1099 Initialization Utility Moved to the Browser Application 

The 1099 Initialization utility that was in the desktop application in Utilities » 1099 Initialization has been moved to Utilities » Periods » 1099 Initialization in the browser application. Some field names were changed for clarity, but the functionality for year-end processing remains the same.

Add Multiple Attendees at Once

You can now add multiple attendees to an activity record at once in Hubs » Activities. In the Attendees grid of the Activities form, click +Add Attendee and then use the Lookup Search to select the attendees (contacts) that you want to add. By default, Vantagepoint displays active contacts that are qualified contacts or new leads. When you add attendees, Vantagepoint also adds to the firms associated with those attendees to the Firms grid.

Expose Additional Interactive Billing API Endpoints

To support e-invoicing for international clients that need to comply with statutory mandates in EMEA and ANZ regions, additional Interactive Billing API endpoints have been made available: 

• GET Retrieve Invoice Transaction Detail - Invoice Consultant

• GET Retrieve Invoice Transaction Detail - Invoice Expenses

• GET Retrieve Invoice Transaction Detail - Invoice Unit

These new API endpoints honor existing validations and restrictions as well as security requirements at the application level.

Enhanced Navigation Accessibility with Ask Dela

You can now use Ask Dela to open any application listed in the Navigation pane and to open any hub record that you have permission to access. When multiple records share the same name, Ask Dela displays all matching records in the hub so that you can select the correct one. This update streamlines your workflow by providing quicker access to applications and records.

Processing a Batch Without Stopping When Errors Are Encountered 

Previously, when you created invoices in Batch Billing, processing stopped when a problem was encountered with a project’s invoice. You had to fix the problem and then rerun the entire batch. Now, when you create invoices, the batch completes without stopping for problem invoices. Any project with an invoice that failed during processing is identified after the batch completes. You can then address the problems and rerun the batch of failed items.  

On the Invoice Archive tab of the Batch Billing form, a new Batch Results column has been added to the invoice archive grid. Batch Processed Successfully or Batch Processed with <X> Errors (as a hyperlink) displays in this column. 

When errors have occurred, click the Batch Processed with <X> Errors hyperlink to open the Failed Projects dialog box and review a list of the projects with failed invoices and the reasons for the failures. After you correct the problems, return to the Failed Projects dialog box, select the projects to rerun, and click Create Invoices to create invoices. If you are running a batch for invoices with Draft Invoice Approvals enabled, a Billing Comments dialog box opens so you can add comments. Invoices created from the Failed Projects dialog box use the original batch and billing session options. 

Invoices that you reprocess from the Failed Projects dialog box are removed from the Failed Projects dialog box, and the new batch in which they were reprocessed is added to the grid on the Invoice Archive tab with Batch Processed Successfully or Batch Processed with <X> Errors (as a hyperlink) in the Batch Results column. A billing batch with errors is removed from the grid when all failed projects in the batch have been reprocessed.

For more information, see the Rerunning Failed Projects in Batch Billing help topic.

 

Invoice Archive PDF Files Now Stored in FileStream

Batch Billing invoice archive files are now stored in FileStream instead of the Vantagepoint report server database. This change applies for both Batch Billing Invoice files and Batch Billing Invoice List files.

Batch Billing invoice archive files that were previously saved to the Vantagepoint report server database are no longer available from the Invoice Archive tab in Batch Billing.

With the Batch Billing invoice archive files stored in FileStream, the files display in these locations:

• On the Invoice Archive tab in Batch Billing

• In Utilities » Files Administration, when you set the Application option to Billing - Batch Billing Invoice Archive on the on the Files Administration form

In both cases, you can preview and print the invoice archive files only as PDF files.

Since only PDF files are available, the following changes were made on the Batch Billing form:

• When you have the Invoice Archive tab open, Other Actions, including the Preview File Type action, are not available.

• When you have the Invoice Creation tab open, the Preview File Type action is not available under Other Actions.

To limit the length of time that Batch Billing archive files are stored in FileStream, a new process server clean-up job has been added to delete expired Batch Billing invoice archive files.

The clean-up job:

• Runs every 24 hours.

• Uses the number of hours in the Retain Invoices for Up To field on the Invoice Creation tab of the Batch Billing form at the time invoices are created to determine which Batch Billing invoice archive files to delete. You can enter between 1 and 720 hours (up to 30 days) in this field.

• Deletes the expired Batch Billing invoice archive files from FileStream, the Invoice Archive tab of the Batch Billing form, and the Files Administration utility.

