There’s still a flood of money coming out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, even for small businesses. If you’re thinking about tapping into an ARRA-funded contract, be aware that it will come with some some catches.

While any government contracting comes with reporting and paperwork obligations, ARRA money has its own set of requirements. For instance:

• Reporting. ARRA recipients must file quarterly reports documenting their use of stimulus funds by going to the government’s Web site at www.federalreporting.gov. All contracts contain a clause which requires the prime contractor and first-tier subcontractors to report certain information, including the amount of stimulus funds invoiced by the contractor for the reporting period, an assessment of the contractor’s progress on the contract, the number of jobs created and retained because of the contract, and the names and compensation of the five most highly paid officers of the contractor.
• Whistleblower protection. An ARRA contractor must agree to refrain from retaliating against an employee who discloses what the employee reasonably believes to be evidence of gross mismanagement, misuse or waste of ARRA funds. And contractors must post a notice concerning employees’ whistleblower protections.
• Audits. All federal contractors get audited, but the government auditing arm, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, has separate programs for tracking and auditing ARRA funds. Translation: Such funds and their use get special attention. And companies that get funds are subject to separate, stiff audits to uncover infractions of anti-discrimination rules.