Product Release Notes - Jan 2023 - Dec 2023

Created by Martin Parkinson, Modified on Thu, 18 Jan 2024 at 12:09 PM by Graeme Orchard

This article gives details of features and fixes included in each release of the software. To see which version you currently have installed see this article HERE

For older release notes click HERE (Jan 2021-Dec 2021)

For older release notes click HERE (Jan 2022-Dec 2022)

For NEW release notes click HERE (Jan-Dec 2024)

RELEASE NOTES: Jan-Dec 2023

For earlier releases please use the links above to see the features release during the relevant year.

Version History (Click an item to jump to that section)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEXT Release: (See Release Notes 2024...Coming Soon.....)
Release: (18/12/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.352
Release: (03/11/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.307
Release: (04/08/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.216
Release: (18/05/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.138
Release: (31/03/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.090
Release: (10/02/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.041
Release: (13/01/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.013

NEXT Release: (See Release Notes 2024...Coming Soon.....)

There are no more releases this year - (i.e. 2023).

Release: (18/12/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.352

IMPORTANT INFO

If you are an Influence direct customer using a database in our hosted data centres, then please be aware that enhanced security is now in place. In order to protect your data, when accessing from most non-UK locations, you will need to use a VPN that provides a UK-Based IP address. This is to help protect your data from hackers and other threats.

Typical VPN providers include Norton, NORD VPN, Express VPN, Cyberghost, etc. Influence do not endorse or recommend any specific VPN.

(NB: Some mainland European locations are allowed, but a VPN is always preferred.)

Features

Ability to add 'Royalites' as a Pay type for candidates on Contract Placements.

There was a specific requirement to add 'Royalties' as an option on the [Candidate] tab of a contract placement.

If needed this feature can be activated with a new parameter, PLACEMENT, Flag(52)

Access to SQL query tool now controlled with UAC (User Access List).

The 'SQL' query tool is usually restricted to the 'ADM' UserID login. It is now possible to setup a UAC (User Access Control) and have a specified list of users who can be allowed access, without the need to reveal the 'ADM' password to these users.

Margin Report can now show PERM revenue based on 'Due Date'

The Margin report can now show perm revenue based on the 'Due Date' from the placment. Previously it was only possible to show this based on either Start Date or Placed Date.

This is controlled with parameter FINREP, Flag(11)

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- Ability to set the default font size for Macro Manager. When passing batches of emails to the Macro manager, it is now possible to set a different FONT SIZE for these emails as a default. The feature is controlled with a new parameter.

REC, Integer(22) controls the font size, and REC, Text (3) is used to specify the font that is used.

e.g. Setting REC, Integer(22) to 14 would ensure that all emails sent via macro manager had the font size set to 14pt (by default).

- New Parameter added (RECF, Flag(4) ) to take account of Sundries added on a line-by-line basis via TIMESHEET ENTRY.

- Added VENN Api (Job Posting).

- Added the Ability to link "User_Alpha" fields on the SITE/CONTACT to a code table.

There are some new parameters (CMS2, Integer[1-5/6-10] ) which can be used to link any of these fields to a code table (Dropdown list)

- Added the ability to select [All] Job codes when linking a compliance item to specifc Roles. This will mkae it quicker to setup items that apply to nearly all roles, since you would link the item to 'All' - then remove the few unwanted roles.

Added the ability to 'Hide' the 'SAGE_REF field as seen on the [Controls] tab of a candidate record. If desired the field can be linked to a UAC (User Access Control) to allow the use of a specific list of users with access to the field.

- Enhanced the processing of Cognito Timesheet submission emails to ignore any 'MIMECAST' text at the front of the email that may be instered by Outlook and cause the system to be unable to find/identify the relevant worker. System now ignores inserted MIMECAST text and processes the email.

- Added the ability to open Candidate/Worker records directly to the [Summary] tab rather than the more usual 'CV&Skills' (Attributes) TAB. The new feature is controlled with parameter REC_E, Flag (26) which can be set to "S".

- The 'Change Owner Utility' option has been enhanced and now allows users to specify a cut-off date when re-allocating Booking Headers or Bookings (Shifts) to another UserID.

NOTE: In the case of booking headers, the entire range of the booking must be after the cut-off date in order to to re-allocate the record.

e.g. If a booking ran from 07/08/2023 - 17/09/2023, and bookings were moved using a cut-off date of 18/08/2023, then the booking header would not be re-allocated since some of the dates refer to a period before the cut-off date, and hence the WHOLE booking does not qualify to be moved.

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue when exporting Code tables directly into MS Excel. Now works as intended.

