Version 22.4 for Sparkrock 365 2023 release wave 1 release notes Published September 26, 2023
These release notes include supplemental information about version 22.4 for Sparkrock 365 2023 release wave 1.
Video
The following video includes information about the new features and enhancements in version 22.4 for Sparkrock 365 2023 release wave 1.
Highlights
The following sections highlight the major accomplishments in this release.
New features and changes
Version 22.4 for Sparkrock 365 2023 release wave 1 introduces exciting new features and enhancements to existing functionality.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 22.4
The base Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central platform that powers Sparkrock 365, has been updated from 21.3 to 22.4.
For more information about Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central releases, select the following links:
Update 22.4 for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central online 2023 release wave 1
Update 22.3 for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central online 2023 release wave 1
Update 22.2 for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central online 2023 release wave 1
Update 22.1 for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central online 2023 release wave 1
Update 21.5 for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central online 2022 release wave 2
Update 21.4 for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central online 2022 release wave 2
To view a detailed list of cumulative platform fixes that are available from Microsoft, see Update history for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Analyze data with statistical accounts
This release introduces additional statistical metrics that you can use to significantly improve your analysis of G/L data. You can define statistical values, register these values in a separate ledger, and then analyze the data. For example, you can define the square meter's of a building while tracking rental expense, and then report a per square meter expense.
For more information, see Analyze data with statistical accounts.
Modify user name on mySparkrock user card
To simplify mySparkrock user administration, starting with this release, on the mySparkrock User Card page, you can modify the User Name field.
When you modify the User Name field, Sparkrock 365 automatically updates the User Name fields on all connected pages.
User provisioning APIs
To reduce mySparkrock setup time, this release introduces the following user provisioning APIs:
- mySparkrock user setup APIs
- mySparkrock user profile APIs
- mySparkrock user properties and user permission set APIs
- mySparkrock user APIs
- Approval group and approval group lines APIs
- Finance approval setup APIs
- Finance approval rule APIs
For more information, see User provisioning APIs.
Turn on or turn off the Blocked field on the mySparkrock User Setup Card by default
Before this release, when Sparkrock 365 was processing a new hire or rehire HR request, by default Sparkrock 365 would turn on the Blocked field on the mySparkrock User Setup Card page. This design blocked a mySparkrock user from signing up in all companies by default. Starting with this release, to increase flexibility, Sparkrock 365 includes a Block MySparkUser On HRRequest field. The Block MySparkUser On HRRequest field provides the capability for you to control whether Sparkrock 365 during HR request processing turns on or turns off by default the Blocked field on the mySparkrock User Setup Card page.
Note
The Block MySparkUser On HRRequest field is turned off by default. To continue to have Sparkrock 365 behave the same way as previous release, you must turn on Block MySparkUser On HRRequest to block mySparkrock users from signing up in all companies.
General journal import enhancements
To simplify general journal imports, this release enhances the import from Excel functionality. Starting with this release, on the General Journals page, you can use the Import from Excel action to import all general journal data, including account set information.
The following sections include more information about the general journal import enhancements and changes in this release. For more information about how to perform a general journal import, see General journal import.
Insert new columns
In the Excel template, you can insert one or more columns of data for fields that appear in the general journal, and then import the data from these columns into Sparkrock 365.
To insert a column in the Excel template, perform the following steps:
Open the Excel template.
In row 3, specify the name of the general journal field for which you want to import data.
It is recommended that you insert columns to the right of the existing columns in the template.
Populate the respective column with data.
Excel template captions
When you use the Excel template, the captions for the dimension columns, such as, Dim 1, Dim 2, and so on, must match the dimension captions that are defined in your environment. For example, if the caption for Global Dimension 1 Code on the General Ledger Setup page is defined as Dept, you must rename the Dim 1 caption in the Excel template to Dept.
Document numbers
Starting with this release, Sparkrock 365 uses the following logic to assign document numbers to the imported journal entries based on the values in the Document No. column of the Excel file:
If values exist in the Document No. column of the Excel file, Sparkrock 365 assigns these values.
