News

Readysell 8.54 Quipolly now rolling out

We’re pleased to announce that Readysell 8.54 (codename Quipolly) is rolling out to all of our Readysell 8 customers. This release continues our campaign to address long-standing customer requests from the Readysell forum.

Quipolly Dam

Avoid confusion by copying sale notes onto the first shipment only

There are many scenarios where notes to be printed on shipments are relevant to the first shipment only (and not on subsequent shipments, which will be sent once back orders are fulfilled). For “External Notes” on sales, we now have a “First Shipment Only” check box which, when checked, will attach the note only to the first shipment, avoiding any possible confusion.

Screenshot of notes screen

Control your automation with customisable weekend handling

Readysell allows you to automatically generate many types of transactions on a regular basis. You can do this on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Sometimes though, you may want to generate on a particular day of the month, except if that day falls on a weekend. We’ve added “Weekend Handling” just for this case. You can now choose to generate transactions either on the Friday before or the Monday after if the transaction would normally fall on a weekend.

Configure new machines faster with automatic generation from purchase receipts

Readysell has long provided the ability to automatically generate machines from sales. We’re now extending this functionality to purchases as well. If you are receiving in stock for a machine product, you can select “Generate Machine” and we’ll automatically populate the details into a new machine.

Improve your sales reporting by excluding 100% discounted sales

Service dealers with machines on contract typically have labour, parts and toners discounted at 100%. The unfortunate effect of this is that these sale lines are included in reporting and cause negative GP%. To ensure sales reporting is accurate for these dealers, we now have a simple check box to exclude these sales from reporting and have the ability to calculate cubes without these sales being included.

But wait, there’s more…

We’ve also made a number of other improvements and under-the-hood changes. Here’s a full list. If you’d like more details about any of the below items, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us through the Readysell Helpdesk.

  • 11335 Mass close of action items
  • 12801 Purchase order and sales order overdue alerts
  • 12909 Provide an option to copy external notes onto first sale shipment and invoice only
  • 13736 Add the ability to create a machine from a purchase receipt
  • 14741 Add an option to skip generation of automated transactions on weekends
  • 14844 Store all product movement quantities as integers
  • 14912 Provide an easy way to run sales reports that exclude all products with 100% discounts
  • 14913 Enable Readysell to communicate with multiple WebX web sites
  • 14933 Update Print Helper to work with cloud-hosted Readysell

Significantly reduce pay run processing times by using automated pay runs

Our partners at KeyPay have rolled out a new feature today that may be of great benefit to users of Readysell Payroll – automated pay runs. Here’s how KeyPay’s Dimitra Karas explains the feature:

You know how there are times at work when you’re about to start a task but deep down wish there was some fairy godmother that would do it for you instead? #askingforafriend That’s definitely not me… I love everything I do… especially writing blogs. For everyone else however, and especially those lucky enough to process pay runs, you’d be happy to know that fairy godmothers do exist! I know that because you can now utilise automated pay runs to remove some or all manual handling when processing pays. This latest feature basically takes our existing smarts and ramps up the sexiness one hundred fold.

How can automating our pay runs actually reduce the existing processing times?

Let’s go through all the steps required to process and finalise a pay run (that doesn’t require manual pay adjustments):

  1. Create the pay run;
  2. Import timesheets;
  3. Apply leave requests;
  4. Finalise pay run;
  5. Create pay event (for businesses having to report STP);
  6. Publish pay slips;
  7. Post payroll journal;
  8. Send report packs.

All of the above are usually done with a click of a button but imagine not even having to do that anymore? Imagine not having to sit and wait, staring at your screen until one action is complete to then perform another action?

Rather, all of the above pay run actions – from start to finish – would be performed in the background whilst you focussed on performing other work. All that is required for this magic to happen is a one-off configuration to set the level of automation to your pay runs. Let me step you through the configuration process.

How do I set up automated pay runs?

From your Pay Schedule screen, select the pay run you want to automate and then complete the setup wizard.

Step 1: Here you set the dates for the pay runs and the timesheet import options.