- Fixed an issue that could cause a crash when using Next/Previous after drilling in to a client from the [Woker History] tab of a temp worker.

- Fixed an issue with the way 'charge Hrs Inc. Adjustment' was calculated within Timesheet exports, when adding 'Other Adjustments'. The Other adjustments are now correctly taken account of.

- Fixed an issue that caused a crash when sending multiple OnSpec CVs from the [OnSpec] tab of a client.

- Fixed an issue that caused long calculation fields in Timesheet Exports to get truncated from row '100' onwards.

- Fixed an issue which prevented Docs from the [Placement] record being attached to emails generated from Match record workflow.

- Fixed an issue which meant that any Additional Invoice fields displayed on the Placement record were not correctly added to the "Total Inv" field displayed on the placement record.

- Fixed an issue that when updating status for candidates in a group, if the current status does not exist, the status is not updated. Now works as intended.

- Fixed an issue that meant 'Reference' compliance items did not colour-code the expiry date fields once expiry date had passed. (Disp;ay issue only.)

- Fixed an issue that allowed a CANCELLED booking to be replaced with a booking for a different period. System now warns if you try to replace an HOURLY booking with DAILY (and vice versa).

- Fixed an issue when opening a booking and selecting a single "DAY"; the Booking Entry screen should lock the dates to the selected day, which it now does.

- Fixed an issue with Import Client/Contact from Excel which means the summary at the end of the import process displayed and incorrect count of the number of records imported. (The import was correct, only the summary display was wrong.)

Release: (03/11/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.307

IMPORTANT INFO

Typical VPN providers include Norton, NORD VPN, Express VPN, Cyberghost, etc. Influence do not endorse or recommend any specific VPN.

(NB: Some mainland European locations are allowed, but a VPN is always preferred.)

Features

Candidate Planner view now allows adding/removal of Availability Markers.

The candidate planner, which is available via the small icon in the toolbar at the top of the candidate record was originally view only and simply allowed users to view the details of the planner for the specific candidate a few days either-side of 'Now'.

This has now been made interactive, and allows users to add availability markers via the compact view.

Also, it allows users to double-click and open bookings that are visible in the compact view. For more information search our knowledgebase for Candidate Availability Setting

The 'Other Info' fields on User Profile can now be re-lablled.

The five Other Info field at the right-hand side of the User Profile record can now be re-labelled. It is also possible to restrict the data type allowed for each of these fields (e.g. Only numeric, only Date or 'Free Text' )

This is controlled with some new Parameters

SYSTEM, GLOSSARY 3-7 - Used to specify the labels for Other Info 1-5

SYSTEM, FLAGS 14-18 - Used to restrict the Data Type (Date/Text/Number) for Other Info 1-5

SYSTEM, IMAGES 2-6 - If restricted to 'Numeric', then these are used to sepcify the Number format for Other Info 1-5

TIMESHEET ENTRY now allows individual users to control the number of 'Fixed Columns'

A new feature has been introduced to allow individual users to control the number of Fixed Columns within the TIMESHEET ENTRY screens. Scrolling right will leave a certain number of columns 'Fixed' whislt the others slide behind them.

The number of columns that are fixed by default, is controlled with parameter TEMPS, INTEGER(1)

The ability to edit the number of columns is controlled with parameter TEMPS, PRIORITY(2) - It is also possible to linka UAC (User Acess control) to this parameter to define a specific list of users that can do this, rather than rely on priority.

Changes to the way that the 'Company Owner' filter works on Planner and Summary 'View'

When filtering either the PLANNER, or the 'Summary' View of bookings, the Comp. Owner: filter will be applied as below

Ad-Hoc Bookings	will be considered if they are at a Client (Company) Where the Owner is the chosen UserID.
Bookings Linked to a TEMP Vacancy:	will be considered if: a) The Vacancy is owned by the chosen consultant <or> b) The Client (Company) where the vacancy exists is owned by the chosen consultant.

[Vacancies] workbench now has a column for "Last CV Sent" date.

On the [Vacancies] workbench it is now possible to add a collumn called Last CV Sent. It will display the date of the most recent "Status Change" where a match has been set to a status of "CV Sent".

The field is selected in the usual way, via the "Column Selection" window

DAILY RATES below Minimum (hourly) warning.

When using Daily Rates the system has now been enhanced to check these to ensure that it does not fall below the legal 'minimum wage' based on the equivalent hourly rate.

The system will look at the Minimum Pay Rates you have setup in the system in code table Min Pay Rates [231]

and ensure that based on the Start/End/Break the 'Daily' pay rate does not fall below the relevant minimum (hourly) pay rate, based on the age of the worker,.

