2023 Anniversary Edition delivers new advanced payment processing to Aqilla users

The latest release (2023.03) of Aqilla sees the introduction of a number of features to provide greater flexibility in the way you can make payments through the Payments Process in Aqilla, while adding greater control of who can do what.

The current pre-defined Payment Methods have been replaced by new user definable Payment Profiles to give greater flexibility in defining how suppliers are paid and in particular enabling payments to be made from multiple bank accounts within the same company.

With this greater flexibility the process of creating a bank payment file has been enhanced to be able to select which bank the payments are to be processed and in some cases which potentially separate payment format to use.

To achieve this the workflow for the Payments Process has been redesigned to allow for multiple suggested payment runs to be managed and through the use of Workflow Groups greater control is available to define what each user is able to do within the payments process.

Switching over to the new version should be seamless for existing users as Aqilla will automatically create workflow group permissions for existing Pro Users capable of processing payments.

The new features allow a great deal more fine tuning of controls including being able to set pay value permissions at an individual account level as opposed to the overall payment value being authorised.

Users should in particular note certain key changes within this release:

1. Enquiries - Transaction Status has been renamed to Payment Status

2. In Configuration the Payment Export Format is moved from the Company Definition to the new separate Payment Profiles section..

3. Transaction statuses - the "Entered" transition state is being renamed "Standard"

4. On Creditor accounts - “Bank Branch” has been relabelled to “Bank Branch/Country”

Payment Process Enhancements

Payment Profiles replace the existing predefined Payment Methods in Aqilla. A Payment Profile is used to specify how a payment is to be made e.g. manual, cheque, bank transfer, etc. and if it is a bank transfer the export format can be selected from the list of supported formats:

Payments Profiles 

A second export format can also be specified if it is for the same bank such using BACS or Faster Payments. When the user selects a payment file to download, they are given the option which format to use.

On initial upgrade, there will be Payment Profiles that correspond to the current Payment Methods. New Profiles may be created and unused profiles deleted.

The Payment Method specified in Creditors and Debtors now refers to the Payment Profile of the same name.

Important – if using an export format with current BACS or Single BACS Payment Methods, users are advised to check that the correct format has been assigned to your new Payment Profiles.

Payments Files

Greater flexibility has been added to the creation of payment files for submission to an Aqilla users’ bank.  Using multiple Payment Profiles, it is now possible to generate payments to multiple banks. 

When downloading a payment file, if multiple Payment Profiles exist for export formats, the user is asked to select which profile to use and if that profile supports multiple export formats, which format to use for this payment file.

Payments Workflow

The current payments process supports a simple workflow allowing transactions to be transitioned between “Entered” (which in the new release is now renamed as Standard”), “Withheld”, or “Forced”.

With the new release, the workflow has been enhanced to support 5 additional states to allow multiple proposed payment runs to be managed. 

The workflow is now managed through Workflow Groups allowing finer control of who may do what. 

A new Workflow Group (Payments and Debits) has been created for this purpose and populated to give all existing Pro users the equivalent Payments permissions as before the upgrade. These permissions may be tailored to refine individual’s permissions and utilise the additional payment states as required.

Pay (Pay or Pay & Remit) is only available within the Payments Process. 

The remaining transitions must be done in Payment Status (formally Transaction Status).

HSBC Priority Payments

The HSBC_ pain.001.001.03 international “Priority Payments” format is now supported by  Aqilla. 

This format requires additional information that is not needed in other bank payment formats. In particular, the address information of the payee needs to be specified in a more rigid format and to help maintain this information the labels of address lines 3 and 4 have been renamed “Town” and “Region/State/County”.

Additionally, the “Bank Branch” in the Creditor account is relabelled “Bank Branch/Country”.

Improved controls on access to Accounts Payable and Receivable accounts

Users with access to Aged Reports, Statement of Accounts, or the new Payment Status enquiry are generally able to select either Debtor or Creditor accounts.  With this latest release It is now possible to limit individual users to one type of account in these functions. 

The default setting in Instance Settings is Access Granted to these account types and if you wish to deny individual users access to one of the account types, add the Role “No Access to Creditor Accounts” or “No Access to Debtor Accounts”. 

Alternatively, if the Instance Setting is changed to Access Denied, then individual users may be given access by adding the Roles “Access to Creditor Accounts” or “Access to Debtor Accounts”.

Plaid Renewal of Bank Connection Credentials

The connection credentials between Plaid and your bank account need to be renewed from time to time, typically every 90 days. If the details are not renewed before they expire, statement transactions may be lost, and a new connection must be created in its place.

Aqilla now monitors the expiry date and can send a warning if the expiry is within 14 days. To receive the notification, you must set up a Notification Template as described in Aqilla Help.

