Overview

Accounting Seed is pleased to inform you of our Summer ‘24 release. This article presents information about the new features and 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.

For information about our release frequency and schedule, please refer to the Release Schedule article.  

Installation Notes

Our Summer ‘24 release was deployed to sandbox environments on Sunday, June 16, 2024. We will begin production upgrades on July 7, 2024. The installation links can be accessed by clicking here, if necessary.

Configuration Changes

This release includes configuration changes that can be performed by existing Accounting Seed customers. For information about the configuration changes, refer to the Summer ’24 Configuration Changes article. 

Contents

New Feature

• Multi-book Accounting

New In-app AI Assistant

• Accounting Seed Copilot

Feature Updates

• AP Automation Updates

Customer Requested Enhancements

• Payment Processor Defaults
• Large Data Optimizer Updates
• BDC Bank Settings with Plaid (Choose Connection)
• Check Number added to Issue a Refund from a Credit Memo
• Billing Contact field name changed on Account object

Software Corrections

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New Feature

Multi-book Accounting 

Multi-book Accounting Overview
Cash Basis Accounting Overview
Cash Basis Processes
Configure a Ledger
Accrual Basis Accounting Overview

Multi-book Accounting

Accounting Seed provides the ability to have an Accrual Ledger and a Cash Ledger simultaneously, using Multi-book Accounting. With this release, we have made it possible to use Multi-book Accounting, Cash Basis Accounting, or you can continue to use the existing Accrual Basis Accounting (with no changes required).

If you choose to move from an Accrual Basis to Multi-book Accounting, records will continue to be posted to the Accrual Ledger as the primary Ledger. The system will also automatically create a Related Ledger as the Cash Ledger. Transactions will only be generated on the Cash Ledger when cash is received or paid out. The ability to select Accrual and Cash (Multi-book Accounting) as your Accounting Method will require an additional Ledger. For more information, please send an email to licensing@accountingseed.com.

Once the additional Ledger has been provisioned, you can simply select Accrual and Cash (Multi-book Accounting) as the Accounting Method on the existing Accrual Ledger. The Accrual Ledger will function as your primary Ledger. The Related Ledger will function as your Cash Ledger. However, keep in mind that transactions will only be generated on the Cash Ledger when money is received or paid. For more information, refer to the Multi-book Accounting Overview article.

To view some practical examples of how and when sources documents will be created/posted to the Cash Ledger, refer to the Cash Basis Processes article. If you selected Accrual and Cash (Multi-book Accounting) as the Accounting Method, the examples in the Cash Basis Processes article are also applicable for transactions on your Cash Ledger. Your Accrual Ledger will continue to post all transactions, as expected.

Note: For existing Accounting Seed customers who select Accrual and Cash (Multi-book Accounting), if you are not using the standard (out of the box) Lightning Ledger Record Home page, you will need to verify that the Related Ledger field is set to “Read-Only.” For more information, refer to the Verify that the Related Ledger field is Read-Only section of the Summer ’24 Configuration Changes article. 

Cash Basis Accounting

Cash Basis Accounting is used to post transactions to the General Ledger only when cash is received or paid out. Using this method, revenue is only recorded when a payment is received, and expenses are only recorded when making a payment. This method is typically used by smaller businesses and/or businesses in the service industry. On the other hand, with Accrual Basis Accounting, income is generally recorded in the period that it is earned, and expenses are recorded in the period that they are incurred. This method is typically used by larger businesses.  

If you choose to move directly from Accrual Basis to Cash Basis, you cannot change the Accounting Method. A new Ledger will need to be provisioned and then Cash can be selected as the Accounting Method on the new Ledger. Your existing Accrual Ledger will be deactivated. However, the historical transactions on the inactivated Accrual Ledger will still be available to review and for reporting purposes. For more information, refer to the Cash Basis Accounting Overview article.  

Best Practice: If you would like to start using the Cash Basis Accounting Method, we recommend tracking your business on both Accrual and Cash Basis (Multi-book Accounting). This will allow you to get a true picture of your business performance while at the same time, keeping a close eye on money coming in and money going out. Selecting Accrual and Cash as the Accounting Method will require an additional Ledger. For more information, please send an email to licensing@accountingseed.com.  