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- MULTILINE BOOKING merge field, now allows the selection of Multiple Booking types,

e.g. [[MULTILINE=BOOKINGS;TYPE=CAN,CAW,CAL]]

- Minor changes to code lookups within Custom TS Export designed; now correctly looks up "additional numeric" fields for Rate codes held in Rates [217] code table.

- Client/Contact Import from Excel template has been enahnced, and now allows the A/C manager (Consultant) to be imported from the sheet - previously this was always set as the UserID of the person performing the import.

- New parameter to specify if bookings on the planner should be opened as "Day" or "Range" by default. [Planner, flag(8)]

- When adding client meetings (Added via the calendar icon in the toolbar) it is now possible to make it mandatory to specify a contact. If no contact has been chosen, the system will display a warning.

- When passing batches of people (contacts/canddidates) into the MACRO MANAGER for mass mailing, it is now possible to tick the Batch Mode [ ] option by default. This is activated with a new parameter JNL, FLAG(42)

IMPORTANT: We would recommend that this change is used with care! Activating this feature makes it far too easy to send out huge batches of emails, automatically without first checking the formatting of the email. We would always recommend ticking the 'Done' column for at least 1 of the emails to check it before clicking [Apply] to send the rest of teh batch.

Assumed prevention if not opted in to a policy, separate for Contact/Candidate

It is possible to link a POLICY to a COMMUNICATION METHOD. It is now possible to set things up so that if they have not explicitly opted IN to the policy, then they are assumed to have opted OUT. Where a person in both a candidate and a contact in the database, this assumed opt-out can be set to affect either this candidate record only, their contact record only, or both records.

Example:

A new contact Gary Smith is added to the database as a contact at a client. As well as a contact, he is also linked to a Candidate record, since he is looking for a new job.

Gary has not yet opted in to the 'SMS' policy which allows him to be sent SMS records.

The system can be set in 3 ways, until he decides to opt IN/OUT of policies.

Item	Details	Setting (Code table 450)
A	You cannot send him SMS messages at all	0
B	You cannot send SMS messages to him as a contact, but can send them to him as a candidate	1
C	You can send SMS messages to him as a Contact record, but not to him as a Candidate	2

This behaviour is controlled withing code table Data Consent [450], Extra Info [ ] and the column 'Prevent Object Type'

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue when searching the [Contacts] workbench using a combinations of Postcode Radius & Role. System now returns results as it should.

- Fixed an issue with Timesheets / Booking IDs. Previously there was a long-term 'bug' which meant bookings in the same week which were (correctly) assigned different Booking_IDs were 'combined' in the 'Combi Sheet' within Timesheet Entry.

In correcting this it changed the way the system worked and was a feature some clients had relied upon;

From this release users *may* need/want to review the setting of two parameters which are now correctly taken account of:

PAYROLLB, Flag(3) - Group by Booking_ID on Weekly TS

PAYROLLB, Flag(5) - New Bookings always get New GROUP

The most likely way these would be set is for them BOTH to be 'blank' - which should then behave in the most similar way to how it was before the 'correction' that occurred.

- Fixed an issue when changing a role in booking entry. If no rates cards are found then the rates grid i left the rates for the old role displayed. System now changes rates to £0.00 is a role with no rate card is selected (indicating to the user that rates need to be agreed or set as 'fixed rates' for this booking)

- Fixed an issue with MAP PINS from the planner, when viewing the location (Google Maps) for a Single candidate. System now correctly displays the map with the location.

- Fixed an issue when viewing the 'Worker History' tab of a client that could cause a <blank> 'Branch' column to be dispalyed in the worker History record.

- Fixed an issue with restricted hours. If a user is below the priorty level to over-ride the "Minimum Hours" warning, previously they were unable to book candidates if the default hours for a booking took the worker over the limit. Users are now WARNED that the booking will exceed the limit, but can continue and are able to reduce the hours before then making the bookimg.

e.g. Jack Smith has a 30Hr/Week limit, and has already been booked for 25Hrs.

Adding a new booking defaults the hours as 9am-5pm (8Hrs) ... Low-priority users can now amend the times to 9am-12pm (3Hrs) and would then be allowed to make the booking, since the total (25+3) does not exceed the 30Hr limit.

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Release: (04/08/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.216

UAC (User Access Control) can be used to control Edit of Booking Owner

The UAC (User Access Control) system has been extended to allow the setup of a specific list of users who are allowed to edit the 'Owner' of a booking (or set of bookings). If a UAC is created linked to the field BKHD_OWNER, then only those users specified on the UAC list are able to edit this field (provided parameter TEMPS, Flag(47) has been set.)

