rates for incident-specific negotiations
  • Equipment-specific rates unique to each piece
  • Agency standard rates as default
  • FEMA cost schedule as fallback with audit trail

Daily Burn Rate Tracking

Answer "what's this costing us?" immediately.

  • Current daily rate from today's accumulated costs
  • 7-day average smoothed for variation
  • Projected total based on planned duration
  • Cost breakdown by category (labor, equipment, supplies)

Mutual Aid Billing Package

Invoice partner agencies within 48 hours of demob—not 6 months.

  • Personnel deployment summary with hours and rates
  • Equipment deployment with run times and rates
  • Signed authorizations and ICS 221 clearances included
  • One-click export to PDF or accounting format

FEMA Rate Schedule Integration

Federal equipment rates built in and always current.

  • Equipment type lookup by category
  • Regional adjustments applied automatically
  • Hourly and daily rates based on deployment pattern
  • Complete rate audit trail for every charge
A Day in the Life

14-Day Wildfire Support

See how NIMS Logic transforms a typical operational scenario.

Days 1-14

Incident Operations

Your agency deploys 28 personnel, 6 engines, and 2 dozers to support a neighboring county. Throughout the incident, costs accumulate automatically from check-ins and equipment logs.

Finance monitors daily burn rate: $47,000/day average.
Day 15

Demobilization

As resources demobilize, finance section clears each ICS 221. Personnel hours verified. Equipment hours reconciled. Discrepancies resolved before departure.

All cost data verified before the team scatters.
Day 16

Mutual Aid Billing

Finance generates the Mutual Aid Billing Package: $287,000 personnel, $168,000 equipment, $23,000 supplies. Total invoice: $478,000.

Billing complete within 48 hours. No archaeology required.
Day 30

FEMA Documentation

FEMA reimbursement package generated with costs auto-categorized, all supporting documentation linked, rate audit trail included.

15 minutes vs. 40 hours to compile manually.
Month 6

Reimbursement Received

FEMA claim approved with zero rejections. $342,000 received.

6 months total vs. 18-month average for manual processes.
Measurable Impact

Before & After

What changes when documentation happens automatically.

Mutual aid invoice generation
Before:2-3 weeks
After:48 hours
FEMA documentation assembly
Before:40+ hours
After:15 minutes
Reimbursement claim rejections
Before:10-15%
After:<2%
Reimbursement timeline
Before:18 months avg
After:6 months

NIMS Logic captures every dollar as it's spent, so you can recover every dollar you're owed.

Ready to upgrade your command capability?

See how NIMS Logic transforms incident management from administrative burden to operational advantage. Real-time visibility. Automated workflows. Complete accountability.