Important: AvaTax can be configured to calculate sales tax, however only on Accrual Ledgers, as AvaTax does not support the calculation of tax with Cash Basis Accounting. If you configure a Ledger where the Accounting Method is “Cash,” then the related Tax Settings record must be configured with an AS Native Tax method. If the Accounting Method that is selected on the Ledger is “Accrual and Cash,” then you can configure AvaTax on the related Tax Settings record for the Accrual and Cash Ledger since this is equivalent to your Accrual Ledger. And then, configure AS Native Tax on the Tax Settings record for the Related Cash Ledger, although this will not have any impact on what is recorded. In this scenario, the tax calculated on the Accrual and Cash Ledger will be recorded on the Cash Ledger when the payment is received.

Benefits of using Multi-book Accounting and/or Cash Basis Accounting

Some of the benefits to choosing the Accrual and Cash Basis (Multi-book) Accounting Method or the Cash Basis Accounting Method include the following:

• Easy to keep close focus on cash in and out.
• If taxes are filed on a Cash Basis, it is very easy to turn information over to a tax accountant.
• Financial reports can easily be run on an Accrual and Cash Basis.   

Accrual and/or Cash Field

The Amortization Flow article was updated to include the new Accrual and/or Cash field that was added as a part of the Multi-book Accounting and/or Cash Basis Accounting Method. 

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New In-app AI Assistant

Accounting Seed Copilot

Accounting Seed Copilot

This release introduces the Accounting Seed Copilot, which is your in-app AI assistant. This new support tool is available from the Accounting homepage in the lower right corner, as well as every other page within Accounting Seed. Therefore, you never have to leave the Accounting Seed platform in order to get help. You can simply ask Copilot whenever you need to know how to do something in Accounting Seed. For more information, refer to the Accounting Seed Copilot article.  

Existing Accounting Seed customers will need to complete a configuration setup. For more information, refer to the Add Configuration for Copilot section of the Summer ’24 Configuration Changes article.

If you receive an error message that is related to Copilot, click the Gear icon and select Setup. Then, enter Trusted URLs in the Quick Find textbox. Select Trusted URLs. Verify that the Active checkbox is selected on the following API Name: CommandBarAPI. If not selected, click Edit, and select the Active checkbox on this API Name. 

Note: In order to view all available content on the Accounting Home page, the Active checkbox should also be selected for the API Name: AccountingSeed.

For additional information about Copilot, refer to the Accounting Seed Copilot article.

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Feature Updates

AP Automation Updates

As a part of this release, the AP Automation feature that was introduced with our Spring ’24 release includes the following updates:  

Payment Proposal Updates

• The Payment Proposal Basic Search screen has been updated to reduce vertical scrolling. Also, the overall look and feel on the Basic Search and Advanced Search screens have been updated for easier usability. 
• When creating a new Payment Proposal, the Ledger will automatically default to the user’s default Ledger. However, you can change the Ledger, if necessary.
• If the Payment Proposal Type is Payment Services, the Bank GL Account that you select on a Payment Proposal must already be enrolled in Payment Services with Edenred Pay.
• When adding a row to a Payment Proposal, only Payables with a balance can be added. Additionally, the Amount to Pay on a row cannot be greater than the balance on the Payable, and the Discount Amount cannot be less than 0 (zero) or greater than the current balance.
• On the Payment Proposal screen, a message displays at the top left, which provides helpful information for using the Details tab and Search tab.
• The “All” list view on the Payment Proposals screen has been updated to include the following column headings: Payment Proposal Name, Bank GL Account, Description, Type, Status, Aggregate by Payee, Payable Total, Credit Memos Total, and Total.

