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Winter '24 Preview 2 Release Notes

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Overview

Release Frequency and Schedule

Updates to our release frequency and schedule include doing our best to have three major (Push) releases each year (Spring, Summer and Winter). These releases will be automatically pushed to sandbox and production environments. Each Push release will be preceded by two Preview releases that will be made generally available and are not automatically pushed. Since all our releases (previews and pushes) are cumulative, the latest release will contain all the changes from the prior releases. 

Our Release Notes for each Push release will be updated with the changes from each Preview release as they become available. Before the Push release is automatically pushed to sandboxes, these Release Notes will be updated with the changes made in that release as well. A good way to see incremental changes in each Preview and Push release is to view the respective “What’s New” in the release video below:

As part of the Winter ‘24 release, Accounting Seed is pleased to inform you of our Winter ‘24 Preview 2 release. This article presents information about the enhancements available in this release. To print a copy of the 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. 

Installation Notes

This preview release is now available to be installed in your org. We recommend that you first install the release into your sandbox environment and test it before installing it into your production environment. 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. 

When you are ready to install this release, click here to access the installation link.

Configuration Changes

This release includes configuration changes that can be performed by existing Accounting Seed users. For more information, refer to the Winter ‘24 Preview 2 Configuration Changes article. 

Contents

New Features

Customer Requested Enhancements

Software Corrections

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New Features

Financial Analytics

Accounting Seed Financial Analytics Configuration Setups
Accounting Seed Financial Analytics

Accounting Seed Financial Analytics is an app that is built on CRM Analytics, which is a native Analytics/Business Intelligence tool on the Salesforce platform. It includes visually appealing financial Dashboards, data rich recipes, key financial metrics and trending data with the ability to perform ad-hoc, multi-dimensional analysis and drill back to source transactions.

The Accounting Seed Financial Analytics app includes the five Dashboards that are listed below:

  • P&L (Profit & Loss)
  • Revenue
  • Expenses
  • Balance Sheet
  • Ledger Inquiry

Note: You will not be required to close Accounting Periods to view data on any of these Dashboards.

As a part of the initial setup process, you will create an app in the Analytics Studio, which will include the Dashboards that are mentioned above. You will have the ability to provide a specific name of your choosing for the app, as well as include your company’s logo for branding.

Dataflows & Recipes will be used to push your data from Accounting Seed into CRM Analytics. Dataflows are used when the data being pushed will include data that will be combined from more than one source. Recipes are used when you need to perform modifications on a single dataset. These Dataflows & Recipes can be run on demand or scheduled to run automatically, which we recommend.

The initial starting place to learn more about this new Financial Analytics app is to review the Accounting Seed Financial Analytics Configuration Setups article.

AR Automation Enhancements

Our new AR Automation feature that was included as a part of the Summer ’23 release is now open to customers who have the following:

  • a single Ledger
  • use a single currency
  • and primarily process credit card payments (ACH is planned for a later release).

The overall benefits of AR Automation are reduced time spent on reconciliations and competitive rates for payment processing. For more information, refer to the AR Automation articles in our Knowledge Base. Additionally, if you would like to know more about this feature, please send an email to licensing@accountingseed.com.

Customer Requested Enhancements

Calc Tax Invocable for AS Native Tax (LLP Billing)

With this release, you will now have the ability to create an invocable flow to automatically calculate and update taxes on an AS Native Tax Billing. This will eliminate the need to manually click the Calc Tax button each time you need to calculate or update taxes on a Billing Line. In order to use this new flow and see the automatic tax calculation, all of the following must be true:

  • Accounting Seed Native Tax must be a selected Tax Method in the Tax Settings screen.
  • Line-Level Post must be selected for the Billing/Payable Post Settings in the Post Settings screen.
  • The Billing must have at least one Billing Line.

For information about creating this new flow, refer to the Calc Tax Invocable Flow article.

Note: Calc Tax Invocable for AvaTax with LLP is not yet supported.

Fixed Asset Depreciation Improvements

Depreciate a Fixed Asset

The ability to depreciate fixed assets has been enhanced with a new wizard, which allows you to depreciate a fixed asset for up to five years (60 Accounting Periods). One of the following three Depreciation methods can be selected:

  • Straight Line - Prorated Monthly - this is the default Depreciation method, which is a hybrid of the Full Month and Daily Depreciations. The first and last months will be prorated based upon the remaining days in the first month and the value of the fixed asset (or the value in the Amount field) still remaining during the last month. The depreciation amount for each month between the first and last months will be the same (straight line).  
  • Straight Line - Full Month - the fixed asset value (or the value in the Amount field) will be divided equally among the number of selected Accounting Periods for depreciating the asset.
  • Straight Line - Daily - the depreciation amount for each period is based upon the number of days in each month.

