Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	12 Months Ended
Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	Dec. 30, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Description of Business and Basis of Presentation RCM Technologies , Inc. (the “Company” or “RCM”) is a premier provider of business and technology solutions designed to enhance and maximize the operational performance of its customers through the adaptation and deployment of advanced engineering and information technology services. Additionally, the Company provides specialty health care staffing services through its Specialty Health Care Services group. RCM’s offices are primarily located in major metropolitan centers throughout North America. The consolidated financial statements are comprised of the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Reclassification, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Reclassification Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified for consistency with the current year presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on the reported results or operations.
Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers its holdings of highly liquid money-market instruments and certificates of deposits to be cash equivalents if the securities mature within 90 days from the date of acquisition. These investments are carried at cost, which approximates fair value. The Company’s cash balances are maintained in accounts held by major banks and financial institutions. The majority of these balances may exceed federally insured amounts. The Company held $0.1 million of cash and cash equivalents in Canadian banks as of December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, which was held principally in Canadian dollars.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Fair Value of Financial Instruments The Company ’s carrying value of financial instruments, consisting primarily of accounts receivable, transit accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses, and transit accounts payable and borrowings under line of credit approximates fair value due to their liquidity or their short-term nature. The Company does not have derivative products in place to manage risks related to foreign currency fluctuations for its foreign operations or for interest rate changes.
Receivables, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts The Company ’s accounts receivable are primarily due from trade customers. Credit is extended based on evaluation of customers’ financial condition and, generally, collateral is not required. Accounts receivable payment terms vary and are stated in the financial statements at amounts due from customers net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. Accounts outstanding longer than the payment terms are considered past due. The Company determines its allowance by considering a number of factors, including the length of time trade accounts receivable are past due, the Company’s previous loss history, the customer’s current ability to pay its obligation to the Company, and the condition of the general economy and the industry as a whole. The Company writes off accounts receivable when they become uncollectible, and payments subsequently received on such receivables previously written off are credited to bad debt expense.
Accrued and Unbilled Accounts Receivable and Work in Process [Policy Text Block]	Accrued and Unbilled Accounts Receivable and Work-in-Process Unbilled receivables primarily represent revenues earned whereby those services are ready to be billed as of the balance sheet ending date. Work-in-process primarily represents revenues earned under contracts which the Company is contractually precluded from invoicing until future dates as project milestones are realized. See Note 4 for further details.
Transit Receivable and Transit Payable [Policy Text Block]	Transit Receivables and Transit Payables From time to time, the Company ’s Engineering segment enters into agreements to provide, among other things, construction management and engineering services. In certain circumstances, the Company may acquire equipment as a purchasing agent for the client for a fee. Pursuant to these agreements, the Company: a) may engage subcontractors to provide construction or other services or contracts with manufacturers on behalf of the Company’s clients to procure equipment or fixtures; b) typically earns a fixed percentage of the total project value or a negotiated mark-up on subcontractor or procurement charges as a fee; and c) assumes no ownership or risks of inventory. In such situations, the Company acts as an agent under the provisions of “Overall Considerations of Reporting Revenue Gross as a Principal versus Net as an Agent” and therefore recognizing revenue on a “net-basis.” The Company records revenue on a “net” basis on relevant engineering and construction management projects, which require subcontractor/procurement costs or transit costs. In those situations, the Company charges the client a negotiated fee, which is reported as net revenue when earned. Under the terms of the agreements, the Company is typically not required to pay the subcontractor until after the corresponding payment from the Company’s end-client is received. Upon invoicing the end-client on behalf of the subcontractor or staffing agency the Company records this amount simultaneously as both a “transit account receivable” and “transit account payable” as the amount when paid to the Company is due to and generally paid to the subcontractor within a few days. The Company typically does not pay a given transit account payable until the related transit account receivable is collected. The Company’s transit accounts payable generally exceeds the Company’s transit accounts receivable but absolute amounts and spreads fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter in the normal course of business. The transit accounts receivable was $ 3.0 million and related transit accounts payable was $4.7 million, for a net liability of $1.7 million, as of December 30, 2017. The transit accounts receivable was $4.3 million and related transit accounts payable was $6.8 million, for a net liability of $2.5 million, as of December 31, 2016.
Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at cost net of accumulated depreciation and amortization and are depreciated or amortized on the straight-line method at rates calculated to provide for retirement of assets at the end of their estimated useful lives. Most hardware and software as well as furniture and office equipment is depreciated or amortized over five years. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the shorter of the estimated life of the asset or the lease term.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Intangible Assets The Company ’s intangible assets have been generated through acquisitions. The Company maintains responsibility for valuing and determining the useful life of intangible assets. As a general rule, the Company amortizes restricted covenants over four years and customer relationships over six years. However, circumstances may dictate other amortization terms as determined by the Company and assisted by their third party advisors.
