Access Attaché 20 desktop release

System-wide features

Quick and easy shortcuts

Shortcuts on the desktop Home screen are now easier to manage. To create a shortcut, simply click the star next to the menu item. That item will be automatically listed under your Shortcuts. To remove a shortcut, click the star. Using shortcuts gives you one-click access to tasks instead of having to navigate the menu. 

Email notifications in Backup Scheduler

Backup Scheduler allows you to set up automatic backups of your Attaché datasets (companies) daily, weekly or monthly, and at a specified time of day. You do not have to be logged in and you can also use Backup Scheduler to restore data from the backup files if required. 

With Backup Scheduler you specify where the backup is stored, which can be on a server or computer different than your Attaché server. This provides an additional layer of protection against cyber attacks like Cryptovirus.

Backup Scheduler has now been enhanced to allow you to add in a contact to receive email notifications to advise you of the success (or failure) of a scheduled backup. 

See Attaché Backup Scheduler

General Ledger

Automated posting to the general ledger

With automated general ledger posting, transactions are posted to the appropriate general ledger account whenever you save (accept) a transaction. This means your general ledger stays up to date in real time, and it eliminates the need to manually post batches to the general ledger.

Once your transactions are posted automatically, as you enter each transaction, your General Ledger Accounts and Find Postings dashboards are also updated giving you instant real-time visual reporting of your general ledger transactions.  

See About automated general ledger posting

Filtering customer payments in bank reconciliation

In Bank Reconciliation, you can now filter customer payments by Customer Payment Type, Card Type, Merchant ID and Date Range. This reduces the number of transactions display so it is easier to reconcile customer payments.

This allows you to reconcile customer payments during your bank reconciliation process more seamlessly by payment date, type and/or card type.

See General Ledger Bank Reconciliation Entry

Attaché Payroll

Enhancements to deductions linked to bank accounts

In Access Attaché Payroll, the ability to link a bank account to a deduction was first introduced in Attaché 18.1. When you create a bank file, the payment for the deduction is added and the general ledger postings are updated automatically. Previously, to process a deduction you needed to manually transfer the funds to the bank.

This feature has been enhanced in version 20:  

• For Australia, the Pay Referencein Other Accounts Maintenance has been extended to cater for Child Support payments

• For New Zealand and Pacific Islands bank files created will contain the payment from the deduction.

See Ability to attach a bank account to a deduction

New sample data company for Payroll (Blue Sky)

Access Attaché 20 includes a new sample data company, called Blue Sky. Using a sample data company lets you explore new features, see the impact of changes to setup and options and practice data entry without impacting your live data.

To use the new sample company, on the Open Company screen after logging in, choose Sample Companies and then select Blue Sky Payroll.

Payroll tax scales for Australia, New Zealand and Solomon Islands

Access Attaché version 20 includes tax scales for Australia (effective 1 July 2020), New Zealand (1 April 2020) and Solomon Islands (1 January 2020). Each of these were previously made available via the Attaché menu.

Access Attaché Asset Management

Access Attaché Asset Management version 20.1 is a required upgrade for compatibility with automated posting to the general ledger.

Access Attaché Online – aligned deployment

Aligned with the Access Attaché version 20.1 release is an Attaché Online deployment which delivers the new and improved features described below. 

Attaché Online deployments occur regularly, about every week or two. You can find out what's been deployed in the Attaché Release Log. 

Express Leave and Timesheets

Multiple approvers for leave requests

In Express Leave you can now set up more than one approver for an employee's leave requests.  

• Additional approver: An employee can now have a Default Approveras well as an Additional Approver as an alternative. So when the Default Approver is on leave, the request will be sent to the Additional Approver. 

• Sequential (second) approver: If your organisations has a two-level leave approval process, you can now set up sequential levels of approval. An employee can have a First Approver and a Second Approver. Both need to approve the leave request. Email notifications are sent to each approver in accordance with the sequence, and final (or rejection at either stage) approval to the employee. 

See Assigning additional or multiple approvers to an employee  

New and improved leave calendar

The new-look calendar in Express Leave provides a better visual design as well as a better view of staff on leave. You can choose to show all employees, employees for whom you approve leave or create a custom list for employees in a particular team or group.

Time tracking in Express Timesheets

In Express Timesheets employees can now record their start and stop times as well as any unpaid breaks. The employee can then submit their times for manager approval.

Payroll managers can then report and review the start/stop times to ensure compliance with the Fair Work annualised salary legislation (effective March 2020).

See Time Tracking in Express Timesheets

Employee Onboarding 

Additional actions and filters on employee onboarding listing

In the main Employee Onboarding screen, you can now mark an onboarding form as Not required. The screen also includes some additional filters so you can choose to list only employees with the status you are looking for – In progress, Pending, and Not required.

These improvements make it far easier to manage onboarding, particularly if you have a lot of new staff, and help you ensure new employee are completing their onboarding details.

See Using Employee Onboarding

Super fund search in Employee Onboarding

In Employee Onboarding, when an Australian employee is completing their superannuation fund details, they now select their fund from an ATO-defined list of APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) funds. Previously employees typed in their fund, which was prone to error. By selecting their fund, the onboarding journey is more straightforward for the employee, and the payroll manager can avoid additional communications to clarify the fund details.

REF 030820