Simplified approval of Payment Card Reports

This article describes the new features and other improvements in the July 2024 update of the Zetadocs Expenses service.

Changes in this update

Feature enhancements

Simpler approval of Payment Card Reports

We have simplified the approval process for Payment Card Reports so it is quicker and more intuitive for finance team processors.

Payment Card Reports are used to reconcile card payments from the bank with expenses created by the cardholder.  Each month the finance processor views the Payment Card Report to check that an expense has been created to justify each payment, then approves the report for exporting to the ERP system.

Previously this process required the processor to submit the report to themself for approval, then approve it from their task list.  We have now simplified the process by adding an Approve button to the View Payment Card Report screen, so the finance processor can now approve the draft report in a single operation.

This improvement only applies to systems which have the New Payment Card Experience enabled, so Payment Card Reports are created and owned by the finance processor.  The new Approve button is shown if the Payment Card Report is owned by the current user, and the user is configured with the processor role for their own reports.  The Submit button is still available for cases where the approval needs to be done by a different person, and behaves as before.

Support FTP bank feed files with test accounts

FTP bank feeds are used by Zetadocs Expenses to create new card payment records automatically each day.  This means that payments are shown to the cardholder more quickly, and allows the cardholder to create a matching expense without having to wait until the end of the month.

We have extended this feature to allow a bank feed to be used by two or more Zetadocs Expenses accounts.  This enables a company with a separate test (or sandbox) account to test behavior with live card transactions without having to request a second feed from their bank.

Viewing old unmatched card payments

If you have a company payment card, the Expenses screen in the Zetadocs app shows any unmatched card payments so it is easy to create matching expenses.

Previously this screen only showed payments which were less than 90 days old.  This period is now configurable using an option on the Settings screen, so that it is easier to create expenses for very old payments if needed.

Improve user feedback when recalling a report

If you need to modify a report which you have submitted for approval, you can ask for the report to be recalled.  However there are rare circumstances where the system is unable to process the request – for example if the report is still being processed or has just been approved.

Previously if you recalled a report you had to check the report status or report history to confirm the request had succeeded.  We have now improved this behavior so the Zetadocs Expenses app waits for the recall request to be processed before continuing, and displays an error message if the recall request has not been successful.

Simplify client app settings page

We have simplified the Zetadocs Expenses app Settings page by hiding configuration options which do not apply to the current user.  This makes the screen easier to understand, and matches the approach taken in other screens in the app.

Prevent changes to export settings for cash payment method

We have disabled export settings for the default “cash” payment type, to reduce the risk of unexpected export issues due to the system being configured incorrectly.

Quality and performance improvements

This update includes a number of quality and performance improvements.

Additional upgrade steps

Extension for Business Central

The Extension for Business Central has not been updated in this release.

This release is compatible with all previous versions of the Extension for Business Central.  However if you are using a previous version we recommend that you upgrade to the latest version to benefit from stability and performance improvements.

NAV Server Components

The NAV Server Components have not been updated in this release.

This release is compatible with previous versions of the NAV Server Components (versions 3.3.18178 and later).

The Zetadocs Expenses Connector Windows service is installed on your NAV Server computer, and manages communication between the Zetadocs server and the Zetadocs NAV Server Components.  If the Zetadocs Expenses Connector Windows service on your system is version 3.4.24080 or older then we recommend you upgrade it to version 3.4.24081 (or later) to benefit from reliability and performance improvements when exporting reports.

The Zetadocs Expenses Connector Windows service can be updated simply without affecting your NAV system.  Please contact Equisys for more information.

Reporting Template

The PowerBI Reporting Template has not been updated in this release.

Mobile apps

Installed mobile apps will be updated automatically on mobile devices where this is enabled.