July 2017 Release
This release has been approved by eTASK for use in production environments. You can download the release now and install it on your server.
Please read the following notes carefully before installation:
Important note for users of the eTASK app for Windows 10:
With the release of this version, an updated version of the eTASK app has also been released in the Microsoft Store. Please note that this latest app version is compatible exclusively with the current release version of the portal; that is, both the portal AND all connected mobile devices must be updated.
Therefore, please update your mobile devices only if you are also planning to update your portal to the current release at the same time. If this is not desired or possible, please disable the automatic installation of updates for the eTASK app on your devices.
Please note, however, that after a previous update to your portal, you must subsequently update your devices to the latest app version as well.
Important note for users of the products eTASK Rental, eTASK Cost Recording, and eTASK Operating Costs:
As announced in the GoBD workshop, this release is not suitable for use by customers with the products eTASK Rental, eTASK Cost Recording, and eTASK Operating Costs. If you use these products, please refrain from updating. The appropriate release for this will be made available to you in September, as announced.
Announcement: Support for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is being discontinued:
Please note that starting with the first release issued on or after January 1, 2018, the 2008 version of Microsoft SQL Server will no longer be officially supported by eTASK. Please contact your eTASK representative as soon as possible if you are still using Microsoft SQL Server 2008.
eTASK BIM
New Feature: Download the eTASK App for REVIT Now from the Portal
You can now download the eTASK app for Autodesk REVIT directly from your portal. Using the app, you can publish or update BIM models directly from REVIT to the portal. Both the native RVT file and the IFC file are transferred. Visualization in eTASK BIM is based on the IFC file. The app is available for download in the portal menu under: Control Panel - Portal Options - Portal Management - Portal Maintenance - Setup & Update
Improvement: Re-import of IFC models with changed names
The IFC model import in eTASK (via the portal or the eTASK App for REVIT) now also supports the re-import of models if their site and/or building designation has been changed outside of eTASK. For example, if a building has the designation "CGN-B001" during the initial import and is renamed to "CGN-B01A" outside of eTASK, the building is still updated in eTASK (no re-import) with simultaneous automated adjustment of the building code and all data based on it.
Improvement: Enhanced automated 2D floor plans from 3D BIM models
The BIM Explorer is now available in a new, improved version that, among other things, enables an optimized display of the 3D model as automatically generated 2D floor plans. In particular, switching between 3D and 2D is possible without recurring loading times. For the 2D display, there are also improved options for rendering the architecture as well as for displaying representations (e.g., coloring according to DIN 277) and stamps on the floor plan. Linked data sets can also be accessed via the 2D view (e.g., open room data set by clicking in the room). Based on the new BIM Explorer technology, as an eTASK BIM user, you can look forward to many more features in the future, which we will make available to you in upcoming releases.
eTASK Resource Booking
Bug Fix: Unwanted Lead Times for Resource Bookings
Due to discrepancies in time zone settings, in certain scenarios, resources could only be booked with a lead time when using resource booking, even if no lead time was defined for the resource itself. These discrepancies have been resolved.
eTASK Suite Tradesman Portal
Bug Fix: Inconsistencies in Terminology on the Invoice Sheet
The inconsistencies regarding the terms "partial invoice" and "final invoice" in the billing sheet have been resolved.
Bug fix: Optimization of the connection setup to the SAP Router
When the SAP interface of the Tradesman Portal accessed the SAP Router, a new connection was established each time a data record was read. Depending on the number of transactions, this led to a continuous load on the SAP Router and/or the log memory becoming full. The SAP interface has now been redesigned so that the connection is established only once per job run and no longer per transaction.
Bug Fix: Assignment of the Purchaser Group During Personnel Data Import from SAP
When importing personnel data from SAP in the context of the Tradesman Portal, it could happen that the corresponding buyer group from SAP was not stored for the imported person in eTASK, resulting in the person’s email address being missing. The SAP interface has been optimized accordingly.
eTASK Payment Transactions
Bug fix: Automatic payment assignment to canceled invoices
Under certain conditions, an automatic payment assignment to already canceled invoices occurred during the payment run. In the course of GoDB compliance, such payments for canceled invoices will no longer be possible in the future, so this necessary logic has been implemented.
Improvement: Better overview of bank transactions
Traffic light icons have been added to the bank transaction displays. This makes it immediately clear if no payments have yet been assigned to transactions (red) or if data is incorrect (yellow). This significantly simplifies the processing of transactions.
