Overview
Accounting Seed is pleased to announce our Koali release. This article presents information about the new features and enhancements available in the Koali release, including steps for Configuration changes, where necessary.
To best understand how to use these new features and enhancements within your business it is important that you first test the Koali release in your sandbox environment. Follow the links below to learn more about each update. For more information on best practices with testing sandboxes, refer to Sandboxes: Staging Environments for Customizing and Testing and Considerations for Creating Sandboxes with Accounting Seed Data.
To print a copy of the Koali Release Notes, right-click and select Print. In the Destination drop-down list, select a specific printer name or select Save as PDF. Then, click Save.
Schedule
Our Koali release has been deployed to all sandbox environments based upon the Release Schedule. To benefit from Koali in your production environment sooner, please contact Support by creating a case in our Customer Support Community to request the installation link.
Contents
- Accounting Settings Enhancements
- Banking Enhancements
- Cash In Enhancements
- Cash Out Enhancements
- Reporting Enhancements
- Time Card Enhancements
New Features
Bank Reconciliation
Accounting Seed has implemented a new redesign of Bank Reconciliation, which makes the process more efficient and effective. This new version of Bank Reconciliation will replace the legacy version. The new Bank Reconciliation UI is only available in Lightning. Highlights of new Bank Reconciliation include:
- New user-interface with a calculator to view updated amounts/balances in real-time
- Two-phase calculation process: Initial calculation that compares the Cleared Balance to the Statement Ending Balance and a second phase calculation that compares the Calculated Balance to the GL Ending Balance
- Ability to pin calculation amounts/balances for continuous viewing as records are being cleared/uncleared
- Automatic clearing and saving of records from Bank Direct Connect - Bank Transactions
- Ability to batch clear/unclear up to 100 records per page.
- Quick and easy access to create the next Bank Reconciliation
- Hyperlinks from the Bank Reconciliation directly to the source record and/or payee
- Filter capabilities to narrow the list of records that display, such as display only uncleared records
- Easy identification of Bank or Credit Card reconciliation
- Ability to create a Bank Reconciliation PDF Summary and/or a CSV file that includes a listing of all the records in a reconciliation
- Help link to the Perform a Bank Reconciliation knowledge article directly from the Bank Reconciliation screen.
Configuration Changes/Requirements:
- Existing users should clear all Bank Reconciliation records that are already in progress before being upgraded to the new Bank Reconciliation. Records on an old Bank Reconciliation that were created prior to the Koali release can only be uncleared.
- If you have not started the Bank Reconciliation for a Statement Ending Date, you should wait until your Org (Organization) has been upgraded.
- For existing users, the required configuration changes are available in the Bank Reconciliation Configuration Setup article.
Bank Reconciliation Features and Benefits
New and Next Bank Reconciliation
Create a New Bank Reconciliation
Create the Next Bank Reconciliation
The New button on the Bank Reconciliation list view is available to create a reconciliation that has not been previously created using a selected combination of GL Account, GL Account Variables, Currency, Ledger and/or Type. However, if the selected combination has been previously used to create a reconciliation, the Create Next button, which is located directly on the Bank Reconciliation screen makes it easy to create the next reconciliation. Most of the fields on the Create Next Bank Reconciliation screen display pre-populated and you will only need to complete information such as the Statement End Date and the Statement Ending Balance.
Bank Reconciliation Header Information
The Bank Reconciliation header makes it easy to determine information such as the selected Bank/Credit Card GL Account, Statement Ending Date, and the Ledger. Additionally, if you have multi-currency enabled, the currency for the Bank Reconciliation is included as part of the header information.
The Bank Reconciliation header also includes the status, which initially displays as “In Progress.” The status of “In Progress” allows you to clear and/or unclear records that are included in the reconciliation. When a Bank Reconciliation is finalized and the Difference is zero (0.00) in the calculation section of the screen, the status can be changed to “Completed.”
