Owner and Executive 

Portals

not showing 

documents

User Access Rights Report -

User Meting Favourite                   

Any user with access rights to the Configure Users screen can now export a list of users and their security settings.

To create the report click on the Excel icon and save the report when prompted.

When you open the report it will display a list of user names, status and access to each area of STRATA Master as configured.

You may then sort and filter the results as required.

The following issues have been rectified in this version:

Resizing of Reminders Screen- The Reminders screen now accommodates a Windows screen display setting of 125%. This also applies to the Reminders Configuration screen.

Reminders – Payment Plan - Lots will only be displayed where the payment plan is associated with the current debt recovery action.

Auto-Reverse Journals - An error was being displayed and the auto-reverse journals could not be saved.

Cash Management Report - The Cash Management Report could not be produced when there were fees created through the investment reconciliation screen.

Note: This would also affect any fees posted to an investment account through the Macquarie Bank download processing.

Validate levy interest rate - Validation has been added to the levy interest rate field in the Corp screen to ensure that only amount less than 100% can be recorded.

Archive levy notices to fileSMART - When lots are recorded as linked in the Owners Corporation, with the use of ‘&’ in the lot or unit number the levy and debt recovery notices were not being archived successfully in the Individual Lots folder in fileSMART.

Dairy Validation - Diary entries will only be saved where a valid date is recorded.

When saving a diary the details must be recorded.

Previously a message would be displayed to advise you to record the details, and the details tab would be displayed for a user to record the details prior to saving.

This has been changed, and if a user attempts to save a diary record without entering details the following message will be displayed.

Any text recorded on the screen will then be saved in the diary details tab.

A new levy notice has been added to the stationery configuration to allow users to issue an ANZ levy notice without a deposit slip, or BPAY details.

The notice type is named ANZ BPAY levy notice slip2 and is available for printing and emailing notices.

• The address of the property is displayed below the Body Corporate Name
• The owners name is included when issuing the documentation to an agent or other contact.

The following issues have been rectified in this version:

Budget Screen

• When users were creating new budgets if they would edit an amount to zero, the prior years’ budgeted amount would be saved.
• Incorrect amounts would be saved in a budget where non-numeric values were recorded on screen; such as ‘$’.Diary

Work Order / Quote Request Reports

Access instructions and quote/job details were not displayed in full where there where access instructions were too large.

Status Certificate Merge Field

The total instalment merge field will display the correct details where all lots are selected and one of those lots has a zero entitlement.

Direct Entry by Email – update email subject line

Where payments are made from a general trust account, the subject line now reads Remittance Advice.

Owner & Executive Portals

• When an apostrophe was in the owners surname is was not being displayed correctly on the portals.
• The heading has been corrected to ‘No quotes to display‘ when closed quotes is selected and there are none to be shown.

Print Levy Notices with fileSMART

• An issue has been resolved levy notices will be archived into fileSMART where a lot in the plan has a zero unit of entitlement.
• An issue has been resolved where the defaulted printer was not being used when printing levy notices.

Display UE Correctly when Deleting a Lot

An issue has been resolved where the Corp | Entitlements tab was not being refreshed after a lot was deleted.

User Security on Corp Screen

An issue has been resolved where the function keys were still enabled in the Corp screen when the user has not been granted Write access.

Removed Work Order Status

An issue has been resolved where a diary could not be closed if the work order status was set to Removed.

Corp Diary – Adding New Details

An issue has been resolved where a diary entry would return an error when a user double clicked on the details section of the diary without first highlighting a row.

Duplicate User or Login Name

• You can no longer create a user name or login name which has already been saved. This includes inactive users.

Reminders

Proxies

An additional reminder has been added to the configuration screen to allow you to monitor valid proxies, based on the expiry date recorded in the Proxy / Nominee Register.

Default settings

The first reminder will be displayed 30 days prior to a proxy expiry date, and the second reminder will occur 7 days prior to expiry.

Reminder Details

Any proxy which meets the criteria in the reminders configuration will display the following details:

• Name column will show the Body Corporate Name, followed by the lot number holding the proxy
• Manager Name
• Proxy Name
• Due Date will display the expiry date of the proxy

Link Screen

When you click through from the reminder screen for a proxy reminder, STRATA Master will display the Proxy / Nominee register for the owners corporation.

Note: This reminder will not continue to be displayed past the proxy expiry date.

• Excel
• CSV
• PDF
• Word (Rich text format)
• Email (PDF attached to an email)

The following issues have been rectified in this version:

Reminders - Open Diary

A change has been made to highlight the selected item in the diary when selected from the reminders screen.