Payment Services / Cash Disbursement Updates

• When the Type on a Cash Disbursement (CD) is set to Payment Services, in order for the CD to post (the CD should already have applied with a balance of 0), the balance must be 0 (zero). Otherwise, an error message will display, which prevents the record(s) from posting.
• When the Type on a Cash Disbursement is Payment Services and the Payment Service Status has been updated to “Reconcile Complete,” the Payment Status on the Cash Disbursement will be updated to “Paid.”
• If Check is selected as the Payment Services Type, and you include information in the Memo field on the Cash Disbursement, it will be printed on the check that Edenred mails to the Vendor.
• Important: When a Payment Method on the Vendor Account record is added, updated, or deleted, Edenred Pay will automatically be notified about the Payment Method change.
• With Payment Services, all Vendor Payment Methods can easily display on the Account record. This is useful when paying Vendors using Virtual Cards and ACH payments.   
  Note: If you already have the AP Automation features and would like to see this new related list, you will need to add it onto the Account object page layout. For more information, refer to the Account object section in the AP Automation Onboarding Process article.
• Validations have been added to ensure that the Default Vendor Payment Method on the Account record must be active. Otherwise, if the Payment Method is inactive, an error message will display when you try to post a Cash Disbursement.
• The Cash Disbursement object includes a Payment Services list view, which can easily be selected by clicking the drop-down arrow to select that particular list view. To see the default list of column headings that display on this list view, refer to the Payment Services article.
• The Payment Services Type field on the Cash Disbursement has been renamed to Payment Services Type Override. In the Spring ’24 release, this field inherited the Payment Services Type from the Vendor on the Cash Disbursement. With this release, this field now defaults to “None.” The reason for this change is to prevent the value on a Cash Disbursement from being out of sync with the real-time updates made to the field by Edenred during the ACH verification process or Vendor enrollment process. When a Payment Services Cash Disbursement is posted and the information is sent to Edenred to process the payment, Edenred will use the Payment Services Type on the Vendor. This field on a Cash Disbursement can be left with the default of “None.” However, if a Vendor has explicitly asked for a one-time payment to be made in a different way, you can use the Payment Services Type Override field to have Edenred process the payment using a payment type that is different from the one on the Account record. You will need to ensure that all of the required information is present for the new selected Payment Services Type.

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Ledger and Bank Account object updates                               

• With this release, if you need to update the Company Logo on the Ledger record or the Signature on the Bank Account record, you can upload the new file, and this will automatically be updated in Edenred. If you are using our standard (out of the box) Lightning record pages (Ledger Record Home and Bank Account Record Page), no additional change is required. Otherwise, to have the latest updates for these pages, activate our latest Lightning record pages for Ledger and Bank Account.  
• The new Signature Block 2 field on the Bank Account object provides the ability to upload a second signature to a Bank Account record. There is also a new Signature Threshold field, which allows you to enter a threshold amount to indicate when a second signature would be required.
• On a Ledger record, if the Logo, Enrolled in Payment Services, Payment Services Company Code, Payment Withdrawal Method, and/or Default Payment Processor fields change, these fields will automatically be updated in Edenred Pay.
• On a Bank Account record, if the Bank Fraction, Enable for Payment Services, Payment Services Bank Account ID, Payor Name, and/or Payor Email field changes, these fields will automatically be updated in Edenred Pay.

Account and Contact Updates

• An AP Remittance Email field has been added to the Account object, which is the main email address that will receive Virtual Card payment information or remittance information for a Check or ACH payment. Enter a single email address in this field. 
• An AP Vendor Emails field has been added to the Account object. Enter any additional email address(es) that should receive Virtual Card payment information and/or remittance information for a Check or ACH payment. You can enter more than one email address in this field separated by a comma.
  Note: The AP Remittance Email field and AP Vendor Emails field are only applicable if you are using Payment Services. These two new fields will need to be added onto the Account page layout. For more information, refer to the AP Automation Customers with Payment Services Configuration Changes section in the Summer ’24 Configuration Changes article.
• The Individual field has been added to the Account object, which provides the ability to select this checkbox on the Account record when paying the Vendor using funds that will go into a personal checking account, rather than a business checking account. When this checkbox is selected in Accounting Seed, the Individual field on the Vendor will automatically be set in Edenred Pay.
  Note: The Individual field will need to be added onto the Account page layout. For more information, refer to the AP Automation Customers with Payment Services Configuration Changes section in the Summer ’24 Configuration Changes article.
• The Enrolled in Payment Services list view on the Accounts screen has been updated to remove the Payment Services Vendor ID and Aggregate by Payee column headings. To see the remaining list of column headings that display on this list view, refer to the Payment Services article.
• If the email address changes on a Contact that is related to a Payment Services Account, the new email address will automatically be updated in Edenred Pay.
• If the address information that is entered in the Billing Address field on the Account record for a Vendor is changed, the new address information will automatically be updated in Edenred Pay.
• For Vendor invoices that are forwarded to a vanity email address linked to the Salesforce Email Service or directly forwarded to the Salesforce Email Service, the system will attempt to perform a match and populate the Vendor on the Payable that is created.