If the Excel file does not contain a value for one or more particular rows, Sparkrock 365 assigns values based on the following rules:
Sparkrock 365 assigns a value for Document No. that is equal to the first empty row in the general journal. Typically, this value is the next number in the number series that is configured on the General Journal Batches page.
Sparkrock 365 increments the value for Document No. for subsequent rows after any sequence of rows has balanced to zero.
If the Excel file has a mixture of populated and blank values in the Document No. column, Sparkrock 365 uses the populated values and assigns an incremented value for the blank rows until a row with a populated value is reached again.
Import from Excel action validations
Also, the Import from Excel action now performs the following validations:
Checks for blocked records.
Checks for correct date and number formats.
Validates the following data:
Document Type
Account Type
G/L Account No.
Account Set Code
Bal. Account Type
Bal. Account No.
Reason Code
Dimensions 1 to 8
Default G/L account and dimensions data
The Import from Excel action now uses the following logic to default G/L accounts and dimensions data:
If the template includes account set data, the import process populates the G/L account and dimension data in Sparkrock 365 based on the template account set data.
If the template does not include G/L account data for an account set, the import process populates the G/L account in Sparkrock 365 based on the Sparkrock 365 setup, and then uses the dimension data that is included with the template.
If the template includes account set and dimension data, the import process populates the dimension data in Sparkrock 365 based on the account set data in the template and the Sparkrock 365 setup, and then overrides the G/L account and dimension data in Sparkrock 365 with the data from the template, provided that the template values are not blank.
If the value for Account Type in the template is not equal to G/L Account, and if the account set setup in Sparkrock 365 has a G/L account, Sparkrock 365 skips the account data in the template.
Removal of Import Excel Account Set action
As part of this enhancement, this release removes the Import Excel Account Set action from the General Journals page.
Vendor bank account and email remittances enhancements
To simplify the Sparkrock 365 electronic payment setup, this release introduces the following vendor bank account and email remittance enhancements:
On the Vendor Bank Account Card page, this release makes the Email Remittance Address and Email Remittance Advice fields obsolete.
When you upgrade to this release, the upgrade process automatically copies values from the now obsolete Email Remittance Address field to the Email field.
The Sparkrock 365 remittance process now always sends remittance advice for electronic payments and uses the Email field on the Vendor Bank Account Card page.
When you turn on Use for Electronic Payments on the Vendor Bank Account Card page, Sparkrock 365 now automatically populates the Preferred Bank Account Code field on the Vendor Card page.
When you turn off Use for Electronic Payments on the Vendor Bank Account Card page, Sparkrock 365 automatically deletes value in the Preferred Bank Account Code field on the Vendor Card page.
On the Vendor Bank Account Card page, this release adds a red asterisk to the following fields to indicate that the fields are mandatory:
Name
Country/Region Code
Bank Branch No.
Transit No.
On the Vendor Bank Account Card page, when Use for Electronic Payments is turned on, the Email and Bank Account No. fields are now mandatory.
For more information about how to set up electronic funds transfer in Sparkrock 365, see Set Up Electronic Funds Transfer.
Report deduction and withholding amounts as positive in Canadian T4A tax slip boxes
In Sparkrock 365, deduction and withholding amounts are reported as negative. Before this release, these negative amounts flowed through to Canadian T4A tax slip boxes, which caused an issue because the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires that the amounts be reported as positive. Starting with this release, you can report deduction and withholding amounts as positive in Canadian T4A tax slip boxes.
To report a negative amount in Sparkrock 365 as a positive in a T4A tax slip box, you must select on the Vendor T4A Form Boxes page, the new Tax Deduction checkbox for the respective box number.
When the Tax Deduction checkbox is clear, Sparkrock 365 continues to report a negative amount as a negative amount in the T4A tax slip box. For more information, see Report deduction and withholding amounts as positive in Canadian T4A tax slip boxes.
Find employee document attachments
This release introduces a single interface that you can use to view all attachments for the following documents:
Employee
Absence Requests
HR Requests
HR Employee Tasks
Employee Qualifications
HR Applicants
Employee Appraisals
This new functionality enhances the existing find entries feature, which is available from Tell Me.