Autumn sees the delivery of the latest release of Aqilla (2022.11) featuring a new Excel Add-in and more flexibility in the control of ledgers linked to specific companies

New Excel Add-in 

NB: This release is a mandatory upgrade for all users of the Aqilla Excel Addin

• 32 bit Aqilla MS Excel Add-in Installer
• 64 bit Aqilla MS Excel Add-in Installer

This new version of the Aqilla add-in contains a number of significant improvements to the way that the various options are presented to the user. These enhancements make it easier to find and use the many options that are available through the Aqilla add-in. The Add-in is now automatically certified for compatibility with Microsoft 365. The Aqilla add-in is now directly visible from the new Aqilla tab as opposed to accessing via the Add-in tab and features a new Aqilla Ribbon. Retrieving and updating reference data has been made much simpler and once a particular type of reference data has been selected in an Excel sheet, a new additional “Quick Actions” option shows the actions for the selected reference type.
New Look Aqilla Excel Add-in This new version of the Aqilla add-in contains a number of significant improvements to the way that the various options are presented to the user. These enhancements make it easier to find and use the many options that are available through the Aqilla add-in. The Aqilla add-in is now directly visible from the new Aqilla tab. Previously, the add-in was available through the Add-in tab. Selecting the Aqilla tab displays the new Aqilla Ribbon as shown above. The Ribbon is divided into four segments: Login/Logout – This is essentially the same as the old “Configure Connection” enabling you to specify which Aqilla instance you wish to connect to and supply your login credentials. Once you have logged in, your Login name is displayed below the Aqilla logo. You may also logout when you have finished your session. The four main categories of interaction with Aqilla: Documents, Budgets, Enquiry, and Reference data. Connection defaults, specifying the default Company, Ledger, & Period. Once you have logged into Aqilla, the defaults are displayed below each category and the user may subsequently change the defaults if more than one option is available.
The Configuration option provides some additional behaviour changes. Help links directly to the Aqilla Help for the Add-in. You can also check the current version number of the add-in using the About selection.
Documents The Documents option has been given a dedicated Ribbon option. All the available documents are listed as before.
Reference Data Retrieving and updating reference data has been made much simpler. It is no longer necessary to search through the Excel functions to find the required option. Each type of reference data is listed under the Reference option together with the associated actions. Once a particular type of reference data has been selected in an Excel sheet, an additional “Quick Actions” option is added to the Ribbon that shows the actions for the selected reference type. The “Quick Actions” is contextual to the sheet selected.
Quick Actions Retrieving and updating reference data has been made much simpler. It is no longer necessary to search through the Excel functions to find the required option. Each type of reference data is listed under the Reference option together with the associated actions. Once a particular type of reference data has been selected in an Excel sheet, an additional “Quick Actions” option is added to the Ribbon that shows the actions for the selected reference type. The “Quick Actions” is contextual to the sheet selected.
Controlling Ledgers by Company This feature allows the user to specify which ledgers may be accessed by each company in a multi-company instance. For instance if one company is in the UK and another in the USA, then the GBP currency ledgers should be limited to the UK company and the USD ledgers limited to the USA company. Extra Cost of Sales options An additional “Cost of Sales Account” has been added to the Item record when Inventory has been enabled. This additional account can be useful when using the Inventory if multiple Cost of Sales accounts are used. New SmartAI feature The “sinceLastCall” feature for API calls has been replaced by a new “modifiedAfter” parameter, which allows the API to retrieve only records that have been modified after the specified date and time which works more efficiently when very large updates to Aqilla are applied via the API.

New version of Sharperlight

We have updated Sharperlight to a newer version, you can download it here below

Release Notes for 2022-07 Update

The principal enhancements in version 2022.07 are as follows: Integration with Open Banking using Plaid It is now possible to directly link customer bank account information with Aqilla. This provides up to date statement information automatically uploaded into Aqilla from banks that support the Open Banking interface. This provides a common interface for most banks in the UK, US, Canada and major European countries. Once the Aqilla user has established the link to their bank using a simple connection wizard the bank transactions are made available in Aqilla for creating bank transactions, such as customer payments using Aqilla’s inbuilt intelligent matching rules and for automatic bank reconciliations. Note that more detailed information about setting up the link can be found here
Up to date bank balances can be viewed through the existing Bank Account Details function or by use of a new Open Banking Balance gadget that can be added to individual user’s home pages. Note that this gadget is Protected by default and permission must be given to the individual users that are to be given access to this gadget.
The processing of the imported transactions is automatically monitored by Aqilla and alerts can be setup to notify users of: The volume of transactions imported Any issues with the connection to the bank When the connection to the bank needs renewing (usually every 90 days) These notifications are created through the Aqilla Smart Events in the new Templates section. Two example templates are provided that can be copied for use against individual Financial Institutions. One event deals with general errors and warnings, the other provides information on uploaded transaction counts. Once the templates have been created, they are assigned when setting up a Financial Institution or by later Editing the Financial Institution. The details of the notifications can be sent to email recipients or Smart Event Gadgets. These notifications are also shown in the Ad-Hoc Calendar tab in Smart Events.
Multi-currency Expenses It is now possible to enter expenses in a foreign currency. For example, if your main currency is GBP, individual expenses can be specified in EUR and the GBP equivalent is calculated automatically. This feature must first be enabled by setting the “Currency in Expense Lines” flag in Instance Settings.
Once enabled, a currency button is displayed before the Net Expense column for lines that allow entry of expense values (i.e. not mileage claims). Pressing the button opens a dialog box allowing a different currency to be selected. This will use the currency rate setup in the currency tables applicable for the expense date but either the Currency Rate or Claim Amount can be specified. If any multi-currency transactions have been entered, an additional column is displayed showing the Currency Amount. The currency button changes to reflect the currency entered. Note that if the currency Symbol has been defined against a Currency then this will be displayed in front of the currency amount.
Enhanced Filtering in Enquiries and Reports When using additional filters, the Aqilla will provide a smart search lookup of valid values in many more places than previously. For instance, if filtering an account by Project Code, a list of valid codes is now offered. Previously, the user would have to manually enter the code.
Currency Variable Enforcement Each account has a Currency Variable flag, which is used in parts of Aqilla to limit whether the user is allowed to process currencies other than the Account Currency. If Currency Variable is set to No, the control has been extended to limit in Sales and Purchase Invoices the currency that can be specified, if different to the Account Currency of the Debtor or Creditor. Likewise, the Bank Transactions document limits the currency that can be specified for individual bank accounts.
Smart Event Recurrence Options A new option has been added to specify that an event occurs on the last day of a specified day of the week when specifying Monthly or Yearly repeats.

