practice management year end procedure/new year &...

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT Version 10 and above

YEAR END PROCEDURE/NEW YEAR & MATTER ROLLOVER

Year End Procedure/ New Year & Matter Rollover | Practice Management

Reckon Limited | PAGE 2 OF 26

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this manual. However, neither Reckon Accountants Group Pty Limited, a Reckon Limited group company, its subsidiaries, employees and agents, can be held liable for any errors or omissions. This document should not be relied on as a detailed specification of the system. In addition, Reckon Accountants Group Pty Limited, a Reckon Limited group company, reserves the right to issue revisions, enhancements and improvements to Reckon APS software at any time without notice. Every effort will be made to ensure that the manual is updated concurrently and that the user is not inconvenienced as a result of any change.

Author

Created and Published by Reckon Limited Level 2/100 Pacific Hwy North Sydney NSW 2060 ACN 003 348 730 All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2014 Reckon Limited

Copyright

No part of these materials may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, without written permission of Reckon Limited.



Contents

Author ...................................................................................................................................... 2

Copyright ................................................................................................................................ 2

Contents .................................................................................................................................. 3

Setting up the New Financial Year ....................................................................................... 4 How to Add a New Year in Advance Practice Management ................................................ 4 Debtors Options explained: ................................................................................................. 6 WIP Options explained: ...................................................................................................... 6

Holidays and Productivity ..................................................................................................... 8

Matter Rollover ..................................................................................................................... 10 Matter Rollover and Advance Document Management ...................................................... 11 Matter Rollover and Workflow ............................................................................................. 11 Matter Rollover and Resource Planning ............................................................................. 11 Matter Rollover and iManage .............................................................................................. 12 Matter Rollover and Virtual Cabinet .................................................................................... 12 How to Create a New Year based Standard Matter and Rollover link for Australian Practices. ............................................................................................................................ 13 How to Create a New Year based Standard Matter and Rollover link for New Zealand Practices ............................................................................................................................. 18

Performing the Matter Rollover .......................................................................................... 22 Roll this Matter (Individual option)....................................................................................... 22 General Matter Rollover (Bulk Option) ................................................................................ 23



Setting up the New Financial Year

How to Add a New Year in Advance Practice Management

IMPORTANT!

Backup your database. You may need to involve your IT people to backup your SQL database (aps_dsql) before proceeding with the year end roll over.

Please Note: Screenshots within this document are from the Practice Management version10.1.2 (DataTables Database 10.1.2). Thus, they may differ to your screenshots if you are using a different version.

IMPORTANT! The below screenshots for New Financial Year Creation are shown as an example on how to setup a new financial Year in Practice Management. Please ensure that the ‘Year Start’ and ‘End’ dates of the new financial year are set correctly in ‘Add a financial Year’ screen. Generally you do not have to change the dates in this screen, as system will automatically prefill the next/new financial year’s start and end dates based on the previous year’s information. But if the prefilled dates are incorrect, please contact Reckon Support prior to proceeding with the next step.

• Open Financial Periods through ‘Timesheet Administration’

• From Central Login double click on ‘Timesheet Administration’ (or from ‘Launch’ menu within a Console’s menu)

• From the menu bar, click on ‘Timesheet’ and then select ‘Periods’



When you click the ‘periods’ option, you may receive the following message. This message relates to the currently selected year and you can safely click on the 'Yes' button to proceed to the Financial Periods screen.

• Screen titled ‘Financial Periods’ will be displayed. Click on ‘File’ and select ‘New Year’

• The ‘Add a financial year’ screen will display.



IMPORTANT!

Please ensure that the ‘Year Start’ and ‘End’ dates of the new financial year are set correctly prior to proceeding with the next step. Generally you do not have to change the dates in this form, as system will automatically prefill the next/new financial year’s start and end date based on the previous year’s information. But if the prefilled dates are incorrect, please contact Reckon Support prior to proceeding with the next step.

IMPORTANT!

If your site is not using the options as displayed in the screenshot above, please contact Reckon Support. KA-01721

Debtors Options explained:

• Debtors months are calendar months: Setup a Debtors Year that is based on calendar months. This is the most commonly selected option.