Once the Depreciation records have been created using the wizard, clicking the Depreciation tab directly from the Fixed Asset record will display the listing of newly created entries.  

Note: When creating Depreciation entries from a Fixed Asset record, the Accounting Periods must already be set up and are open for all periods within the End Date range.

Existing Accounting Seed users who use Salesforce Lightning will need to add the Depreciate Asset button onto the Fixed Asset page layout. For more information, refer to the Add the Depreciate Asset button section of the Winter ’24 Preview 1 Configuration Changes article.

Note: If you use Salesforce Classic, this button name will display on the Fixed Asset screen as Depreciate Asset (Classic).

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Amortization Updates

Amortize Revenue for a Billing
Amortize Expense for a Payable

The Create Amortization Entries wizard that is available from Billings and Payables when you click Amortize Revenue/Amortize Expense has been updated with this release. The Amount field that displays in the wizard is now based upon the sum of the subtotal of the Billing or Payable, rather than the total amount.

Updates to the Create Amortization Entries wizard also include a new Amortize Deferred Revenue/Expense toggle. When the Amortize Deferred Revenue/Expense button is set to “On,” only the subtotal for the Billing/Payable Lines that include the Default Deferred Revenue/Expense GL Account entered in the Revenue & Expense Amortization Details section of the Default GL Accounts screen will be included in the Amount field. When this button is “Off,” the subtotal of all Billing/Payable Lines will display in the Amount field.

Note: The Amortize Deferred Revenue/Expense button on the Create Amortization Entries wizard will default to “On” or “Off” based upon the Amortize Deferred Revenue/Expense setting in the Enablements screen.

Pre-Tax Discounts

Create or Clone a Billing
Receive Payment Directly from a Billing

The Discount % amount on a Billing can now be based upon the subtotal (pre-tax) or total (prior to this release) of the invoice for payment within the discount days due. This is because the new Enable Pre-Tax Discount Calculation checkbox has been added to the Ledger screen. If this checkbox is selected, the discount on the Billing will be based upon the subtotal amount (pre-tax). If this checkbox is not selected, it will be based upon the total amount of the Billing.

Note: Existing Accounting Seed users who want to use a pre-tax amount for discounts on Billings will need to add this new checkbox onto the Ledger page layout. For more information, refer to the Add Enable Pre-Tax Discount Calculation to the Ledger section of the Winter ’24 Preview 1 Configuration Changes article.

As a part of the Pre-Tax Discount change, the Receive Payment screen has been updated to include the new Sub-Total and Sales Tax fields.

Clone a Billing/Payable using Field Sets

Create or Clone a Billing
Create or Clone a Payable
Edit a Field Set

With this release, new field sets have been added to provide you with more control over the fields that will be included on the cloned version of a Billing and/or Payable. These new field sets include the following:

Object Field Set
Billing Billing fields to Clone
Billing Line Billing Line fields to Clone
Payable Payable fields to Clone
Payable Lines Payable Line fields to Clone

Custom fields can be included, and you can remove any Accounting Seed fields that are not system required. For information about how to edit a field set, refer to the Edit a Field Set article.

Note: If you remove a system required field from a field set, it will still be included when the clone is created.

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Delete APDs

Void a Check

There is now a quick and easy way to delete APDs (AP Disbursement records) from a Cash Disbursement without having to manually delete each individual APD record one at a time. These APD records can be deleted on a Cash Disbursement with a Payment Status of Paid or Void. The new Delete APDs button on the Cash Disbursement screen provides the ability to delete these records when the Source = Manual. When the Cash Disbursement Source = Payable, the new Delete CD & APDs button can be used to delete the Cash Disbursement (when the Payment Status = Paid), as well as its associated APD records.

Note: If you are using Salesforce Classic, the button name will always display as Delete CD & APDs - Classic.

In order to delete APD records, they must be in an open Accounting Period. Additionally, in order to delete the CD and the associated APD records, the Cash Disbursement must be in an open Accounting Period.

Note: If you use custom permissions, the Delete APDs custom permission has been added to the Custom Permissions article.

Delete Archive Job Improvements

Delete Archived Source Documents Guidance

Prior to this release, when the Delete Source Documents job was run for an archived Accounting Period, some legacy records were not deleted, such as AP Disbursements that were created before the Iris release. Instead, these legacy records created error messages because of newer software code validations. With this release, the system will not attempt to update these legacy records, but will automatically delete them as long as other conditions are met.   