Reminders - Work orders or Quotes

A change has been made to ensure that reminders will not be displayed for open work orders or quotes where the user has indicated that there is no further action required on the owners corporation diary.

Reminders - Payment Plan

A change has been made to only display lots with a payment plan for the current owner.

Reminders - Display Settings and Screen Resolution

Changes have been made to ensure that the entire reminders screen can be viewed and utilised when display settings and screens resolutions are altered.

Repairs & Maintenance

An issue has been resolved where upon saving a quote or work order STRATA Master would revert to display the Job Details tab.

Journal Entry Screen

An issue has been resolved where an error is displayed if users scroll the account number selector in the journal screen, using a mouse or arrows on the keyboard.

Each user is now able to configure alerts to remind them of important tasks to be completed.

Firstly, you can select which Manager(s) you wish to follow. This determines the buildings which will be included in your alerts.

Then, you can set the number of days before or after an event occurs for the reminder to be displayed. This includes diary items.

Finally, you can select which functions are monitored - for example; if you only want to see insurance related items you only select those from the configuration screen.

Your tasks are then displayed in a list of the most important items at the top of the list, based on your criteria.

You can filter the results on screen, by:

• Body corporate name
• Manager
• Function
• Details, or Date period.

If you wish you can then print the list of action items and click through from the list to the see further details relating to the task. Please review the Setup and Use Guide for further details.

Help –
Context

Sensitive Help 

A help icon is now located on the main toolbar. To access the Help file you can now click the icon on the toolbar, click F1 to launch the in-system help.

STRATA Master includes over 120 screens where users are able to launch help which is specific to the screen which is being viewed.

To indicate to users where there are specific articles to explain how the screen works, there is now a small Help icon on the right hand side of the screen.

Click the Help icon on the selected screen, or F1 to launch the help for the chosen function.

When processing your daily bank download file, if you do a not want a levy receipt to be automatically created, you are able to tick the Reject levy receipts checkbox in the Levies tab of the Owner screen.

Where a levy receipt is identified in the download for a lot where the levy receipts are set to be rejected:

• The receipt details are included on the exception report, and
• A note is made in the comments column to state that the receipt must be created manually.

You are still able to Reject levy receipts for an entire owners corporation, by ticking the checkbox in the Corp screen, on the Financial tab.

You can view the status of this checkbox in Quick Reports | Lots for current owners.

The number of executive committee members which can be linked to an owners corporation is now unlimited.

To add a new member, select the  icon to add a new row and complete the executive committee members contact details.

The Bulk Bank Reconciliation Wizard has been enhanced to allow you to produce and/or save bank reconciliation reports for your linked investment accounts as well as your working accounts.

• Investment bank reconciliation reports will be produced based on the balances recorded in the Investment Reconciliation Screen.
• Balances currently used when producing the Investment Reconciliation Summary Report, are displayed on the report.
• Where your document management is configured for fileSMART the document is automatically archived into the Owners Corporation folder.

Note: Where you have the rights to publish the document (in the fileSMART User Configuration) on the Owner & Executive Portals you will be prompted at the beginning of the process to make your selection.

• Where your document management is configured for STRATA Master the description of the saved report is Investment_Bank_Reconciliation_Month.pdf.

Note: Where there are multiple investment accounts linked to a plan the description of the report will be followed by _1, _2 and so on.

Management

Fee
Invoices –

Save to file

When invoicing or reprinting management fee invoices you have the option to save a copy of the invoice.

• The checkbox Save a copy of the management fee invoice is only enabled when you select the Print Management Fee invoices checkbox on the Invoicing screen.
• If you are reprinting management fee invoices a Save to file checkbox is always displayed.
• Where your document management is configured for fileSMART the document is automatically archived into the Payments / Maintenance folder.

Note: Where you have the rights to publish the document (in the fileSMART User Configuration) on the Owner & Executive Portals you will be prompted at the beginning of the process to make your selection.

• Where your document management is configured for STRATA Master the description of the saved report is Management_Fee_Invoice_Month.pdf.

Note: If you are configured for running split management fees, when saving the second management fee invoice for the month the description of the second invoice will be followed by _1.

• When a plan is registered for GST, the reporting frequency must now be recorded in the financial tab on the Corp screen. The options are:
  • Monthly
  • Bi-monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Six-monthly
  • Annually
• The GST frequency can be viewed by running a Quick report in the Corporations tab. The frequency column is displayed after GST status.
• The GST frequency is displayed in the Export BAS Summary report, after the GST method column.