• Debtors months always end on the xxth day of the month: Allows you to select a particular day to end the Debtors period on. For example, you may always wish to finish your month end on the 25th day of the month.

• Debtors months always end on the last xxxxxx in the month: Allows you to finish the Debtors period on the same day each month. For example you may wish to finish the debtors month on the Last Friday in each month.

WIP Options explained:

• WIP weeks rigorously start on Monday, and end on Sunday: This option means each WIP W eek is an entire week from Monday to Sunday. There is never a week short (except at year-end). Sometimes a couple of days in the next month will be included in the previous month. E.g. End of January may include 2 days of



February. When you print reports based on W IP Weeks, the February time will be included.

• WIP months align exactly to debtor months: Whatever selection is made in the debtor’s period will be created for W IP. This is the most commonly selected option.

• WIP month’s end xx days BEFORE the Debtors month end: Allows you to finish the

WIP period a set number of days before the Debtors Month End.

• WIP periods run in bi-monthly cycles. The first cycle ends on the xxth of every calendar month. This selection will split each month into 2 periods/cycles.

• Once you have decided on the setup of both the Debtors and WIP, select the appropriate

options and then select the OK button.

• Once you have clicked on OK, you will see the new financial year ‘WIP’ periods. Please check the WIP periods are set up correctly, click on ‘DEBT’ icon to check the Debtors period to confirm if they have been set up correctly.

• The ‘HOLS’ icon should show that you have no holidays at this point as you have to set them up once you have created the new financial period.

NOTE:

Selecting Completed and Budget is created, it will lock in the current listing of Holidays for the selected year and CANNOT be altered later. Please choose this setting with care. The only way to unlock it, is to delete the budget created for the year.



NOTE:

If you click on the ‘X’ on this screen above to come out of Periods and say ‘yes’ to save the changes, your financial periods will be created. You cannot make changes to a saved financial period easily. So please make sure you have checked it thoroughly before selecting YES to the screen which shows up when you click on X.

Holidays and Productivity

If you are using the holiday feature in Advance, remember to now enter the Holidays. However, if you have set up public holidays as internal matters, then you are more than likely not using the holiday function in Advance.

IMPORTANT!

For clients using fee earner Budgets from the ‘Budgets’ console please note that if you use the Holiday feature to enter holidays, you will need to enter all your holidays for the new financial year and then change the ‘Status’ from ‘Active’ to ‘Complete’, before you will be able to access/edit any Budgets.

Once the status has been changed to ‘Complete’ you are not able to change back to ‘Active’. Unless, the budget created for the year are deleted, then you can activate the status to adjust, add and Delete Holidays. Always keep in mind, adjusting any holiday for the week means you will need to recreate Timesheet Headers to reflect the Standard hours correctly.

Please refer to KA-01722

Firms using public holiday feature in Practice Management MUST enter all public holidays prior to creating timesheet headers. Any holidays created after creating timesheet headers will not be displayed in that week’s timesheet header/s. You may need to delete and recreate the header/s. In addition if you have created budgets for your staff in ‘Budgets’ Console and need to add to your holiday list afterwards; you will need to use the ‘Less Adjustment’ field in Budgets to adjust the ‘Std Hrs’ or ‘Reset’ the budgets and recreate from start.



NOTE:

Using the ‘Less Adjustment’ field in Budgets to adjust the ‘Std Hrs’, this changes only adjusting the figure in the Budget Console. It will not adjust the Standard Hours in Timesheet nor in PracticeIQ. PracticeIQ picks up the Standard Hours from Timesheet Header.

• From within the Periods screen, select the ‘HOLS’ button (see below) and then from the ‘File’ Menu, select ‘New Holiday’

• Enter the appropriate public holidays. When the 'Add Holiday' screen opens, either type in the date of the holiday or use the drop down arrow to access the built in calendar; • Tab into the ‘Holiday Name’ and add an appropriate description;

• For ‘Std Hours’, enter the number of hours that will be actually worked on that

day (normally zero); Click on the ‘OK’ to accept the new holiday

When holidays are set up through ‘Timesheet Administration’, the field for hours that you complete on a holiday are the hours ‘to be worked on this holiday’. Therefore the following must be considered in relation to productivity:

• Holidays set up with 7.5 standard hours assume that employees still have a week equal to 37.5 hours to be worked and the productivity will reflect 37.5 standard hours

• Holidays set up with 0 standard hours will generate a week with standard hours of 30 and hence the productivity will be calculated on a 30 hour week as opposed to 37.5 hours

• If you are using employee budgets from the ‘Budgets’ console, the standard hours are calculated same as described above.