On the Find Entries page, this release introduces a Search for employee documents option. When you specify a value in Employee No., and then choose Find, Sparkrock 365 displays a list of all document attachments for the specified employee.
(Optional) To narrow down the search results, you can specify a time unit. For example, to search for attachments that have an Attached Date within the last 2 days, you can specify -2D.
On the Find Entries page, to open the respective Attached Documents page, select the links that appear for the records. For example, in the following screen capture, if you select the example links, the Attached Documents page opens for the HR applicant document that is associated with the Employee No. of RB.
On the Attached Documents page, you can download attachments or open the respective document pages.
To download an attachment, on the record for which you want to download an attachment, select the link that appears in the Attachment field. For example, in the following screen capture, to download the Sample Attachment, you select the Sample Attachment link.
To open a respective document page, on the record for which you want to open a document, select the link that appears in the Source field. For example, in the following screen capture, to open the Applicant page, you select the HR Applicant HRA00001 link.
For more information, see Finding related entries for documents.
Modify the accrual units on attendance plan lines
Before this release, on attendance plan lines, you could only modify the value of Accrual Units when the Calculation Basis on the respective cause of absence was set to Percentage Based. Starting with this release, on the Attendance Plan and Employee Attendance Plan pages, you can modify the value for Accrual Units when the Calculation Basis on the respective cause of absence is set to Unit Based or Percentage Based.
Filter Comparison Analysis report by batch employees
This release introduces the capability for you to filter the Comparison Analysis report by batch employees.
To support this feature, this release introduces the following new actions on the Difference in Pay page:
Show Batch Employees: Filter lines to display only employees from the current batch.
Remove Batch Employees Filter: Remove the filter that displays only employees from the current batch.
For more information about the Comparison Analysis report, see Process a compensation journal comparison analysis.
Time entry for terminated employees
In some provinces in Canada, for example, Alberta, employees who are terminated can perform time entry for a specific duration after their termination date.
To support this requirement, this release introduces an Hours Entry End Date on Assignments field, an Hours Entry End Date field, as well as changes to time entry functionality.
New Hours Entry End Date on Assignments
To turn this new feature on or off, on the Time Entry Setup page, this release introduces an Hours Entry End Date on Assignments field.
When the Hours Entry End Date on Assignments field is turned on, the new Hours Entry End Date field appears on the following pages:
HR Request-Termination
HR Employee Assignments
HR Employee Assignment Card
When the Hours Entry End Date on Assignments field is turned off, the new Hours Entry End Date field is hidden from all pages and Sparkrock 365 continues to work the same as in previous releases.
New Hours Entry End Date field
When you process a termination HR request, and choose the Details action, on the HR Request-Termination page, this release introduces a new Hours Entry End Date field.
The Hours Entry End Date field specifies the date after which a user cannot enter hours for time entry.
The new Hours Entry End Date field also appears on the following pages:
HR Employee Assignments
HR Employee Assignment Card
For all completed assignments, Sparkrock 365 automatically populates the Hours Entry End Date field on the HR Employee Assignment Card page to have the same value as the Calculation End Date field.
Example
Consider a scenario where an employee named Tonie Pollard was terminated on October 29, 2023. Tonie was allowed to enter time up until November 2, 2023.
On the termination HR request, in the Hours Entry End Date field, a value of November 2, 2023 was entered. See screen capture above.
In the following screen capture of the Time Sheet Entry page, you can see that Sparkrock 365 allowed Tonie to enter time up until November 2, but prevented time entry on November 3.
In the following screen capture of the Compensation Journal page, you can see that Tonie's time entry was successfully loaded into the compensation journal.
Set the Posting Date to be equal to the Document Date when running the Vendor Remittance Advice report
When running the Vendor Remittance Advice report from the Payment Journals page, this release introduces the capability for you to have Sparkrock 365 automatically set the value of the Posting Date field to be the same as the value of the Document Date field on the journal line.