Default to User's selected Ledger

Default GL Accounts

With this release, if the logged in user has a Default Ledger already set up and selected, the Ledger drop-down list on the Default GL Accounts screen will automatically default to the user’s Default Ledger. If the user does not have a Default Ledger already selected, the Default Ledger for the Org will display in the Ledger drop-down list.

Ledger change auto updates Currency and PDF fields

Email a Customer Statement
Mass Email Customer Statements

On the Outstanding Statement and the Activity Statement, if a different Ledger is selected, the Currency field and the PDF Format field will automatically update accordingly to match the selected Ledger. Additionally, the PDF Preview at the bottom of the page will update to reflect the selected change. This new functionality is available when creating a single statement or multiple statements from the list view.

Note: From the list view, when a different Ledger is selected, you will see the Currency field automatically update. While the PDF Format field does not display from the list view, when you are ready to send statements, the appropriate PDF Format will be updated based upon the selected Ledger.

New Field Set on the Cash Receipt object

Receive Payment Directly from a Billing
Edit a Field Set

The new Receive Payment from a Billing Record field set has been added to the Cash Receipt object. This new field set provides the ability to add additional fields (including custom fields, such as a Custom Date) to the Accounting Information section of the Receive Payment screen. This allows for more control over the fields that will be included on the Cash Receipt that will be created once the payment is received.

For information about how to edit the Receive Payment from a Billing Record field set or any other field set, refer to the Edit a Field Set article.

Sort Field on Standard PDF Formats

Configure Standard PDF Formats

This release includes the ability to sort by additional fields on PDF files using the following standard PDF formats.

  • Default Billing Product
  • Default Billing Service
  • Default Billing Outstanding Statement
  • Default Billing Activity Statement

For the field name that you want to sort by, the API name must be entered in the Sort Field on the PDF Format record. Then, when a PDF file is created, it will be sorted by the selected field, such as sorted by the Running Balance or Amount on the Default Billing Activity Statement.

For a listing of all of the available sort fields, including the API names, refer to the table in the Configure Standard PDF Formats article.

New Validation Rule on the Journal Entry Line

Create or Clone a Journal Entry
System Business Rules

A new validation rule has been added to the Journal Entry Line object, which requires the Debit and Credit entries to always be a positive amount that is zero (0) or greater.

Section name change on Contact Screen

The section formally known as “1099 Information” on the Contact details page has been renamed to “Accounting & 1099 Information.” On the left side of this section, the 1099 Vendor checkbox, Default Form 1099 Box, and Taxpayer Identification Number fields should be included. The right side of this section should include the Payable Days Due (if you create Payables for Contacts) field.

Existing Accounting Seed users will need to update this section name on the Contact page layout. For more information refer to the Rename the 1099 Information Section in the Winter ’24 Preview 1 Configuration Changes article.

Purchase Order created from Sales Order

Create Purchase Order from a Sales Order (Average Cost)
Create Purchase Order from a Sales Order (Standard Cost)

Prior to this release, when creating a Purchase Order from a Sales Order, if the adjusted Quantity was less than the Quantity Needed, an error message displayed. You can now enter a Quantity that is less than the Quantity Needed. This applies whether you are creating an individual Purchase Order from a Sales Order or when using the list view to select more than one Sales Order to create a Purchase Order.

Applied Date on APD set to Cash Disbursement Date

Create a Batch Payment Payable
Create a Single or Partial Payment Payable

When a Cash Disbursement(s) is created from a Payable using the Pay (single Payable) or Pay Batch (multiple Payables) button, clicking the Applied To tab on the Cash Disbursement will display the AP Disbursement record(s). With this release, the Applied Date on the APD record(s) will be the same date as the Cash Disbursement Date. This is true whether the Cash Disbursement Date is in a prior or future Accounting Period.

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Software Corrections

Payroll File Import - Create Button

The issue with the Create button not displaying on the Payroll File Import screen for creating the Payroll Journal Entry has been resolved. This button is now available on the Payroll File Import screen. Additionally, in a prior release, an infinite spinner used to display once the Payroll Journal Entry was created. This issue has also been corrected.

Cash Disbursement with 400 or more APD Records

When an attempt was made to void a Cash Disbursement with more than 100-200 APD records, the “Too Many SOQL Queries” error message displayed. This issue has been resolved. With this release, if a Cash Disbursement has 400 or more APD (AP Disbursement) records, when you Void a Check, a message displays to indicate that the Cash Disbursement is being voided in the background. This is because if 400 or more APD records are on the Cash Disbursement, the process is asynchronous. This may take a few minutes to complete. You can refresh the Cash Disbursement record in a few minutes to check the Payment Status to make sure it changed to Void. Otherwise, review the Automated Job Results screen to check the status for successful completion of the job, then return to the Cash Disbursement and refresh the page.

