ActivityHD Release 7.22

System-wide

  • ActivityHD Explorer

    Sometimes the following error occurred when attempting to disconnect from or close ActivityHD Explorer after an interruption in network connection:

    Communication link failure.

    One source of these errors has been addressed.

  • Installation

    In the past, the ActivityHD installer did not recommend which version of the software to install. It is important that the bitness of the version of ActivityHD which is installed be compatible with the bitness of the user's current version of Microsoft Excel. Now the installer recommends the version to install based on the bitness of the installed version of Microsoft Excel. For example, if the user currently has 32-bit Excel installed, the installer will recommend they install 32-bit ActivityHD. Similarly, if 64-bit Excel is installed, the installer recommends 64-bit ActivityHD.

Accounts Payable

  • AP Invoice GL Detail

    Accounts Payable > Invoices > Invoice GL Detail

    The Purchases tab has been added to the AP Invoice GL Detail window. Select the Purchases tab on GL detail lines which came from the Purchasing package to see the purchases which contributed to the detail line.

    Tip

    For GL detail lines which include part of an allocated cost such as freight, add the "Extended Amount" column to the view to see the purchase amount with the allocated cost included.

  • Invoices

    Accounts Payable > Invoices

    Version 7.18 of ActivityHD introduced changes to AP attributes which had the unintended side effect of causing the following error when attempting to perform a New Copy on an AP invoice generated by another package such as AR, Payroll, and Purchasing:

    Field 'Debit Amount or Credit Amount' must have a value.

    The error was due to changes to the distribution line's Source field behavior. Now the New Copy feature performs as expected in these situations.

  • Invoices

    Accounts Payable > Invoices

    Version 7.11 of ActivityHD introduced allowing the liability account on unmerged AP invoices and recurring invoices to be partial or invalid. This change allowed for the default AP account mask from the vendor to contain wildcards. As always, merged invoices are still required to have a fully qualified and valid AP liability account. As a consequence of the change, however, several reports and processes had problems handling unmerged invoices with invalid AP accounts. Invoices might be excluded from the report/process, or included but have missing detail.

    The following issues have been corrected:

    • The AP Account column of the Invoice APCodes HD view was blank when it should show the partial AP account mask.
    • Invoices were excluded from the Invoice APCodes Listing.
    • The AP Account column of the Invoice Extra GL HD view was blank.
    • The AP Account column of the Invoice GL Detail HD view was blank.
    • Invoices were excluded from the Invoice GL Detail Listing.
    • Invoices were excluded from the Pay Invoices process without a message. (Now a message indicates if such an invoice has not been merged.)
    • Invoices were excluded from the Proof Invoices Report.
    • Terms, discounts, and APCodes were excluded from the Invoices Listing.
    • The Invalid? column of the Invoices HD view did not indicate an invalid AP account when an account had a partial mask.
    • APCode detail was excluded from the Recurring Invoices Listing.
    • The Invalid? column of the Recurring Invoices HD view did not indicate an invalid AP account when an account had a partial mask.
    • Terms, discounts, and APCodes were not set on the newly created invoices from the Recurring Invoices process.
    • The Invoice AP Account column of the Payment APCodes HD view was blank.
    • The Invoice AP Account column of the Payment Detail HD view was blank.
    • Invoices were excluded from the Aged Invoice Analysis report.
    • Invoices were excluded from the Cash Requirements Report and the GL Summary report.
    • The "InvoiceAPAccount" field was blank when issuing web requests for invoice GL detail (ap/getinvoiceGLDetail).

  • Invoices and Recurring Invoices

    Accounts Payable > Invoices

    Accounts Payable > Invoices > Recurring

    Since version 7.17 of ActivityHD, the liability account on invoices and recurring invoices was not updated correctly when you saved an invoice or recurring invoice, or when you used the Validate GL function. Now invoices and recurring invoices are being updated appropriately.

  • Vendors

    Accounts Payable > Vendors

    Duplicate APCodes are no longer allowed in the APCodes table on the Defaults tab of the vendor record. Formerly, you could enter the same APCode value on multiple lines in the table. At times, all vendor APCodes would be used, including the duplicates. At other times, only one of the duplicate APCodes would be assigned to an invoice. For example, specifying "Percent" or "Cutoff" values for Payment Withholding and Use Tax codes would result in the first duplicate row being assigned.

    Now if you attempt to save changes which include duplicate APCodes in the APCodes table, the following error message is presented:

    Duplicate APCodes not allowed (xxxxx)

    Since duplicates are no longer allowed, data conversions delete duplicate APCodes and add a database constraint to ensure unique values.

Accounts Receivable

  • AR Invoices Listing

    Accounts Receivable > Invoices > [right-click] > Select and Report > AR Invoices Listing

    The listing now includes an option to include attributes which post to the General Ledger in the "GL Summary" section of the report. Doing so provides more information about journal detail which results from AR invoices.

    To include attribute information in the "GL Summary" section, mark the new Include Attributes that Post to GL checkbox. The Include GL Summary checkbox must be marked to enable the new checkbox.

