Strata Master Version 11.5 including File Smart 7.10 and Portals Release

Training & Release Notes

File Smart Version 7.10 was released in conjunction with Strata Master Version 11.5 - Release notes are included in the Strata Master Release Notes below. 

Strata Master Version 11.5 includes an update to our existing Bulk BPAY functionality, extending our offering to 3 new banking platforms.  We have a new change allowing the option to adjust the default receipting allocation order in Strata Master, as well as an update to the bulk messaging function. Finally there are some bug fixes and additional updates provided as well. We have also added a fresh new update to the look and feel of our Owner and Committee Portals in this release!

Make the most of the new functionality by checking the release notes, or taking the online training course via the links below. The online training can be taken at your own pace, and you can view the content in any order, even skipping the features that don't apply to your business. It's even been designed to be just as easy to view on a smartphone or tablet!

To view information about each of these updates, please click the headings below:

• FileSmart Integration
• S184 Certificate
• Communications Wizard
• Bulk BPAY
• Receipt Allocation Order
• Bing Mailroom
• Creditor Invoicing
• Investment Accounts
• Quick Reports > Insurance
• GST Report
• Levy Notice Slips
• Audit Trail Report
• Sub Meter Invoicing
• Owner Statements
• User Permissions
• Cash Management Reports
• Manual Bank Reconciliation

FileSmart Integration

When using File Smart v7.10 with Strata Master v11.5, you will be able to search the Payments/Maintenance tab for invoice numbers that were entered into the Invoice tab in File Smart Workflow. 

S184 Certificate

The S184 certificate has been updated to include the new Building Products (Safety) Act 2017 information.
Previously when generating the S184 Certificate, levies were displayed in the order the notices were created in Strata Master. A change has been made to display the levies in due date order.                                                        

Communications Wizard

When using the bulk Email and SMS function, two new groups are available for selection. 

Levy Contacts

• All Levy contacts with a levies delivery preference of email be available for selection in the Email preview screen. 
• All levy contacts with a valid mobile phone number will be available for selection in the SMS preview screen.

Notice Contacts

• All Notice Contacts with a Notice & Minutes delivery preference of email will be available for selection in the Email preview screen. 
  
• All levy contacts with a valid mobile phone number will be available for selection in the SMS preview screen.

Additional Contacts

• When using the bulk email option, additional contacts will be available for selection in the preview screen for Owners, Tenants, Residents and Committees. 
• When using the bulk email option, all email addresses for owner contacts with additional email addresses previously displayed on one line, and invalid email addresses were not highlighted. A change has been made to display each additional owner contact on a separate line, and to display invalid email addresses in red text.

Bulk BPAY

The Bulk BPAY feature has been extended to include the following banking platforms:

• Bankwest (BWA) generates one file per trust. When operating multiple trust accounts, a file will be generated containing all payments for each account. 
• Commbiz (CBA) generates a file which can handle single and multiple trusts. Since the bank imposes a 200 transaction limit per file, multiple files will be created when BPAY transactions exceed 200. 
• NAB Connect (NAB) generates a single file which can handle single and multiple trusts.

For more information on making BPAY payments and generating BPAY files in Strata Master visit http://kb.rockend.com/help/bulk-bpay-setup-use-in-strata-master

Receipt Allocation Order

When adding or editing an Association Type, a new option is available to override the system defaults and change the allocation order for receipting of payments when processing download files. Defaults are applied based on the jurisdiction of the Association Type.

The current default allocation order is:

1. Miscellaneous Invoices
2. Interest
3. Levy Arrears
4. Future-dated Levies

The exception is QLD, which has a default allocation order of:

1. Interest
2. Levy Arrears
3. Miscellaneous Invoices
4. Future-dated Levies

To change the receipting allocation order for an Association Type, navigate to Configure > Association Type and select the record you wish to change. When you are in Edit mode, you will have the option to change the defaulted allocation order by using the up/down buttons.
 
You will be able to restore the defaults for the selected Association Type at any stage.

Modified allocation rules will also be used when processing a manual receipt to a lot.

