Version 4.15 - 14 May 2008

Addition

FASTSMS added as SMS text message provider.

Version 4.14 - 12 April 2008

Bugs fixed

Balance Sheet report - incorrectly calculating balances for bank accounts where sales receipts included VAT element (cash accounting).

Tenancy Receipt - "Operator/operand" error message fixed.

Version 4.13 - 4 January 2008

New Features/Amendments

Minor bug fixes.

Version 4.12 - 10 October 2007

New Features/Amendments

Inclusion of Business telephone number on invoices and statements
Previous versions of the software have automatically formatted the address, which appears on invoices and statements, using the details entered in the address fields for the business. An additional field has been added to the Business Defaults screen that allows you to enter exactly what you want to appear. Important Note: The business address must be initialised before it can be used. From the "Settings" menu, select the "Business defaults" option. In the screen that appears, click on the "Generate" button on the first page. Click on "Finish" to save your changes.

Tenancy Deposit Wizard, transfer option added
The Tenancy Deposit Wizard is the screen that opens when you click on the "New deposit transaction" button on either the "Internal deposits" or "External deposits" tab of a Tenancy Deposit record. An additional option has been added to the Tenancy Deposit Wizard allowing the user to automatically make all the required postings when an internal deposit is transferred to become an external one, and vice versa.

Profit and Loss/Balance Sheet reports
Previous versions of the software would only print these reports to include transactions up to and including the current financial period end date. The new version will now allow any date to be entered for the Year to Date end date. The earliest date that can be used as the Year to Date start date is the current financial period start date.

Roll-on Tenancy
Previous versions of the software would not allow a tenancy to be rolled on if the resulting tenancy would conflict with an existing tenancy for a property. The new version will warn the user if this is the case but will allow creation of the rolled-on tenancy if the user confirms it.

Scottish Quarter Dates
The old Scottish Quarter Dates have now been added as an option when the frequency of a rent charge is quarterly. The old Scottish Quarter Dates are 2nd February, 15th May, 1st August and 11th November.

Nominal Accounts list, print button
A "Print" button has been added to the toolbar of the Nominal Accounts list enabling the list to be printed as it is currently displayed on screen, i.e. including any filtering.

Version 4.11 - 18 June 2007

New Features/Amendments

Applicant Record
The following changes have been made to the Applicant record screen:

1. The telephone, mobile, fax and email fields have been moved from the Contacts tab to the Applicant tab.
2. The Next of Kin fields have been removed from the Contacts tab.
3. The new grid on the Contacts tab can be used to add any kind of contact for the applicant. Examples are Personal Referee, Guarantor and Next of Kin. Any contact appearing on the Contacts tab can be used to send a reference to i.e. the contact is available from the "Send To" dropdown list on the Document tab of the Reference record screen.

Property Wizard/Tenancy Wizard
As a result of some users experiencing problems caused by multiple screens being open at the same time as the Property Wizard screen, we have changed both the Property and Tenancy Wizard screens to address this problem. As a result of these changes it will no longer be possible to go directly to the Tenancy Wizard when you have created your property using the Property Wizard.

Inventory/Schedule of Condition reporting
The following reports have been removed from the Property Reports list:

• Inventory (The Fixtures and Fittings)
• Inventory List
• Inventory List (no pictures)
• Schedule of Condition report

The following reports have been added to the Property Reports list:

• Inventory Checklist
• Inventory Valuation
• Schedule of Condition Checklist (updated)
• Meter Readings Check

The software now supports pictures for rooms and for schedule of condition items, both external and room-related. The use of pictures for rooms is not currently utilised but will be used in future for advertising material. Pictures for schedule of condition items are used in the Schedule of Condition report detailed below.

You can now use the Print button on the Inventory page of the Property record to print the following reports, one after the other:

• Schedule of Condition, with or without pictures
• Inventory, with or without pictures
• Appendix A (pictures)
• Confirmation Sheet
• Meter Readings

The screen that appears allows you to select which of the reports you want to print and whether or not pictures are to be included. If pictures are to be included they will be printed in the Appendix A report and referenced in the Schedule of Condition and Inventory documents.

The Confirmation Sheet is now a separate page and refers to both the Schedule of Condition and Inventory.

The Meter Readings document lists details of the meters in the property, along with their locations, and provides space to enter the meter readings at check-in along with confirmation signatures.

Tenancy Deposits List
The Tenancy Deposits list is opened by selecting the option on the Tenancies menu. If there are transactions on the system that are deposits but which are not linked to a tenancy deposit record, they will show at the bottom of the list as "Unlinked Deposits". Double-clicking on this item will open a screen listing the individual transactions and enabling you to print a list of them.