Important: When setting the status of a Bank Reconciliation from “In Progress” to “Completed” and vice versa, similar to closing Accounting Periods, the current and the prior reconciliation must be taken into consideration. For example, if you attempted to change the status to “Completed” on the current Bank Reconciliation when the prior one is still in an “In Progress” status, a message displays to indicate that the status cannot be changed because the prior reconciliation is “In Progress.” Additionally, when changing a Bank Reconciliation status, only related reconciliations need to be considered (reconciliations with the same Bank or Credit Card GL Account).
Bank Reconciliation Calculation
In Progress Status
The Bank Reconciliation Calculation is the second section of the Reconciliation screen. When a Bank Reconciliation is in a status of “In Progress,” this section includes the amounts that reconcile the General Ledger Balance to the Statement Balance. The part of the calculation for the Statement Balance includes the Statement Ending Balance (for Bank or Credit Card GL Account). If there is a difference between the Cleared Balance and the Statement Ending Balance, the amount displays in the Difference portion of the calculation with the Warning icon.
The Bank Reconciliation Calculation section of the screen updates in real-time as you clear/unclear records on the Bank Reconciliation data grid. Once the Cleared Balance and the Statement Ending Balance are the same, a green checkmark displays to indicate that there is no longer a difference between the two amounts/balances. When the Difference is zero (0.00), the status of the Bank Reconciliation can be “Set to Completed.”
Completed Status
When a reconciliation status has been “Set to Completed,” the Bank Reconciliation Calculation changes to include the amounts that reconcile the Statement Balance to the GL Balance.
The part of the calculation that includes the GL Balance is the GL Ending Balance. If the GL Difference is zero (0.00), a green checkmark displays. If the GL Difference is an amount other than zero, the difference displays with the Warning icon. The Statement Balance to the GL Balance calculation is informational only and will not impede your ability to create the next Bank Reconciliation. If adjustments are needed, the status of the Bank Reconciliation can be ”Set to In Progress.”
Reconciliation Tab and Data Grid
The third section of the Bank Reconciliation screen is the data grid, which is available on the Reconciliation (default) tab. This functions as your workspace to perform tasks such as the following:
- Clear and/or unclear records
- Edit the Cleared Date
- Filter criteria on the data grid
- Review a source record or payee information
The Reconciliation tab includes the Clear All/Unclear All button, which functions as a toggle to clear all records on the current page or unclear all records on the page. The Reconciliation tab also includes the Filter button, which allows you to filter information on the data grid using any or all of following criteria:
- All records, Cleared, or uncleared records
- Date
- Type of record (Payment, Deposit, or Charge)
- Amount
Up to 100 records per page can display on a Bank Reconciliation and a total of up to 8000 records can be included in a single Bank Reconciliation. When you create a new or next Bank Reconciliation, the system checks to determine if more than 8000 records will be included. Therefore, a new Bank Reconciliation cannot be saved with more than 8000 records. However, once a new Bank Reconciliation has been saved, it is possible to have additional uncleared source records added to it while the reconciliation is in an “In Progress” status. If this occurs, a message will display on the Bank Reconciliation screen to indicate that more than 8000 records exist. To view a complete listing of all the records that are included in a Bank Reconciliation, you can create a CSV file.
Automatic Cleared and Saved Records
After saving a new or next Bank Reconciliation, the system will check for any uncleared records with the Bank Deposit date, Cash Disbursement date, Cash Receipt date, or Journal date that is less than or equal to the Statement Ending Date and have the Cleared Date field pre-populated that is also less than or equal to the Statement Ending Date. Typically, records with the Cleared Date pre-populated will be records that were added or matched in the Bank Direct Connect - Bank Transactions. Records that have a pre-populated Cleared Date will automatically be cleared and saved (committed) into the database. Therefore, you will not have to manually clear these records one at a time from the Bank Reconciliation. Once a new or next Bank Reconciliation is saved, and the Bank Reconciliation screen displays, these records are easily identified with a green checkmark and the Cleared Date pre-populated.
Note: Records that are automatically cleared and saved upon creation of a new/next Bank Reconciliation are not included as part of the up to 100 records per page that can be batch cleared/uncleared. For example, 50 records may have been automatically cleared and saved upon the creation of a new Bank Reconciliation. Using this example, up to 100 records per page could still be batch cleared.
