6.20.0 American Elm

(7/26/2024)

💭 Photo and attachment enhancements

Introducing a highly requested feature from Ignite 2023: You can now preview PDF files directly within Aspire, eliminating the need for separate downloads. A new thumbnail view for photos and attachments provides a visually appealing alternative to the list view. With the added ability to add notes and tags, you can easily categorize and document attachments. These enhancements apply to the Property, Opportunity, Contact, and Work Ticket modules, significantly improving the attachment management process. For more information, see 6.20.0 Photo and attachment enhancements.

💭 Sales management enhancements

We've improved how you visualize sales-oriented data. Key updates include enhanced "next step" status options with navigable cards on the Opportunity screen, simplifying the opportunity lifecycle. 

The Opportunity Tags field optimizes processes across reports and lists, now included in several reports and lists across Aspire, including the WIP Adjustments Report, WIP Report, Property Opportunity and Invoice List, Work Ticket List, Schedule Board Work Ticket List, and the Expense Work Tickets Report. Additionally, the Properties Advanced Search list now includes an In Process Opportunities column, providing each property's count of in-process opportunities. These enhancements enable quick access to important information, highlight critical opportunity stages, and identify properties needing attention. Select 6.20.0 Sales management enhancements to learn more.

💭 Change order after invoicing

We've enhanced handling change orders for Fixed Price Open Billing (FPOB) work orders in Aspire. You can now create change orders for fully invoiced FPOB work orders with open work tickets, offering greater flexibility. Additionally, you can add negative change orders when retainage is the only amount left to invoice, as long as it does not exceed the retained amount and there is an open work ticket. These updates increase flexibility in managing change orders and improve financial reporting.

Key features:

• Flexible Change Orders: You can now create change orders for fully invoiced FPOB work orders with open work tickets, giving more flexibility.
• Negative Change Orders: Allowed when all invoicing is done except for retainage, as long as the retained amount is not exceeded, and the work order still contains an open work ticket.
• End Date Management: When creating a change order for a fully invoiced opportunity, the end date is cleared, keeping it visible in financial reports until it is completed again.
• Reactivating Opportunities: You can "win" unwon change orders on fully invoiced FPOB work orders to make them visible again. Winning a change order on a fully invoiced work order will also clear the end date.
• User Experience Enhancements: When viewing a change order, the default screen now goes to Change Order Details, improving workflow efficiency.

For more information, see 6.20.0 Change order after invoicing.

Dynamic forecasting

The new Dynamic Forecasting tool provides a grid format view of revenue, hours, and materials, with role-based permissions for viewing and editing forecasts. You can now project monthly forecasts for the upcoming year, including revenue, labor hours, and material spend, with past months locked from editing. This tool aims to improve planning and resource allocation for long-range construction projects.  For more information, see 6.20.0 Dynamic forecasting.

💭 Improved vendor management

New vendor assignment capabilities improve the estimation and purchasing process. As an estimator, you can now assign vendors to specific items during the bidding stage, providing better control and planning for upcoming projects. Vendors can be assigned at the work ticket level even for jobs scheduled months in advance. The Purchasing Assistant now includes a Vendor field that can be grouped and sorted, with bulk action updates available. These improvements enhance visibility, collaboration, and efficiency from estimation to purchasing. Select 6.20.0 Improved vendor management to learn more.

💭 Route optimization enhancements

We’ve improved route optimization by allowing you to specify start and end points at the route manager level for each day. When creating or editing a route, you can now enter a Route Address that Aspire will use to optimize the route. This update improves upon the previous branch-level optimization, providing greater flexibility for individual routes. Aspire now removes duplicate addresses when sending routes to Google for optimization, ensuring efficient routing with up to 25 unique stops. To learn how to add a route address and set first and last stops, see 6.20.0 Route optimization.

Customer Portal 2.0 GA release

Explore the enhanced Customer Portal 2.0, featuring a modernized dashboard and updated payment methods, including CVV entry. The new marketing carousel allows you to display customized content directly to your customers. Enhanced request management provides new list and detail views, enabling customers to create and comment on requests and view detailed invoices and proposals. Enjoy improved navigation and usability with Customer Portal 2.0. For more information on setting up your marketing carousel, see the Theming section of the Customer Portal 2.0 section in the Configuration screen article. Click Customer Portal 2.0 to learn more about updates within the portal.

Aspire / Marketing Pro sync updates

Updates to the Aspire Marketing Pro include reduced data sync time from 24 hours to 1 hour, fixed sync issues, and improved API functionality. Contacts without an assigned branch will be sent with an "unassigned" branch. Contacts tied to multiple properties will be duplicated in Marketing Pro without receiving duplicate emails. Aspire fields will be available as filter fields in Marketing Pro, and the "Marketing Pro" verbiage has been added to email Activities for better list building and filtering. For more information, see Aspire Marketing Pro Integration.

💭 CRM Enhancements

Click 6.20.0 CRM enhancements to view this release's recent customer relationship management updates.

Bug Fixes

API Updates 

💭- denotes new and improved functionality implemented in response to client portal feedback.