Canadian Sales Tax [Policy Text Block]	Canadian Sales Tax The Company is required to charge and collect sales tax for all Canadian clients and remits invoiced sales tax monthly to the Canadian taxing authorities whether collected or not. The Company does not collect the sales tax from its clients until they have paid their respective invoices. The Company includes uncollected Canadian sales tax invoiced to clients in its prepaid and other current assets.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Goodwill, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Goodwill Goodwill is not amortized but is subject to periodic testing for impairment in accordance with ASC Topic 350 “ Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment” (“ASC Topic 350” ). The Company tests goodwill for impairment on an annual basis as of the last day of the Company’s fiscal December each year or more frequently if events occur or circumstances change indicating that the fair value of the goodwill may be below its carrying amount. The Company has three reporting units. The Company uses a market-based approach to determine the fair value of the reporting units. This approach uses earnings/revenue multiples of similar companies recently completing acquisitions and the ability of our reporting units to generate cash flows as measures of fair value of our reporting units. The Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2017 - 04, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350 ): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment” effective December 30, 2017 which has eliminated Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under this update, an entity should perform its goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. As of December 30, 2017, the carrying amount of our Information Technology reporting unit exceeded its fair value; therefore, the Company recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $3.5 million in the fiscal year ended December 30, 2017. This charge is recognized as “Goodwill Impairment” on our Consolidated Statements of Income. The remaining goodwill balance as of December 30, 2017 in the Information Technology segment was approximately $2.0 million. The continued future decline of our revenue, cash flows and/or stock price may give rise to a triggering event that may require the Company to record additional impairment charges on goodwill in the future. The Company did not record a goodwill impairment charge in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016. During all periods presented, the Company determined that the existing qualitative factors did not suggest that an impairment of goodwill exists for both its Engineering and Specialty Healthcare Segments. There can be no assurance that future indicators of impairment and tests of goodwill impairment will not result in impairment charges for both its Engineering and Specialty Healthcare segments.
Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, Including Intangible Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Long-Lived and Intangible Assets The Company evaluates long-lived assets and intangible assets with definite lives for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not b e recoverable. When it is probable that undiscounted future cash flows will not be sufficient to recover an asset’s carrying amount, the asset is written down to its fair value. Assets to be disposed of by sale, if any, are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less cost to sell.
Research, Development, and Computer Software, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Software In accordance with “Accounting for Costs of Computer Software Developed or Obtained for Internal Use,” certain costs related to the development or purchase of internal-use software are capitalized and amortized over the estimated useful life of the software. During the fiscal years ended December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company capitalized approximately $594 and $434, respectively, for software costs. The net balance after accumulated depreciation for all software costs capitalized as of December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 was $1,841 and $2,018, respectively.
Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Income Taxes The Company makes judgments and interpretations based on enacted tax laws, published tax guidance, as well as estimates of future earnings. These judgments and interpretations affect the provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities and the valuation allowance. The Company evaluated the deferred tax assets and determined on the basis of objective factors that the net assets will be realized through future years’ taxable income. In the event that actual results differ from these estimates and assessments, additional valuation allowances may be required. The Company did not have any valuation allowance as of December 30, 2017 or December 31, 2016. The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with “Accounting for Income Taxes” which requires an asset and liability approach of accounting for income taxes. “Accounting for Income Taxes” requires assessment of the likelihood of realizing benefits associated with deferred tax assets for purposes of determining whether a valuation allowance is needed for such deferred tax assets. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that are expected to be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the period that such tax rate changes are enacted. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was enacted in December 2017, includes a number of changes to existing U.S. tax laws, most notably the reduction of the U.S. corporate income tax rate from up to 35% to 21%, beginning in 2018. The Company measures its deferred tax assets and liabilities using the tax rates that the Company believes will apply in the years in which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or paid. As a result, the Company remeasured its deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities to reflect the reduction in the U.S. corporate income tax rate, resulting in a $1.0 million decrease in the Company’s income tax benefit (or increase in income tax expense) for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2017. The Company and its wholly owned U.S. subsidiaries file a consolidated federal income tax return. The Company also files tax returns in Canada and Serbia. The Company also follows the provisions of “ Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes” which prescribes a model for the recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return, and provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, disclosure and transition. The Company’s policy is to record interest and penalty, if any, as interest expense.
