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 2022-Dec 2022)

For older release notes click HERE (Jan 2023-Dec 2023)

RELEASE NOTES:  Jan-Dec 2024

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• (Coming soon) Next Release: 
  • Features
  • TBC 
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments
• Release: (15/11/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.320
  • Features
  • New Scheduling feature for individual SMS messages.
  • New Client/Candidate Rota Export
  • New 'Where Worked' column available to [Compliance] workbench.
  • New 'Reports To' column added to [Contact] Workbench
  • Timesheet Portal Integration - Option to Post billing contact (or not)
  • BooKing Type (Availability Marker) now allow Start Time and End Time
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments
• Release: (18/10/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.292
  • Features
  • Compliance percentage on workbench and Compliance tab. (corrected) 
  • Apply Mandatory PO flag to Vacancy Placements
  • Compliance Filters/Criteria added to Planner
  • Planner to show Working Hours for Temp (in-view days)
  • Enhanced Filters/Criteria added to Planner
  • Ability to Hide/Disable 2nd and 3rd Signers when using Signable
  • Cognito Timesheets - Merge field for Form now accommodates "&" in Client Name
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments
• Release: (06/09/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.250
  • Features
  • Availability bookings displayed on Summary view (planner)
  • TIMESHEET Entry allows filtration by Parent.
  • Candidate/Client RAG report allows creation of GROUPS
  • Selectable rates restricted to those on 'Rate Card' only.
  • WhatsApp Web link - Opt out via Consent Centre
  • Selectable Rates now adapt to Role automatically
  • Candidate to show 'Interview Method' at top right (replaces 'Currency' field)
  • Nominated UserIDs to manage User Profiles
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments
• Release: (16/08/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.229
  • Features
  • Setup Button available from Candidate [Compliance] tab
  • Additional filter for 'Approval Method' in Timesheet Entry
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments
  • Improved document deletion logging
  • Ability to 'Default' Text onto the [AdCourier] (Broadbean) tab of a Vacancy.
• Release: (26/07/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.208
  • Features
  • Drag/Drop Returned contracts to Auto-Store and Set Return Date
  • WhatsApp Feature (Web Link)
  • New Pay Type - PAYE (Rolled-Up)
  • UAC (User Access Control) now allows 'Only when Blank' control for fields
  • Add candidate compliance documents to Attachment Buffer (paperclip) 
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments
• Release: (04/06/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.156
  • Features
  • Delete Client Documents (Allow All)
  • Unlimited length Attachments for Journals
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments
• Release: (03/05/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.124
• Features
  • More Filters - TIMESHEET ENTRY
  • Ad-Hoc filters added to PLANNER
  • Compliance Item marked as N/A (Not Applicable)
  • Cognito Timesheets - 1 Timesheet per Day
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments
• Release: (10/04/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.101
  • Features
  • Default Purchase Order No., can be stored on site, and used on Vacancies/Bookings.
  • Maximum Weekly Hrs for TEMP Vacancy.
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments
• Release: (28/03/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.088
  • Features
  • Set Values for Group, extended to allow setting of 'Company Trade Details'
  • Compliance filters/Shared Compliance filters can now be saved to [Candidate] workbench
  • HOME page remembers last tab from previous login
  • Enhanced Reference Chasing - (Now allows Re-Send of original reference request email)
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments
• Release: (01/02/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.032
  •  
  • Features
  • New Compliance & Reference Chase Module.
  • Candidate Compliance Tab indicates Mandatory/Warnable/Optional items 
  • Candidate Compliance Tab - filter items by ROLE 
  • Margin Report now takes account of Consultant Splits for Temp Bookings
  • Create GROUP of Clients based on list of A/C Codes or Uniq_IDs
  • Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

(Coming soon) Next Release: 

Details of the next release will be shown below.

Features

Increased length for Health & Safety Text (Yellow Triangle) 

The Health & Safety risks and action that can be recorded using the Yellow Triangle ⚠️ in the toolbar of a client, previously allowed user to store upto 100 characters of additional text against each item.

This has now been extended, and clicking the green ➕ at the right of the Risk/Action now allows an unlimited amount of text to be stored.

This additional health & Safety text is available to merge onto documents & emails, such as assignment letters and booking confirmations, using the merge field [[TXT_H_AND_S_COMP_HANDOUT$]]  

Custom labels for 'Other Consultant' on [Misc] tab of Client record.

On the [MISC] tab of a Company record in Influence, it is possible to record up to 10 'other consultants' who may be involved or have an interest in this particular company. It is now possible to re-label each of these 10 consultants choices rather than just consultant1, 2, 3...etc.

The new feature is set using parameters RECF, Glossary (3-12) - If set, then the relevant label will be displayed.

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- The Candidate 'Calendar' has been enhanced. If there is both a 'Calendar Marker' (such as Holiday) and also something from the PLANNER which 'overlaps' into the day, the system now gies the option to 'remove' the calendar marker first, before then allowing the user to view the Planner item.

e.g. Thur 12th Dec, there is a booking cancellation starting at 20:00 until 07:00  (i.e. Friday 'am')

On Friday 13th Dec there is a 'Holiday' marker, but the Cancellation record  above 'overlaps' this.

