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4.7.18 - 07 July 2025

4.7.18 - 07 July 2025

Workbench Release Notes

Scheduled Release - 30 June 2025

Scheduled Release - 30 June 2025

2.5.4 - 20 August 2024 | Sharperlight Data Model v2.5.4.6

Upcoming Functionality & News

 

Upvise Output Changes- Upcoming in v4.7.19

Changes are coming to Output functionality in Upvise (21st July) release that will impact the Daily Diary- Output forms. These include:

  • ⚙️ Performance improvements in the Upvise Web view

  • 🧾 Fixes for PDF display issues in output lists

What You Need to Do
All on-premise sites using these forms must upgrade to Workbench v4.7.18 (General release available 7th July) to ensure compatibility with the Upvise (21st July) release.

✅ No action is required for clients managed by Workbench —your systems will be updated automatically as part of the scheduled workbench release.

 

DLL Update - Upvise Integration- Now Available

🔄 Upgrade of the Upvise DLL to minimum 4.5 in Workbench
🔧 Improved compatibility with the latest Upvise features and integration tools
📦 Support for future enhancements to the Upvise Client Library

What You Need to Do

🔹 All on-premise workbench sites must upgrade workbench to v4.7.17 before 1st July 2025 to maintain compatibility with the updated DLL and ensure uninterrupted integration with Upvise.
🔹 If you use any custom external integrations (e.g. PowerShell scripts, custom tools, or applications using the Upvise Client Library), these will also need to be manually updated to reference DLL Version 4.2 before the cutoff date.

✅ No action is required for clients managed by Workbench —your systems will be updated automatically as part of the scheduled workbench release.

We recommend planning your updates early to avoid any disruptions.

 

File attachments redesign

We are reviewing the File Attachments screens to improve the user experience and ease of use.

This will introduce a familiar experience to the File Attachments tab similar to other file management interfaces (like File Explorer in Windows or Finder in macOS), followed by enhancements to functionality.

image-20250626-004712.png
mockup

 

New Webinar
Learn the secrets of Efficient and Accurate Invoicing

Join us as we explore how Workbench can help you forecast your future billings, we also highlight the multitude of billing methods Workbench provides to ensure timely and accurate Invoice generation.

Wednesday 23rd July

We will be discussing the following topics:

  • ✅Configuring the various Billing options on your jobs

  • ✅Revenue Forecasting

  • ✅Input Based Billing

  • ✅Including source documents, e.g. supplier invoices with client invoices

  • ✅Output Based Billing

  • ✅Bulk Invoice Generating and Sending

  • ✅Claim Schedule Billing (Setup options)

  • ✅Adding Variations to the Claim Schedule

  • ✅Claim Schedule Billing and Certification process (New Feature)

This webinar is an excellent opportunity for anyone seeking to gain a clearer understanding of upcoming invoicing and explore ways to streamline their invoicing processes.

 

Feature Revisions

Jobs

  • Subjobs to a Different Client:
    There are valid scenarios for changing the client on a sub job, so the parent job should not auto-change. We have made a change to stop updating any parent jobs' Clients.

Contracts

  • Retention Releases and claimed values on the same Claim:
    On a previous release, 4.7.16, we hid the Get Sales button on a Claim with the intent that it was not required for Retention Releases, but since we discovered that clients do combine the release with further claimed values This specific scenario applies when using Retention Types By Step, and by changing the retention type on the Contract to a Retention type By Step with lower %, the system automatically creates a retention release if the withheld values are over the limits specified in the new Retention Type.
    We have now re-enabled the Get Sales button on Retention Release.
    Expect the below behaviour:

    1. System-generated Retention release line to be created as soon as the Invoice is created and saved when changing Retention Type to a lower % retention type (only applies to By Step types).

    2. Get Sales button now displays, even if this is a retention release (generated by the system). This is to cater for NZ client scenarios where they change Retention type on the Contract to a lower %, so the system creates the retention release automatically.

    3. If the user clicks on ‘Save and Generate Billing’ in Get Sales with no Claimed values, a new warning message similar to that added to the Certification step is displayed:
      ”This will remove your invoice line/s because there are no This Claim values. Are you sure you want to save?”

  • Bulk Forecast:
    A Job Type filter has been added to the Bulk Forecast utility - wbUtilityGenerateBulkForecastLines.

    image-20250630-014409.png

 

Timesheets

  • Advanced Mobile Timesheets linked to a log:
    When entering a stock issue via the Advanced Mobile Timesheets, where the time is linked to a Service Log, the stock issues were not visible from the Service Log itself. This has been enhanced and now both Plant Issues and Stock items entered via the Mobile Timesheet linked to a Service Log, are visible from the Log.


Resource Scheduler

  • People Scheduler enhancements:

    • Add mouseover text on the Unapprove button in the Leave Request popup with "This Leave Request cannot be unapproved because the Timesheet is Completed or Approved”

    • Disallowed deletion of any related record if the Timesheet is Completed and/or Approved

      a. Leave Request (if any)
      b. People Scheduler (if any)
      c. Leave Scheduler (if any)

    • After deleting a Leave Request, the related Scheduler record and Timesheet entry are deleted.