Aqilla welcomes 2022 with a new Release!

The principal enhancements in version 2022.01 are as follows:

• Excel Add-in – Inter-Company Transactions

Since release 2019.03 it has been possible to target documents to specific companies and ledgers within an Aqilla instance. With this release it is now possible to target documents to more than one instance.

When you first connect to Aqilla through the add-in, a number of default settings are established. These are:

1. Instance

2. Company

3. Ledger

4. Posting Period

These are displayed in the status line at the bottom of the workbook.

Any of these defaults can be overridden on a document basis. In the example above, the first document is uploaded to the default nova-group instance and the next two documents are uploaded to two separate companies in the nova-logistics instance.

There are a few considerations that must be adhered to when uploading or posting across multiple instances.

1. The user login and password must be the same in each instance.

2. The user must have the correct permissions to perform the specific tasks in each instance.

3. Document structures should be the same in each instance, i.e. have the same definitions of header and detail columns.

• Custom Entities

Custom Entities were first introduced in release 2021.04 allowing additional user defined entities to be captured in documents and analysed in the ledger. This release allows these custom entities to be additionally associated with projects, fixed assets and items.

For example, if a custom entity has been created to hold contract information, a project can now specify which contract it relates to.

The process of enabling a Custom Entity is straightforward but must be done by Aqilla support or one of our consultants. The amount of work will depend on the number of documents that will need configuring and whether you need help configuring additional attributes or additional reporting. 

Contact support@aqilla.com or your Aqilla account manager if you would like to discuss this feature further.

• Date Options for Copy Reverse

When creating a credit note from an invoice or copy reversing a Miscellaneous document the same date options are provided as when performing a normal document copy.

Please enter a single search word or phrase. A search for "account" will return a different result set to a search for "accounts". The title and content of each page is searched for a match. The search field is not case sensitive.

If you have any questions about Aqilla or you wish to raise an issue, don't hesitate to contact us.

• The latest release (2023.03) of Aqilla sees the introduction of a number of features to provide greater flexibility in the way you can make payments through the Payments Process in Aqilla, while adding greater control of who can do what.
• New Excel Add-in
• New version of Sharperlight
• Release Notes for 2022-07 Update
• Sharperlight update!
• Aqilla add-in Updated
• Aqilla welcomes 2022 with a new Release!
• Popular Articles

Getting Started

If you are new to Aqilla it's best to start by reading through these sections:

• Introduction to Aqilla - all about Aqilla structure and terminology.
• Navigation - finding your way around Aqilla.
• How to Raise a Support Case - how to raise a support case that we can resolve quickly for you.

Popular Articles

These are some of the most popular articles in Aqilla Help.

• Making Tax Digital - you know you want to!
  
• Aqilla MS Excel Add-in - useful to upload / update documents and reference data
  
• Sharperlight - fully flexible reporting
  
• Enquiry Profile - save complex enquires for use by your whole team (or just you)
  
• Multi Currency - "the most powerful I have seen in this type of system" (an Aqilla user)
  
• Google Authentication - how to authenticate using Google accounts.
• Multi-Company Accounting - within a single Aqilla instance or across multiple instances.
• MTD for VAT Groups - now mandatory for many.
  
• Workflows & Groups - how to manage complex workflows.
• Generating Bank Transactions from Statements - says it all really!

• End of Support for Internet Explorer - it's time to move on.
• TLS (Transport Layer Security) Switchover – an important annoucement about data security.

Contact: support@aqilla.com or phone:+44 (0)20-3150-3843