• Displays in the Queue Processes grid on the Queue Manager form in Utilities » Process Server » Queue Manager. When you set the Queue option to Maintenance on the Queue Manager form, the clean-up job displays in the Queue Processes grid with Delete Expired Batch Billing Invoice Archive Files in the Description field.

New Fee Variance Indicator 

A new Enable Fee Variance Indicator option has been added to the Billing Terms Fee Update section of the Fee form in Settings » Billing » Fees.

When you set this option to Yes, a warning icon displays at the beginning of a row in the Fees grid on the Fees tab in Hubs » Projects » Billing Terms to alert you when the amount in the Fee field in the row does not match the project’s compensation amounts entered in Hubs » Projects » Contract Management. If you hover over the icon, a “Fee amount does not match Compensation Value” message displays.  

The fee amount in the Fee field in the Fees grid in Billing Terms should match the amounts from the Compensation tab in Contract Management, based on the compensation group selections made in the Compensation Grouping for Fees grid on the Fee form in Settings » Billing » Fee. 

This feature applies for: 

• Projects that have any fee method entered in the Fee Method field on the Fees tab in Billing Terms

• Projects with or without the Allocate Billed Revenue of Fee Invoices Based on Category checkbox selected on the Fees tab in Billing Terms; if the checkbox is selected, the variance warning icon displays for the category rows in the Fees grid in Billing Terms, instead of the total fees row

• All work breakdown structure levels that are enabled for a project

Vantagepoint checks the fee amount in Billing Terms to display the variance warning when you do the following in Billing Terms:

• Open the Fees tab

• Update fees in the Fees grid on the Fees tab manually or automatically using the Update Fees from Compensation action on the Fees grid

• Select or clear the Allocate Billed Revenue on Fee Invoices Based on Transactions checkbox on the Fees tab

 

New Total Fee Updates Feature 

Use the new Total Fee Updates feature to automatically update a project's total billing fee in Billing Terms with the fees that already exist for the project, as specified on the Compensation tab in Hubs » Projects » Contract Management. This feature enables you to more efficiently and accurately enter total fee amounts in Billing Terms. 

Enable and Set Up the Feature in Billing Fee Settings 

To enable and set up this feature, you complete the following in the Billing Terms Fee Update section of the Fee form in Settings » Billing » Fee:  

• Set the new Enable Total Fee Updates option to Yes. (For new Vantagepoint installations, this setting is set to Yes. For existing Vantagepoint customers, it is set to No.)

• In the Compensation Grouping for Fees grid, specify which compensation amounts from the Compensation tab in Contract Management to include in the total fee amount that will be used to update the amount in the Fee field in the Fees grid on the Fees tab in Billing Terms. 

Update Total Fees in Billing Terms 

After you complete the setup, an Update Fees from Compensation action displays on the toolbar of the Fees grid on the Fees tab in Billing Terms in Hubs » Projects » Billing Terms. When you click this action, an Update Fees from Compensation dialog box displays. In the Fees grid on the dialog box, select the compensation amounts from Contract Management to prefill in the Fee field in the Fees grid on the Fees tab in Billing Terms. These compensation amounts are based on the compensation group selections made in the Compensation Grouping for Fees grid on the Fee form in Settings » Billing » Fee. Then click Update.  

This feature is available at lower levels of the work breakdown structure when lower-level billing terms are enabled. 

You can override and change the updated fee amounts in Billing Terms at any time.  

This feature is not applicable when you select certain combinations of options in Billing Terms for a project. When you enter certain combinations, the Update Fees from Compensation action does not display on the Fees grid. 

For more information, see the following help topics:

• Using the Total Fee Updates Feature 

• Contents of the Fee Form

• Fees Tab of the Billing Terms Form

• Update Fees from the Compensation Dialog Box

Compress Labor-Related Transactions Associated with Selected Projects

Use the new Compress utility to summarize individual labor postings into aggregated labor data for projects that you select. This is useful for completed projects, when you require visibility into financial summary information without the detailed analysis of labor transactions. This utility enables you to compress all labor-related transactions into either fiscal years or fiscal periods. To view a list of all previous compression events, use the View History feature of this utility.

You cannot reverse the labor data compression process. Before you initiate a compression, be sure to back up and review your data and your reporting requirements.

Firm Name on Potential Duplicate Contact 

Vantagepoint now makes it easier to determine if you are creating a duplicate contact record in Hubs » Contacts» Contacts. When you add a new contact and Vantagepoint suggests possible matches with existing records, both the contact name and firm name are now displayed in the list of contacts.