Bank Reconciliation with Multi-Currency
If you have multi-currency enabled in your organization (org), a Currency field displays in the header section of the Bank Reconciliation screen. The Currency field identifies the currency for the Bank Reconciliation. Additionally, the Bank Reconciliation data grid includes the Ledger Amount column, which identifies the actual amount that was posted to the General Ledger for each record. With multi-currency, the amount that displays in the Ledger Amount column on each record will be the amount that makes up the Cleared Deposits and/or the Cleared Payments in the Bank Reconciliation Calculation.
Keep the following points in mind when using multi-currency:
- If a Bank Reconciliation’s currency is equal to the Ledger’s currency, the source records that will be available to be reconciled can have any currency.
- If a Bank Reconciliation’s currency is not equal to the Ledger’s currency, only source records that match the Bank Reconciliation’s currency will display on the reconciliation.
- If the foreign home currency is in use, the Bank Reconciliation will only support originating transactions that are in either the foreign home currency or the Ledger currency.
Bank Reconciliation API Enhancements
Our Bank Reconciliation API (Application Programming Interface) has been enhanced to support the new and improved version of Bank Reconciliation. For more information, refer to the Accounting Seed API Documentation.
Legacy Bank Reconciliations
Bank Reconciliations that were created in Accounting Seed before installing the Koali release can be selected and displayed in the new Bank Reconciliation screen from the All list view (or another list view that you create). Once you display a legacy Bank Reconciliation, if reconciliation reports have previously been created, they will be available under the Notes & Files tab.
The Status (In Progress or Completed) field on a legacy Bank Reconciliation cannot be changed/updated. However, records can be uncleared and then re-cleared on a legacy Bank Reconciliation only if subsequent reconciliations that were created after installing the Koali release are in an “In Progress” status. If any subsequent reconciliations are in a “Completed” status, a message displays to indicate that the status must be “Set to In Progress” in order to proceed.
Accounting Period Recurring Tasks
Set up an Accounting Period Recurring Task
With the Koali release, an Accounting Period Task can be automatically created from a Recurring Accounting Period template. This is an easy way to create Accounting Period task records that should be repeated during a defined future interval.
Preloaded Recurring Accounting Task templates are included with the installation of the Koali release. Each preloaded template starts with a naming convention that makes it easy to sort and quickly identify the purpose for an Accounting Period Recurring Task template. The following are examples of the preloaded Recurring Accounting Task templates that will be included:
- ADMIN: Create new Accounting Periods for next 12 months
- AP/EXPENSE: Process Vendor Accounts Payable
- AR/SALES: Recognize revenue
- CASH: Reconcile Bank Accounts
- CLOSE: Close system Accounting Period
- PAYROLL: Process Payroll
- REPORTING: Generate Financial Statements
The preloaded templates can be cloned to create Recurring Accounting Period Task templates specifically for your organization (org).
The naming convention on the preloaded templates are suggestions, which can be changed or additional ones can be added. The preloaded templates with the naming convention provide direction for creating additional templates, which can be used to create tasks.
Accounting Period Recurring Task Dashboard
The Accounting Period Recurring Tasks Dashboard is available from the Accounting Dashboard. The Dashboard report shows the Accounting Period Recurring Tasks (up to the first 200 rows) by task name, username who was assigned to the task, the subject, date, priority, and status. To view the full report, click the View Report (Accounting Period Recurring Tasks Report) hyperlink that displays at the bottom of the Dashboard.
Configuration Changes/Requirements:
To add this new component to the Accounting Dashboard, existing users should refer to the Add a new Dashboard Component section in the Management Reports and Dashboards article.
Recurring Period Task Job
Automate a Recurring Period Task
A new Recurring Period Task job has been added to our growing list of scheduled jobs on the Automation tab in Accounting Settings. With each daily/nightly run of the Recurring Period Task job, the Accounting Period Tasks will automatically be created from your templates (based upon the Create Date) and assigned to the selected users as tasks. The assigned user(s) will receive an email notification and be able to see the task assignment(s) in their Tasks listing.