MARGIN REPORT - Option to display figures Inclusive/Exclusive of NI/WTD/Pension

The Contracts tab of the Margin Report has been enhanced to allow users to show margin based on the pay rate either including NI/WTD & Pernsion <or> excluding NI/WTD & Pension.

It is also possible to view the current values for NI/WTD/Pension using the [WTD/NI/Pen] button.

Filter TIMESHEET ENTRY by 'Booking Type' (if Multiple Booking Types exist)

It is now possible to filter the TIMESHEET ENTRY screens by Booking Type *if* multiple booking types exist. [This replaces the filter for 'Work Type' ]

The new facility to filter by Booking Type can be activated with parameter TEMPS, Flag(48) which should be set to B (for Booking Type)

TIMESHEET ENTRY now allows Multiple confirmation of Un-Timehseeted bookings to Clients/Contacts

It is now possible to use the Macro (⚙️) icon in the toolbat to send confirmations of bookings to Contacts from within [TIMESHEET ENTRY]. The new feature relies upon changes to the Multiline (Bookings) field and as such, will require users to create a specific template email in order to specify the contact.

NOTE: In order for bulk confirmation to Contacts, you must include 'CONTACT' as a parameter in the multiline, which only works when TIMESHEETS parameter is set to either Yes or No:

Example Merge field shown below:

Bookings with no Timesheet

[[MULTILINE=BOOKINGS;TIMESHEETS=N;CONTACT]] [[BKTS_DATE]] Role: [[BKTS_JOB_CODE$]] Start Time: [[BKTS_START_TIME]] End Time: [[BKTS_END_TIME]] Break: [[BKTS_MINS_BREAK]] Client: [[CMS_SITE_NAME$]] [[CMS_SITE_LOCAL$]]

[[/MULTILINE]]

[Compliance] filter from Candidate workbench now allows a single line for 'Checked & Expiring in under XX days'.

A new filter type has been added to the [Compliance] filters from the candidate workbench. This allows users to define a search using a SINGLE line of logic where previously two lines would have been needed.

This single criteria is the same as These two criteria combined

Days to Expiry (Checked) is less than 10 <==> Days to Expiry is less than 10 [AND]

Checked Equals Y

[Compliance] filter from Candidate workbench allows selection of all items from a 'GROUP' of compliance items.

The 'Compliance' column of the logic selection grid, now allows users to select a Group of compliance items. Groups are displayed at the bottom of the list in square brackets [xxxxxxx]. Once selected they will then be replaced with all the relevent items, each show as an individual row

Option to show 'AKA' field as a column in Timesheet Entry screen.

When using TIMESHEET ENTRY it is possible to display the 'AKA' field from the candidate record as an additional column next to the existing 'Worker' column.

The new feature is controlled with parameter TEMPS, Flag(46)

Warn about Zero (£0.00) Pay Rates on Booking

The ability to warn users if they are about to book a worker with a Zero Pay rate has now been extended. If any of the pay rates are £0.00 (Zero) then the system will display a warning to alert the user.

The feature is controlled with parameter TEMPS, Flag (40) - setting to 'A' will check 'All' Rates, setting to 'Y' will only check 'Basic' rate.

Rate Times taken from 'Parent' if none exist at Client

When using Timed Rates it is now possible to set up the system so that if there are no Rate Times configured for the Client record itself, then it will take the Rate Times from the Parent instead (If using Parent/Subsidiary)

Please note: This is the rate times only, and not the rates themselves. You may wish to use Global Rates if wanting to setup rate cards that are shared by multiple companies

The new feature is activated with parameter TEMPS, Flag(44)

User Access Control (UAC) Can now be used to Restrict access to Contact Tickboxes (as seen on [Summary] tab of Candidates.)

It is now possible to setup a User Access Control record, to limit which users are able to tick any of the 20 tickboxes that can be added to the [Summary] tab of candidates.

Access can be granted as Read-Only / No-Access

Read only - Check box greyed out; No Access - Check Box hidden

Timesheet Entry - All Offices [ ]

Within the TIMESHEET ENTRY screen, for systems that are Multi-Office it is now possible to display timesheet records from "All" offices rather than simply the 'selected' office as displayed at the bottom of the screen (See below)

The new feature is activated with parameter PAYROLLB, Flag(32)

Improvements to Import Candidates from Excel and Import Clients/Contacts from Excel

When importing records from excel sheets, the system now displays an improved summary screen at the end of the process to indicate what has been loaded.

Example of Import Candidates from Excel

Example of Import Clients/Contacts from Excel

This additional information helps confirm that the import has completed.