• When finished entering the public holidays for the new financial year close out of that screen by clicking on X.

• Answer ‘Yes’ to save changes. The New Year is now setup.

Matter Rollover

The Matter Rollover function in Advance Practice Management is one that results in the creation of new matters specific for the current or New Year based on the related previous year’s matters.

IMPORTANT!

For Practice Management installations that have Document Store settings configured and linked at a client and/or matter level, please ensure that the new standard matter description and client sort name does NOT contain any special characters, such as \ / : * ? “ < > | or apostrophes(').

Whilst some organisations chose to perform matter rollover as part of their year-end process, it is important that users are aware that this is NOT mandatory. Whether or not this function is utilised in an organisation, is determined by the System Administrator and or Partners.

The following points are the main features and consequences of the matter rollover function, which need to be considered:

• New set of matters are created specifically for the New Year. These new matters are then displayed alongside the prior year matters.

• Rollover of matter provides an opportunity to globally update out-dated milestone templates, or attach the same prior year milestone templates, or not attach any milestone template.



• The creation of the new matter DOES NOT have any bearing on staff members’ ability to allocate timesheet entries, bill, report etc. on prior year matters, unless a decision has been made to close the prior year matter, hence flagged to ‘Disallow Timesheets’ and ‘Disallow Disbursements’.

• Rollover of prior year matters, DOES NOT result in the rollover or transfer of WIP to the new matter.

• Dependant on the internal organisation rules for entering timesheets and which matters can and can’t be used, matter rollover can provide an opportunity to produce comparative reports for matters based on year, although many of the existing reports already allow for filtering on dates or periods.

Matter Rollover and Advance Document Management If your Practice is using Advance Document Management and using ‘link client and matter level’, matter rollover function will create new folder for the matter.

Matter Rollover and Workflow If your Practice is using Workflow, the Bulk Matter Rollover option may impact existing Workflow outcomes. It is imperative that you consult or review your internal processes and Workflow requirements with the relevant Practice Manager or Workflow Champions. Before using the bulk matter rollover functionality, which is available with this software, you need to understand the requirements of your firm and the desired outcome based on those requirements.

If you are unsure about your firm’s workflow process or you are looking to implement, review or change your workflow process, you will need to book with consulting services for assistance, as Reckon Support is not in a position to advise you about your workflow process.

Matter Rollover and Resource Planning If your Practice is using Work Centre Functionality in Practice Management V11.x or Resource Planning Module in older PM versions, the Matter Rollover options ('General Matter Rollover' and 'Roll This Matter') may impact existing RP/workflow outcomes. It is imperative that you consult or review your internal processes and RP/workflow requirements with the relevant Practice Manager or RP/workflow Champions. You need to understand the requirements of your firm and the desired outcome based on those requirements. If to implement, review or you are unsure about your firm’s RP/workflow process or you are looking change your RP/workflow process, you will need to book with consulting services for assistance, as APS Support is not able to advise you about your workflow process.



NOTE: 1. To rollover resources from prior matter into new matter, you must select

the 'Roll Prior Year Milestone' option.

2. Resources that do not have an Actual Date (i.e. are not complete), will not roll over to the new Matter properly. Hence, do not roll the matter if it is not completed yet. Do a single Matter Rollover once you have completed all Milestones or Resources for each matter.

Matter Rollover and iManage If your Practice is using iManage, the bulk or individual Matter Rollover process will add the new matters and depending on your database structure, may add additional workspaces into iManage. It is imperative that you consult or review your internal processes with the relevant Practice Manager or iManage Champions. Before using the matter rollover functionality, you need to understand the requirements of your firm and the desired outcome based on those requirements.