STRATA Master will use the GST frequency and the Tax year end for each plan to determine if transactions are being created in the current, or a previous GST period.

For example: Today is 11/06/2014, the GST frequency is quarterly and the tax year end is 30 June 2014, the current GST reporting period is therefore 1 April to 30 June 2014.

Warnings will be displayed, and Audit trail records created in the database when any transaction is created in a prior GST period to ensure that GST transactions are created as required.

The audit trail records are displayed in a new GST audit trail report outlined in the release notes below.

Note: All GST registered plans are set with a quarterly GST frequency during the upgrade to version 7, and can be edited as required.

To assist users to review GST transactions prior to lodgement with the Australian Taxation Office (or similar), when any of the following occur a warning will be displayed on screen.

• Changing the GST status of a creditor
• Posting journals to the GST clearing account(s)
• Saving an invoice where the transaction date is in a prior GST period
• Cancelling of levies due in a prior GST period
• Cancelling a payment made in a prior GST period
• Search/Edit transactions; where the fund is changed and the original transaction is in a prior GST period
• Cancelling a levy receipt dated in a prior GST period
• Cancelling an owners corp. receipt dated in a prior GST period
• Deleting an invoice saved in a prior GST period

Note: Following the warning, upon completing any of these actions a record will be made in the audit trail, and reported as detailed below.

• When the GST reporting method is set to Cash, the amount of Cash at bank entered as part of Opening Balances will no longer be included as a GST-free sale, or as part of the total sales on GST Reports.

The following additions have been made to the report to help you determine if the transaction was entered correctly:

• The general ledger account number, displayed to the left of the account name.
• The creditor name and their GST status for payments.

Note: The additions are included on the reports when they are run from Formatted reports, or the Reports | GST Report menu.

GST Audit

Trail Report

A GST Audit Trail Report can now be generated which will lists details saved following a warning which may impact the GST calculation from a previous GST period.

The new report is found in Reports | Audit trail reports menu option, and is generated by selecting the GST checkbox.

The GST Audit Trail Report is based on the original transaction date recorded in STRATA Master, not the date the transaction was changed by the user.

Note: The report layout is different from the other audit trail reports so when the GST checkbox is selected, the other checkboxes are unselected automatically.

Each entry in the Audit Trail Report includes the Plan number (where appropriate), Original transaction date and the date the record was altered, known as Change date.

In addition the following details are also displayed for each action listed below:

Changing the GST status of a creditor

• Previous and new GST Status

Posting journals to the GST clearing account(s)

• Contra GL account and journal amount

Saving an invoice where the transaction date is in a prior GST period

• Creditor name, expense account and group, invoice amount and GST portion.

Cancelling of levies due in a prior GST period

• Total of the levy posting, GST portion and the levy description.

Cancelling a payment made in a prior GST period

• Payment number, payment amount, GST portion, description.

Search/Edit transactions; where the fund is changed and the original transaction is in a prior GST period

• Original account number, group name and amount on one row, and then the new account number, group name and amount on the following row.

Cancelling a levy receipt dated in a prior GST period

• Total of the levy receipt, GST portion, receipt number and lot number.

Cancelling an owners corp. receipt dated in a prior GST period

• Total of the receipt, GST portion, receipt number and description.

Deleting an invoice saved in a prior GST period

• Creditor name, expense account and group, invoice amount and GST portion

Creditor

Invoice Entry
screens

Creditor Invoices

• Open the Creditor screen by clicking the Link icon on screen
• View the GST status for the selected creditor next to the ABN, under the creditor selector

Creditor Invoices – Multiple Dissection

• Create a new creditor by clicking the New icon next to the creditor selector
• Open the Creditor screen by clicking the Link icon on screen
• View the ABN, GST status, payment method and CRN for the selected creditor

Duplicate

Invoice
Validation

Agency configuration (Options # 2) displays a new checkbox called Check both amount and invoice number.

When the checkbox is ticked STRATA Master will prompt for duplicate invoices within the specified number of days and only when both the amount and invoice number are recorded against the selected plan and creditor.

Where the checkbox remains unticked, the duplicate invoice prompt will continue to be displayed when the amount has already been recorded against the selected plan and creditor.

The invoice duplicate checking method is used when saving / validating invoices in the following screens:

• Creditor invoice
• Creditor invoice – Multiple Dissection
• fileSMART Creditor Invoicing

Notes: During the upgrade, this checkbox is unticked which means that the duplicate invoice checking method is unchanged.

A new button has been added to the Creditor screen called Check ABN which will launch your default browser and search the Australian Business Registry (www.abr.business.gov.au) for the creditor recorded.