Improvement: Optimization of the "EBICS Initialization" form
The input screen for EBICS initialization has been optimized for easier editing.
eTASK Outlook Room Booking
Highlight: Compatibility with Office 365 / Exchange and Outlook 2016
Room booking via the eTASK add-in for Microsoft Outlook is now compatible with Outlook 2016 and Exchange 2016. This supports integration with mailboxes on a local Exchange server as well as mailboxes using Exchange Online in Office 365. Does your company use Office 365 or plan to implement it in the future? Please contact your eTASK representative to discuss the requirements and options for integrating room booking into your organization.
eTASK Financial Planning
New Feature: New Export Report with Monthly Planning Values
The new financial planning report lists the header data as well as the individual lines of each active variant, for both revenue and expenses. The planned values are displayed for each month over the entire 10-year planning period. The report is also optimized for export and further processing in Excel.
eTASK Assets (Package)
New feature: New status reports specifically for your systems and their associated components
The portal offers you two new reports that allow you to review the operator obligations for your systems and their associated components. For each system and its components, the report shows which orders are planned or active and which order plans these orders originate from. Additionally, it indicates whether the orders are planned or unplanned and what the current processing status is.
eTASK Operating Cost Accounting
Bug Fix: Allocation Keys Valid for a Limited Period of Time
Allocation keys that were only valid for part of a year were, under certain conditions, used for calculations throughout the entire year. This has been changed so that the allocation keys are now only used for the corresponding period.
eTASK Cost Entry
Improvement: Complete financial accounting export from the posting journal
The posting journal and the "write procedures" have been adjusted so that the financial accounting export can now be performed 100% from the posting journal.
Improvement: Ensure posting/finalization of outgoing invoices in accordance with the VAT Implementation Ordinance
According to the Value-Added Tax Implementation Ordinance (UstDV) and due to the documentary nature of the invoice, changes to an outgoing invoice may only be made to the extent that the change involves correcting incorrect information or adding missing information. Permitted changes include, for example, corrections to an incorrectly stated delivery address, billing address, or bank details, as well as the addition of a delivery date that was inadvertently omitted. The term "change" is therefore to be understood here as a correction or addition. The invoice may be corrected only and exclusively if one of these necessary details is incorrect or entirely missing. In all other cases, a subsequent change to the outgoing invoice must be prevented in order to comply with legal requirements. In such cases, the invoice must be canceled. The new workflow for outgoing invoices ensures compliance with legal requirements and allows only permissible changes. Users of eTASK Cost Recording have access to the outgoing invoice workflow at no additional cost when using outgoing invoices in the portal.
Improvement: Improved usability in the incoming invoice workflow
When canceling an incoming invoice, the input field for the "Reason for Cancellation" has been enlarged to make data entry easier.
Improvement: Create a new company when entering an incoming invoice
A new company can now also be created via the "Incoming Invoice" entry screen, just as is possible when entering the invoice via the Inbox.
Improvement: Adjustment and expansion of the functionality for "Cash Discount and Reduction"
Various improvements have been made regarding the handling of cash discounts and reductions on incoming invoices and partial services. Amounts for partial services are now always entered into the posting journal as gross amounts without cash discounts or reductions, since the actual amount paid is unknown at the time of entry. The differences resulting from cash discounts or reductions compared to the original entry are recorded as a transfer posting and are entered separately into the posting journal. Incoming invoices are considered settled when the sum of the payment assignments plus the sum of the transfer postings (and thus also cash discounts and reductions) matches the invoice amount. Sales revenue and input tax are calculated separately from the reduced amounts and saved as a journal entry. Further optimizations for handling cash discounts and price reductions are in the works. You’ll learn more about this in upcoming releases.
eTASK Rental
Improvement: Changes to operating costs visible immediately
The operating costs of a contract are now automatically recalculated after adding operating costs to a room within a contract period. Changes are thus immediately visible in all relevant places and not only after a certain amount of time.
eTASK Service Ticket
New feature: Trigger service tickets anywhere via email
Service tickets can now be triggered outside the portal via a simple email. To do this, the email—while retaining specific formatting—is sent to a designated email address within the portal and automatically processed as a ticket there. Authorized users are defined in a "whitelist" within the portal. With this new feature, you can now record reports from anywhere—even offline—and send them to your eTASK portal for processing at the next opportunity. Alternatively, you can use, for example, an email function on your website to capture reports, which are then sent as emails to eTASK and processed there. Would you like to use this feature for your eTASK service tickets as well? Please contact your eTASK representative to coordinate the necessary steps.
Improvement: Requesters displayed in the service report even when data is missing
The service report on the service ticket now displays the requester even if their data record is not fully maintained and, for example, the department and/or phone number are missing.