Revenue Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Revenue Recognition The Company derives its revenues from several sources. The Company ’s Engineering Services and Information Technology Services segments perform consulting and project solutions services. All of the Company’s segments perform staff augmentation services and derive revenue from permanent placement fees. The majority of the Company’s revenues are invoiced on a time and materials basis. Project Services The Company recognizes revenues in accordance with current revenue recognition standards under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 605, Revenue Recognition, which clarifies application of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles to revenue transactions. Project services are generally provided on a cost-plus, fixed-fee or time-and-material basis. Typically, a customer will outsource a discrete project or activity and the Company assumes responsibility for the performance of such project or activity. The Company recognizes revenues and associated costs on a gross basis as services are provided to the customer and costs are incurred using its employees. The Company, from time to time, enters into contracts requiring the completion of specific deliverables. The Company may recognize revenues on these deliverables at the time the client accepts and approves the deliverables. In instances where project services are provided on a fixed-price basis and the contract will extend beyond a 12 -month period, revenue is recorded in accordance with the terms of each contract. In some instances, revenue is billed at the time certain milestones are reached, as defined in the contract. Revenues under these arrangements are recognized as the costs on these contracts are incurred. Amounts invoiced in excess of revenues recognized are recorded as deferred revenue, included in accounts payable and accrued expenses on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. In other instances, revenue is billed and recorded based upon contractual rates per hour (i.e., percentage of completion). In addition, some contracts contain “Performance Fees” (bonuses) for completing a contract under budget. Performance Fees, if any, are recorded when earned. Some contracts also limit revenues and billings to specified maximum amounts. Provision for contract losses, if any, are made in the period such losses are determined. For contracts where there is a deliverable, the work is not complete on a specific deliverable and the revenue is not recognized, the costs are deferred. The associated costs are expensed when the related revenue is recognized. See description of revenue recognition policy for construction management and engineering services below in “transit receivables and transit payables.” Consulting and Staffing Services Revenues derived from consulting and staffing services are recorded on a gross basis as services are performed and associated costs have been incurred using employees of the Company. These services are typically billed on a time and material basis. In certain cases, the Company may utilize other companies and their employees to fulfill customer requirements. In these cases, the Company receives an administrative fee for arranging for, billing for, and collecting the billings related to these companies. The customer is typically responsible for assessing the work of these companies who have responsibility for acceptability of their personnel to the customer. Under these circumstances, the Company ’s reported revenues are net of associated costs (effectively recognizing the net administrative fee only). Transit Receivables and Transit Payables From time to time, the Company ’s Engineering segment enters into agreements to provide, among other things, construction management and engineering services. In certain circumstances, the Company may acquire equipment as a purchasing agent for the client for a fee. Pursuant to these agreements, the Company: a) may engage subcontractors to provide construction or other services or contracts with manufacturers on behalf of the Company’s clients to procure equipment or fixtures; b) typically earns a fixed percentage of the total project value or a negotiated mark-up on subcontractor or procurement charges as a fee; and c) assumes no ownership or risks of inventory. In such situations, the Company acts as an agent under the provisions of “Overall Considerations of Reporting Revenue Gross as a Principal versus Net as an Agent” and therefore recognizing revenue on a “net-basis.” The Company records revenue on a “net” basis on relevant engineering and construction management projects, which require subcontractor/procurement costs or transit costs. In those situations, the Company charges the client a negotiated fee, which is reported as net revenue when earned. During the fifty-two week period ended December 30, 2017, total gross billings, including both transit cost billings and the Company’s earned fees, was $38.9 million, for which the Company recognized $26.1 million of its net fee as revenue. During the fifty-two week period ended December 31, 2016, total gross billings, including both transit cost billings and the Company’s earned fees, was $49.7 million, for which the Company recognized $27.3 million of its net fee as revenue. The net fee revenue from these agreements represented 14.0% of the Company’s total revenues for the fifty-two week period ended December 30, 2017 as compared to 15.5% for the comparable prior year period. Under the terms of the agreements, the Company is typically not required to pay the subcontractor until after the corresponding payment from the Company’s end-client is received. Upon invoicing the end-client on behalf of the subcontractor or staffing agency the Company records this amount simultaneously as both a “transit account receivable” and “transit account payable” as the amount when paid to the Company is due to and generally paid to the subcontractor within a few days. The Company typically does not pay a given transit account payable until the related transit account receivable is collected. The Company’s transit accounts payable generally exceeds the Company’s transit accounts receivable but absolute amounts and spreads fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter in the normal course of business. The transit accounts receivable was $3.0 million and related transit accounts payable was $4.7 million, a net payable of $1.7 million, as of December 30, 2017. The transit accounts receivable was $4.3 million and related transit accounts payable was $6.8 million, a net payable of $2.5 million, as of December 31, 2016. Permanent Placement Services The Company earns permanent placement fees from providing permanent placement services. Fees for placements are recognized at the time the candidate commences employment. The Company guarantees its permanent placements on a prorated basis for 90 days. In the event a candidate is not retained for the 90 -day period, the Company will provide a suitable replacement candidate. In the event a replacement candidate cannot be located, the Company will provide a prorated refund to the client. An allowance for refunds, based upon the Company’s historical experience, is recorded in the financial statements. Permanent placement revenues were $2.6 million and $3.6 million for the fiscal years ended December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.