In the situation where the Matter Rollover was completed by mistake and you delete the matter(s) from the ‘Matter’ band. Please ensure that you also delete the matter from iManage. If you are unsure of how to do this please contact your iManage Administrator or OIA.

Matter Rollover and Virtual Cabinet If your Practice is using Virtual Cabinet, the bulk or individual Matter Rollover process will add the new matters and depending on your database structure, may add additional folders in Matter Console view. It is imperative that you consult or review your internal processes with the relevant Practice Manager or Virtual Cabinet Champions. Before using the matter rollover functionality, you need to understand the requirements of your firm and the desired outcome based on those requirements.



How to Create a New Year based Standard Matter and Rollover link for Australian Practices. For New Zealand Practices please go to the next chapter.

In Advance Practice Management the matter rollover function enables the matters to be replicated from year to year.

IMPORTANT! • In this section we have provided examples for creating new year based

standard matters for 2017 financial year. • Please use the steps below as a guide to create and roll new year based

standard matters for the new financial year.

• Select from the application list under ‘System Administration Console’.

• Click on the ‘Add’ button on the toolbar to create a new Standard Matter.

• In the ‘Add Standard Matters’ form, enter Matter Description and assign the Entity name and click on the ‘Add’ button.



• From the Tool bar, click on the ‘Edit Mode’ button and then select the ‘Details’ option in the left-hand pane.

• In ‘Details’ page, ensure that the ‘Year’ is defined, as well as the following highlighted fields and any other mandatory fields are filled in. For complete instructions on how to create a new Standard Matter please refer to KA-01723.



• Year: This is a mandatory field for Rollover matters. Enter 2017 for 2017 rollover matters.

• Launch Method: Ensure that the ‘Launch Method’ is set to ‘aTEliteIntgn.advStartApp’ for Australian tax matters used in Tax Manager. This will associate your tax forms to this matter. If you do not wish to associate the matter to a tax form, the ‘Launch Method’ field in this form should be left blank.

• Rollover Type: All Australian sites must choose ‘apAdministrator.advRollGeneric’. Note: If the ‘Launch Method’ and ‘Rollover Type’ matter attributes have been set in the prior year matter, they must be setup in the exact manner for the new-year.

• Roll from Matter: The matter selected will typically be the related matter for the previous year. From the selection list, select the current year matter that will be set to roll over into the following year. e.g. 2016 Annual Compliance.

• Allow Timesheet and Allow Disbursement: These fields were introduced in PM V10. In PM Version 10 onwards, when a matter is rolled over, the new client matter



will default to the value set in the ‘Allow Timesheet’ and ‘Allow Disbursement’ of the new Standard Matter. A blank value in Standard Matter fields will default to Yes in client matter.

• Date Closed: This field was introduced in PM V10.This field allows to close any prior year standard matters. Once this field has a date, the standard matter is flagged as closed and no longer selectable when creating client/matters.

• Service Line: is not covered here because it is for CRM Module

• Is Opportunity: is not covered here because it is for CRM Module

• Rollover Method: The ‘Rollover Method’ attribute for the Standard Matter being rolled over, enables users to define how they would like to assign the milestones for the New Year matter being created. The following three options are available for defining the Rollover Method: 1. Roll Prior Year Milestone

ALL the milestones currently attached to the client’s previous year matter will be copied to the New Year’s matter when it is created. Target Date*: Requires a date selection for the new-year milestones. Select No Date, Previous Target Date or Previous Actual Date

No Date, i.e. blank Previous Target Date - The Target Dates of the same milestones on the prior year's matter plus 12 months. Previous Actual Date - The Actual Dates of the same milestones on the prior year's matter plus 12 months. Budgeted Hours and Amount*: Requires an Hour/$ value selection for the new-year milestones. Select Previous Budget Values or Previous Actual Values. Budgeted Amount Adjustment %*: Allows a % to be added to the budgeted $ value. Roll Responsibility: Allows the person(s) responsible for the previous year milestone(s) and Matter, to be replicated to the new matter.