Text Notes (icon) available in AWR Record

It is now possible to define a Free Text / notes field linked to the AWR record.

Text added to an AWR record in this way, is then available as a MERGE field to be used on Templates/Emails if necessary.

(Technical Note: Can be added to code table Free Text Code [230] - using object type AWR )

New Merge field for 'Stage Notes'

If you are using compliance items and have setup Stages & Stage Notes for any of these items, it is not possible to pull-through these 'Stage Notes' as a merge field onto email & Journal templates.

{Important: If using 'Stage Notes' as a merge field, it must be included as part of a Multi-line field within the template}

Template Maintenance - Templates can be assigned to a TEAM, and set to "Disabled" to hide.

Within the TEMPLATE EDITOR, two new features have been introduced.

1. Templates can be assigned to a TEAM - and thus will appear only for Users who are part of the relevant TEAM. {Teams for users are set on their User ID within User Profiles}

2. Templates can be set as Disabled [ ] - When a template is disabled it will be hidden from users, but is still accessible via Maintenance > Tools > Template Maintenance so can be re-enabled if required at a later date.

NOTE: After the introduction of this feature, it is only possible to DELETE a template if it has been set as Disabled [ ] first.

Candidate Reset Status Daemon (Inc. statuses to Ignore)

It is possible to setup an automatic process (Daemon) that will check the STATUS of existing candidates, and adjust those that have not been booked for a period of time.

Example: "LIVE" candidates that have not been booked for 8-weeks, will have their status changed to 'HOLD'. If they are not booked for a further 10-weeks, then their status will be changed to NFA (Archived).

The feature is controlled with several parameters, that specify which statuses are checked, what they get moved to, and what the periods of time are.

TEMPS, TEXT (4-8)

4) Cand Status for Working - Default is LIVE

5) Cand Status check for final status - Default is HOLD (This is/are the status(es) that are checked before changing to the final status after Temps, Integer(4) weeks of no status change)

6) Candidate Status for Recent Work (The status indicating that candidates have worked recently i.e. within XX weeks)

7) On Hold Cand Status - Default is HOLD (Status to set to if no bookings in 8 weeks) - It is what candidates are set to.

8) Final Cand Status (P45/DEL) - Default is DEL

TEMPS, INTEGER (2-4)

2) Number of weeks meaning Recent Work - Defaults to 8

3) Weeks to ignore new cands - Defaults to 8

4) Weeks On Hold to final status - Default to 8

NEW PARAMETER - TEMPS - FREE TEXT 3 - Cand Status to Ignore on Status Update  Any statuses listed here will be totally ignored by any of the above status changes, and will never be touched.  You can list multiple statuses, separated by commas.

Timesheet Portal Integration for Contract Placements

The integration with Timesheet Portal for online timesheets has been extended to include CONTRACT Placements, in addition to the existing integration for Temporary Bookings.

In the case of Contract Placements, it is possible to place a worker into a contract vacancy and then send the details to TSP to allow online entry of the timesheets. This timesheet information is retrieved and displayed on the [Timesheets] tab within the contract in Influence.

For more information, please contact the Influence sales team on: 01372 365 716

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- CV Text search from the candidates workbench will now replace MS Word 'smart quotes' with straight quotes. {which prevents errors in the MS indexing service}
[Previously caused an issue if a user copied a Boolean text search such as "Credit Control" and "Sage Payroll" from MS Word]

- The [Journals] tab of Assignments (headhunts) has been enhanced and now allows users to filter the displayed journals by Method

- The 'century threshold' for date a can now be changed. By default this was set as '31 But can now be changed; To accept the new threshold will require users to download the latest K7Connector, which can be obtained from www.influence-it.co.uk/downloads

After the new client, the threshold for customers on our Direct servers will be '89.

- Non-Hrs rates can be defaulted as either ZERO or ONE, within the booking Entry Form. This is not controlled with a new parameter TEMPS, Flag(45). The default setting for the system going forward will be for non-hours rates to default through as zero (0).

- Broadbean/Ad-courier tab now warns of incorrect login credentials.

- New parameter added to WARN if no email signature has been selected. When sending an email (Journal) from Influence, the system will warn the user if they have not selected a valid email signature. (Parameter JNL, Flag(42) is the new item to control this).

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue that could cause a crash when opening a folder from the [Docs] tab of a Match record.

- Fixed an issue that could cause the system to fail to pass over the contact email address when adding an 'Appointment' using the Calendar icon at the top of a Client record.