Bing Mailroom

The following issues have been resolved when printing to Bing Mailroom:

• Interim Reports are collated correctly
• Levy Notices and AGM Reports display a proper filename

Logos display correctly instead of Black squares on Levy Notices 

Bankwest Integration

• Bankwest has been added as an option in the Bank Account Configuration Screen with the bank code BWA
• Bankwest is available as an option to cofnigure Levy Notice Slips in Configure > Agency > Configuration > Stationery. An option is available to Print Bank Details to enable your customers to pay their levies directly into your bank account. To hide the option, do not select Print Bank Details
• Bankwest (BWA) is available to select as a bank format when processing Bulk BPAY payments. To use Bulk BPAY, Creditors must have a Pay by method of Bulk BPAY selected on the general details tab, and the Barcode Setup must be completed in the Barcode tab.  

For more information on making BPAY payments and generating BPAY files in Strata Master, visit: http://kb.rockend.com/help/bulk-bpay-setup-use-in-strata-master

Creditor Invoicing

When creating creditor invoices from the Transactions menu or from File Smart Creditor Invoices, a warning will display if the selected creditor has a status of Excluded for the selected property.

Investment Accounts

A prompt will display when attempting to transfer a One-Off transfer to investment payment to a deactivated investment account.

Quick Reports > Insurance

A new option is available in Quick Reports to display all plans with no active insurance policies.

GST Report

When generating the GST Report all financial groups with their subtotals now displays on the instead of only financial groups with transactions in the reporting period. If a financial group had no transactions in the reporting period, the subtotal will display as $0.00                                           

Levy Notice Slips

• Some levy notice slips now display the updated BPAY logo
• The payment option icons have been updated on some levy notice slips.
• To comply with the bank's requirements, the Westpac PayWay levy notice slip no longer displays the ‘branch’ option.
• A new checkbox is available when configuring the Mailing payment slip to toggle the cheque payments for printed and emailed payment slips.
• A new checkbox is available when configuring the Mailing payment slip to toggle the cheque payments for printed and emailed payment slips.
• When Print Post to is NOT selected as an option on the following levy notice slips, all references to Cheque payments are removed from printed and emailed payment slips:
  • Bankwest levy notice slip
  • CBA BPAY levy notice slip 2
  • Generic Deposit slip  
• When configuring the following levy notice slips in Agency Configuration, a new checkbox named Print Bank Details is available to show/hide the agency bank details:
  • ANZ BPAY Levy Notice Slip
  • ANZ BPAY Levy Notice Slip 2
  • Bankwest Levy Notice Slip
  • CBA BPAY Levy Notice Slip
  • Generic BPAY Levy Notice Slip
  • NAB Transact Levy Notice Slip
  • NAB Transact 2 Levy Notice Slip
  • Other Bank Deposit Slip
  • Westpac PayWay Levy Notice Slip

Defects Resolved

Audit Trail Report

In Version 11, validation key changes were showing on the Audit Trail Report resulting in two entries. This issue has been resolved.                 

Sub Meter Invoicing

Clicking the Process button multiple times while processing sub-meter invoices could result in duplicate invoices and allocations. This issue has been resolved.                                                                                         

Owner Statements

When generating an Owner Statement and saving to file, the description displayed incorrectly in the Strata Master Document Register. This issue has been resolved.

User Permissions

Changes were made to the user access rights for Creditors, which previously allowed users with Read Only permissions to edit Creditor bank account details. This issue has been resolved, and users with Read Only access may view, create or edit a Creditor but may not add or enter bank account details.

Cash Management Reports

When generating the Cash Management Report and Cash Management Group Report, the Levy Income for Capital Works was not updated correctly in the calculation for Net cash flow. This issue has been resolved.

Manual Bank Reconciliation

In some instances, the previously used account number was not cleared in the manual bank reconciliation, which could result in an incorrect account number displaying. This issue has been resolved.

Strata Master 11.5 & File Smart 7.10 Release Notes

Portals Release Notes (2019)

Self-paced Online Training - Rockend University

Upgrading Strata Master & File Smart

Strata Master Upgrade Instructions - Note that the Section 184 template will be replaced in the update. Follow the instructions in this video to prevent losing your customised templates

File Smart Upgrade Instructions - Ensure you have upgraded Strata Master prior to upgrading File Smart