Payment Method object Updates

When a new Payment Method is created for an ACH payment, if the AP External ID and External ID fields are blank, the system will automatically populate these two fields with the Vendor ID, last four digits of the Routing Number, and the last four digits of the Account Number. When a Payment Method is created directly in Edenred Pay, it will be created following this same format. This prevents having duplicate Payment Methods, regardless of how or where they are created.

If you use Payment Services with AP Automation to pay Vendors using ACH payments, we now have the ability to determine if a payment method that was added for a Vendor has passed the Edenred penny test verifications. Two new Verification Statuses (Active and Pending) will need to be added to the Payment Method page layout, which are based upon this change. For more information, refer to the AP Automation Customers with Payment Services Configuration Changes section in the Summer ’24 Configuration Changes article.

Note: With Virtual Card payments, if you already have information entered in the AP External ID and External ID field, it will not be overwritten.

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On Hold Payables

On Hold Payables

With this release, you now have the ability to select the On Hold checkbox to place a Payable on hold. Payables that are on hold can be posted/unposted. However, they cannot be paid. A Cash Disbursement and AP Disbursement cannot be created.

Payables that are automatically created as a part of the AP Automation process, as well as the ones that are manually created can be edited to select the On Hold checkbox. Even if you are not currently using AP Automation, you can still use this checkbox on the Payable screen to place a Payable on hold. For additional information, refer to the On Hold Payables article.

Note: Existing Accounting Seed users will need to add the On Hold field onto the Payable page layout. For more information, refer to the Add the On Hold checkbox to the Payable object section in the Summer ’24 Configuration Changes article.

Vendor Merchant Analysis

The new Vendor Merchant Analysis report will be used as part of your onboarding with AP Automation. Our onboarding team will ask you to run this report, which they will send to Edenred Pay for Vendor Analysis. Our team will report back to you with information from Edenred regarding potential savings and rebate opportunities for the business. For information about how to access and run this report, refer to the Management Reports and Dashboards article.

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Customer Requested Enhancements

Payment Processor Defaults

Set up a Customer or Vendor
Configure a Ledger
Create or Clone a Billing

For Cardknox and/or Stripe users, a new Default Payment Processor field has been added to the Account object and the Ledger object. If this field is populated on the Account record, it will automatically populate on Billings for the related Account. If this field is blank on the Account record, the Default Payment Processor from the Ledger record will display in this field on the Billing. If this field is also blank on the Ledger record, the Global Default Payment Processor that was selected in the Payment Processor screen will display in this field on the Billing.

Note: Existing Accounting Seed customers with Cardknox and/or Stripe who are not using our standard (out of the box) Lightning record pages for the Account and Ledger objects will need to add the Default Payment Processor field. For more information, refer to the Summer ’24 Configuration Changes article. 

Important: Edenred should never be selected as the Default Payment Processor. This field is only applicable for Cardknox and/or Stripe users. 

Large Data Optimizer Updates

Create or Clone a Billing
Large Data Optimizer  
Purge Data

The Large Data Optimizer (LDO) feature that was included with our Spring ’24 release has been updated. If you have the LDO feature enabled, when cloning a Billing, a message will display to indicate that this will be performed as a background process. The Clone Billing button will be displayed while this asynchronous process completes. The cloned record will display when the process completes.

