As the year comes to an end, many of you are ready to close the door on 2021. But before you dive head-first into 2022, let's take a moment to ensure you have finished your year-end process. Unanet is a comprehensive accounting system that offers clear procedures for closing. Still, we all know that government contracting comes with unique accounting challenges, and extra help can come in handy! Therefore, we at Redstone GCI wanted to provide a checklist and a few links to the Unanet Support Site to help guide you through the Year-End Process smoothly and efficiently:
Year End Considerations:
- ME Checklist
- Administrative (Unanet) Updates
- Financial Updates and Year End Closing
- On Premises Considerations
Month-End Close (Support Site Month-End Close)
- Post Outstanding Financial Transactions
- Perform Reconciliations
- Generate Financial Statements
- Close the Period
Year-End Checklist (Support Site Year-End Close)
- Add next fiscal year
- Create new holidays and assignments
- Roll over accrual plans (if necessary)
- Set up Custom Time Periods (if necessary)
System Admin Checklist
- Clean & update saved shared reports
- Review scheduled items and make necessary updates (reminders, accrual postings, project alerts, etc)
- Review and update project set up templates
- Update person cost rates for pay increases
- Review “Active” users for any that should be “Inactive”
- Review Assignments on internal projects (Training, B&P, etc.)
- Review Accruals and remind employees of “Use It or Lose It” policy
- Import new Per Diem rates and update mileage rates
- Add next year financial budgets (GL or Labor & Expense)
- Add next year indirect rates into cost structures
- Update Cost pools for next fiscal year
- True-up indirect rates
- Incurred Cost Electronically/Incurred Cost Submission (ICE/ICS)
- Update any recurring annual journal entries (Rent payments)
- Gross Salary reconciliation to Payroll journals
- Check Purchase Order Status Report for any processing necessary
- 1099 activities/Print off 1099 info
- Fiscal period close
Additional Considerations for on Premise Users:
- Restart Unanet Server (monthly)
- Backup Database (weekly/monthly)
- Upgrade Point & Major Releases
We hope this checklist helps you prepare your accounting system for the end of 2021, guiding you through the essential steps to closing 2021 with Unanet. Our Unanet experts are always here to offer additional help as you utilize Unanet and can offer consulting and training options to make sure you are getting the most out of your investment. Reach out to us to make your year-end process or any Unanet functions run smoother for your department and company.
Katie is the Unanet Practice Lead at Redstone Government Consulting, Inc. based in our Huntsville, Alabama office. Her areas of expertise include supporting government contract businesses with a special focus in DCAA-compliant Unanet Time and Expense Tracking, Project Portfolio and Financials. QuickBooks, and Deltek GCS. Katie is a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Certified Unanet Systems Implementer and has completed the Unanet Advanced Project Management training. Katie was one of the first Unanet Certified Implementers and was part of the initial pilot offering to non-Unanet consultants. As part of her certification process, Katie invested over 300-hours of instruction, out of class database development time and testing to obtain her certification. Since certification, Katie has assisted numerous Redstone GCI clients with implementation and post-implementation support services. Katie is frequently called upon by Unanet to join their implementation teams as an external resource and is considered a subject matter expert in the implementation of all Unanet software offerings. In her role with Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., Katie not only provides software systems expertise, but also frequently assists clients with preparation and support of DCAA audit activities including SF1408 pre-award accounting system audits, provisional billing rate submission, development of forward pricing rates for proposals, incurred cost submission preparation and development and design of policies and procedures necessary to support an adequate (DCAA-approved) accounting system. Katie serves as the primary point of contact for many small business clients in government cost accounting/compliance and assists monthly with the close of those contractor’s accounting systems and reporting to program management and executives. Her industry experience, software systems expertise and compliance knowledge provides a rare combination of knowledge to clients looking for a consultant to become an integral part of their team. Professional Experience Prior to joining Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., Katie worked in public accounting as well as small to mid-sized government contractors. She has prior operational experience with the many types of software such as Unanet, Deltek GCS, QuickBooks, SpringAhead, Deltek T&E, ADP, Paychex, and QB Payroll. Education Katie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from The University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2010, where she was President of Beta Alpha Psi (an honor organization for finance and accounting students and professionals). She received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The University of North Alabama in 2014, graduating Cum Laude. Decades of Consulting, Training and Helping Government Contractors Succeed Redstone GCI offers a variety of services for large and small government contractors including evaluation, education and training, monitoring and DCAA audit preparation. Through our consulting and training programs, government contractors develop and learn to maintain compliance processes that help them succeed by mitigating risk and maximizing profitability. Our consulting team is comprised of senior leaders from government agencies and industry executives creating balance and an informed approach to our client services. Our services span the entire government contract lifecycle from proposal assistance, accounting, audit readiness, purchasing, project controls, contract administration, system implementation through to contract closeout. We specialize in preparing contractors for growth through our deep knowledge of common pitfalls companies face as they progress from small business in CAS, DFARS Business Systems and other common gates to contractor growth. In addition to almost 30 full-time consultants we also maintain a trusted network of independent contractors and other service providers who work with our team on specialized areas like ITAR, facility security, EVMS and other areas.