  • AR Invoices Listing

    Accounts Receivable > Invoices > [right-click] > Select and Report > AR Invoices Listing

    Previously, if an AR invoice on the listing had extra GL lines with partial GL accounts or GL accounts which did not yet exist, the amounts for those lines were omitted from the "GL Summary" section of the report. This omission has been corrected so that all amounts for extra GL lines are now included in the "GL Summary" section of the report.

  • Proof/Merge AR Invoices

    Accounts Receivable > Invoices > [right-click] > Select and Proof

    Accounts Receivable > Invoices > [right-click] > Select and Merge

    The Proof Report now includes an option to include attributes which post to the General Ledger in the "GL Summary" section of the report. Doing so provides more information about journal detail which results from AR invoices.

    To include attribute information in the "GL Summary" section, mark the new Include Attributes that Post to GL checkbox. The Include GL Summary checkbox must be marked to enable the new checkbox.

  • Proof/Merge AR Invoices

    Accounts Receivable > Invoices > [right-click] > Select and Proof

    Accounts Receivable > Invoices > [right-click] > Select and Merge

    Previously, if an AR invoice on the Proof Report had extra GL lines with partial GL accounts or GL accounts which did not yet exist, the amounts for those lines were omitted from the "GL Summary" section of the report. This omission has been corrected so that all amounts for extra GL lines are now included in the "GL Summary" section of the report.

General Ledger

  • ActivityHD Automation Server (AAS)

    Recently, an unusual sequence of automation calls could produce the following error:

    RPC Server is already listening.

    The error most often occurred when a user created two ActivityHD objects during a single automation session--even when the first object was destroyed. The issue has been resolved.

  • Attributes

    ActivityHD's signature feature is that all its open HD views are dynamic; i.e., when changes are made to the underlying data, the HD view is automatically updated. Since GL attributes replaced package-centric attributes, open HD views have not been updating when changes such as activation/deactivation, combining, or usage changes occurred to GL attributes.

    For example, suppose a new attribute was created, flagged for GL usage, and activated while the Journal Detail HD view was open. The new attribute would not appear in the list of column options for the open Journal Detail HD view until you closed and reopened the Journal Detail HD view, or browsed away from it and returned to it.

    Similarly, suppose an an attribute which was flagged for AP usage was changed to no longer be used in AP while the AP Invoice GL Detail HD view was open. If the attribute was showing in the HD view, it did not go away; if you scrolled in the HD view, errors would occur. Closing and reopening the HD view would fix the problem.

    Now HD views throughout ActivityHD (including, GL, AP, AR, CP, FA, PR, and PO) update immediately when attribute changes occur, and the issues cited in the preceding examples no longer happen.

  • Attributes

    Version 7.19 of ActivityHD introduced an error message if a user attempts to flag an account as "required" on a GL attribute when there are attribute items where the account is missing. However, when the error message was added, the feature which allows you to source an attribute from a GL segment and fill in the account masks automatically from the segment items broke. For example, prior to version 7.19, if you had a "Store" attribute that was sourced from the "Store" segment item, marking the account as required and saving the attribute would automatically populate the required accounts with the value from the segment item. So, for instance, store 2 would result in an account mask such as       -2-    -  .

    The prior behavior has been restored. While the error message is still presented for attributes which are not sourced from segment items, now a different test is performed on segment item account masks when an account is marked required on a sourced attribute. Namely, if an existing account mask with a sourced segment item contains something other than the segment item code, the following message displays and the applicable packages (AR, FA, and/or PO) and accounts are listed:

    Required account masks do not match attribute source for the following...

    For instance, borrowing from the example above, if the account for store 2 were       -1-    -  , the error would be presented. Note, however, that the mask can contain any value in the unsourced segments as long as the sourced segment matches the segment item; e.g., 5000-2-    -   would be allowed in the example described.

  • Attributes

    General Ledger > Setup > Attributes

    Prior to this version of ActivityHD, it was possible to edit an attribute while creating another attribute (i.e., the other attribute was in "New" mode). Problems ensued. This issue has been corrected.

  • Financial View Items

    General Ledger > Financial Views > [select a financial view]

    An Include Zero Amounts checkbox has been added to the HD view for financial view items. The checkbox is marked by default. When marked, rows where all calculated amounts are zero are included in the HD view. To hide rows where all calculated amounts are zero, clear the Include Zero Amounts checkbox.

    If all columns which use the following functions are zero for a given row, the row is excluded from the HD view when the Include Zero Amounts checkbox is cleared:

    General Ledger

    • Balance
    • Activity
    • Credit Balance
    • Credit Activity
    • Debit Balance
    • Debit Activity
    • Year To Date
    • Credit Year To Date
    • Debit Year To Date
    • Begin Balance

    Payroll

    • PR Expense
    • PR Expense Source
    • PR Expense Year To Date
    • PR Expense Source Year To Date
    • PR Expense Count
    • PR Expense Count Year To Date
    • PR Liability
    • PR Liability Source
    • PR Liability Year To Date
    • PR Liability Source Year To Date
    • PR Liability Count
    • PR Liability Count Year To Date

    Purchasing

    • PO Quantity
    • PO Quantity Year To Date
    • PO Amount
    • PO Amount Year To Date

  • Financial Views

    General Ledger > Financial Views

    Segment item columns are no longer necessary in financial views. This should make financial views easier to create and use. Prior to this version, the segment item and segment item description columns were needed to provide columns in HD views and report data streams. These columns were necessary to support filtering and selection conditions. Now columns and selection fields are available automatically for all items which make up the financial view row definition.