Plaid Software Corrections

  • Bank Direct Connect – Download Historical Transactions with Plaid - The issues that prevented the download of historical transactions with Plaid have been resolved. Historical transactions that are greater than 30 days are not immediately available from Plaid and may take up to 24 hours before they can be imported. However, the new Download button mentioned below allows for downloading the historical transactions. If you are interested in downloading historical transactions, do the following:
      • If already linked to the Financial Institution Account (FIA), you can leave the Initial Start Date as it is and receive transactions back to that date, assuming those transactions are available in Plaid.
      •  If not already linked, link to the FIA. When you link the FIA, the bank account will come through as a new account. Be careful to select the correct Initial Start Date. Then, on the Bank Direct Connect – Bank Transactions tab, select each Financial Institution Account and from Download Historical Transactions, click Download. This button will only display for Plaid linked Financial Institution Accounts.

        Note: If you have questions that are related to Plaid Historical Transactions downloading, please submit a case in our Support portal.

  • Bank Direct Connect missing Bank Account Information with Plaid – Plaid linked accounts will now have missing bank account information or “null” values replaced by information from the account in this format “Official Account Name (Account Nickname) - ####.” If some information is missing, the account will display in the following ways:
      • Missing Official Account Name: AccountNickname - 0000
      • Missing Account Nickname: AccountOfficialName - 0000
      • Missing Name and Nickname: 0000
      • Missing Account Number: AccountOfficialName (AccountNickname)
      • If all the information is missing, the ”Account Name Unavailable” message will display.

  • Refresh Credentials using Plaid - The error message that was encountered while attempting to Refresh Credentials when using Plaid as your Service Provider has been resolved. You can now add bank accounts and refresh your credentials successfully.

Recurring objects - Exclude From Automation field

The Cash Out & Banking, Cash In Accountant, and Accounting Manager permission sets were missing specific access to the Exclude From Automation field on the Recurring objects. This issue has been resolved for these permission sets. The table below includes the changes that were made.

Object   Permission Sets with access to Exclude From Automation field
  Cash Out & Banking  Cash In Accountant  Accounting Manager 
Recurring Billing  Read Edit  Edit 
Recurring Payable  Edit  Read Edit  
Recurring Journal Entry  Edit  Read Edit 

Enable Inventory Period History Setting

The Enable Inventory Period History setting on the Enablements screen is used to create Inventory History records when an Accounting Period Hard Close or Soft Close is performed. When it was initially released, this was set to “Off” for new installations. With this release, the setting is automatically set to “On” by default for new Accounting Seed installations.

Note: Access the Enablements screen to change this setting to “Off,” if necessary. 

Advanced Line Manager (ALM)

The ALM now supports adding fields that are lookups to objects that do not have a Name field.

The issue with using the ALM Export button on Recurring Billings and Recurring Payables has been resolved.

Paid Date on Pre-Iris Billings 

In order to show the Paid Date on Billings that were created prior to the Iris release, you will need to Edit and Save the related Billing Cash Receipt (BCR), and then Edit and Save the actual Billing. This will populate the Paid Date field on older Billings. The SOQL error that used to display when updating older Billings has now been resolved. 

Project Task Required with Project Validation Rule

Prior to this release, if the “Project_Task_Required_With_Project” Validation Rule on the Cash Receipt and Cash Disbursement objects was deactivated, an error message still displayed on the Pay screens when a Project Task was not included. This issue has been corrected so that when this rule is deactivated, and only a Project is included on the screens below, an error message will not display if a Project Task is not included:

  • From a Billing – when Receive Payment is clicked from a single Billing or multiple Billings from the list view
  • From an Account record – when Create Payment is clicked
  • From a Payable – when Pay is clicked from a single Payable or Pay Batch is clicked from the list view for multiple Payables

Custom Report Cloning

When an attempt was made to clone a Custom Report from a cloned Standard Report, an error message was encountered. This issue has been resolved.

Sales Order - Billing Calculation

When creating a Billing from a Sales Order, on the Create Billing intermediate screen, the calculation was incorrect because the Billing was adding negative amounts instead of subtracting them. This issue has now been resolved.

GL Variables from Product on Transactions

There was an issue where GLAVs on the Product were on transactions, even though the GLAVs were removed from the Billing/Payable Line before posting. This issue has now been resolved. 

Check Print Adjustments

An issue on the Check Print Adjustments screen where negative whole numbers were not being accepted through the User Interface (UI) has been corrected.

Avalara Sales Tax Calculation

There was an issue with Avalara transaction lines where the Sales Tax was not being generated on Billings if the Billing Country or Shipping Country field was left blank. This issue has been corrected.

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