Automated Job Results
With the Koali release, the run results (information on processed, succeeded, and/or failed records) of automated jobs can be shared with multiple users. That way, rather than just a single email going to the user who created the scheduled job(s), this information can be shared with many users across your team. For example, you might have the Recurring Billing job, Recurring Payable job, and the Scheduled Post job automatically scheduled to run overnight from the Automation tab in Accounting Settings. When the automation process runs each night for these jobs, the system creates an Automated Job Results record for each of the scheduled jobs, which can now be viewed by multiple users.
The Automated Job Results (AJR) process will automatically run after all the scheduled jobs as a system background process. Therefore, it will not be necessary to perform any setups in order for the AJR process to complete.
Note: If you have the Scheduled Bank Download job and/or the NPSP Opportunity Journal Entries job scheduled to run daily/nightly on the Automation tab, the AJR process is not applicable for these two jobs with the Koali release.
Automated Job Results Exception Report
Review an Automated Job Results Exception Report
The Automated Job Results Exception Report provides the ability to view information about an automated job(s), which includes records that failed to complete as part of the daily/nightly automation process. This report provides key information to focus on just those records that might require immediate attention. For example, when viewing the Exception Report for Recurring Billings, the Recurring Billing Name will be included along with a message(s) that the record could not post and comments on why the record could not post. The Recurring Billing Name is a hyperlink, which can be clicked to edit/view the actual Recurring Billing. That way, you can immediately determine what needs to be done in order for the Recurring Billing to post as part of the next daily/nightly automated scheduled jobs.
The Automated Job Exception Report is available for the following automation jobs:
- Automated Email Billing
- Recurring Billing
- Recurring Journal Entry
- Recurring Payable
- Recurring Period Task
- Scheduled Post
Automated Job Results Dashboard
The Automated Job Results Dashboard is available from the Accounting Dashboard. The Dashboard shows the Automated Job Results by date and Schedule Job Type with the sum of each job that processed, succeeded, or failed. To view the full report, click the View Report (Automated Job Results Dashboard) hyperlink that displays at the bottom of the Dashboard.
Configuration Changes/Requirements:
- The Automated Job Results tab needs to be configured. For more information, refer to the Automated Job Results Configuration Setup article.
- To add this new component to the Accounting Dashboard, existing users should refer to the Add a new Dashboard Component section in the Management Reports and Dashboards article.
Enhancements
Accounting Settings Enhancements
Purge Automated Job Results
The Purge Automated Job Results option has been added to the Purge Data tab in Accounting Settings. The Automated Job Results are the records (information on processed, succeeded, and/or failed records) created from the automation jobs that are scheduled to run daily/nightly on the Automation tab. Automated Job Result records can be purged before a specified date.
Automated Job Results Retention Period Settings
In addition to being able to purge Automated Job Results, a retention period can be defined for maintaining those results. The Automated Job Results Retention Period Settings checkbox defaults to enabled/selected and the number of days to keep automated job result records defaults to 30 days. However, this can be defined as a number between 1 and 365. Defining the number of days to keep automated job result records defines this information for all available automated jobs.
If the Enable Retention Period checkbox is selected/checked, based upon your selections, the Automated Job Results Retention Period will automatically run. No email notification will be sent when the job is enabled and runs.
Note: If you have the Scheduled Bank Download job and/or the NPSP Opportunity Journal Entries job scheduled on the Automation tab, the Automated Job Results Retention Period Settings are not applicable with the Koali release.
Disable Email Confirmations
The Automation tab includes the Disable Email Confirmations checkbox. When this checkbox is selected, no email confirmations will be sent for any of the automated jobs that you have created. The Automated Job Results (AJR) will still be created.
Note: If you have the Scheduled Bank Download job and/or the NPSP Opportunity Journal Entries job scheduled on the Automation tab, the Disable Email Confirmations checkbox is not applicable with the Koali release.
Banking Enhancements
Bank Direct Connect (BDC) - Pre-populated Account Information
Bank Direct Connect - Bank Settings
With the Koali release, the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox for Account matching has been added to the Bank Settings tab in Bank Direct Connect. When this checkbox is selected, information can automatically pre-populate from the Account record onto a Bank Transaction or directly onto the source record (if Enable Global Automated Add is selected).