To automatically have Sparkrock 365 set the value of the Posting Date field to be the same as the value of the Document Date field on the payment journal line, you must turn on the new Set Posting Date to Document Date field on the Vendor Remittance Advice page.
When the new Set Posting Date to Document Date field is turned off, the behaviour of the Posting Date field on the journal line remains the same as in previous releases.
Payroll has been updated to version 22.32.0.0
To stay current with the latest payroll updates and fixes, payroll has been updated to 22.32.0.0. To learn more, see Payroll release notes version 22.32.0.0.
Copy HR pay code dimension mappings to one or more HR pay codes
Starting with this release, when you are setting up dimension mapping for HR pay codes, to save time, you can copy the HR pay code dimension mappings from one HR pay code to one or more other HR pay codes.
To support this feature, this release adds on the Dimension Mappings page, a Copy Current Dimension Mappings action.
The Copy Current Dimension Mappings action opens the new Copy Dimension Mappings page.
On the Copy Dimension Mappings page, you can specify the one or more target HR pay codes to which you want to copy the dimension mappings from the source HR pay code. Also, you can specify whether Sparkrock is to delete the existing dimension mappings.
For more information, see Copy HR pay code dimension mappings to one or more HR pay codes.
Payroll processing performance enhancements
This release introduces functionality to improve performance when sending compensation data from Sparkrock 365 to Primo Payday.
To improve performance, you must perform the following high level steps:
- Set up a payroll custom dimension which informs Sparkrock 365 to automatically populate the Compensation Journal ID field when you load data into the compensation journal.
Filter by the Compensation Journal ID field to reduce the amount of hours detail information that is sent to Primo Payday.
For more information, see Set up payroll custom dimensions to improve performance.
Create in lieu time absence registration entries immediately after approval for shifts
Sparkrock 365 provides the capability for employees who work shifts to record hours for time off in lieu and banked time off in lieu. Before this release, Sparkrock 365 only created absence registration entries for these hours after the compensation journal was posted.
This design resulted in the following issues:
The hours the employee was banking were only available to the employee after the compensation journal was posted.
The hours that were displayed on a pay stub were incorrect.
To resolve these issues, this release introduces the capability to have Sparkrock 365 immediately create absence registration entries after an approver approves a shift.
The following sections include more information about the changes in this release to support this feature.
New Register In Lieu Time After Approval field on the Schedule Unit Activities and Schedule Unit Shift Activities pages
This release introduces on the Schedule Unit Activities and Schedule Unit Shift Activities pages, a Register In Lieu Time After Approval field.
Note
To accommodate terminology differences between Canada and the United States, Sparkrock 365 displays different field captions based on your language settings, for example, Register Comp. Time After Approval versus Register In Lieu Time After Approval. For more information about the captions Sparkrock 365 displays based on your language setting, see English caption differences based on your language setting.
When the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox is selected for a schedule unit activity and an employee confirms a shift for the activity, after an approver approves the shift, Sparkrock 365 immediately creates entries that appear on the Absence Registration page.
When the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox is clear for a schedule unit activity, Sparkrock 365 creates absence registration entries after the respective compensation journal is posted. This behaviour is the same behaviour as previous releases.
Reopened approved shifts
When approved shifts are reopened, Sparkrock 365 updates the Status of the respective entries on the Absence Registration page to Cancelled.
Absence registration entries for reversed compensation entries
When compensation entries are reversed and the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox is selected, Sparkrock 365 does not remove the respective absence registration entries. This design is due to the Status on the shift reverting back to Approved. If the absence registration entries were removed, a user would have to reopen the shift, and then have the shift approved to have the absence registration created.
Alternatively, when compensation entries are reversed and the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox is clear, Sparkrock removes the respective absence registration entries.
Create in lieu time absence registration entries immediately after approval for time entry
When performing time entry, Sparkrock 365 provides the capability for an employee to record hours for time off in lieu and banked time off in lieu. Before this release, Sparkrock 365 only created absence registration entries for these hours after the compensation journal was posted.
This design resulted in the following issues:
The hours the employee was banking were only available to the employee after the compensation journal was posted.