 

Month End

  • Periods greater than 12 not allowed:
    A validation has been added on Period Ends Maintenance to not allow editing an existing line or creating a new manual line with a Period number greater than 12.

Administration

  • Extension Columns - validation for invalid names
    An Extension columns “Field” cannot start with a number or contain spaces or special characters. They cannot translate correctly to SQL column names, and cause issues.
    New naming rules:

    • disallow/remove non-alpha characters, and 

    • warning message when attempting to save.

Column names can only contain "a-z, A-Z, 0-9, <underscore>", and cannot start with a number or an underscore

 

Upvise

Workflow - Rejection Reason

Improvements have been made to enhance the visibility of rejection reasons within the workflow. Specifically:

  • The rejection comments are now displayed in the Information section of the mobile form, providing better context for users.

    image-20250701-230913.png
    Form - Info

  • The rejection comments are also included in the rejection email sent to the initiator, improving transparency around workflow outcomes.

    image-20250701-231032.png
    Email notification- with rejection comment included

 

Integration

Xero

  • To avoid any possible rounding differences between Workbench and Xero when exporting AP and AR invoices, we have changed the integration to specify 4 decimal places.

Fixes & Technical changes

Workbench

  • Timecode on Daysheets:
    When a daysheet timesheet new line defaults Person/Activity/Workcentre, and the Activity is changed, the Time Code filter was not showing the correct TCs for the new Activity. Fixed.

  • WIP enhancements:

    • No WIP is generated where there is a Forecast Revenue WIP type and there is no forecast for the period.

    • Issue: WIP Accrual Batch didn’t overwrite the previous run for the same period.
      It now removes any existing WIP records for the period (and filter criteria) even if they are in other batches.

  • Job Group from Job Template:
    Job Details - Job Template not adding 'Job Group' default. Fixed.

  • Budget RCE:
    Fixed the defaulting Cost line labour on the second Revenue line.

  • Editable Job List:
    Fixed error when filtering by Job Scheduler flag.

  • Catalogue item picker on PO lines:
    Line Code picker - searching by Group, Category, Sub-Category is now working.

  • Report - Debtor report and receipting:
    The Job Receipt Entry is picking up the client of the Job, even when that invoice is for a different client. Fixed.

  • Service Log - show Expected Value on AltGeneral tab:
    The Expected Value and Expected Hours fields are now displayed on both General tab views, so Quoted logs can be invoiced.

  • Admin Timesheet Entry - fix tool tip display:
    Hovering over the pen in Admin Timesheet Entry usually allows the user to see the contents of the details box. However if the job is finalised, or the period is closed, the tool tip does not pop up and you have to click on the pen. This has been changed for a better user experience.

  • Disbursement transactions - GL accounts:
    When re-printing a Disbursement batch, the GL codes were not being updated as per the latest changes on the CR GL account on the disbursement activity. This has been fixed.

  • Lock down Invoiced JobOutputs:
    Locked down Outputs entered via a Service Log that are later invoiced from Job Sales invoice, so they cannot be removed from the Log after invoicing. Same validation has been added to Job Outputs on Daysheets.

Upvise

Daily Diary- Dockets

  • Resolved a display issue with the Product and manufacturer fields in PDF outputs and list views

  • The manufacturer and Product Fields can now be renamed in the form template

  • Dockets now use new datasets (wbDocketCostSchedules_Headers & wbDocketCostSchedules_Lines), introducing support for the docket schedule status along with the docket lines status.

  • Support for legacy dataset wbDocketCostSchedules has been deprecated.

  • Resolved an issue where the manufacturer and product lists on dockets subforms were showing options that do not match the selected docket cost schedule

Daily Diary- Labour Hours

  • Resolved a processing delay in Labour Hours calculation on the daily diary form.

Daily Diary- Outputs

  • Resolved an issue where output schedule lines were showing for schedules with similar output schedule codes. Now, only Schedule lines within that schedule will be available for selection.

Attendance

  • Resolved an issue with Start Date and End Dates on Attendance reports in Upvise (Daily Scan)

Deprecated Function Removal - Upvise Web API

  • Deprecation of Upvise Web API Functions

    The following Web API functions have been deprecated by Upvise as of 2nd July 2025.

    Workbench has implemented code updates to ensure compatibility for any Workbench-managed solutions.

    Action Required:
    If you write and deploy your own Upvise code, you must review it and apply any needed changes based on the information below.

    No action is needed if you do not manage or deploy your own code in Upvise.

  • Function List:

    • User.create2() removed -> use User.create();

    • Toolbar.addTabButton() removed -> use Toolbar.addButton()

    • Grid.style property is now private, -> use Grid.setStyle(style) instead

    • List._container property is now private property. Do not use it.

    • Settings.getCountry() -> Settings.get(“country”);

    • Map class (Use MapView class instead)

    • Pdf2 class (Use Pdf class instead)

    • HashMap.initDays() method

    • static HashMap.fromArray() method (use new HashMap() constructor instead)

    • Settings.getCountry() method

    • static Utils.makeLegacyTable() method

    • static Utils.makeLegacyAppId() method

Things we are busy working on...

Subcontractors' Insurances & Certificates centralised list.