Tenancy Deposit Record
A button has been added to the "Internal deposits" tab of the Tenancy Deposit screen which will let you add or remove a link between the tenancy deposit record and a transaction.

A "Reference" field has been added to the tenancy deposit record to enable you to store the TDS operator reference for this deposit.

A reference for the individual transaction can also be entered when entering a new transaction using the Tenancy Deposit Wizard.

Word Document Wizard
Several additional placeholders have been added that can be used when creating a document using the Word Document Wizard. For a full list of the placeholders that are available, and their meanings, open the appropriate record, for example a tenancy record, and go to its Documents page. Click on the "New" button as if you were creating a new document. When the Word Document Wizard screen opens click on the "Find and Replace Values" button at the bottom left of that screen. You can print a list of the placeholders using the "Print" button on the screen that opens.

Version 4.10 - 20 March 2007

New Features/Amendments

Tenancy Deposit Schemes
The software has been amended to enable recording of tenancy deposits taken under the new Tenancy Deposit Schemes being introduced on the 6th April 2007. A "Tenancy Deposits" option has been added to the Tenancies menu. This option will display a list of current tenancy balances, both internal and external, and enable recording of tenancy deposit transactions. Deposit transactions can no longer be added from the Deposits page of the Tenant record. Full details on how to record tenancy deposits can be found in the updated Help file.

Minor bug fixes

Version 4.09 - 28 January 2007

New Features/Amendments

Applications List/Move to Tenancies
When an application is moved to form a tenancy the application is no longer deleted but its status is changed to "moved" thus allowing the operation to be repeated in case of user error. Reference records for the applicants are copied for the newly created tenant records and are then visible on the new References page of the Tenant record.

Minor bug fixes

Version 4.08 - 5 December 2006

New Features/Amendments

Minor bug fixes

Version 4.07 - 8 October 2006

New Features/Amendments

Minor bug fixes

Version 4.06 - 9 August 2006

New Features/Amendments

Minor bug fixes

Version 4.05 - 25 June 2006

New Features/Amendments

Generating Rent Demands
New fields for "Payment Terms" and "Rent Demand Message" have been added to the Funding Type and the Tenancy Charging records. When generating rent demands from rent charges, the values for these two fields, as entered in the Tenancy Charging record, will appear on the generated rent demand.

Aged Debtor/Creditor Reports
If the Tenants list is open, the Aged Debtor report will include only those tenants currently displayed in the Tenants list. Thus, if the Tenants list is filtered to show a reduced tenant range only that range of tenants can be included in the Aged Debtor report. Further reduction in the tenant range to be included can be made from the Aged Debtor report screen using the dropdown lists and the "exclude hidden records" check box. The above applies, in a similar way, to the Aged Creditor report.

Nominal Code range when creating invoices
In a prior release, the range of available nominal codes in the Invoice Item (Tenants> Create invoice) screen was decreased in an attempt to prompt users to use a nominal code in the correct range. This has now been reverted to the full range of nominal codes following complaints from users.

Waiting List
The Waiting List screen has been amended to include the date the tenancy is required. The Waiting List report has been amended to include the date the tenancy is required and any notes.

Version 4.04

Not released

Version 4.03 - 27 April 2006

New Features

New Icons
Many of the buttons in the system have been updated with Windows XP style icons. The functionality of the buttons remains unchanged.

New screen layouts
The main record screens (Property, Tenant, Tenancy, Supplier, Nominal) in the system have been replaced with new style screens. Because these screens cannot be resized, the new screens are larger and the Tabs have been replaced with buttons for page selection, down the left-hand side of the screen, to provide a larger, less-cluttered working area.

Filters
The values used in the Filter screens, when filtering a list such as the Properties list, are now saved when the list is closed and then reapplied when the list is opened again.

Deletion of old Reminder/Memo records
As a result of user suggestions we have added a facility whereby old reminder and memo records are removed automatically from the system. The default setting is to retain these records for 30 days after their due date. The setting can be changed using the "Popup control" option on the Settings menu.

Remittance Advice
The Remittance Advice has been removed from the Supplier Reports option. You can now print a remittance advice by right-clicking on a Purchase Payment transaction in a supplier ledger, or when posting a supplier payment.

Profit and Loss Account/Balance Sheet reports
You will now find new screens used when producing these reports that include a new Transactions tab. When the report is generated, the "Transactions" tab shows the transactions that make up the totals in the report.

Settings Reports
The "Reports" option has been removed from the Settings menu. The reports that were available there can now be printed from the relevant settings list. For example, to print a list of "General Reminders", select File> Open> Reminders, select "General" as the Object type, and then click on the Print button.

