October 2021 Release Notes

Site Audit - Upon completing a site audit, user can be prompted to create an associated issue

Aspire provides a new setting called Site Audit Workflow at the system level on the Application Configuration screen and at the branch level on the Branch screen. This setting can be set to one of two values:

1. Site Audit Generate New Issues
2. Site Audit Do Not Generate New Issues (default)

If set to generate new issues for a branch, then when a site audit for a property in the branch is marked complete, a new dialog will be displayed showing all the images associated with categories in the site audit.  you can select any number of images to add to a newly created issue.  You also have the option of skipping the creation of the issue.

Site Audit - New site audit scale type of Pass/Fail

The Site Audit feature of Aspire has been updated to support a new scale of Pass/Fail. In Aspire Admin when creating or editing Site Audit Types, the scale type that should be applied to all audits of that type, can be specified as either Pass/Fail or 1-10.

Thereafter, when a Site Audit with scale type of Pass/Failis created, instead of scoring categories on a scale of 1 to 10, you will be able to specify either pass or fail. For scoring of the overall site audit, Pass represents a value of 10, and fail represents a value of 1. When the site audit is completed, a numeric score is assigned which is calculated based on these values.

Site Audit - Allow editing of tags

Site audits have been updated to allow you to edit tags on any image or category by clicking a pencil icon.

Additional property address information has been added to the Invoicing Assistant Search List 

Property address fields have been added to the Invoicing Assistant Search List for filter, display, sort and group.  The following fields have been added:

1. Property Address Line 1
2. Property Address Line 2
3. Property City
4. Property State/Province Code
5. Property State/Province Name
6. Property Zip

Allow break-time setting at the branch level to be set to zero

Unlike the equivalent setting at the system level, the break-time value at the branch level was not allowed to be set to zero.  This has been updated so that it can now be set to zero.

In Time Entry, Drive Time Can be Distributed to Equipment Hour Allocations for Snow

Admin option on the Application Configuration screen that was previously called "Include Drive Time When Logging Equipment in Crew Mobile" has been renamed to  "Include Drive Time When Logging Equipment".  The parameter now applies to the Time Entry screen in addition to Crew Mobile. On the Time Entry screen, if an item allocation is added to a work ticket and the item type of the selected item is Equipment, then you can select a crew member with whom the equipment is associated. When the time on the Time Entry screen is accepted and drive-time is calculated, drive time for the specified crew member is applied to the equipment hours.

Apply California Prompts at Branch Level

The Aspire Crew Mobile App supports crew-member prompts that are specific to the state of California. Aspire now allows these prompts to be controlled at the branch level on the Branch screen.

Apply Time Entry Break Time Setting at Branch Level

An Aspire admin setting exists at the system level to specify lunchtime that should automatically be filled in on the Time Entry screen. Aspire has been updated to allow this setting to be specified separately for individual branches on the Branch screen.

Apply Prompt for New Ticket in Crew Mobile Setting at Branch Level

An Aspire admin setting called Prompt for New Ticket in Crew Mobile exists at the system level on the Time Reporting tab of the Application Configuration screen, This parameter specifies if a Crew Mobile user should be prompted when selecting a service in the schedule for which an as-needed work ticket has been generated in the last 24 hours whether to use the previously created ticket or generate a new one. Aspire has been updated to allow this setting to be specified separately for individual branches on the Branch screen.

Relabel "Branch" to "Primary Branch" in Advanced Search

In advanced search lists throughout Aspire, there was inconsistency in naming of fields that represented the branch. To improve consistency, the "Branch Name" label has been changed to "Primary Branch" in all search lists that contain that field name.

Allocate From Mobile has been added as a field on the Items Search List in Admin

The Allocate from Mobile field has been added to the Items Search List for filter, display, sort and group. This value is entered on the Item screen in Admin.

Added Drive Time field to the Work Ticket Transaction Report

Drive Time has been added as a column in the Work Ticket Transaction Report (search list) for filter, display, sort and group. This value is based on drive time calculated on the Time Entry screen.

Added Invoice Number field to the Work Ticket Search List

Invoice Number has been added as a column in the Work Ticket Search List for filter, display, sort and group. This field is blank for any work ticket that is not associated with an invoice. If an invoice number is shown in the field, it is represented as a hyperlink which, when clicked, navigates to the associated invoice.

Collection Notes Added for Display in A/R Aging Report and the A/R Aging Detail Report

The Collection Notes field has been made available on the A/R Aging Report and on the AR Aging Detail Report. In both reports, the notes are shown directly below the property name for each property on the report. The display of collection notes may be collapsed or expanded, individually or collectively.

For Work Orders, End Date Can Be Updated after Opportunity Is Won

On the Opportunity screen for work orders, the end date can now be updated to a later date after the opportunity has been won.

Subcontractor Portal - Email to Subcontractor Once Time Entered in the Subcontractor Portal Is Accepted

Subcontractors enter time in the Subcontractor Portal.  This time can be revised and accepted or denied on the Time Entry screen in the Aspire Desktop. Aspire has been updated so that when the time is accepted in Time Entry, an email is sent to the Subcontractor with a Microsoft Excel attachment summarizing the hours accepted.

Estimate Item Display Names Shown on Invoices

On an opportunity estimate, when you add items, they may drill into the item and specify a Display Name which determines what is displayed for that item on the estimate. Aspire has been updated so that when material, equipment, sub, or other items are listed on an invoice, the display name will be used. Previously, the item name from the catalog was displayed on invoices.

Ability to Change Service Name Abbreviation on Service in Estimate

Aspire will now allow the Service Name Abbreviation for a service in an estimate to be modified after the opportunity has been won. Previous restrictions prevented this. Note that if a service in a work order is modified by a change order and linked to the original work ticket, the Service Name Abbreviation can only be modified by navigating to the original version of the opportunity service.

Admin Inventory List Will Return Items with Quantity Even if Item Not Tied to Branch

Previously if Branch Admin Security was enabled, and an inventory item had a non-zero quantity in a branch to which it was not assigned, that item (and thus its quantity) did not appear in the inventory for locations in the branch. Aspire has been updated so that under these conditions, items with non-zero quantities will show up in the branch location inventory.