The hours that were displayed on a pay stub were incorrect.
To resolve these issues, this release introduces the capability to have Sparkrock 365 immediately create absence registration entries after an approver approves the hours.
The following sections include more information about the changes that were made to Sparkrock 365 to support this feature.
New Register In Lieu Time After Approval field on the Time Entry Unit Position Activities page
This release introduces on the Time Entry Unit Position Activities page, a Register In Lieu Time After Approval field.
Note
To accommodate terminology differences between Canada and the United States, Sparkrock 365 displays different field captions based on your language settings, for example, Register Comp. Time After Approval versus Register In Lieu Time After Approval. For more information about the captions Sparkrock 365 displays based on your language setting, see English caption differences based on your language setting.
When the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox is selected, and an employee enters hours for this activity, after an approver approves the hours, Sparkrock 365 immediately creates entries that appear on the Absence Registration page.
When the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox is clear, Sparkrock 365 creates absence registration entries after the compensation journal is posted. This behaviour is the same behaviour as previous releases.
New Register In Lieu Time After Approval field on the Time Entry Activities page
To assist with time entry administration, the Register In Lieu Time After Approval field appears on the Time Entry Activities page.
Note
To accommodate terminology differences between Canada and the United States, Sparkrock 365 displays different field captions based on your language settings, for example, Register Comp. Time After Approval versus Register In Lieu Time After Approval. For more information about the captions Sparkrock 365 displays based on your language setting, see English caption differences based on your language setting.
When the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox is selected on the Time Entry Activities page, Sparkrock 365 automatically selects the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox on the Time Entry Unit Position Activities page.
Alternatively, when on the Time Entry Activities page, the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox is clear, Sparkrock 365 clears the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox on the Time Entry Unit Position Activities page.
Reopened approved time line entries
When approved time line entries are reopened, Sparkrock 365 updates the Status of the respective entries on the Absence Registration page to Cancelled.
Absence registration entries for reversed compensation entries
When compensation entries are reversed and the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox is selected, Sparkrock 365 does not remove the respective absence registration entries. This design is due to the Status on the time line reverting back to Approved. If the absence registration entries were removed, a user would have to reopen the time line, and then have the time line approved to have the absence registration created.
Alternatively, when compensation entries are reversed and the Register In Lieu Time After Approval checkbox is clear, Sparkrock removes the respective absence registration entries.
Update considerations
Consider the following information before updating to version 22.4 for Sparkrock 365 2023 release wave 1.
Pending approvals
Before updating to this release from Sparkrock 2016, it is recommended that you update the approval status of any documents that are in a pending approval or in progress state to an approved or open state.
Missing permissions
When updating to this version, users may encounter permission related errors. The following table describes the Sparkrock 365 pages where these errors may appear, the error, and the permission setup that is necessary to prevent the error.
| Page | Error | Permission Setup To Prevent Error | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Object ID | Object Name | Read Permission | Insert Permission | Modify Permission | Delete Permission | ||
| Purchase Invoice | Sorry, the current permissions prevented the action. (TableData VAT Setup Tax Setup Read: Base Application). | 189 | VAT Setup | Yes | |||
| Purchase Credit Memo | Sorry, the current permissions prevented the action. (TableData Purch. Cr. Memo Entity Buffer Insert: Base Application). | 5508 | Purch. Cr. Memo Entity Buffer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Note
Sparkrock recommends that you add these permissions to a permission set to which the user is already assigned.
For information about how to assign permissions to users and groups, see Assign permissions to users and groups.
Corrected problems
Version 22.4 for Sparkrock 365 2023 release wave 1 corrects the following problem.
| Case Number | Description |
|---|---|
| When you create a purchase document from an expense claim or payment request, Sparkrock 365 does not automatically update the value of VAT Reporting Date to be the same as the Posting Date value. |
Known problems
The following sections include information about the known problems in version 22.4 for Sparkrock 365 2023 release wave 1.
Connectivity issue with APIs and other services or integrations
After updating to this release, you may experience connectivity issues with APIs and other services or integrations.