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Release: (18/05/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.138

Features

New 'First Booked', 'Last Booked' and 'Bookings Exist' searches added to [Companies] workbench

The 'Date Type' criteria at the top of the [Companies] workbench has been extended to allow searching by 3 new Date Types; First booked, Last booked and Bookings exist.

Export Consultant Metrics now has option to display/include Targets

The option to export consultant metrics found in Maintenance > Reporting Tools > Export Consultant Metrics, now has the option to include any Targets that have been set as part of the grid.

The figures can then be exported to MS Excel for further analysis.

User "All Offices" tick box

Within Maintenance > Setup > User Profiles, when using a Multi-Office system, it is now possible to set the default office for a user, and also specify that they should have access to 'All offices'.

(If the user should only have access to selected offices, please leave 'Access All Offices' tick-box [ ] unticked, and specify individual offices using the Allowed Offices selection below.)

The two social network fields on the candidate record now allow copy/paste of MIXED CASE URL's, for case-sensitive sites, such as YouTube. ▶️

Searching for Vacancies from the [MATCH] tab of a candidate now allows search of 'Their Ref' field.

When using the [NEW] button at the bottom left of the [MATCH] tab of a candidate to search for vacancies, the criteria labelled Desc/Ref now searches the 'Their Ref' field from the vacancy as well as the 'Description' of the vacancy.

PLANNER Customisation - Additional fields can now be added to the right of the Planner view.

When viewing the planner, it is now possible to build your own Styles and show additional fields from the Candidate (or Contact, CTD or Policy files) to the right of the main PLANNER view.

To add new fields simply click the Grid Style Selection icon at the top right, and then click the green ➕ to build a new style.

New Pay Type (ELS) - Added to Pay Types [166] code table

The ability to add a new pay type that behaves differently that PAYE, Ltd or Umbrella has been added to the Pay_Types [166] code table. It is enabled with Extra_numeric (3) and should be set to value of 4.00

The new Pay type of "ELS" (type 4) behaves as follows;

- When exported to TEMPAID, it will be seen as if it were a LTD Company

- When making bookings at a client it is seen/treated as if it were PAYE (thus allowing work at GLA sites, or sites restricted to PAYE only workers)

- When sending Assignment confirmations, the 'bcc' contact from the 'umbrella' company will be cc'd on the confirmation.

- Unlike Umbrella companies, when editing the Pay Type details on the candidate record, the Bank Account details will be editable (although the Bank A/c Name will default to the worker name.)

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- The [SETUP] button at the bottom left of the CV&Skills tab of a candidate now has a hover-tip explaining that it will open the Attributes Setup facility.

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue with Booking rates when editing a single day within a pattern booking. Now allows one day to have independent rates from all other days in the pattern.

- Fixed an issue with the [Reset Hours] button in TIMESHEET ENTRY which could cause the system to allocate hours to non-working days.

- Fixed an issue when amending vacancy rates (Temp Vacancies) - Editing rates on existing TEMP vacancy will correctly cascade through future bookings, but leave existing (timesheeted) entries 'as was'.

- Fixed an issue affecting colours of cells when Candidate RAG report was exported to MS Excel; the colouring of cells now correctly reflects those of the on-screen report.

- Fixed an issue on the planner; If a booking (BKD) is added on-top of an existing 'marker' (such as AM available, or PM Available) then they system should inherit the times for the "DAY" shift from the selected client.

- Fixed some glitches with timed rates when applying complex time structures,

Back to Top

Release: (31/03/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.090

Features

Automatic Email when Vacancy Status changed from Selected Statuses

A new feature has been introduced to allow users to specify that the system should offer an email (journal) to the vacancy contact whenever a vacancy is moved off of certain statuses.

Against each Vacancy Status Code [904] is is possible to specify a *Call Type and to say whether the system should create an email when a vacancy is changed TO the selected status changed FROM the selected status.

Example

You may wish to get the system to pop-up an email template every time a vacancy is changed OFF of "LIVE" status so that you can contact the client and ask them for feedback about your performance.

Please follow the link below for more information:

https://influence-it.kayako.com/article/180-vacancy-status-updating-match-status

Booking owner held at SHIFT (day) level

Normally, when a booking is made the 'Owner' is assigned to the whole set of bookings (e.g. If SAM made a booking from Mon-Thur, all 4 shifts would be assigned one booking Ref (such as 00012587) and SAM would be set as the 'Owner' for this set of bookings

A new parameter has been added to allow the system to hold the booking owner at the 'Day' (shift) level (as well as for the overall set). So it is possible to open the Tuesday and set the Owner of 'Tuesday' to be DAVE.