When clicking on Fri-13-Dec, users are now offered the chance to remove the holiday marker <or> to continue and view the Planner to see that is happening on Friday (i.e. the 'rolled-over' 

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue that could cause a crash when opening the [TASKS] workbench directly from the Temp Centre.

- Fixed an issue which would cause changes to the 'Default' search on workbenches, when using the 'clear selection' button any filters were saved into the default view (e.g. searching for a specific distance from a postcode, would then always be stored as part of the 'default' view).

Release: (15/11/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.320

Features

New Scheduling feature for individual SMS messages.

For a while now, Influence has had the ability to schedule batches of SMS messages, so that they are sent "out of hours". When using the macro manager to send a batch of SMS messages you can delay the 'send' time. This feature has now been extended to individual SMS messages, so if you open a candidate/worker record, click the SMS icon to send a message, you can now choose the Date/Time for the message to be delivered.

NOTE: As previously, this facility is only available when using Firetext as your SMS service provider - the feature is not available with other (historic) SMS providers linked to Influence.

[If you are not using Firetext as your SMS provider, but would like the facility, please contact our sales team.]

New Client/Candidate Rota Export

In this release, a new feature has been introduced to allow the export of Candidate/Client booking information as a ROTA. The ROTA is a monthly view of the booking and availability. It is exported to MS excel as a calendar/monthly view.

To generate the Rota, simply go to the [Bookings] tab of the Worker (or Client) and click the ROTA button at the bottom-right.

The system will prompt for a Month/Year and then export the info into MS Excel.

Example above shows a typical Candidate Rota export, showing Bookings and Availability markers.

For more info about ROTA export, please see our support article and search for ROTA Export.

New 'Where Worked' column available to [Compliance] workbench.

When using the compliance workbench (available via Admin >> Compliance) it is now possible to add a new column to the display, labelled Where Work. This will display a list of companies at which the candidate has worked during the selected period, along with the date of the first/last booking that occurred within the selected period.

(See screenshot below)

New 'Reports To' column added to [Contact] Workbench

The Contact workbench now has a new calculated column which can be added to the display, for "Reports To"

Any contacts who have had their "Reports To" contact set will display the relevant name of the person to whom they report.

The new column can be added to the display in the same way as any other columns, using the "Favourite Column Selection" option at the top right of the workbench.

Timesheet Portal Integration - Option to Post billing contact (or not)

When using Influence with Timesheet Portal (TSP), our preferred online timesheet provider, it is normal that any bookings that are confirmed to the worker in Influence send details of the Billing Contact to TSP. There is also a separate Invoice Contact in TSP, so in some instances you may not want the system to send details of the billing contact, as they also receive copies of any invoices generated from TSP.

There is a new parameter, 

TSPORTAL Flag 26 - Post Invoice Contact - BillingContactUserCode

Booking Type (Availability Marker) now allow Start Time and End Time

When using the planner, it has been possible to setup Availability Markers to visually indicate when workers are available (or not), e.g. AM, PM, All_Day, etc.  Previously the  Start/End times for these markers were set when the booking type was defined. From this release, it is possible to amend/edit the Start Time/End time directly within the marker when it is added to the planner.

The default length for the marker is set within the Booking Type definitions, but can be changed each time that the marker is added to the [Planner]

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- When opening records (Companies, Candidates, Vacancies) the document transaction log can take a while to open. When using a client record as a "Holding" area for document attachments used on mailshots, this can lead to enormous lists of transactions. Parameter Journal, Integer(20) can be used to limit the number of transactions which are read/displayed.

e.g.

Setting this to 500, will only read and display the 500 most recent transactions, which will speed-up record opening in these instances.

- The Quick Search tool (?) now searches for Referees as well as standard 'Contacts' at sites. They will show as contact records, but with no 'company' set.

- Amended the 'Portal XML export' option to include two additional tags. The *.XML file produced when exporting candidates will now contain tags for <ENQ_SRC> and <ENQ_SRC_Description>

- Amended the 'Knowledgebase' tab of the HOME page. There is now a button to open the Knowledgebase, rather than a 'preview' of the page itself. This allows for more reliable opening of the page on some networks/systems.

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue when making bookings via the planner, using the [...] to search for client after entering no details. System now correctly pulls-through rates into the two 'rates' fields in the booking entry form, as well as into the main 'grid' of rates.

- Fixed an issue which prevented the creation of MATCHES from a group of 'Selected' candidates. The system reported that the 'Group' was empty. System now correctly allows matches to be created against the vacancy for the selected candidates.

- When using the options to import Clients/Contacts or Candidates from an excel sheet, the system now analyses the email column, and will strip any trailing "non-alpha" characters from the incoming data, leading to more robust imports, even with poor quality data.  e.g.

[email protected]  =>> [email protected]

[email protected]_56%  ==> [email protected]      etc, etc.

- Fixed an issue when using a Map Link within a multi-line merge field. System was resolving only one of the links into a clickable map link, but now correctly resolves all links.

- When adding a new vacancy using the [NEW] button at the bottom left of [Vacancy] workbench, the 'CVs To' fields did not work. This has now been corrected and selecting the "CVs To" contact when adding the vacancy records this on the vacancy as expected.

- Corrected an issue with the GDPR/Padlock feature for Referees. Now, if a contact is set with the importance of 'Referee' then the GDPR/Padlock icon is available via the toolbar of their record.