New Columns for Project and Project Detail Dashpart Bases

If your company uses organizations, you can use the following new columns in dashparts that have Project or Project Detail dashpart bases. Use these columns to display the company IDs and names that are associated with organization levels:

• <Organization Level 1/2/3> ID

• <Organization Level 1/2/3> Name

The labels for these columns are based on the labels that you assign to organization levels 1, 2, and 3 in Settings » Labels and Lists » Labels.

Collections Forecast System Dashpart

As a finance manager, project manager, or business developer, you can use the new Collections Forecast system dashpart to leverage predictive data on collections. This system dashpart provides a monthly or weekly projection of anticipated invoice payments. This predictive insight can help you make informed decisions about clients, resources, and other business matters.

You can fine-tune the displayed data in the system dashpart in these ways:

• Apply a search filter

• Select monthly or weekly projections

• Change the display currency, if your company uses multiple currencies

Mitigate Issues when Loading Large Dashparts

To mitigate server issues caused by loading complex or large dashparts, use the new timeout feature in Dashboards.

If a dashpart exceeds the timeout setting that you specify, an error message displays to identify the affected dashpart. The default timeout setting is 10 minutes. However, this default does not apply to dashparts scheduled for snapshot creation or system dashparts, except for the Collections Forecast system dashpart.

If a dashpart times out, contact your dashboard administrator and request that they optimize the affected dashpart.

Alternative Database for Dashpart Data

When you configure reports to use an alternative database in the Weblink utility, dashparts use the same alternative database when displaying data for the following dashpart bases:

• Account

• Account Detail

• AP Detail

• AR Detail

• Firm

• Employee

• Project 

• Project Detail

This also applies for the Collections Forecast system dashpart.

There is an exception: When you include a planning-related column in dashparts with the listed dashpart bases, those dashparts do not use the alternative database, even if an alternative database is available.

Changes to Prevent an Out-of-Balance Posting of Expense Reports

When you post expense reports, or schedule them to post, in Transaction Center » Time and Expense Posting, Vantagepoint now includes a validation check at the end of the posting to ensure that the entire expense report posting batch is balanced. If the entire expense report posting batch is not balanced, it is automatically unposted.

Changes to Expense Reports that are Scheduled for Posting

The following changes are designed to improve the scheduling of expense reports for posting:

• Checks When Scheduling To Post: When you schedule an expense report for posting, Vantagepoint now checks to see if the expense report is already scheduled to be posted before allowing you to proceed with the task. Vantagepoint also checks for any scheduled process server job that includes the expense report and if the process server job is yet to be completed. If the expense report is already scheduled to be posted, or is included in a process server job that is yet to be completed, Vantagepoint displays an error message if you try to schedule the same expense report for posting. The error message details the following information:

  • The name of the expense report

  • The employee ID of the person who created the expense report

  • The date specified in the expense report

• Default Value of the Description Field: When you schedule an expense report for posting in Transaction Center » Time and Expense Posting, Vantagepoint now prefills the Description field on the Schedule Dialog box with TransactionPosting/PostExpenseReportsPosting. You can change this default value, to clearly describe the process server job. The default value of the Description field still displays in the following areas:

  • In the Queue Processes grid in Utilities » Process Server » Queue Manager

  • On the Notification Center dialog box and the Notification Details dialog box

Time Ratios in Mobile T&E

Use the new View Time Ratios menu in Mobile Time & Expense to view an employee's utilization ratios. The Time Ratios screen displays the different timeframe sections and associated ratios. Your system administrator determines the ratios and timeframes that are displayed on the screen. (If you do not select any ratios or timeframes to display, the View Time Ratios menu is not available.)

Support for Timesheet Assist in Mobile Time & Expense

When you log in to Mobile Time & Expense, reminders now display for you to complete your timesheet entries by the timesheet due date. The Timesheet Reminder screen shows timesheet period information, such as the timesheet due date and any approved absences or holidays in the current period. From the list of project suggestions, you can select one or more records to add to your timesheet. Tap Snooze or Dismiss to determine whether you want to continue or stop receiving reminders for the current timesheet period on your next login.

This feature is available in Mobile Time & Expense when your administrator enables the Timesheet Assist setting for your time group in the Vantagepoint browser application. The reminder displays when you log in to Mobile Time & Expense on the number of days before the timesheet due date that your administrator specifies.

Add Project Planning Assignments to Timesheets for Accounting and PSA

In Mobile Time & Expense, you can now select and add project planning assignments to your timesheets if either the Accounting or PSA module is enabled in Vantagepoint and the Auto Populate From Plan Assignments option is set to No in Settings » Time » Options. On the Find Project screen, tap the Assignments tab to display all projects in the time period for which you have project planning assignments. Select the projects to add to your timesheet and tap Copy Assignments.