Monthly pays can sometimes get tricky as the normal processing day in a month may fall on a weekend or public holiday. As such, we have put safeguards in place allowing users to select the appropriate actions if that situation arises:

Step 2: Here you set the warnings that, when triggered, will stop the pay run. Manual intervention will then be required to finalise the pay run. Add the users on this screen that should be notified of such errors but also when the pay run has successfully finalised.

Step 3: Here you can determine what components of finalising the pay run you want automated. For example, with the first option, you can choose to finalise the pay run manually. If you do so, the latter options will disappear as all pay run finalisation will be done the traditional way. If you choose to lodge the pay run with the ATO immediately, this will automatically create the pay event but a user will still be required to lodge the event itself. The option for sending report packs will only appear if the business has report packs set up. Additionally, if you are connected to an online journal service, the option to export journals immediately will be available.

Step 4: This screen provides you with a summary of all your selections. You can choose to go back and make any changes needed prior to completing the setup.

 

Why would I even consider automating our pay runs?

There are many reasons.

  • Save time: The reduction in pay run processing time allows you to reallocate that time and focus on other strategic work.
  • Retain control: You determine what components of the pay run to automate, thereby keeping overall control.
  • Quality assurance: Configured warnings will stop an automated pay run where required prior to the pay run being finalised. This ensures anything that needs to be addressed or fixed is done so without compromising the correctness of employee pays.

People hear ‘automation’ and think ‘here we go, the robots are coming for our jobs’. We can’t speak on behalf of everyone but what makes this feature so exciting for us is that it actually affords payroll staff the time to focus on strategy, compliance, processes, etc. You know all those times you have said ‘I’ll get to this once I finish the three pay runs I have to process today’ and somehow you never get to it because those 3 pay runs became 4 pay runs or the pay runs took longer than expected or.. well there any many reasons why you never get to it…

How beneficial is it to an individual and a business that time spent at work can now be reallocated to tasks people just never get around to doing. Let’s not kid ourselves, processing pays are crucially important. But if there is a mechanism that automates the process, why not go for it?

If you’re not already using Readysell Payroll in your business, see https://readysell.com.au/product/payroll/ to learn more

Free Readysell training webinar

You are invited to a free “What’s new in Readysell training webinar”, including our new automated contract price maintenance feature. This is a key webinar someone from your business should attend. It will be held on Monday 18/02/2019 at 2:30 PM AEDT (Sydney time).

Automatic contract price management and several other important new features have been added to your Readysell system. Learn how to make use of those new features in your business. The automated contract price maintenance feature allows you to set and forget about 95% of contract price maintenance. It is a must have feature for most dealers. Check the news section on our website for a list of some of the new features.

To register for the webinar, please enter your business, attendee name and email address on the following form:

Readysell free training webinar registration

Readysell 8.53 Perry now rolling out

We’re pleased to announce that Readysell 8.53 (codename Perry) is rolling out to all of our Readysell 8 customers. This release introduces a refreshed user interface and implements a number of long-standing customer requests from the Readysell forum.

Perry Lakes

Get up and running faster with our simplified user interface

We’ve freshened up our user interface and menus to make Readysell cleaner, easier to get around in and less confusing. Our menu is now flatter, so you can easily find what you’re looking for. We’ve also improved the mechanism for hiding the menu (so you can’t accidentally lose it). We’ve also made improvements to ensure Readysell works better on high DPI displays (such as those found on modern laptops and tablets).

Screenshot of new Readysell UI

Maintain margins with automated contract price management

You can now enable price management on any product-based contract. Readysell will automatically generate a new contract based on the rules that you’ve defined that will ensure prices are kept up to date. You can set up Readysell to notify sales people before the new contract becomes active so that they can review the pricing and make any necessary changes before it goes live.

Better manage open items with editable due dates and dispute flagging

We’ve added two new fields to open items that will help you better manage your open items.

  • You can now edit the due date on a customer or supplier open item for cases where you may want to manually override the terms for an individual open item
  • You can now mark an open item as “In Dispute”, stopping it from being automatically extracted onto payment runs and allowing you to track open disputes from customers

Ensure professional communications with email spell checking

We’ve enabled a spell checker for the Readysell mailer screen. Whenever you send outbound emails from Readysell you can now be confident that you haven’t made any embarrassing typos.