- Sometimes when adding a booking on top of an existing 'Availability Marker' using the planner, the system could show an incorrect warning "Cannot change contact on a single day of a booking" - This was caused by multiple availabilities with the same booking_ID. 

The incorrect warning message no longer appears, and bookings are allowed as they should be. 

Release: (18/10/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.292

Features

Compliance percentage on workbench and Compliance tab. (corrected) 

The ability to show a compliance %age on the Compliance tab of a candidate has been updated. It to calculates the %age based on their MAIN role. (as seen at the top right of the candidate record)

Users can also use the drop-down on the [Compliance] tab to see how compliant workers would be for other roles.

    Finally, it is possible to show this compliance %age as a column on the main [candidate] workbench,

There are several parameters controlling how the calculation of Compliance %ages works.

Apply Mandatory PO flag to Vacancy Placements

Originally the system would check the Client SITE to decide if Purchase Orders (PO) were mandatory for Temp Bookings. It has now been extended to apply to Placements made for Perm or Contract Vacancies.

There are two places that can be checked to determine if a Purchase Order (PO) is mandatory when making a Placement.

The system can either look at the SITE, and check the details on the [Accounts] tab <or>taken from the [Company] sub-tab of the Placement record >> See below.

Taken from SITE (Placement, flag(55) set to S )

<OR> taken from Placement (Parameter Placement, flag(55) set to P )

NEW PARAMETER(S)

PLACEMENT Flag 54 - Check Mandatory PO Site Flag on Placements.   - This turns on the new checks for 'Placements'.

PLACEMENT Flag 55 - Check PO Flag on Placements or Site. - This specifies which flag to check, site or placement.

PLACEMENT  Integer 14 - Workflow Sequence to check PO Number. - This specified where along the vacancy workflow the check gets applied.

Ability to Show/Hide Role/Employer name as part of Candidate name on Workbench

A new parameter has been introduced to control whether the 'Name' field of the [Candidate] workbench will display the Employer Name, Role, 'Both' or neither.

By default the system will show both pieces of Info, but they can be removed/hidden if desired.

New parameter REC, Flag(57) controls this. 

Settings available are :  E - Employer, R - Role, B - Both, N - Name

Compliance Filters/Criteria added to Planner

The [Planner] workbench now allows users to create and save Compliance filters. Any compliance filters created via the Planner will be available on the Candidate workbench and vice versa.  

(NB Filters added via the planner will not show on the Candidate workbench until the next login.)

Planner to show Working Hours for Temp (in-view days)

The [Planner] workbench now has the ability to show the total number of 'Working hours 'for each candidate for the days in view. The feature can be activated with parameter as below.

PROFESSWB - Flag 33 - Show Hours booked on Planner

Hours are shown in decimal e.g. 7Hrs 18mins will be displayed as 7.30Hrs, 7Hrs 30Mins will show as 7.5Hrs

NOTE: In the case of any 'Daily rate bookings, the system will calculate the hours using Start/end/break.

Enhanced Filters/Criteria added to Planner

The [Planner] workbench now allows users to create and save specific 'enhanced' filters. Any enhanced filters created via the Planner will be available on the Candidate workbench and vice versa.  

(NB: Filters added via the Master Planner will not show on the Candidate workbench until the next login.)

Ability to Hide/Disable 2nd and 3rd Signers when using Signable

When using Signable the system will display a screen to select up-to 3 Signers for the document. It is now possible to DISABLE any (or all) of the 3 Signers/CC contacts. {If you do not use these for any of the documents, then they will not be needed, so disabling them will stop users choosing them by mistake, prior to sending the document for e-signature.}

Parameters E-SIGNAT (5-10) control this.

NOTE: Turning off signers using these parameters will affect all signable documents generated from influence.

Cognito Timesheets - Merge field for Form now accommodates "&" in Client Name

When using Cognito Timesheets the 'merge field' that is used to open & Pre-populate the timesheet form did not work if the Client name contained '&' e.g.  Hayter & Smith

The merge field now contains an element TS_SITE_NAME#, and this will turn the '&' into the word 'and'.

i.e. Big&Tall Ltd will be passed to the timesheet form as BigandTall Ltd

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

-There are two new parameters added to specify the Priority Level needed for Set Values and Set Status for GROUPS.

Parameter GROUPS, Priority(1) specified the level needed to SET VALUES for the members of a GROUP. (This is used in addition to parameter Workbench, Text(4) which specifies a single UserID that is able to use 'Set Values' within a GROUP.

Parameter GROUPS, Priority(2) specified the level needed to SET STATUS for the members of a GROUP.  

It is possible to link either of these Priority parameters to a User Access Control (UAC) and specify a specific List of users that can perform these actions, instead of purely relying on Priority level.

In both instance, the UserID "ADM" is always allowed to Set Values and Set Status for GROUPS.

- Added a new 'calculated' field to the Excel Exports from TIMESHEET ENTRY for 'Booking Owner'. The new calculated field will take account of the booking owner from TEMP Vacancies (Vacancy Owner), Ad-hoc bookings, or bookings added via 'Requirements'

- The roll-out for parameter REC_C, Text(17) that is used to help identify/parse mobile numbers from Cvs that are dragged/dropped has been amended. It now includes international formats such as +44 (0) 7.... and +44 7, etc.

