4.7.12 - 14 Apr 2025
Workbench Release Notes
Upcoming Functionality & News
New Webinar
Forecasting and preview of new % Complete method
Register here
Unlock the Future of Forecasting with Workbench
This session is essential for anyone looking to refine their forecasting strategies and get the most out of Workbench.
Join us for an exclusive Webinar on Cost-to-Complete Forecasting in Workbench, featuring the new % Complete Forecasting Method.
What You’ll Learn:
How to maximize Workbench’s forecasting capabilities
Managing Balance of Budgets
Utilizing Resource Planning
A deep dive into the new % Complete Forecasting Method
Practical insights to improve forecasting accuracy
Don’t miss this opportunity. Stay on top of your projects with Workbench!
Reserve your spot now. Tuesday 29th April
Mandatory email address for Upvise Users
In an upcoming release, the email address will become a required field if a user requires access to Upvise.
Feature Revisions
Jobs
Job Contracts - further enhancements to the new certification process:
For those clients that are already taking advantage of the new contract claim process, which supports clear distinction of the claim and certification stages (see all details here) we have made further enhancements:
Easier to navigate Get Sales:
Improved user experience when navigating to Get Sales; the screen opens in edit mode in the first line on the corresponding section based on the status of the Claim:Preparing the Claim:
The cursor is placed on %Done under Claim To Date first row.On the Certification stage:
The cursor is placed on the %Done under Certified To Date, reducing the need to scroll to the right and assisting the user in knowing where to start editing.
Certified To Date + Waiting on Certification + This Claim:
On Get Sales, a new tooltip reminds users what Claim To Date includes.
Contract/Claims tab:
Renamed This Claim to This Claimed Incl. Ret
Renamed Value to Net Value
The order of the columns now tells a story as you read it… First you see the Claimed value; then, you see a Certified value (if it has already been certified), then, the Retention amount; then, the Net Value, which is the Claimed or Certified value depending on the step in the process, less the Retention value.Contract Claims List:
For consistency with Contract/Claims tab we renamed the below labels:This Claim = This Claim incl. Ret
Value Before Retention = This Certified incl. Ret
Claimed To Date Incl. Ret & Certified To Date Incl. Ret
We have added additional information to the Contracts Claims List, that adds visibility of the Project’s claimed-to-date and certified-to-date values. This allows you to make an analysis of all the last claims in all Projects, and see the difference between Caimed and Certified.
For this, we have added an extra filter, Last Claim = yes - This will display the last claim of each Contract based on the other filter criteria.
Having Claimed vs Certified values in the list of Claims in a Contract shows you a pattern of the Client’s certification habits.
Having the Claimed To Date and Certified To Date values in the Contract Claims List screen will allow you to report on uncertified values for all your projects, showing you how much you might have missed on good revenue for the month. Use the new filter Last Claim = yes, filter for the Jobs you want, export to Excel and do any further analysis you want.
Create your Custom View with the details you need.
Job Forecast grid
Both Forecast and Cashflow screens under a Contract have been improved to ensure correct display of the grid when zooming.
Lists
File Attachments size has been increased:
The maximum attachment file size has been increased from 25 MB to 35 MB, allowing users to upload larger documents where required.
Dockets & Daysheets
New grid to control columns to be displayed:
Grid Management can be now used to control what columns and hidden/displayed on Dockets.
Grid names:Dockets screen: Docket List Lines
Daysheets/ Dockets tab: Daysheets List Dockets
Purchasing
Purchase Orders - notification that a PO has been approved:
Some user do not want workflow emails enabled as they instead want to rely on the My Approvals list.
This means that PO purchasers would not know their PO has been approved and is ready to be sent to the Supplier. In many cases, the approver is not the person in charge of the procurement.
We have enhanced the existing Settings:
Email PO Entered By on Approval
Email PO Purchaser on Approval
They can now be used with Workflow approvals as well (they worked with Standard approvals only).
This will allow to keep Workflow email notifications off, and still be notified by email when the PO has been approved.Setting Email PO on Approval has been updated and it now clearly states that this is DEPRECATED and not being used. It will be removed in a future version.
Setting PO Approver Assigned Email - updated description to clarify this only works for Standard approval.
Xtracta Sync –Improved error handling:
Fixed an issue where Xtracta sync would silently fail if a Financial Company had no description. Although the sync reported as successful, documents were not processed correctly.
If there is a missing description on a financial company, the system will now import the voucher normally.