Screenshot of spell checking function

Secure your data with two factor authentication

You can now set up Readysell to use two factor authentication (via email or SMS) for any user. Just set the appropriate “Two Factor Method” on the user and they will be prompted upon logon to enter a unique code to access the system.

But wait, there’s more…

We’ve also made a number of other improvements and under-the-hood changes. Here’s a full list. If you’d like more details about any of the below items, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us through the Readysell Helpdesk.

  • 11222 Column displaying date purchase orders are emailed
  • 12661 When you enter a webid onto a contact for a webx order that did not match to a customer. The web order customer should automatically fill in
  • 12758 Adding sale order due date to sale orders as an optional field
  • 13003 Supplier ETA Dates on open items
  • 13134 Allow “appending” bank transaction imports
  • 13330 Add “In Dispute” checkbox to open items
  • 14639 Provide a way to enter special instructions for IFS on consigment details screen
  • 14704 Improve email validation at POS
  • 14742 Allow sale order source field to be enforced
  • 14743 Provide a way to cancel preordered products
  • 14744 Improve automatic attachment import to read file metadata
  • 14784 Upgrade to XAF 18.2
  • 14785 Provide an option to hold web orders without adding explanitory notes
  • 14789 Implement CEF for web rendering
  • 14790 Upgrade dependencies
  • 14793 Enable two factor authentication on Readysell Go
  • 14794 Add API and webhooks for machines
  • 14795 Allow for automated contract price management
  • 14809 Allow multiple box sizes per sales shipment for IFS and StartShipIT integration
  • 14816 Allow two factor codes to be sent via email
  • 14818 Remove the schedule from technician assign screen by default
  • 14819 Implement new EDI file format for Dynamic Supplies
  • 14820 Enable spell checking on “Send Email” screen
  • 14834 Update standard task schedule

Transitioning products from Cumberland Stationery to ACCO Brands

As you are likely aware, ACCO Brands Australia has announced the acquisition of all brands and distribution rights from the Cumberland Stationery Co Pty Ltd, effective 1 February.

Cumberland Stationery

Starting next week, Office Brands will have updated the supplier data on affected products. Please use the instructions below to ensure these changes flow through to your system correctly.

Readysell 8

Effective next week:

  • If you have automatic price updates turned on (click here to find out), and have not changed the default behaviour of the “Override Primary Supplier”, then nothing further is required. Readysell will automatically move the Cumberland Stationery products to ACCO Brands.
  • If you have automatic price updates on and have tweaked your product import rules to uncheck the “Override Primary Supplier” flag, you will need to perform a price book run or bulk update run to change the supplier on affected products from CUMSTA to ACCAUS.
  • If you currently load catalogues manually, you will need to load the latest comprehensive catalogue update.

Once all outstanding open items are paid:

  • Use the “Merge” button on cards to merge the CUMSTA supplier into the ACCAUS supplier.

Readysell 7

Readysell 7 does not automatically change supplier codes on your existing products when Office Brands changes the supplier code. To change the supplier you must use the “change one field” button from browse catalogues in the price change module. Please see the document “Updating one field from a catalogue” for more details.

Warning: If you do not want to change all suppliers, you have to create a query wizard when you process the “change one field” button. The query wizard can limit the changes to just the suppliers you want to get rid of. If you do not do this properly, all your supplier codes will change to line up with Office Brands. We suggest you try this procedure on test before you do it on live.

Need more assistance?

We’re here to help should you have any questions or concerns. We can even help you perform this update on your data (at regular support rates). Please open a ticket and we’ll answer any questions you may have.

New prerequisite in upcoming Readysell update

Starting with Readysell 8.53 (which will begin rolling out next week) the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015 components will need to be installed on each PC running the Readysell client. If this component has not already been installed, Readysell 8.53 will prompt to you to install this when it first runs.

To avoid disruption when you receive the update, you may wish to pre-install these components now. Visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=48145 to download the installer (either 32-bit or 64-bit depending on your PC).