This should help the system to better identify/extract candidate mobile telephone numbers from CVs.

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue that meant that the Status column was not always shown in the RAG report, even if activated via parameter RECD, Flag(29). The system now correctly displays the Status column, even when the selected status only has 1 synonym.

- Fixed an issue with Favourite views, which meant that changes to the "Default" view were not fully saved after a re-start. System now correctly retains all changes to the Default view on workbenches

- Fixed an issue with dependant items on compliance. Setting an items to NA (Not applicable) is now treated as a valid choice with regard to other dependent items.

Release: (06/09/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.250

Features

Availability bookings displayed on Summary view (planner)

The 'Summary' view for bookings now includes the ability to display 'Availability' bookings. Previously only working time bookings were displayed as part of the summary, but there is now an option to display 'Availability' markers as part of the summary. The summary view can be exported to Excel if needed, using the icon at the top-right.

NOTE: This is only applicable for availability types which have been set AT A SPECIFIC CLIENT (Similar to the way that a working time booking would be at a specific client).

Generic 'availability' added to the Master Planner will not show here.

TIMESHEET Entry allows filtration by Parent.

If using the Parent/Subsidiary feature, then the TIMESHEET ENTRY module allows the timesheets to be filtered based on PARENT. Simply select the Company as the parent organisation and then choose the 'Branch' as All Subsidiaries. 

You will then see the timesheets for any companies set as subsidiaries of that parent organisation.

Tip: This is often useful in healthcare scenarios where Trusts are set as parents, and hospitals and treatment centres are organisations under the parent Trust.

Candidate/Client RAG report allows creation of GROUPS

Both the Candidate RAG report and Client RAG report (compliance) now allow user to create a GROUP of the record that have been displayed. It is possible to filter the list and then use the filtered list to create a GROUP.

Once the GROUP has been created, it can then be used to communicate (mailshot) with all the members of the GROUP, in the usual way.

Selectable rates restricted to those on 'Rate Card' only.

A new parameter has been introduced for use when using 'Selectable Rates' that will restrict what gets pulled-through into the booking entry screen.

Typically, if a client record has several selectable rates defined on the RATES tab, then all of the rates will be pulled-through to the booking entry screen.

However, if parameter PayrollB, flag(51) is set to C then only rates defined on the client Rate Card will be pulled through to the booking entry screen - see below:

WhatsApp Web link - Opt out via Consent Centre

It is now possible to use the consent centre (padlock) to indicate that a candidate does not wish to be contacted via WhatsApp. Opting out of this will block users from clicking the WhatsApp icon next to the mobile phone field, and display a small padlock icon instead.

Selectable Rates now adapt to Role automatically

When using rate cards built with Selectable Rates it is now possible to set the system so that it pulls through the RATES from the relevant rate card as held on the CLIENT record for the specific ROLE (Previously the system would pull through all selectable rates that may be applicable to the client as a whole.)

The parameter PayrollB, Flag(51) needs to be set the C to make the system operate in this way.

Candidate to show 'Interview Method' at top right (replaces 'Currency' field)

At the top right of a candidate record in the PROFILE section, it is now possible to display a drop-down field for Interview Method". This field will replace 'Currency' which is usually displayed in that position. 

The drop-down list of choices is held in code table Bull Status [170] and new choices can be added to the drop-down via Maintenance > Setup > Code Tables (then choose code table Bull Status [170] ).

The new feature can be switched on with parameter RECE, Flag(38) and the label for the field can be set using parameter RECE, Glossary(20)

Nominated UserIDs to manage User Profiles

A new parameter has been introduced to allow specific UserIDs (logins) to manage the User Profiles of other users. These specified UserIDs can reset the passwords and/or force password expiry for other User Profiles.

Parameter SY, Text(2) controls which UserIDs are allowed to amend others.

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

-Added a [CLEAR] button to the contact availability calendar, This makes it easier to clear any 'default availability' (if set)

- Compliance items marked as N/A (by right-clicking) can now have the STAGE pulled-through to a template using the merge field [[RQIN_STAGE(xxx)]]  where xxx is the CODE for the compliance item. The stage will come through as "Not Applicable" if the item has been marked as such.

Example of document using merge field.

- Added additional Logging for Compliance items dragged/dropped onto the [Compliance] tab of candidates clients. This additional logging can be activated with two new parameters.  The main purpose of these additional logs is to allow for reporting in external tools such as Qlikview/Analytical.

NEW PARAMETER(S)

RECE Flag 36 - Log Dropped Candidate Compliance Documents

RECE Flag 37 - Log Dropped Client Compliance Documents

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue when using the Next/Prev button when viewing the [Compliance] tab of candidates. The 'Job Code' drop-down now correctly reflect the roles for the relevant (next/Prev candidates)

Release: (16/08/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.229

Features

Setup Button available from Candidate [Compliance] tab

It is now possible to add a [SETUP] button at the bottom left of the [Compliance] tab of a candidate. This means that certain (high priority) users are able to setup new compliance items for the entire system, directly from this page.

The button is controlled with parameter RECC, Pri (6) - Compliance Setup button on Candidate

Whatever priority is set, users will need to be that level (or higher) to see the button.  (So for example if the priority level is set as '99' then a lower level '60' user will not see the button)

It is also possible to link the parameter to a UAC (User Access Control) so that a specific List of users can see the button - please contact/speak to Influence support team if you want this.