Improvement: Expansion and better overview of SLA evaluations
The SLA evaluations for service tickets have been expanded so that it is now immediately apparent whether response times or processing times have been exceeded. Tickets with an exceeded response time are displayed with a yellow traffic light. If the processing time is exceeded, the ticket is displayed with a red traffic light. Furthermore, all comments on the ticket are directly visible in the evaluation.
eTASK Maintenance
Improvement: Display of escalation times in notification emails
This notification email regarding "Current escalations for maintenance orders" has been expanded and now displays the scheduled execution date as well as the time of the first and second escalations for each order.
eTASK Room Reservation
Bug fix: Visualization of a meeting room via CAD or BIM
When using a visualization option in eTASK (eTASK.BIM or eTASK.CAD) simultaneously, clicking the magnifying glass icon next to the meeting room in the booking wizard resulted in an error message. The link destination has been adjusted.
eTASK FM Portal
New Feature: eTASK supports the latest version 3.0 of the “CAFM-Connect” standard
eTASK can now also process files in the CAFM-Connect Standard version 3.0. In the latest version 3.0, in addition to spaces (version 1.0) and facilities (version 2.0), documents (e.g., PDFs) are also included in a structured format linked to the spaces and facilities. Read more at: https://www.etask.de/2017/06/15/etask-kompatibel-zu-cafm-connect-3-0/
New Feature: New Evaluation and Verification Option for Areas According to DIN 277
For the evaluation of your areas according to DIN 277, a new report and a new view with a traffic light function are now available for evaluating "Building Areas According to DIN 277 Usage Groups." The traffic light function in the view allows you to see the processing status of the data and verify whether all usage types have been filled in.
New Feature: CAFM-Connect Catalog as a View in Excel Format
The CAFM-Connect catalog is now also available in the portal (Control Panel) as a clear view. The individual attributes for each CC object type are listed separately. The view also allows you to export the catalog as a structured Excel list for sharing with third parties.
New Feature: New Analysis Options for Space Usage by Departments
The portal now offers three new views with traffic-light indicators, as well as a print-optimized report, allowing you to analyze in various ways which department occupies which areas within a building. These views are particularly useful for verifying data quality and completeness, as well as identifying potential data entry errors to ensure accurate analysis via the report.
New feature: Integration of photorealistic 3D building models / indoor navigation
eTASK now allows you to link NavVis mapping models with facility management data and processes. For example, using the POIs (Points of Interest) set in NavVis—such as for rooms or systems—you can directly access the corresponding data records in eTASK. Similarly, you can use the data and processes in eTASK to jump directly into the three-dimensional mapping model, view the corresponding room or facility in the photorealistic model, and move freely within it. If you are interested in creating a 3D mapping model for your buildings, please contact your eTASK representative. Together with our partners at NavVis GmbH, we are happy to advise you on the possibilities of 3D mapping for your portfolio and support you with the mapping and CAFM integration. Further information on the possibilities of 3D mapping / indoor navigation with NavVis can be found here: http://www.navvis.com/
Improvement: Logging of all portal logins in accordance with §147 No. 5 and §3 of the German Fiscal Code (AO)
According to §147 No. 5 and §3 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) issued by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, all logins to the software, including failed attempts, must be logged and archived for a period of 10 years. Deleting logins is not permitted and is now prevented by eTASK. For customers subject to audit requirements based on the size categories of the German Commercial Code (HGB), the date applicable here is the first day of the following fiscal year as per the HGB. Tax-related retention periods always begin only after the tax return is filed, i.e., in the following year. The retention period can be set individually in the portal and is set to indefinite by default in your portal.
Improvement: Expansion of the "Occupancy Duration per Room" report
The report has been expanded to display data for the defined time period rather than just the last day of the defined time period.
Highlight: New planning and control system for digitalization / "LoI in CAFM"
Data controlling makes it easier for you to define the scope of data required for the digitization of your real estate processes and to continuously monitor the data completeness in a transparent manner. In doing so, you specify individually for your project which data you need in detail for which buildings and processes, thereby defining the "Level of Information (LoI)" for your facility management. Employees tasked with data collection can use simple checklists as a guide, thereby maintaining an overview of any missing data. Data controlling is a particularly helpful tool for achieving the required data quality when adding new buildings or establishing new processes in CAFM. Contact your eTASK representative and get advice on how to efficiently utilize data controlling for your digitization processes.
Highlight: End-to-end GoBD compliance in business processes
With the GoBD (Principles for the Proper Management and Retention of Books, Records, and Documents in Electronic Form, as well as for Data Access), the Federal Ministry of Finance clarifies the criteria and guidelines according to which businesses must record, process, and archive tax-relevant documents when using electronic accounting. The GoBD requirements are an important step toward the equal treatment of paper documents and electronic documents in accounting by regulating the implementation of the principles of proper bookkeeping through software systems. The GoBD apply not only to traditional accounting software but also to front-end and back-end systems—and thus to eTASK as well. In this context, “proper” refers to the following requirements regarding documentation, posting, and the recording of business transactions:- Traceability and verifiability- Truthfulness, clarity, and continuous recording- Completeness and accuracy- Timely postings and records- Order, security against loss, and retrievability - Immutability The GoBD came into effect on January 1, 2015. Since January 1, 2017, the GoBD regulations have been fully in effect. The current GoBD requirements are now demonstrably met in all relevant eTASK products. The software has been successfully certified for this purpose by a certified public accountant. For customers of eTASK property management products, compliance with the GoBD requirements entails, in some cases, extensive changes in usage and procedures. Please contact your eTASK representative to implement the GoBD requirements in your eTASK project.