IMPORTANT! The selections above are only applicable, when you select the 'Roll Prior Year Milestone' option. They are NOT available in the 'Standard Matter template' or the 'No Milestones' options. The exceptions are the ‘Roll from Matter’ and 'Roll Responsibility' which is explained further below. In addition to the above; if you have added new milestones to your template and if you choose this option, these new milestones will not be added. When using this



option, to add the new milestones you must add them manually to each Matter or log a call for a consultant to run a script to update all the matters with the additional milestone(s).

2. Standard Matter Template:

This option allows you to update the new matters, with any changes you have made to your Milestone Template/Workflow Template. Selecting this option will NOT affect any prior year matter milestones.

NOTE: Using the Advance® Matter Rollover Wizard if the Rollover Method is set to Standard Matter Template option. Then you MUST select the appropriate Milestone Template in the wizard; otherwise your new matters will be created without any milestone(s).

3. No Milestones:

No milestones are attached to the new-year matter that is created. This is often used for Australian Tax matters which are primarily used for attaching returns.



How to Create a New Year based Standard Matter and Rollover link for New Zealand Practices In Advance Practice Management the matter rollover function enables the matters to be replicated from year to year.

IMPORTANT! • In this section we have provided examples for creating new year based

standard matters for 2017 financial year. • Please use the steps below as a guide to create and roll new year based

standard matters for the new financial year.

• Select from the application list under ‘System Administration Console’.

• Click on the ‘Add’ button on the toolbar to create a new Standard Matter.

• In the ‘Add Standard Matters’ form, enter Matter Description and assign the Entity name and click on the ‘Add’ button.



• From the Tool bar, click on the ‘Edit Mode’ button and then select

the ‘Details’ option in the left-hand pane.

• In order to create a new annual matter for the following year (e.g. 2016 Taxation), you must ensure that the ‘Year’ is defined, as well as the fields ‘Rollover Type’, ’Rollover Method’, ’Roll from Matter’ and any other mandatory fields are set correctly. For complete instructions on how to create a new Standard Matter please refer to KA-01723.

• Year: This is a mandatory field for Rollover matters. Enter 2017 for 2017 rollover

matters.

• Launch Method: Ensure that the ‘Launch Method’ is set to ‘aTNAdmin.advStartApp’ for New Zealand tax matters used in Tax Manager. This will associate your tax forms to this matter.

• Rollover Type: For New Zealand tax matters used in Advance Tax Manager, ensure that the ‘Rollover Type’ for the matter is set to ‘atnAdmin.advRollTax’ Note: If the ‘Launch Method’ and ‘Rollover Type’ matter attributes have been set in the prior year matter, they must be setup in the exact manner for the new-year.



• Roll from Matter: The matter selected will typically be the related matter for the

previous year. From the selection list, select the current year matter that will be set to roll over into the following year. e.g. 2016 Annual Compliance.

• Allow Timesheet and Allow Disbursement: These fields were introduced in PM V10. In PM Version 10 onwards, when a matter is rolled over, the new client matter will default to the value set in the ‘Allow Timesheet’ and ‘Allow Disbursement’ of the new Standard Matter. A blank value in Standard Matter fields will default to Yes in client matter.

• Date Closed: This field was introduced in PM V10.This field allows to close any prior year standard matters. Once this field has a date, the standard matter is flagged as closed and no longer selectable when creating client/matters.

• Service Line: is not covered here because it is for CRM Module

• Is Opportunity: is not covered here because it is for CRM Module • Rollover Method: The Rollover Method attribute for the Standard Matter being

rolled over, enables users to define how they would like to assign the milestones for the New Year matter being created.

The following three options are available for defining the Rollover Method:

1. Roll Prior Year Milestone ALL the milestones currently attached to the client’s previous year matter will be copied to the New Year’s matter when it is created.

• Target Date*: Requires a date selection for the new-year milestones. Select No Date, Previous Target Date or Previous Actual Date

• Budgeted Hours and Amount*: Requires an Hour/$ value selection for the new-year milestones. Select Previous Budget Values or Previous Actual Values.

• Budgeted Amount Adjustment %*: Allows a % to be added to the budgeted $.

• Roll Responsibility: Allows the person(s) responsible for the previous year milestone(s) and Matter, to be replicated to the new matter.