Additional filter for 'Approval Method' in Timesheet Entry

A new filter has been added to the [More Filters] tab within Timesheet Entry to allow users to specify whether they wish to filter records based upon the Timesheet 'Approval' method. If using the integration with Timesheet Portal, then the drop-down menu includes the option for TSP (Timesheet Portal)

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- It is now possible to add a column to the candidates workbench for "Last Contact User". It will show the UserID of the person who last contacted the candidate.

{NB: Last contact can be defined as being either emails, or telephone calls, inward/outward. See our support article for more information on how 'Last Contact Date' is calculated }

Improved document deletion logging

If a document is deleted from either the [Compliance] tab or the [Docs] tab of a candidate, then a log will be created and written to the Document Transaction Log as seen at the right-hand side of the [Docs] tab - see below.

Ability to 'Default' Text onto the [AdCourier] (Broadbean) tab of a Vacancy.

It is now possible to store a text file (*.rtf) which contains some default text that you would like as the starting point (template) for every vacancy. The text can appear on the [Broadbean] tab of the vacancy.

The parameter RTFV, Paths(8) can be used to specify the name of the file (e.g. Adcourier.rtf) and the file itself should be stored in the .../Influence_Docs/Templates folder of your Influence system

Please contact us for more details, if you wish to use this feature.

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue with client compliance items which meant it was possible to extend an existing booking, even when a mandatory compliance item was no-longer valid. The system now (correctly) prevents NEW bookings or extensions of existing bookings when Mandatory compliance items are no longer valid.

Release: (26/07/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.208

Features

Drag/Drop Returned contracts to Auto-Store and Set Return Date

If using contract placements dropping a returned candidate contract onto the [Candidate] sub-tab of a contract placement will tick it as returned, and set the return date. It will also store a copy on the DOCS tab, in a specific slot.

Something similar happens when dropping returned client contracts onto the [Company] tab. 

The new feature is activated with Parameter PLACEMENT, FLAG(53) and the slots to store the documents are specified with parameters PLACEMENT, Integer (12/13) 

WhatsApp Feature (Web Link)

From this release, it is now possible to initiate WhatsApp (web) from within Influence.

This offers a limited connection with WhatsApp and basically means you can start a WhatsApp session/conversation on your computer either on the Web or the Downloaded WhatsApp App from within Influence.

For Candidates & Contacts in the system, if there is a valid mobile phone number stored in the Mobile field, then clicking the WhatsApp icon next to the number, will create a Web Link of the format 

 https://wa.me/nnnnnnnnn   where nnnnnnn is the mobile number.

This weblink will be stored in one of the two 'Social network' fields (provided they are not already populated)

Clicking either icon, will open a web page for WhatsApp. From there you can open WhatsApp Web and link this to your Phone/Device. You can then  send messages from on-screen, as you would if you were contacting this person directly from the WhatsApp app on your phone.

For more information regarding this feature, see our support article here:

https://influence-helpdesk.freshdesk.com/a/solutions/articles/103000300612

New Pay Type - PAYE (Rolled-Up)

Following a recent ruling, it is now more common for workers to be registered as a PAYE worker, but to receive their pay "Rolled-Up" (i.e. including Holiday Pay)

In order to accommodate this a new Pay type has been introduced, and a new column added to rate cards to hold the 'Rolled-Up' Pay rates. Workers with Rolled-Up pay will not have a WTD (Working Time Directive) value added to their pay, since this holiday allowance is already included.

When viewing these figures at various points through the system, the WTD will be set to zero to reflect the fact that the holiday pay is already included in the Pay rate that has been set. 

In order to indicate that a Pay Type is 'Rolled-up' it needs to be set within the Pay Type [166] code table, using Extra Info [ ] and setting the PAYE Rolled Up column to a value of 1.00

For More information see our support article: 

 https://influence-helpdesk.freshdesk.com/a/solutions/articles/103000144227

UAC (User Access Control) now allows 'Only when Blank' control for fields

It is now possible to use the UAC (user access control) feature to specify a list of users who can access a field only when it is <Blank>. This means that users can populate the field initially, but it then becomes 'locked' for those users and cannot be subsequently adjusted. Other UserIDs (such as ADM) can be set to always allow editing of the field.

It is also possible to make a field 'Mandatory when blank' so that users must fill the field when it is blank, but it subsequently becomes locked.

For more detail about UAC (User Access Control) see our support article.

https://helpdesk.influence-it.com/support/solutions/articles/103000144179-user-access-control

Add candidate compliance documents to Attachment Buffer (paperclip) 

It is now possible go to the [Compliance] tab of a candidate record and select multiple documents to add to the Attachment buffer (Paperclip icon) in the toolbar so they can easily be sent out to clients/contacts as needed.

At the bottom left is a new paperclip icon. Upon pressing this, users can then choose from any of the stored compliance documents. The selected items will be added to the attachment buffer at the top of the screen. When selecting multiple documents they can either be added individually or bundled into a *.Zip file containing all the items.

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- Cognito Timesheets > Validate FORENAME/SURNAME for workers when importing timesheet submissions.