Jobs button, Properties toolbar
The "Jobs" button has been removed from the Properties toolbar. The Jobs list can still be opened from the Properties menu.

Insurance button, Properties toolbar
The "Insurance" button has been removed from the Properties toolbar. The Insurance list can still be opened from the Properties menu.

Property Record, Maintenance Page
Job records for a particular property can now be managed via the Maintenance page of the Property record.

Property Keys
The "Keys" page has been removed from the Property record screen. Key records can now be managed using the "Keys" option on the Properties menu.

Ignore tenancy in rent calculations
An option has been added to the Tenancy record which selects it to be ignored in rent calculations. This enables you to keep old tenancy records on the system for historical purposes without slowing down rent calculations.

SMS Text Messaging
The software now has facilities to send SMS text messages to mobile phones. A single text message can be sent using the button to the right of the "Mobile" field in the Tenant record screen. Messages can also be sent to single or multiple numbers using the "SMS Text Messaging" option on the Utilities menu. Please note, you will require an account number and to purchase credits from us before you can use this service.

User Access Rights
The security measures provided in the system have been fully revised. The old system, which involved each user having an access level and each option on the dropdown menus having an access level, has now been replaced by a system that allows the amount of access for each individual user to be customised.

Email Manager
An option has been added to enable report output to be sent as an email attachment. The software now incorporates the facility to send emails (but not receive them) via the Email Manager. This function does not rely on, or affect, you usual email software.

Meter Readings
A facility has been added to the Utilities page of the Property record to enable recording of meter readings.

Remove Deleted Transactions
This option, previously on the Utilities menu, has been removed following discussions with the Inland Revenue.

Top of page

Version 4.02 - 6 December 2005

Amendments

Create Invoices
Applies to the "Create invoices/credit notes" option on the Tenants menu. Previously, the transaction detail that appears on the ledgers was created from the invoice item narrative at the time the invoice was posted. The Invoice Item screen now has a separate Transaction Details field to give the user ultimate control over what appears on the ledger.

Default Date
Due to confusion amongst users, the default date is no longer stored and then restored at startup. The default date can be set using the "System settings" option on the Settings menu and will be used for the current session only.

Tenancy Correspondence Address
A new "Address" tab has been added to the Tenancy record allowing the user to enter a different address for correspondence to that of the property.

Bug Fixes

Screen Resizing
A further screen resizing bug, when returning to a screen after it had been minimised, has now been fixed.

Copy Property
When copying a property record, including room and inventory records, the resulting room and inventory records were incorrectly generated.

Departmental Analysis Reports
It was reported that these reports were incorrect when the reports were produced for a subsection of the nominal code list.

Journal Entry
After posting a journal batch, a subsequent blank record was not being created to allow further postings and the screen had to be closed and reopened.

Version 4.01 - 09/11/2005

Parent/child properties
Where a property is split up into smaller units, for example flats, you can now link the property records for the flats to a main parent record for the house. The parent record can then be used for recording shared accommodation and expenditure.

Transactions can be edited directly from the ledgers
Previously, transaction details could only be viewed from the ledgers and any editing had to be done using the Edit Transactions option on the Utilities menu. Transactions can now be edited directly from the ledgers, for example tenant and supplier.

All ledgers can be sorted on screen using the column headings
This sorting is temporary and lasts whilst the screen is open.

Inventory items can now be parent or child items
This is a useful feature for recording where items belong, for example in a cupboard or drawer.

Bank reconciliations can be rolled back to an earlier date
This feature is available on all reconciliations carried out after installation of the new software.

Applications
Application records let you store details of applications for tenancies, including details of the applicants and references. When an application is approved it can be used to create the tenancy.

Links to files
Links to any files, for example scanned documents, can be created for properties, tenants, and tenancies.

Default nominal bank account
It is now possible to designate a nominal bank account as the default. This bank account will be automatically selected when entering tenant receipts and so on.

Increased Code size
Property codes and Funding type codes have been increased in size to 10 characters.

Change Your Codes
Codes can be changed using the Recode Records option on the Utilities menu.

Increased transaction details size
The transaction details field has been increased in size to 50 characters.

Multiple Tenancy Charging Records for the same funding type/date range now allowed
Previously only one TCR of any one funding type, for example "TENANT", could be entered for any particular date range and those date ranges could not be overlapped.

Multiple Tenancies
More than one tenancy is now allowed in the same property at the same time.

Documents Wizard
The Tenancy Documents Wizard has been removed from the Tenancies menu. Instead, tenancy documents can be generated from the Documents tab of a tenancy record. You will also find a Documents tab on the Property and Tenant records where documents can be generated for these items.