Concentration Risk, Credit Risk, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Concentration During the fiscal year ended December 30, 2017 , Sikorsky Aircraft represented 10.4% of the Company’s revenues. No other client accounted for 10% or more of total revenues during the year. As of December 30, 2017 the following clients represented more than 10.0% of the Company’s accounts receivable, net: New York City Board of Education was 14.9% and New York Power Authority was 11.9%. As of December 30, 2017, New York Power Authority total accounts receivable balance (including transit accounts receivable) was 14.0% of the total of accounts receivable, net and transit accounts receivable. No other customer accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s accounts receivable, net or total accounts receivable balance (including transit accounts receivable). The Company’s five, ten and twenty largest customers accounted for approximately 37.9%, 51.4% and 65.2%, respectively, of the Company’s revenues for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2017. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, no client accounted for more than 10.0% of total revenues. As of December 31, 2016 the following clients represented more than 10.0% of the Company’s accounts receivable, net: New York Power Authority was 17.6%. As of December 31, 2016, New York Power Authority total accounts receivable balance (including transit accounts receivable of $0.5 million) was $8.4 million or 17.0% of the total of accounts receivable, net and transit accounts receivable. No other customer accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s accounts receivable, net or total accounts receivable balance (including transit accounts receivable). The Company’s five, ten and twenty largest customers accounted for approximately 31.8%, 47.7% and 60.8%, respectively, of the Company’s revenues for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.
Foreign Currency Transactions and Translations Policy [Policy Text Block]	Foreign Currency Translation The functional currency of the Company ’s Canadian and Serbian subsidiaries is the local currency. Assets and liabilities are translated at period-end exchange rates. Income and expense items are translated at weighted average rates of exchange prevailing during the year. Any translation adjustments are included in the accumulated other comprehensive income account in stockholders’ equity. Transactions executed in different currencies resulting in exchange adjustments are translated at spot rates and resulting foreign exchange transaction gains and losses are included in the results of operations.
Comprehensive Income, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Comprehensive Income Comprehensive income consists of net income and foreign currency translation adjustments.
Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Per Share Data Basic net income per share is calculated using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per share is calculated using the weighted-average number of common shares plus dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential dilutive common shares consist of stock options and other stock-based awards under the Company ’s stock compensation plans, when their impact is dilutive. Because of the Company’s capital structure, all reported earnings pertain to common shareholders and no other adjustments are necessary.
Share-based Compensation, Option and Incentive Plans Policy [Policy Text Block]	Share - Based Compensation The Company recognizes share-based compensation over the vesting period of an award based on fair value at the grant date determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Certain assumptions are used to determine the fair value of stock-based payment awards on the date of grant and require subjective judgment. Because employee stock options have characteristics significantly different from those of traded options, and because changes in the input assumptions can materially affect the fair value estimate, the existing models may not provide a reliable single measure of the fair value of the employee stock options. Management assesses the assumptions and methodologies used to calculate estimated fair value of stock-based compensation when share-based awards are granted. Circumstances may change and additional data may become available over time, which could result in changes to these assumptions and methodologies and thereby materially impact our fair value determination. See Note 11 for additional share-based compensation information. Restricted share units are recognized at their fair value. The amount of compensation cost is measured on the grant date fair value of the equity instrument issued. The compensation cost of the restricted share units is recognized over the vesting period of the restricted share units on a straight-line basis. Restricted share units typically include dividend accrual equivalents, which means that any dividends paid by the Company during the vesting period become due and payable after the vesting period assuming the grantee’s restricted stock unit fully vests. Dividends for these grants are accrued on the dividend payment dates and included in accounts payable and accrued expenses on the accompanying consolidated balance sheet. Dividends for restricted share units that ultimately do not vest are forfeited.
Advertising Costs, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Advertising Costs Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Total advertising expense was $ 700 and $643 for the fiscal years ended December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.
Fiscal Period, Policy [Policy Text Block]	The Company follows a 52/53 week fiscal reporting calendar ending on the Saturday closest to December 31. Both of the fiscal years ended December 30, 2017 ( fiscal 2017 ) and December 31, 2016 ( fiscal 2016 ) were 52 -week reporting years.