Two new column headings have been added when you batch post/unpost Billings, Payables and/or Journal Entries: Posting in Progress and Unposting in Progress. This will allow you to view records that are “in progress” as the asynchronous process continues to completion.

The Purge Data process, which resets records stuck in Posting in Progress or Unposting in Progress Posting Status has been renamed to “Reset LDO Source Document Interim Posting Status.”

BDC Bank Settings with Plaid (Choose Connection)

Bank Direct Connect – Bank Settings

With Plaid as your Aggregation Provider for Bank Direct Connect, on the Bank Settings tab, you can now have multiple connections (with different credentials) to the same Financial Institution. The existing New button on the Bank Settings tab allows you to create different connections. Then, you can select the appropriate connection from the new Choose Connection drop-down list on the Bank Settings tab.

The naming convention for connections with each Financial Institution will start with Connection_1 and continue with consecutive numbers. For example, if Tartan Bank is the Financial Institution, the first connection will be Connection_1, the second Connection_2, and so on.

Check Number added to Issue a Refund from a Credit Memo

Issue a Refund from a Credit Memo

Similar to the Issue Refund from a Cash Receipt dialog box, the Accounting & Other Information section, which is customizable has now been added to the Issue a Refund from a Credit Memo dialog box. The underlying field set is the same as the one for the Refund Cash Receipt functionality. You can add additional fields to the CR Refund field set, if necessary. For more information, refer to the Edit a Field Set article.

Billing Contact field name change on Account object

Set up a Customer or Vendor

The Billing Contact field on the Account screen has been relabeled (API Name remains the same) to Primary Contact. The functionality for this field has not changed, it will continue to default to the Primary Contact that is in Accounting Seed for Billings, Payables, Purchase Orders, and Sales Orders.

Note: This relabel change will only automatically display on new installs.

For customers who use Payment Services with AP Automation, you should read the information above in the AP Automation (Account and Contact Updates) section about the new AP Remittance Email field and the AP Vendor Emails.

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Software Corrections

ACH Payments in Cardknox

A new “Awaiting Response” Payment Status on ACH payments in Cardknox created an error on the Payment Activities screen in Accounting Seed, and a Cash Receipt(s) was not being created. This issue has been resolved. The “Awaiting Response” status on ACH transactions can now be successfully imported into Accounting Seed without any error, and the corresponding Cash Receipt(s) is created.

Bank Direct Connect (BDC)

• Bank Transactions Currency – With Yodlee as your Aggregation Service Provider, there was an issue with downloaded transactions displaying in a different currency other than the one that was originally downloaded from Yodlee. This issue has been corrected so that downloaded transactions display in the expected currency.
• BDC - Plaid Access Token – With Plaid as your Aggregation Service Provider, the access token was being deleted and replaced when a second connection with different credentials was added for the same Financial Institution. This issue has been resolved. 
• Bank Transaction Date for BDC Matching - Prior to this release, Bank Direct Connect (BDC) was using the Journal Date from the Journal Entry header record to match the Bank Transaction Date instead of the Date on the Journal Entry Line. This issue has been resolved. The system now uses the Date on the Journal Entry Line to match the Bank Transaction Date in BDC.

Bank Reconciliation stuck in Working Status

A part of the Bank Reconciliation process is retrieving the GL Account Ending Balance information, which is performed by aggregating totals from Financial Cubes. With this Financial Cube aggregation SOQL run process, more than the allowed Salesforce 50,000 SOQL rows were attempting to run, which created a “System Limit Exception” error message because of too many query rows. This resulted in the Bank Reconciliation being stuck in a “Working” Status. This issue has now been resolved.

Automated Email Billing job

When 100 or more Billings were attempting to process as a part of the Automated Email Billing job, an “Apex CPU time limit exceeded” error message displayed, and the Automated Job Results report displayed the incorrect number of successful records. This issue has been resolved.

Avalara AvaTax

In very specific scenarios, when Accounting Seed made an API call to AvaTax to uncommit a transaction it was not being uncommitted. This issue has now been resolved.

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