Currently the system always checks that the Forename/Surname in the submission email match those of the candidate in the database, and will reject the timesheet if they do not match.

In this release, two new parameters have been introduced to control whether the forename/surname need to match. Users will be alerted to any mismatches using an on-screen message.

Two new parameters will be introduced.

FORMS, Flag(15) - Cognito TS Check Forename

FORMS, Flag(16) - Cognito TS Check Surname

- Advertising Text filter now highlights text on the [Advertising] tab.

The advertising text filter on the [Vacancies] workbench now highlights text (in yellow) on the ADVERT tab.  See below.

Bug Fixes

- N/A

Release: (04/06/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.156

Features

Delete Client Documents (Allow All)

A new parameter has been introduced to allow the deletion of documents from the CLIENT page, even if the user has no other 'Delete' permissions. Setting the system parameter RECD Flag 47 - Client Docs - Always allow Deletion will always allow all users to right-click and delete documents from the [Docs] tab of a client - even if the 'Delete' priority on their UserID is set to 00.

Unlimited length Attachments for Journals

When designing a new Journal template, it is now possible to specify longer filenames for the attachments, and an unlimited amount of files. Previously the attachment name length was limited to 80-characters, and a maximum of 10 files.

NOTE: This is only possible after release 1.00.24.156 has been installed - prior to this the original (80-character/10 file) limits apply.

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- For reporting, when the CALL TYPE for a Task is changed, then it is recorded in the Journal Status Change table.

This means that these change are available for reporting in Influence Analytical (if you have it), and can also be reported using the SQL query tool or IQuery reports.

- A new parameter has been introduced to be able to hide the 'Bank Details' tab within the Candidate Record on the 'Controls/Financials' tab.  Parameter REC_C, Pri(5) can be used to specify a priority level to be able to see these details. If desired you can link a UAC (user access control list) to the parameter to specify a list of UserIDs who are allowed to see these details.

NOTE: If these details are hidden then users will not be able to complete them when adding new workers/candidates - only users to whom they are visible will be able to add/complete these details.

- Exporting the Master Planner into MS Excel will now include any 'additional' columns that have been added to the right of the main Planner columns.

- Setting either Block All or Allow All in the Consent Centre (?) at the top of the screen, will now record a Journal on the candidate with details of the user who did this (as well as the date/time of the action)  - SEE BELOW.

Bug Fixes

- With individual Cognito timesheets, dropping a Timesheet in after other earlier days have been processed does not work - message comes back that the earliest entered and updated timesheet has already been processed. This has been fixed.

Release: (03/05/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.124

Features

More Filters - TIMESHEET ENTRY

The TIMESHEET ENTRY screen has had a new Tab added to enable the use of more filters when searching/viewing timesheets.

When any of these additional filters have been set and are In-Use the tab will show an asterisk (*) to indicate to the user that it is being used. 

e.g.   [More Filters *]

NOTE: The filter Wrkr Pay Type is similar to the Pay Type  filter on the normal 'Filters'  but looks at the current Pay Type set on the worker, as opposed to the Pay type that is actually set on the Timesheet record itself.

NEW PARAMETER(S)  - To activate this feature

TEMPS - Flag 51 - TS Entry Additional Filters Mode (0-9 where 0=no) - Mode 1 for this filter set

Ad-Hoc filters added to PLANNER

On the PLANNER screen, it is now possible to apply an Ad-Hoc filter to any of the Booking Markers (e.g. Available AM, Available PM, etc) and effectively 'Zoom in' on the items you are interested in.

For example, if you wanted to find all workers with an 'Available-PM Marker on a specific day, you can use the Ad-Hoc filter to select, then just 'Refresh' the view.

Compliance Item marked as N/A (Not Applicable)

On the [Compliance] tab of a worker, it is now possible to Right-Click in the [✅] column and mark the item as X (Not Applicable). This is ideal for items such as 'Overseas Police Check' which may be applicable for a teaching role, but only for Non-UK teachers. Setting this to N/A will treat the item as compliant for booking purposes. It will be shown 

Within the RAG report (Red/Amber/Green) these N/A Items will be indicated.

In order to enable the feature, you need to go to the compliance item definition and Enable the ability to set "N/A" for any items which should allow this.

Cognito Timesheets - 1 Timesheet per Day

The existing feature that allows users to send links to an on-line timesheet file (Cognito Forms) has not been enhanced to allow the system to produce an individual link, per-day.

Previously the system would produce a single link to a timesheet with all days.

It is now possible (if desired) for the system to produce multiple links, e.g.

Click Here to Timesheet:   Tue 23/04/2024 (14:00-18:00 as Production Operative)

Click Here to Timesheet:   Wed 24/04/2024 (14:00-18:00 as Production Operative)

etc.

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- TIMESHEET ENTRY, Confirm to Client. This has been improved so that when sending timesheet confirmations, the drop-down list of contacts new excludes any 'left' contacts.

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue that could cause a crash if editing a client compliance item and adjusting the 'Stage' details.

- Corrected an issue with Fixed Rates that could cause the system to lookup a previous 'Fixed' rate if changes were made within the booking Entry screen that caused a re-lookup of the rates.