Task Manager
Task Manager has been removed as it had very limited use and proved to be more of an annoyance than a help!

Version 3.11 - 10/12/2004

Tenancy Charging records
When selecting the frequency of rent charges in a tenancy charging record the quarterly and six-monthly frequencies now have the option to use English or Scottish Quarter Days.

Rent Calculation
When running the Calculate Rents Due option you now have the option to edit a rent charge prior to posting it.

Supplier Batch Invoice Fast track
When entering supplier invoices via the Batch Entry option you can now enter the supplier payment at the same time if desired.

Job Costs
Facility has now been added to add existing transactions as job costs to a job record.

Rent charged records
The data table that stores details of the days rent has been charged for has been changed. You will experience some short delay when first running the new version of the program whilst your existing records are converted.

Bug fixes

Tenancy Reminders Due
Error reported when trying to open a reminder for editing.

Key Records
When opening a key record from the Keys tab of a property record, the incorrect key record is opened.

Portfolio record
Error reported when trying to add a new valuation record.

Version 3.10 - 19/10/2004

Tenancy Wizard added
This wizard is available from both the Tenancies list and the Tenancy Records tab of the Property record. The Wizard provides an easy step-by-step way of creating a new tenancy having one tenant on it.

Screen/Column resizing
Revision made to the code that records the last size of a screen when it was opened and the size and order of the columns to improve its behaviour.

Version 3.9.3 - 8/10/2004

Tenant Deposit Wizard added
Can be used to post deposit against rent or other charges as well as recording deposit received or repaid.

System Settings option
System Settings option added to Settings menu. Can be used to choose how grid lines are displayed and where the Main toolbar appears. The default date is now set via this option replacing the Change Program Date option on the Settings menu.

Bug fixes
Reminder creation, Memos and reports for property Keys.

Version 3.9.2 - 28/09/2004

Changes made to format of placeholders in tenancy document templates.

Version 3.9 - 13/09/2004

Enhancements

XFRX Report Utility
Our software now incorporates a third party utility called XFRX. This allows any report on the system to be saved as various file types such as Microsoft Word document (DOC), Adobe Acrobat PDF file (PDF) and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (XLS). You will see the available options when you go to print a report: to produce a saved file, select the File option and select the File Type from the dropdown list. You will then be prompted to enter the filename for the saved file.

Job Records
Major enhancements have been made to the Job recording feature, including additional fields to store data and the ability to record multiple costs for a job. When recording job costs, the costs are posted both to the transactions table and to a new table which will retain the job costs even if the transactions are removed, for example where the audit trail is cleared down.

Further enhancements will be made in a future release that will include the ability to attach existing transactions to a job record.

Property Occupancy Report
Enhancements have been made to the Property Occupancy Report which include reporting on maximum rent achievable in a period and rent lost because of non-occupancy: these figure rely on there being current target rent records for the properties. The graphical representation on the "Chart" tab has been removed as it had very limited use.

Telephone numbers
Columns for telephone numbers have been added to the Tenants and Suppliers lists, enabling you to locate a telephone number without having to open the relevant record. These lists now have a horizontal scrollbar at the bottom so you can view the additional columns. The lists will now "remember" the size and position of their columns so you can resize a column, using the line between the column headers, and even change its position in the list by dragging the column header.

Program Date
The code has been changed so that the Properties List, property status column is now based on the true date and not the current program date, as this was causing confusion to users.

New Tenancy class
A property can now have a default Tenancy Class, for example "Residential" or "Commercial" and the facility is provided for you to create your own. The default tenancy class is used when you create a new tenancy and can be edited at the tenancy record level. This feature allows sorting via the Properties list filter screen and is reported in various reports.

Nominal List
The Nominal List screen has been updated to include a column showing the sub-category a nominal account belongs to. This provides a useful check in that any nominal account that has not been allocated to a sub-category will have no entry in the sub-category column. Any nominal account that has not been allocated to a sub-category will not be included in the Income and Expenditure/Balance Sheet report and could result in incorrect figures being reported. You can now filter the Nominal List to show All/Agency/Landlord transactions. A similar feature has also been added to the Trial Balance report.

Bug Fixes

Waiting List
Successful matches were only being reported for the first appropriate enquiry found. This has been fixed so that several enquiries for which a particular property would be suitable are all reported.

Roll-on Tenancies
Tenancies that contained charging records that represented a rent change during the term of the tenancy were being incorrectly "rolled-on". The resulting new tenancy would include all charging records from the old tenancy, instead of just those current at the end of the tenancy. This has resulted in duplicate rent calculations in some cases.