[Booking Set {00012587} Mon-Thur: Owner = SAM]

Individual Shifts >> [Mon/SAM] [Tue/DAVE] [Wed/SAM] [Thur/SAM]

New Parameter(s)

TEMPS Flag 41 - Booking owner held on booking record

Booking Role Automatically Set to Candidate "Current" Role

A New parameter has been introduced to set the 'Booking' role to be the Current role of the selected candidate. This is useful in situations where you have 'Bands' for a Role.

e.g. If you have roles of RGN, RGN3, RNG4, RGN5 (Band3, 4 & 5) - you can search for workers who have a 'sought' role of RGN, and then when you select a specific candidate the role will change to match their 'current' role.

Parameter TEMPS, Flag(42) activates the new feature.

Booking text copied when bookings are copied using the Planner.

It is possible to use Select/Copy/Paste on the [Planner] to copy bookings from one week to the next. When these bookings are copies it is now possible to copy any associated NOTES along with the bookings.

There is a new parameter that controls which Text will be copied along with the bookings. Parameter TEMPS, Flag(43) controls this.

Setting	Details
N	No text is copied. (works as it does now)
K	This copies the BooKing 'Header' Text. This is the text associated with the 'whole' booking so a 3-day booking might have one set of 'Header' text for all 3 days
S	This copies the Shift Text. This is the text associated with a specific DAY - e.g. a 3 Day booking might have some text associated with ONE of the 3 Days, and when copying the bookings, that text would be copied to the corresponding Day. e.g. Text from Wed 8th Mar would be copied forward to Wed 15th March
B	Both. This will copy both the BooKing header text the Shift text for the set of bookings being copied.

Filter TIMESHEET ENTRY based on the User ID who actually entered the Timesheet.

A new feature has been added to TIMESHEET ENTRY that allows users to filter the details based upon who has actually entered the Timesheet. There is a new drop-down for User ID next to the Entered Timesheets ( ) radio button

Different TIMESHEET Week-start by Office.

If you are running a Multi-Office system in Influence, then it is now possible to have a different Default Week-Start for each of your "Offices". E.g. The 'Aviation' Office might have the system set with a week-start of Sunday, whereas your DRIVING office might have a week-start of Monday.

A new parameter controls the feature

PAYROLL - Flag 60 - Use Week Begins from Offices(Code 005)

To set the actual week-start, open the OFFICES[005] code table and use the 'Extra Info [ ]' to set the required week-start day.

Candidate 'Last Contact date' / 'Last Contact Method' added to [Contracts] workbench

Two new columns have been made available to the [Contracts] workbench; these are Last Contact Date and Last Contact Method.

The information displayed in the new columns relates to the CANDIDATE who is currently placed/working in this contract, and is the last date/method that they were contacted (based on the usual 'Last contact Date' rules for methods/types).

Google Map Pins added to older {Searching} system.

For those customer that still use the older [Searching] part of the system to run Candidate/Contact/Client searches, the ability to shows the results of the search on Google Maps as pins has been added to the older searching.

Clicking the Map Pins icon in the toolbar will display the results on Google Maps.

NOTE: In order to use the feature, users must download the Chromium Shim for KClient.
The Chromium shim can be found on our downloads area - Please contact Customer support if you do not have this. {support@influence-it.com}

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- Added a new field to Custom Timesheet Export for Parent Company Name.

- Now possible to show [TASKS] workbench within the [TEMP] Centre. {Previously TASKS were only shown on the main [Workbench] area }

- Technical changes made to improve capture tool when used with Eircode (Irish postcode equivalent) - new parameter WORKBENCH Flag (20) - Check for Eire/Irish Postcodes.

- Improved API posting to TSP (Timesheet portal) - improved record locking during booking posting phase.

Bug Fixes

- Corrected an issue when Bus Area was set as a mandatory field on Vacancy records. This is now correctly enforced in all situations.

- Fixed an issue which could cause PO Numbers to get out of sync between TS Entry / Booking Entry. System now correctly writes the PO Number to both areas.

Back to Top

Release: (10/02/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.041

Features

Text Notes can now have 'Default' (Template) text

The text notes seen at the top of objects (Candidates, Client, Vacancies) can now have default Template text. Text is added via code table FREE TEXT [230]

To add the 'default' text (Template) - Go to Maintenance > Setup > Code Tables.
Open code table Free Text [230] and click the green + at the right-hand side. Any text added will become the Default/Template.

Highlight Compliance items with Future Start Date

The [Compliance] tab of a candidate will now highlight any item which has a start date in the future. This makes it easier to see areas where a candidate is not compliant yet

Enhancement to Geonames lookup (Foreign Postcodes)

The geo-location lookup that it used to determine latitude/Longitude has been enhanced, and two new parameters added for Default Country, and Characters from Postcode.