Previously, this capability was only available if you enabled Resource Planning.

Read/Unread Notifications

When you enable the new Read/Unread Notifications feature, you can use the Notification Center to view read or unread notifications, and to mark all unread notifications as read. Read notifications are automatically deleted after seven days.

You can choose to opt in to this feature in Settings » General » Opt-In in the Vantagepoint 7.2 release. The ability to opt in is temporary and will be removed when the feature becomes automatically enabled for all users as part of a future Vantagepoint release. For more information, see Opt-In Features Overview.

When you opt in to Read/Unread Notifications, the Notification Center badge in the title bar displays as a bell that shows the number of notifications. Click the bell to access notification options.

Opting in to the Feature

You can choose to opt in to this feature for the Vantagepoint 7.2 release. The ability to opt in is temporary and will be removed when the feature becomes automatically enabled for all users as part of a future Vantagepoint release. For more information, see Opt-In Feature Overview.

To use the Purchase template Editor in the browser application, navigate to Settings » General » Opt-In Features and enable Purchase Template Editor.

User Interface Changes

When you enable this feature, the following changes occur:

• You can display the Purchase Template Editor from the browser application. In the Navigation pane, select Settings » Purchasing & Inventory » Purchase Template Editor.

• On the General tab, under the Other section, the Custom Report Name field is now available. For more information, see General Tab of Purchase Template Editor.

• The Order Detail Info tab is now the Order Detail tab. For more information, see Order Detail Tab of Purchase Template Editor.

• The Misc tab is now the Layout tab. For more information, see Layout Tab of Purchase Template Editor.

From the browser application, you can still access templates created in the desktop application.

When you turn off this feature, you can still access the application from the desktop application. On the Navigation menu, select Purchasing » Purchase Template Editor.

Report Administration Now Available in the Browser Application (Opt-in Available)

You can choose to opt-in to this feature for the Vantagepoint 7.2 release. The ability to opt-in is temporary and will be removed when the feature becomes automatically enabled for all users as part of the release.

The Report Administration utility is now available as an opt-in feature in the browser application under Utilities, if you enable the utility in Settings » General » Opt-In Features.

In earlier Vantagepoint releases, the Report Administration utility was available only in the desktop application. When you enable the utility in the browser application, the Report Administration utility in the desktop application is no longer available. If you do not opt in to use the Report Administration utility in the browser application, the utility is still available in the desktop application and works the way it always has.

The Database Cleanup » Orphaned Report Files feature in the desktop application is not available for the utility in the browser application. All other functionality is unchanged in the browser application.

Search and Download Reports

Use the new Search and Download feature to select the fields to export to Excel. This search bypasses the report preview generation process, enabling you to perform the search directly from the Reports or Favorites tab of the Reporting form. You can elect to retrieve and export the results or schedule the export to the process server. Vantagepoint notifies you, via the Notfication Center, when the file is ready to download.

Screen Designer Copy Property (Opt-In Available)

Use this opt-in feature to specify how a user-defined hub handles values in user-defined fields and grids of a user-defined hub record when you copy that record. With this feature enabled, you can specify whether field and grid values are copied to the new record or reset to default values in the new record.

Opting in to the Screen Designer Copy Property Feature

Enable the Screen Designer Copy Property opt-in feature in Settings » General » Opt-In Features.

You can choose to opt in to this feature for the Vantagepoint 7.2 release. The ability to opt in is temporary and will be removed when the feature becomes automatically enabled for all users as part of a future Vantagepoint release. For more information, see Opt-In Features Overview.

Copy Settings for User Defined Hubs 

When you opt in to the Screen Designer Copy Property feature, the Copy option is available in the Field/Grid Properties pane for applicable user-defined fields and grids in user-defined hubs.

Use the Copy option to specify how a user-defined hub handles user-defined field and grid values when a record in that hub is copied. (The Copy option is not available for activities, files, links, name, and number-related user-defined fields.)

The Copy option offers the following choices:  

• Copy from Source Record: Select this choice to use the existing value in the user- defined field or grid from the source user-defined hub record when that record is copied.

• Do not Copy - Use Default Value: Select this choice to apply default value for the user-defined field or grid when the user-defined hub record is copied.

Updates to Project Suggestions in Timesheet Assist

If your administrator enables the Timesheet Assist setting for your time group, you can use the Project Suggestions grid on the Timesheet Updates dialog box to view and select projects to add to your timesheet.