• Where an ABN is recorded, the search will be initiated using the ABN.
• Where no ABN is recorded, the search is initiated using the Creditor name.

A change has been made which will require users to select the appropriate GST status when adding a new creditor. Previously all new creditors would default to GST Unregistered.

When payment method for a creditor is Direct entry, you now have the option to suppress issuing remittance advices.

Where creditors are set to receive a printed remittance, ticking the Suppress remittance checkbox will stop the remittance being printed when the Pay function is completed for Direct Entry.

Where creditors are set to receive an emailed remittance, ticking the Suppress remittance checkbox will stop the remittance being emailed when the Pay function is completed for Direct entry with email. In addition, the payment will not be listed on the Remittances to be emailed report printed during the Pay function.

To confirm which invoices are being included in a specified Pay run, you should continue to run a Quick Report from the Cr. Invoices tab, and select Invoice status of Unpaid approved.

Note: Where the remittance has been suppressed if you wish to create a remittance at a later time, you are able to print a remittance using Search/Cancel payments, and select the Preview or Print option.

The Pay screen has been updated to allow multiple payment types to be processed in a single pay run.

A confirmation message will be displayed after each selected payment method process has been completed.

In addition, a summary of each selected payment method when all payments have been completed.

When saving changes to meeting agenda and minute templates the following message will always be displayed to confirm the correct setup required to ensure successful synchronisation with MEETING Master.

The main bank account linked to each plan is displayed in the Bank Acct tab in the Corp screen.

The BSB and Account number for the Main bank account are now also displayed.

Note: Where a suffix is recorded for New Zealand bank accounts, this is displayed after the account number field.

Where plans are set-up for financial group reporting any transactions not assigned to a group are displayed in reports as group ‘General’ or ‘None’.

At a plan level users can now change the name displayed on the reports in the Manage | Group Reporting screen.

On upgrade both the full name of the group (maximum of 50 characters) and the Short name for the group (maximum of 12 characters) are displayed as General.

Victorian users who configure group reporting for managing multiple owners corporations, are able to rename ‘None’ to Owners Corporation 1.

Note: STRATA Master will allow the fields to be blanked which will result in no group name being displayed where the transactions are not associated with a specific group.

Quick Reports – Lots – Owners

The following details are now available for both Show current owners and Show previous owners:

• Date of Entry
• Date of Purchase

Quick Reports – Lots – Debt Recovery

The Last receipt date is available for Show current debt recovery output.

Journal report

The formatted report has been improved with the addition of the general ledger account number prefixed to the account name for both the debit and credit accounts.

Audit Trail Report – Transaction

The general ledger account number is now displayed to the left of the account name, and the group name displayed to the right.

Annual levy notice – Display in chronological order

The annual levy notice will now display all standard levies due within the levy year in chronological order.

Budget Screen – GST status and Row highlight

• The budget screen displays a label to indicate if the plan is Registered for GST, above Date budget applies from.
• The selected row in the budget screen is highlighted to make it easier to identify which line is being edited.

Preview Management Fees Report before Processing

You must now preview the report detailing all charges which will be posted to the general ledger, before running the management fees for the month.

Proposed / Approved Levy Posting Report

The entitlement set associated with the levy posting is displayed on the report, directly under the group name.

Utility - Un-present a BPAY payment

The existing utility which allows cheques and direct entry payments to be unpresented has been expanded to include BPAY payments.

Creditor Invoice – Multiple Dissection screen - ‘On Hold Status’

• An issue has been resolved to ensure that when the owners corporation’s Creditor invoice hold status is ticked, all dissections of the creditor invoice will default to On Hold.

Manage | Creditor

• An issue has been resolved where saving a new creditor record with multiple creditor types would result the same additional creditor types being displayed twice in the creditor screen.

Accounting | Adjustments | Journal entry

• The description field now limits the entry of a description to 50 characters, which is the report limit.

fileSMART login

• An issue has been rectified where you were required to complete the fileSMART login twice when archiving to fileSMART from STRATA Master.

Replace Compression Program for Backing up Documents

• When backing up images and/or documents stored in STRATA Master’s Document Register we now utilise a new program which allows larger numbers of images and documents to be compressed during the backup process.

Include skipped payment numbers on selected reports
When producing any of the reports listed below, STRATA Master will identify any missing payment numbers and report the payment type and payment number in a summary at the foot of the report.

• Cash Payments Report
• Cash Management Report (Payments sub-report)
• Cash Management Report – Group (Payments sub-report)
• Trust Accounts Payment Report