• Roll From Matter: The matter selected will typically be the related matter for the

previous year.

IMPORTANT!

The selections above are only applicable, when you select the 'Roll Prior Year Milestone' option. They are NOT available in the 'Standard Matter template' or the 'No Milestones' options. The exceptions are the ‘Roll from Matter’ and 'Roll Responsibility' which is explained further below.

In addition to the above; if you have added new milestones to your template and if you choose this option, these new milestones will not be added. When using this option, to add the new milestones you must add them manually to each



Matter or log a call for a consultant to run a script to update all the matters with the additional milestone(s).

2. Standard Matter Template:

This option allows you to update the new matters, with any changes you have made to your Milestone Template/Workflow Template. Selecting this option will NOT affect any prior year matter milestones.

NOTE:

Using the Advance® Matter Rollover Wizard if the Rollover Method is set to Standard Matter Template option. Then you MUST select the appropriate Milestone Template in the wizard; otherwise your new matters will be created without any milestone(s).

3. No Milestones:

No milestones are attached to the new-year matter that is created. This is often used for Tax matters which are primarily used for attaching returns.

NOTE:

Roll Responsibility*: Allows the person(s) responsible for the previous year’s matter to be replicated to the new matter. This does not roll the Milestone Responsibility, but will roll the Matter responsibility.



Performing the Matter Rollover

IMPORTANT!

This is a System Administrator function and does not need to be performed on each PC. Please make a backup of the database before running this routine. This way your existing data will be protected, just in case you need to restore the backup after selecting incorrect options and wishing to perform the rollover from scratch.

All users other than the System Administrator should be logged out before the backup routine is run and should not be allowed back into the software until the rollover process is complete. Some firms prefer to do this after hours in order to minimise downtime for their staff. Before the Rollover can take place, the rollover link must have been set up (see preceding section).

There are two methods in which matter rollover can be performed.

Roll this Matter (Individual option)

• This method is used to rollover a specific matter for an individual client. Generally, this

option is used to create a New Year matter on completion of a prior year workflow job. • If you wish to rollover a specific matter for an individual client, then do this by going into

Central Console for that client then click on the Matter band. Right mouse click on the relevant matter and select ‘Roll this Matter’.



• You can click on the ‘Edit Mode’ button in the ‘Advance Matter Rollover Wizard’ to edit any of the selected matter parameters before rolling the standard matter.

General Matter Rollover (Bulk Option) • This option is used for creating client matters in bulk based on a specific

selection criteria. This option is commonly used for creating tax matters to perform tax return rollover.

• To perform a General Matter Rollover; Go to the ‘Action’ menu from any console. (Given that you have been granted adequate rights).



• Select ‘General Matter Rollover’ from the menu.

• In the ‘Rollover From’ field, select the matter being rolled from using the pick list.

• The ‘Rollover To’ field should automatically display the matter for the following year.

• If you wish to edit any of the selected matter’s parameters, use the ‘Edit Mode’ button in the menu bar. If you do not have the privileges to do this, then you will need to exit and make the changes via the ‘Standard Matters’ console and click ‘Next’.



• The following screen gives the option to filter the Debtor Matter for whom you wish to rollover the matter for example: To restrict available matters to one Partner etc, use the selector to select the partner required.

• The following screen will display the results of the query.

• The tick in the checkbox to the left of the client name indicates whether the client is to

be rolled or not. This section is always ticked by default. If you only want to roll some of the clients under the first section, this can be done by only ticking the ones you wish to roll.



• The second list titled ‘Roll Into Matter: Exists’ lists the clients which have been rolled. You will notice the last column ‘’Roll To Matter’ has a matter name in it. The checkbox in this section is always un-ticked by default.

• If you would like to select all matters regardless of being already rolled over you can select the option ‘Select All Matter’.

• If you want to replace the already rolled over matters, then tick the option of ‘Replace All existing Matters’. If any existing Matters have transactions these will not be replaced/overwritten.

• The Print button allows you to print a copy or the list of clients.

• Click on the ‘Finish’ button to start the rollover. A progress bar will indicate how much has been completed.

• A message box will indicate when the rollover has finished. Click on OK.

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