The following list includes examples of how connectivity issues may become apparent:
API errors
Power BI dashboards may no longer work correctly
Integrations may have trouble communicating with Sparkrock 365
Workaround
To resolve this problem, you must uninstall, and then install the respective extension. To uninstall, and then install the extension, perform the following steps:
In Sparkrock 365, choose
, enter extension management, and then choose the related link.The Extension Management page opens.
In Search, enter api.
A list of the API extensions are displayed, for example, PS Finance APIs.
You may have to change your view so that you can view the version number for any extension. To view the version number for all extensions, choose
, and then choose List.
For each extension that does not have a version that starts with v.21.3 and Is Installed is selected, perform the following steps to uninstall, and then install the extension:
- Select the extension that you want to update, and then on the action bar, choose Manage > Uninstall.
The Extension Uninstallation page opens. - Choose Uninstall.
A dialog box appears and displays text that indicates the extension was successfully uninstalled. - To close the dialog box, choose OK.
- Select the extension that you want to update, and then on the action bar, choose Manage > Install.
The Extension Installation page opens. - Choose Next.
The page refreshes and you are requested to review extension information before installation. - To proceed, turn on I accept the terms and conditions.
- Choose Install.
The extension is updated to the latest version.
- Select the extension that you want to update, and then on the action bar, choose Manage > Uninstall.
Alternate workaround
It is possible that custom web services may have been deleted during or after the update.
To resolve this problem, you must copy and paste the web services lines from a sandbox environment into your production environment.
To copy and paste one or more web services lines, perform the following steps:
Open a Sparkrock 365 sandbox environment that was created before the update or create a sandbox environment from a backup.
Choose
, enter web services, and then choose the related link.The Web Services page opens.
Copy the information for the one or more lines that you want to copy.
In your Sparkrock 365 production environment, choose
, enter web services, and then choose the related link.The Web Services page opens.
Paste the information for the one or more lines that you copied.
Re-open button is missing for a submitted expense claim in mySparkrock
The Re-open button may disappear from a submitted expense claim in mySparkrock. This issue occurs when a mySparkrock user is not set up in Sparkrock 365, on the User Setup page.
Workaround
Perform the following steps:
Choose
, enter user setup, and then choose the related link.The User Setup page opens.
On the action bar, choose New.
A new row appears.
In User ID, specify MYSPARKROCK.
Assign all permissions to the user.
For example, select the checkboxes for the following fields:
- A/P Batch Admin
- Allow A/P Batch Creation
- Allow A/P Batch Auditing
- Allow A/P Batch Deletion
- Allow User to Access Compensation Data
- HR Request Reversal Allowed
Transaction cannot be completed because it will cause inconsistencies in the G/L Entry table error
When you try to post a purchase invoice for a vendor that has a foreign trade Currency Code set up, for example, USD, you may receive the following error:
This transaction cannot be completed because it will cause inconsistencies in the G/L Entry table. Check where and how the CONSISTENT function is used in the transaction to find the reason for the error.
Contact your system administrator.
Tables can be marked as inconsistent during comprehensive tasks, such as posting. This prevents data from being updated incorrectly.
Workaround
On the Change Exchange Rate page for the specific invoice, increase the number of decimal places for the value in the Relational Exch. Rate Amount field, for example, from 1.4286 to 1.428571.
Alternate workaround
On the Currency Card page of the respective currency, increase the number of decimal places for the value in the Amount Rounding Precision field, for example, from 0.01 to 0.001
Cannot open links in sent emails
When you open a sent email from the Sent Emails Last 30 Days page, and then select the link that appears in the body of the email, Sparkrock 365 becomes unresponsive.
Workaround
Open links in the body of sent emails from Gmail or Outlook, instead of from Sparkrock 365.
Payroll Employee or Payroll Processing pages may fail to open
When using the platform security filters on permission sets, the Payroll Employee page, Payroll Processing page, or both pages may fail to open with a something went wrong error message. This is a limitation of the payroll processing module.
Workaround
Remove the permission sets with security filters from the user who must access these pages.
See also
New for Sparkrock 365
Payroll releases
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