Plus, if any documents fail to sync when doing a manual sync from the Image Documents List screen, an error message will display at the top of the screen. Red warning will look like ‘An error occurred when processing document ID {XYZ}' instead of the green message display after successfully refreshing:
Subcontracts
Bulk Send of Retention Balance Statements:
Previously, emails were sent via Workbench’s SendGrid SMTP, using the user’s email address even when Office 365 was enabled, causing emails to be flagged or rejected by recipients due the user’s email address not being an authenticated email address on SendGrid.
The system now correctly checks the email settings when sending retention reports in bulk.If Office 365 Enabled = Yes and Office 365 Bulk Email = Yes, emails are sent using Office 365.
If Office 365 Bulk Email = No, emails are sent via SendGrid using the noreply@workbench.co.nz specified in control parameter Send Email From.
Plant
Plant Meter Readings:
A few changes have been made to bring this screen up-to-date with the Meter Readings functionality within a Plant Item:A time component has been added next to the Date.
Assumed Daily Rate has been removed.
For the Change Out type, the Plant Administrator permission is now required.
Administration
Upvise User Only
When a person is flagged as Upvise User Only, the Profit Centre Group, Reporting Groups, and Roles sections in the Application Access tab are now disabled.Data imports - Job Imports:
When importing jobs from a spreadsheet with the Jobs Import, the job's company is now determined by BOTH the company name AND the financial company (derived from the profit centre). This is to cater for the scenario where the same company, with the same company name, may exist in different financial companies.
Fixes & Technical changes
Integration
Xero
New option to export AP and AR Invoices as Waiting for Approval:
Currently, Workbench exports both Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable (AR) invoices to Xero with a hard-coded status of Authorized, which can bypass Xero’s approval process. This approach may be undesirable for organizations requiring additional approval or that involve multiple entities in the billing or payables process.
This change adds the capability to export AP and AR invoices as Draft (Waiting for Approval) in Xero, if desired. Two new settings allow users to choose whether to continue using the Authorized status or switch to Draft.
Updated Xero Integration screen to include the new checkboxes:Export AP Invoices as Draft
Export AR Invoices as Draft
Default to continue exporting as Authorised.
Upvise
Button Quick-Links: Enhancement
We’ve improved how button quick-links work in Upvise. Buttons will now use their label as the identifier for form templates, rather than being tied to specific templates within the code.
✨ What’s new:
Buttons can now be used across Jobs, Projects, Equipment, and Contacts.
Greater flexibility in configuration without needing custom code.
Easier maintenance and fewer errors thanks to the removal of hardcoded links.
This enhancement streamlines setup and makes managing your forms and database set-up more intuitive.
NEW- Upvise Mobile App
Android version 9.1.1
Improved Syncing: Performance optimisations for smoother and faster data sync.
Conflict Resolution: Better handling of deleted records when syncing across multiple devices.
Smarter Editing: The software keyboard now auto-opens when editing text fields.
Updated Look: Refreshed toolbar icons for a more modern interface.
Security Enhancements: Important updates to keep your data protected.
🤖 Requires Android 9 or later
iOS version 9.1.2 (iPhone & iPad)
New Feature: You can now attach documents directly within the app.
Improved Syncing: Performance optimisations for faster and more reliable data sync.
Conflict Resolution: Better handling of deleted records when syncing across multiple devices.
Updated Look: Refreshed toolbar icons for a cleaner user experience.
Security Enhancements: Important updates to keep your data protected.
Bug Fix: Resolved an issue with the "Signature on Submit" feature.
📱 Requires iOS 12.0 or later
Leave Application- Leave Primary Reviewer
An enhancement has been made to the Leave Application process to improve efficiency:
The Leave “Reviewed By” field will now be automatically set to the primary leave reviewer for the person based on their timesheet group when a leave application is imported from Upvise to Workbench.
Where there is no Primary Leave Reviewer, this will be skipped.
Leave Request- Reviewed By
Purchase Orders - Mandatory PO lines
To enhance accuracy and consistency, all Purchase Orders submitted in Upvise will now require at least one PO line. Users will no longer be able to submit a PO without manually adding at least one line before submission.
Why Is This Beneficial?
This update ensures that POs are able to be matched in Workbench invoicing processes, reducing errors and improving efficiency. By requiring PO lines upfront, we eliminate the need to:
Re-open a PO to add missing lines.
Re-approve a PO after adding the required details.
This streamlined process will save time and prevent unnecessary workflow disruptions in Workbench.
Things we are busy working on...
Custom Views on List screens, and exploring the ability to add extension columns to these views. This will expand your reporting ability on the List screens.
Month End Process: controlled and easy to follow.
New status to track whether POs and WOs have been sent to Suppliers/Subcontractors.