If you have Bank Rules created that will automatically update Bank Transactions, the rules will be applied before the system attempts to compare the Description field from a Bank Transaction to the Account record.
When the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox is selected, the system looks at the Description field on the Bank Transaction record and compares it with the Account Name field or the File Import Match Name field on the Account record. If a match is found on the Account record, that information will pre-populate on the Bank Transaction. The comparison process works as “contains” and not as “equal to.” For example, if the Description field on a Bank Transaction contains the Account Name or File Import Match Name of “Farmer,” this will be considered as a match. Therefore, the Bank Transaction will be updated to include the available information (Account Name, GL Account, GL Variables) from the Account record.
Note: If you have Person Accounts enabled, the Account matching functionality is different. Refer to the Account Matching when using Person Accounts section of the Bank Direct Connect - Bank Settings article.
The new Pre-populate Account Info checkbox is available to use with downloads from our service provider, Yodlee and/or Financial File Imports.
Important: Before selecting the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox, please review the Pre-populated Account Information section of the Bank Direct Connect - Bank Settings article.
Configuration Changes/Requirements:
- The Pre-populate Account Info checkbox can only be selected/checked using one of the following permission sets:
- AS Full Admin
- Accounting Manager
- Cash Out & Banking
- If the File Import Match Name field is not already added to the Account page layouts, it should be added.
Source Record Type added as an Action to Bank Rules
Bank Direct Connect - Bank Rules
The Source Record Type on the Bank Direct Connect (BDC) Bank Rules is now a part of the Action statement. The available Source Record Types display depending on the rule selection of Cash In or Cash Out. Based upon the selected criteria on a Bank Rule, when the rule runs, records that match the rule criteria will be included.
Bank Direct Connect (BDC) Custom Permission
A new custom permission has been added with the Koali release. If you have custom permission sets, the custom permission of “Import BDC Transactions” must be assigned to users who will need to access the Update All button, Import File button, and/or the Bank Settings tab.
Check Number on Bank Transactions from Financial File Imports
If a check number is included on a Bank Transaction from a Financial File Import (an OFX or QFX file), that number will now display in the Check Number field on the Bank Transaction record.
Cash In Enhancements
Declined Credit Card Payments
Charge a Customer Using Stripe
Receive Payment Directly from a Billing
When using Stripe to create a prepayment on an Account or to receive an electronic payment on a single Billing or multiple Billings, if a credit card is declined, an error message will now display. The related error information can be viewed on the Payment Activity screen.
Ledger Amount added to Manage Bank Deposit
For multi-currency users, the Ledger Amount is available on the Manage Bank Deposit intermediate screen. The Ledger Amount field identifies the actual value/amount that was posted to the General Ledger for each transaction.
Configuration Changes/Requirements:
Existing users upgrading to Koali with multi-currency enabled will need to add the Ledger Amount to the Bank Deposit page layouts.
Cash Out Enhancements
Credit Memo Apply screen in Lightning
Apply a Credit Memo to a Payable
Enhancements to the Credit Memo Apply screen for the Lightning UI include the following:
- The new Applied Date field provides the ability to record a Credit Memo application date to a Payable to allow for improved reporting. The Applied Accounting Period will be determined by the Applied Date.
- The ability to set filters and search Payables based upon the following criteria: Payable Number, Payee Reference, Posting Status, Issue Date Range, Due Date Range, and Payable Amount.
- The option to apply a Credit Memo to a Payable with a different Payee.
Configuration Changes/Requirements:
Existing users who upgrade to the Koali release will need to add the Apply/Unapply Credit Memo button to the Payable detail page and remove the legacy Apply Credit Memo button from the page layouts.
Reporting Enhancements
Accounting Dashboard in the Lightning UI
Management Reports and Dashboards
The Accounting Dashboard is now available in the Lightning UI. If a Dashboard was created in the Classic UI and it is edited in the Lightning UI, a message displays. If you choose to continue with editing and saving the Dashboard, it will automatically become a Lightning Experience Dashboard. The Lightning Experience Dashboard cannot be edited in the Classic UI. Additionally, the Dashboard will not be available to view in both the Classic UI and Lightning UI. If it is a shared Dashboard, you might want to clone it instead.