- Fixed a journal problem when using Snippet-Text within a Multi-line Merge field. Now works with Snippets, Multiline merge fields and a snippet within a multiline merge field. {Useful for Booking confirmations of multiple workers to clients/candidates}

Release: (10/04/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.101

Features

Default Purchase Order No., can be stored on site, and used on Vacancies/Bookings.

A new field can be created on the [Misc] tab of a site record to hold a P/O Number. If a P/O number is set on the site, then this gets copied through to the [Controls] tab of any Temporary Vacancies added to that site (although it can be left blank and/or overtyped on the Vacancy record itself).

Any bookings made against the vacancy will take the P/O Number from the vacancy.

A new parameter, CMS, INTEGER(20) is used to define which field on the SITE record gets used for the P/O Number.

Maximum Weekly Hrs for TEMP Vacancy.

A new feature has been added to allow users to specify the Maximum Weekly Hours for a Temp Booking. If bookings are added to the vacancy that exceed the hours specified, then a warning will be displayed.

In the example above, the booking that have been added exceed 30Hrs, and so a warning has been displayed.

There are 3 new parameters that are used to control this.

NEW PARAMETERS - TEMPS

TEMPS, Integer 14 - Vac Xtra Hrs Slot to Limit Weekly Bked Hrs.

TEMPS, Flag 50 - Allow Over Vac Week Hrs (N)o/(W)arn

TEMPS, Glossary 1-10 - Labels for Extra Hours fields.

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- The length of the 'Pay Type' field box on the [Controls] tab of a candidate has been increased so that the Hover-Tip for History now shows, provided the length of the description does not overflow the box.

Bug Fixes

- N/A

Release: (28/03/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.088

Features

Set Values for Group, extended to allow setting of 'Company Trade Details'

When logged in as the UserID "ADM" you can use the properties of a GROUP to set field values En-Masse for all members of the Group. This feature has now been extended and allows you to use the same Group of Candidates/Workers to set fields relating to the 'Company Trade Details' (for things like Umbrella companies, etc.)

Compliance filters/Shared Compliance filters can now be saved to [Candidate] workbench

It is now possible for users to create a Compliance filter on the [Candidates] workbench and to save this filter for future use. Saved filter will be shown at the left of the workbench and can be ticked ✅ to apply the filter.

When multiple filters are ticked, they are combined using logical AND

Filters which are created when logged in with the UserID "VIEW" are treated as shared filters and will be available for all users, shown at the left of the workbench as Shared Compliance

HOME page remembers last tab from previous login

When logging into the system and selecting the [HOME] page, the system will now remember the previous tab and open up on the tab when the users next logs in. 

Enhanced Reference Chasing - (Now allows Re-Send of original reference request email)

The Compliance Chase / Reference Chase module has been enhanced, and now allows users to manually pick/send an initial Reference email and select the document(s) they want to attach, and then subsequently use the Chase feature to re-send the initial email (possibly with a different subject) so that the same reference forms are sent.

This can be particularly useful in sectors such as Education where different types of staff require different references to be obtained (e.g. Teachers need a different quantity and type of reference forms to be completed than TA's or support staff)

For more information see the article about compliance chasing, available HERE.

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- When drilling into a client from the AWR report, the client record is opened in "TEMP CENTRE" context, and displays the [Worker History] tab within the client record.

- From this release onward, when the option to set booking owner for individual shifts is enabled (Parameter TEMPS, Flag(41) ) the "Book Owner" filter within TIMESHEET ENTRY looks at this Shift Owner. If there is no shift owner, then the Booking owner from the Booking Header/Vacancy is checked in the normal way.

This change also affects the 'Booking Owner' filter on the PLANNER and VIEWS workbenches.

- Back-End system adaptations to allow for changes to Minimum Wage (UK) 2024.

- Dragging/Dropping an email directly from MS Outlook onto the 'Booking Entry' form now correctly saves the *.msg file as a document against the booking. Previously it was necessary to save the file to the desktop first before drag/drop onto the booking entry form.

- Amended Candidate Status - It is now possible to specify a candidate status that will Set all Matches (except those at status PLA - Placed) to a specific status (such as SUS - Suspended) when chosen.

Parameter Enigma, Text(16) holds the status they will be set to, and the 'Extra Numerics' against code table Candidate Status [911] is used to specify which statuses will trigger this change.

- Within timesheets entry, changing any of the filters (such as shift, Pay Type, Booking Owner, etc.) would instantly re-run the search and update the results. There is now the ability to prevent this to allow users to change multiple filters before manually clicking [Search] to then update the results. The new feature is activated with parameter TEMPS, FLAG(49)

- Any Non-hours rates added to the Rate card for 'Daily Rate' bookings now allow the user to enter a 'quantity' - previously these were locked at quantity "1". This is useful for items such as mileage, so users can have a rate of £0.51 and enter a quantity of 'miles' they will be paid for,.

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an issue that could cause a Crash when attempting to rename a document that had been dropped onto the [Compliance] tab of a worker record.

- Fixed an issue with SMS replies which meant that any reply showing a £-sign displayed "?" instead of the actual value

(e.g. £35k would become ?k ) - fixed by translating UTF-8 encoding.

- Fixed an issue when exporting Compliance 'RAG Report' to MS Excel that meant 'Visa' items were exported to Excel with the incorrect colour (showed as red in MS Excel instead of white/un-coloured)

- Made some changes to [Rate Codes] (217) code table, so that Extra Numeric (1) - Slot, now correctly links to the corresponding parameter in PayrollB, flag(1-10) for tempaid export code.  [Fixes only relevant for clients using export to TEMPAID,] - specifically used for TRVG systems.