The reason for this change is the inclusion of the CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework) browser component. This component replaces the aging Internet Explorer component Readysell previously used to integrate its help pages, Readysell Payroll and hybrid EDI. CEF will ensure these page work more consistently and will improve performance

If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please submit a ticket at the Readysell Helpdesk and someone from our team will assist you.

Change of contract upload mechanism

Starting tomorrow (Friday, 25th of January) we will start uploading contracts to the Office Brands WebX site using the new component services API. Advantages to using this API include reliability improvements and immediate feedback on the success of contract uploads.

The change over does not require any intervention from customers. We have been piloting the new approach with a number of stores over the last few weeks without incident, however please reach out to us if you notice anything unexpected so we can address issues immediately.

Accessing the new Readysell Helpdesk

The Readysell Helpdesk has now moved to the Freshdesk platform.

Any newly created tickets and existing outstanding tickets will be handled in the new system. To access the new ticketing system, go to http://support.readysell.com.au/ and click “Forgot your password”. Type in your email address, then click “Reset my password”. This will email you with instructions on how you can set up your account in Freshdesk. We have also updated the documentation on our Wiki to reflect the new system.

If you want to access details of some old tickets, you can log into the previous system at https://readysell.visionhelpdesk.com/ using your old username/password. Please do not reply to tickets here though – if you require further assistance on a previous ticket, please create a new ticket in the Freshdesk system.

We appreciate your understanding during this transition. We look forward to servicing you even better in the future thanks to the new capabilities available to us on the Freshdesk platform.

Upcoming changes to the Readysell Helpdesk

This Saturday (12th of January) Readysell will be moving to the Freshdesk platform for our helpdesk ticketing system. Freshdesk will enable us to better serve customers by ensuring we have high visibility into priority issues, automatically receive relevant telemetry (such as screenshots and log files) when you lodge a ticket through Readysell, as well as provide a host of usability improvements for both our customers and support team.

Any emails you send to support@readysell.com.au and tickets you submit via online portal after Saturday will be handled in the new system. Over the next couple of days, we will also be moving any outstanding tickets into the new system.

You will need to set up a password for the Freshdesk system after the change over is complete. We will send full instructions on how to do this on Monday. The previous system (Vision Helpdesk) will remain accessible at a new URL (so that you can view your old tickets). Details on how to access this will also be provided in Monday’s update.

Please reach out to the Readysell support team if you have any questions or concerns about this change over.

Readysell 8.52 Orielton now rolling out

Happy New Year! We’re pleased to announce that Readysell 8.52 (codename Orielton) is rolling out to all of our Readysell 8 customers. This release focuses primarily on behind the scenes changes to improve Office Brands integration, but also includes a few minor usability tweaks.

Orielton Lagoon

Office Brands integration improvements

Over the next few weeks we will be progressively activating improvements to the Office Brands integration, specifically:

  • More reliable contract updates
  • Faster and more reliable product image uploads
  • Improved business intelligence feeds

Once these performance and reliability changes are in place, we will shift our focus to adding new functionality to our integration to help reduce manual work when integrating between Readysell and your OneX web site.

Other improvements

We’ve also made a number of other improvements and under-the-hood changes. Here’s a full list. If you’d like more details about any of the below items, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us through the Readysell Helpdesk.

  • 12327 Add “show correction” to purchase receipt show related button
  • 12437 Add day of week Monday, Tuesday etc. to sales invoice
  • 12804 Make copy of image and blub optional for the copy button on products
  • 14166 Migrate Office Brands contracts to new APIs
  • 14674 Upload Office Brands product images to S3 bucket
  • 14687 Improve perceived speed of dashboards
  • 14699 Implement new Office Brands BI design
  • 14739 Increase granularity of “Ship On” time
  • 14762 Salesforce contacts may not be updated in some scenarios

Questions or comments?

Our documentation is in the process of being updated to reflect the latest changes, but we know that it can be tough to wrap your head around what’s new and how it affects you. Please open a ticket at the Readysell Helpdesk and we’ll be happy to help you out.