The Unanet Champions conference was held this year in Denver, CO. Prior to the conference kick-off, Unanet now host a day of training for those want training in specific areas. Katie participated in Analytics and I was in the CRM: Administering the System. I will become a Certified Implementer for CRM this summer and I’m excited about the opportunity.
The general session kicked off highlighting two amazing companies using Unanet. One of the companies was Summit Point Racing Association and they are a client that Katie Donnell and I implemented Unanet with starting last summer. Their company is so different and unique, and we’ve really enjoyed working with them. I won’t lie when I say I was a little emotional seeing all the hard work both of our teams have done in the last ten months come to life on the big screen and being highlighted at Champions. It was a BIG ‘proud mom’ moment. If you haven’t ever heard of Summit Point Racing Association, you’ll want to check out their site. It’s a cool company.
The company highlights were followed by motivational speaker, Bonnie St. John. She talked about being resilient, how being normal is overrated, and to Aim Higher! Bonnie lost her leg at a young age and became the first African-American to ever win medals in the Winter Paralympics in 1984. There were so many takeaways, but my biggest was to have a First Aid Kit for your attitude. Prepare yourself so when you have a tough day you can pull out your Frist Aid Kit to help turn your day around. Everyone’s will look different, but what should be in yours: pictures, notes from loved ones, a verse, song, or fun memory.
There were so many great sessions to learn more about Unanet, it was hard to choose which classes to take. My favorite was Using CRM Opportunities to Model Pricing and Forecasting Revenue. This was a great class showing attendees how to use CRM and Unanet to setup a projects, people, and labor categories for pricing purposes and using that for forecasting. It was a great session and I’m excited about learning more about CRM so we can help our clients streamline their processes.
It's always so nice catching up with old clients/friends and meeting new ones. Unanet hosted a fabulous 80s themed party the last night and it was a blast. Great job Unanet! The hair stylist crimping and teasing hair, makeup artist, life sized Pac Man, giant Rubik’s Cubes, band, and all of the décor was spot on. You really know how to throw a party and it was so fun seeing everyone dressed in their 80s attire. I cannot wait for next year!
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.