For some countries (such as Ireland) it is best to send only the first-3 characters of the postcode to ensure Lat/Long is found.

NEW PARAMETERS

GEO, TEXT(2) - Default Country
GEO, INTEGER(3) - Chars to use from Postcode

Additional MERGE fields for Journals {email}

Some new Merge Fields have been made available to email templates to allow users to pull in details of Parent companies (Applicable to clients who have had a parent organisation recorded).

New fields are: Parent Company Address, Parent Company Telephone No., Parent Company Web Site.

The fields can be found in the [Special Fields] section at the left of the Template Editor screen.

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

Minor changes to the way emails are passed to Outlook in the case that someone has multiple accounts in MS Outlook. (Specifies default email, which was changed by Microsoft) - Item_Handle.SendUsingAccount$ = FLD(Usr_Row$.usr_USR_EMAIL$)

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue with SMS Scheduling, that means scheduled times were ignored when used from [Action] button on [MATCHES] tab of a vacancy.

Fixed an issue when filtering [Planner] using Client Status - now shows items as it should in all cases. (Streamline)

Back to Top

Release: (13/01/2023) Ver: 1.00.23.013

Features

AWR Report - Improved filters and Macro manager (send emails to Contact/Candidate)

The AWR report has been enhanced. There are now additional filters on the report for Pay Type, Pay Period, Bookings This Week, etc. There is also the ability to send emails to Contacts/Candidates from the report using the Macro manager.

For more information about the new features see the full support article HERE

Improved Signature Picker - ? Search

The Signature Picker has been improved. Typing ? will return a list of valid email signatures from MS Outlook for the user to choose.

1) Open the Signature Picker

2) Type ? and press the 'Tab' button on your keyboard.

3) You will be presented with a list of valid email signatures from MS Outlook, double-click to choose the signature and click OK.

Additional merge fields available for Journal Templates

Several additional merge fields have been made available in the Calculated Booking Fields section to the left of Template Maintenance so they can be added to email templates. The new fields are shown below.

NI Value	[[BKG_NI]]
Pension Value	[[BKG_PENSION]]
WTD Value	[[BKG_WTD]]
Pay with NI	[[BKG_TOT_NI]]
Pay with Pension	[[BKG_TOT_PENSION]]
Pay with WTD	[[BKG_TOT_WTD]]
Pay with WTD + NI	[[BKG_TOT_ALL]]
Pay with WTD + NI + Pension	[[BKG_TOT_ALL_PEN]]
Margin	[[BKG_MARGIN]]

Freeze Columns feature added to Candidate 'RAG' report

When running the candidate RAG report (Red/Amber/Green - Compliance) the system now allows users to specify the number of 'freeze' columns when passed to MS Excel.

Timesheet Entry - Improved chasing features.

From within Timesheet Entry it is possible to see details of Un-Entered Timesheets. The details of these workers can be passed to the Macro Manager, and it is now possible to use a Multiline field to show details of the specific sites/timesheets that are yet to be returned.

Additional Bank Holiday Dates allowed

Currently the system can automatically lookup Bank Holiday Dates for England, Scotland or Northern Ireland in order to know on which dates to apply Bank Holiday rates to bookings. It is now possible to manually specify additional dates where you want rates to apply. {This is sometimes useful where days like Xmas fall on a Sat/Sun and additional days are given}

To turn on the Additional Bank Holiday dates, set parameter PAYROLL, FLAG(59) = Y

The Dates themselves can be specified using Maintenance > Setup > Parameters, then set the dates using PAYROLL, Date (1-10)

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

Compliance Page Drag/Drop Improvements

The drag/drop of items onto the [Compliance] tab of a candidate has been improved. If one document/file has been used to satisfy multiple compliance items, then if a new version of the document with the same file name is uploaded, but only used for some of the items, then the new document will be given a unique name, so that the existing items remain linked to the original version of the file, whilst the updated items are linked to the new version.

e.g. Document-A.txt was originally used to satisfy 5 x compliance items (Comply1, Comply2, Comply3, Comply4 & Comply5)

A new version of Document-A.txt is uploaded, but only used to update Items 1 and 4. These two items would reflect that they are using the 'new' version of this document - i.e.

ITEM	NAME OF DOCUMENT/FILE
Comply 1	Document-A(1).txt (This points at the 'new' version of the file)
Comply 2	Document-A.txt
Comply 3	Document-A.txt
Comply 4	Document-A(1).txt (This points at the 'new' version of the file)
Comply 5	Document-A.txt