    While segment item and segment item description column definitions are still available, they will not appear as columns in HD views so that users aren't confused by the automatically created columns.

    Moreover, the Financial View window now shows all item codes and descriptions at the top of the window, separate from the defined column values. There are also on-screen tips explaining how rows will be defined based on your selections.

  • Financial Views

    General Ledger > Financial Views

    Financial views can now include attributes as part of the row definition. Some characteristics of financial views with attributes include:

    • Only active attributes with use in GL are eligible for use in financial views.
    • Financial views defined on a single attribute only (i.e., no segments) display all items for the attribute.
    • Financial views defined on combinations of segments and attributes are limited by the combinations which exist that have journal detail.
    • Attributes are not supported by segment and segment item column functions.
    • Financial views which include attributes are still under active development. These financial views may take longer to load and are not currently active.
    • Future enhancements to financial views with attributes are planned to improve load times and to make financial views active.

  • Financial Views

    General Ledger > Financial Views

    A single-item financial view is a financial view defined on only one segment or rollup. In the past, the items shown in a financial view were limited to those which appeared in the chart of accounts. Now new segment items and rollup items will appear in financial views even before the chart of accounts is changed to include them.

  • Print Financials

    General Ledger > Financial Designs > [right-click] > Select and Print Financials

    Financials now support two translation methods: "Current" and "Historical". "Current", or simple, translation translates all amounts using the rate in effect at the end of the period. The newer "Historical" translation method uses the rate in effect on the transaction date. Two additional methods, "Average" and "Days Weighted Average", are not yet supported.

    In order to use the supported translation methods, a few things need to be set up first.

    • Units General Ledger > Setup > Units. Currency-type units must be set up for the "from" and "to" currencies for the translation.
    • Unit conversion rates General Ledger > Setup > Units > Conversion Rates. Conversion rates must be defined for the translation.
    • Translation method General Ledger > Setup > Segments > [Segment Items] and General Ledger > Chart of Accounts. A translation method must be set on the appropriate accounts. The translation method on an account defaults from the method specified on the primary segment item for new accounts.
    • Currency unit General Ledger > Financial Designs > [right-click] > Select and Print Financials. Either specify the currency unit in the Options dialog when generating a financial statement, or pass the unit explicitly via one or more financial functions.

  • Segments

    General Ledger > Setup > Segments

    Previously, if you attempted to add a new segment item from the [Segment Name] tab of the Segment window when the record was in edit mode, an access violation error could result. This error no longer occurs.

Payroll/Human Resources

  • Garnishments

    Payroll/Human Resources > Employees > Records > Garnishments

    In version 6.2 of ActivityHD, the calculation of state income tax garnishments was changed to not apply limits as it does for other types of garnishments. The Federal Wage Garnishment Law, Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), Section 303, "Restriction on garnishment", states that limits do not apply "in the case of any debt due for any State or Federal Tax". However, the change was not correct for California income tax garnishments. These garnishments are supposed to apply the federal limits (25% of disposable earnings or the excess of 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less). The workaround for this problem was to set the garnishment type to something which matched the required limits (often something like Texas civil garnishments). The workaround is hardly intuitive.

    Now the calculation of California income tax garnishments (where type = State, and state = California) correctly applies the federal limits.

    Note that the calculation for other types of garnishments has not changed. Namely:

    • State income tax garnishments for states other than California do not apply limits.
    • Local and civil garnishments for California still apply state limits (25% of disposable earnings or half of the excess of 40 times state/local minimum wage, whichever is less).

  • Note Types

    Payroll/Human Resources > Setup > Note Types

    A Publish to Self-Serve checkbox and Plural Name field have been added to the Note Type window. These additions facilitate the new ability to publish employee notes to the self-serve site. Marking the Publish to Self-Serve checkbox and providing the Plural Name makes the notes associated with a note type available to employees through Self-Serve. Users must have "Publish" access to note types to be able to mark the Publish to Self-Serve checkbox.

    When an employee who is referenced on a published note logs in to Self-Serve, a menu item with the plural name of the note type is available in the Employees section. Selecting the menu item displays a page with the following note fields: Date, Description, Text, Attachments.

Web Services

  • Employee notes

    Employee notes now can be published to Self-Serve. To make notes available to employees who are referenced on notes, a user with "Publish" access to note types must mark the new Publish to Self-Serve checkbox on the appropriate note type and provide a plural name for the note type.

    When an employee who is referenced on a published note logs in to Self-Serve, a menu item bearing the plural name of the note type appears in the Employees section. Selecting the link opens a page that shows the following note fields: Date, Description, Text, Attachments.