Time Card Enhancements
Pre-populated Time Card Fields
When creating a new Time Card, key fields will now automatically display pre-populated. This is a timesaver for a task that needs to be completed on a regular basis. Pre-populated fields included the following:
- Employee
- Time Card Period (if periods have been created)
- Type
- Posting Status
- Ledger
Note: The fields only pre-populate when the New button is clicked from the Time Card list view. When cloning a Time Card, all of the fields will not pre-populate.
Software Corrections
Inventory Asset Insertion on Purchase Order Drop Shipments
When a drop ship Purchase Order (with a Product and Inventory Asset selected) is received, the Asset record is now created as expected and required.
Cash Application Adjustment Amount
In order to allow the recording of an Adjustment Amount as a credit, the rule that was implemented with the Iris release, which stated the “Adjustment Amount on a Billing Cash Receipt must be a positive number” has been removed.
Org-Wide Email Address on Purchase Order
The From Address field on a Purchase Order Create PDF page now defaults to the email address that is set in the Purchase Order PDF Format’s Org-Wide Email Address field.
Multi-currency Rounding
A rounding issue that was related to aggregating the applied amount value has been corrected. Salesforce default behavior was converting the amount to the Corporate currency and then, converting it back to the Ledger currency, creating a .01 discrepancy.
Payable Line Field Edits
On Payables that were created prior to the Iris release, which were unposted, but applied to, an error displayed when trying to change unrestricted field values (for example, the GL Account on a line). This has been corrected with the Koali release.
Purchase Order and Sales Order Mass Add Edit Rows in Console Mode
The Project, Project Task and GL Variable fields on the Sales Order or Purchase Order Mass Add/Edit Rows component now render correctly in the Console mode.
Org-Wide Email Address for Purchase Order PDF
The From Address field on the Purchase Order’s Create PDF action now defaults, as required to the value in the PDF format’s Org-Wide Email Address field. When this field is blank, the From Address defaults to the Salesforce user’s email address.
Inventory Transfer when Product has GL Variable
A Product that has a GL Variable can successfully be transferred from one Warehouse Location to another (Transfer action on the Inventory Quantity Available). The GL Variable value(s) from the Product now populates on the Transfer page.
Payable from a Purchase Order when the Product has a Tax Group
Creating a Payable for a partial amount of a Purchase Order caused an incorrect error when there was a Tax Group on the Product. This issue has now been resolved. Payables are created correctly with the tax amount, as required.
Product Costing Settings
In the Accounting Settings Product Costing section the following fields display regardless of the the costing method in use:
- Enable Product Costing checked, unless unchecked for Standard Cost
- Inventory Valuation Method set to the method in use
- Vouchers Payable, Work In Process and Inventory Variance GL Accounts.
Cloning Time Cards
Cloning a Time Card will now also clone the value of the Billable field on the Time Card Line.
Accounting Period Aging Close Processes
The Accounting Period Billing and Payable Aging Closed process has been corrected to include Billing and Payable records that are unposted.
Reference Field when using Pay Button on Payable Detail Record
On the Partial Pay screen that is accessible from the Pay button on the Payable Detail screen, when Electronic is selected as the Type, the Reference field now displays and is available to edit.
Create Billing from Sales Order Quantity with Six Decimal Places
When creating a Billing from a Sales Order on which the Quantity has six decimal places, the value in the Quantity to Bill field no longer rounds to two decimal places. The Billing can now be created successfully.
Accounting Active checkbox de-selected
When the Accounting Type field is set to "None" and the Accounting Active checkbox is de-selected/unchecked on an Account, it will no longer be available from the Customer Lookup search on Billings and Cash Receipts.
Currency Conversion Rate Calculations
When multiple records were created in the same transaction, the Currency Conversion Rate calculations incorrectly selected the previous range. Records are now created with the Currency Conversion Rate that corresponds to their Date Exchange Rate.
Billing’s Aging History
If a negative Adjustment Amount is applied to a Billing, the Aging History amount now calculates correctly.
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