Release: (01/02/2024) Ver: 1.00.24.032

Features

New Compliance & Reference Chase Module.

A new Compliance & Reference Chase module has been added to the software.

This module can be used by system administrators or high-level users to setup chase sequences and follow-up on compliance items and documents that are required from candidates.

Essentially you can create a series of emails to be sent, that will check if certain compliance items have been received, or have expired since the last time an email was sent, and will then send the relevant email (chase 1, chase 2, chase 3, etc.) to the candidates as appropriate.

The tool is designed to help compliance managers and administrators in following-up (chasing) different items and paperwork from candidates to ensure that you have the right documentation recorded and on-file.

More information can be found in our support article HERE  or  go to our support website and search for Compliance Chase Module

Candidate Compliance Tab indicates Mandatory/Warnable/Optional items 

The [Compliance] tab of a candidate now has visual markers to indicate if an item is Mandatory, Warnable or Optional (Red, Amber, Green). If you hover over the traffic light icon, the system will indicate if the item is Mandatory, Warning or Optional, as well as if it is only applicable for specific Roles.

{All the info for these icons are based upon the setup of the compliance items themselves, from Maintenance > Setup > Compliance Setup as to whether they are Mandatory/Warnable/Optional.}

Candidate Compliance Tab - filter items by ROLE 

The [Compliance] tab of a candidate now allows users to filter the list of displayed items by ROLE.

At the top left is a ROLE drop-down. This can be setup to display ALL Roles, or restricted to only the ROLES specified on the [Requires] tab of the candidate (i.e. Those roles that they may wish to do)

{The Control over which Roles are available in the drop-down is via parameter

RECD Flag 44 - Cand Compliance Role Filter - Cand Roles only - The default is to restrict it to candidate sought roles only}

Margin Report now takes account of Consultant Splits for Temp Bookings

The Margin Report now takes account of Consultant Splits for Temp Bookings. Temp bookings linked to a Vacancy take the Split from the 'Placed' MATCH record on the vacancy; Temps bookings via a Booking Requirement take the Splits from the new [Splits] tab on the Booking Requirement; Temp Bookings made in the normal way (from the client/candidate or planner) take the splits from the TIMESHEET Record.

Vacancy Bookings -> Splits taken from the placed MATCH record on the Vacancy.

'Std' Bookings (from Client/Candidate/Planner) -> Splits taken from the Timesheet Entry record,

Bkg Requirement Bookings ->Splits taken from the new [Splits] tab added to the Bkg Requirement.

Create GROUP of Clients based on list of A/C Codes or Uniq_IDs

The existing feature to create a GROUP of candidates based upon a list of email_addresses/mobile numbers has been extended and now allows users to create a GROUP of Clients based upon an external list of A/C codes (Account codes) or Client Uniq_IDs.

A/C codes can be found to the bottom-left within the Company/Client record and the field may be labelled as Company code or Client code.

The Client Unique ID can be found within the 'Misc' tab of the Company/Client record.

The Client Group Creation tool can be found in Maintenance > Reporting Tools > Create GROUP from List

After copying the data click on the blue [Paste] button when pasting data, this is to ensure all copied data is pasted into the paste area.

Miscellaneous/Internal Developments

- Internal system developments linked to the integration with 'Signable'. Allows choice of 'Party' (1,2 or 3) and the order in which these parties are assigned for signing.

- It is now possible to HIDE the 'bank details' field of a candidate record, even when using multiple pay-types. In the case of multiple pay types, it is possible to set the system such that some fields are hidden on the [Controls] tab of the candidates, whilst others are hidden when viewing the actual pay-type window.

- When running an 'IQ Report' on multiple databases, the system now records the "Last Ran by / Last Run Date" separately 'per system' rather than a single 'last run' date across all systems.

- If parameter PAYROLLB, Flag(3) [Group Booking ID on Weekly TS] has been set, then the Combi-Sheet will display the Booking_ID at the top right. Only bookings related to the displayed ID will be shown in the Combi sheet for that week.

See below.

- Added a couple of new fields to the Custom Timesheet Exports , to allow the export of "Split Consultants"

If you have added SPLIT percentages to a Booking then it is possible to show the Consultant ID/percentage for up to 5 splits.

The consultants are held differently depending on the type of tempo booking.

* AdHoc / Std Bookings - Split consultants taken from Timesheet Entry

* Booking Linked to Vacancy - Split consultants taken from Vacancy MATCH/Placement record.

* Booking_Requirement Booking - Split consultants will be taken from the Requirement Header.

Bug Fixes

- When creating contact searches from the older 'Searching>Contacts>New' option, it was possible for the system to omit the relevant filters *if* parameter RECB,flag(25) had been set to revert to previous search. This behaviour has been rectified and searches now always offer the relevant filter criteria for Contact searches.

- Fixed an error which allowed extensions to booking requirements to bypass credit check compliance item. (Applied to requirements only, other ad-hoc bookings behaved correctly)

- Fixed an issue to hide the "All Offices" filter on the vacancies workbench for system that are not "Multi-Office". The filter should not have been displayed.