• New Grid Options: Use the grid toolbar options to customize the view and order of the suggested projects. You can maximize the grid display, select columns to show in the grid, export grid data to a comma-separated values (CSV) file, and filter grid data. 

• Display Client Name, Labor Code, and Labor Category Columns: If you enter labor codes and/or labor categories in timesheets, you can click the Grid Settings icon () on the grid toolbar to include these columns in the grid. 

• Select Projects from Expense Reports: The Project Suggestions grid now displays project, phase, or task rows that were charged on your expense reports within the past 30 days.

Updates to Timesheet Actions

The following actions are now available from Other Actions on the Timesheets form: 

• Copy from Plan: If your company has the Accounting, PSA, or Resource Planning module enabled, you can select this action to populate timesheets with data from project plans for which you have planned hours in the timesheet period. 

• Timesheet Settings: This action replaces the Timesheet Settings icon () on the Timesheets form in earlier Vantagepoint releases. Select this action to specify whether or not a timesheet report prints automatically each time that you submit a timesheet.

Defect 1975201: When you tried to enter dates in date fields, such as Hire Date and Raise Date, for an existing employee record, the calendar arrows for the months did not work.

Defect 2142263: When you opened a large project and then, on the Edit Project Structure dialog box, scrolled down and expanded a WBS level, the dialog box display scrolled back up to the WBS1 (project) level.

Defect 2134179: When a user with view-only access tried to open Notes in Contract Management, they were unable to do so because the options were disabled.

Defect 2090676: This issue occurred when you were working in list view and the Long Name field was not selected on the Gear Settings dialog box. When you opened the Edit Project Structure dialog box and added a task, the project's Long Name field incorrectly displayed the phase name instead of the task name.

Defect 2112479: When you set the Projects - Multicompany Restrict Charge Companies field to Checked in a project template while working in a single-company database, projects created from the template were not available for use in Expense Reports or in Purchasing.

Defect 2148717: Performance issues were experienced with the database server for roles with record level access restriction set for the Projects hub.

Defect 2212014: When you created a new project using a project template, the project creation process took a long time to complete.

Defect 2088614: When you set the Preferred Language of your Safari browser to a different language, the Touch CRM application displayed incorrect currency symbols and decimal numbers.

Defect 2113148: When you expanded the Credit Card pane on the Expense Report form, Vantagepoint initially showed posted credit card charges that were not cleared. It took several seconds for Vantagepoint to refresh the data, select the appropriate credit card, and display imported credit card charges that were yet to be added to the expense report.

Defect 2042884: When you scheduled a report to run and send the report as an attachment for an email message, the From field in the sent email displayed the subject or the report name instead of the sender's email address.

Defect 2060676: When you selected a Group Header field with a date data type in the Search Criteria grid and you attempted to rename it, you received an error message. This issue occurred when you ran the Cash Requirements report and then selected the Search and Download function on the previewed report.

Defect 2146225: When you generated the Unposted Labor report with a selected date in Timesheet Through Period Ending in report settings, an error message was displayed in the report. 

Defect 2178357: When you tried to run an Employee Labor Summary report from Favorites with Timeframe set to Date Range, the report did not run.

Defect 2105592: Rejected timesheets displayed with an In Progress status on the Floor Check dialog box.

Defect 2182819: When you set the character limit of phase IDs to 7, the Time Categories form displayed phases with truncated values.

Defect 2221913: When you set the Use Time Approvals option to No in Settings » Time » Time Approvals, or enabled the Automatically Approve Submitted Timesheet with Zero Hours option in a timesheet approval workflow, you were able to submit timesheets with zero hours and no project.

Defect 219917: When you edited hours at work breakdown structure levels 2 or 3, those hours were not correctly reflected at WBS level 1.

Defect 1875086: When you set the Status of an account to Dormant and saved the change, you received an error message.

Defect 2182852: When you specified that Vantagepoint should display a warning for active accounts in the Account Status grid and you submitted an AP Invoice Approval in Transaction Center » AP Invoice Approvals , the process failed.

Defect 2173158: This issue occurred when you, in a Cash Receipts transaction file, modified the date in the Transaction Date field to a date that fell before the date specified in the End Date field on the New File dialog box and that date previously fell after the date specified in the End Date field. When this happened, you received this error message: "This date is outside the file's period."

Defect 1917760: In Utilities » Report Administration in the desktop application, the "PlanToReportXXX" temporary tables were not deleted when you selected Delete Unused Planning Tables on the Database Cleanup tab.