RSMUS.comAmong the many benefits of Sage Intacct are the quarterly updates which offer new features and functionality, helping your company work faster and smarter. Intacct’s 2021 Release 1 includes approval process improvements, increased automation, as well as the debut of General Ledger Outlier Detection for all users.
Get ready to use GL Outlier Detection
You heard about GL Outlier Detection during Sage Intacct Advantage this past fall, but now you can finally try it for yourself. GL Outlier Detection uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to get to know your company’s transactions by looking at least a month’s worth of data.
When something seems out of the ordinary, GL Outlier Detection will alert approvers with a notification. Though GL Outlier Detection is available with a core subscription to Intacct, you do need to make sure to enable both it and AI/ML on your company’s subscription menu.
Set up to-do lists and assign tasks
Many companies use project management software to handle their workflow. With 2021 Release 1, some project management capability is now available within Intacct. On the dashboard screen, you can now create to-do lists and assign tasks to other users. You can set deadlines for the tasks and even view the progress of each step. For example, you can create a list called “Month End Closing Process” and delegate tasks such as “reconcile bank statements” and “review expense accounts.”
Easier approvals
In 2021 Release 1, Intacct has improved the journal entry approval process by adding the option of having groups of approvers. Also, approvals can now be delegated. So, if an approver knows that they will be out of the office or on vacation, they can reassign approvals to another user with the appropriate permissions.
Automatically send reports
You can now set up a reporting schedule to automatically deliver reports that are filtered by department, location or other dimensions to associated managers. For example, if you had reports for a particular department, each one would be sent to the department manager. Setting up these schedules can keep you from repeatedly having to add email addresses to your reports.
When you create reports for a particular time period, the reports will now display the included dates. For instance, if you made a report for the first two months of 2021, the dates shown will be Jan. 1, 2021, to Feb. 28, 2021. Selected filters will also show up as part of your reports. If you ran a report for Department X, for instance, that department name would appear in the footer of the report.
Additional updates
In accounts receivable, the receive payments feature has been upgraded. More features have been added to the “Receive Payments – New” screen. You can now add an attachment, such as a copy of the check or the wire confirmation from the bank.
In financial management, you can now choose to use a dash instead of a zero. Which one you’d rather see onscreen is simply a matter of preference, but previously using a zero was the only option available to users.
In cash management, you now have the ability to create transactions, such as journal entries, manual payments and other receipts, directly from the bank transaction list page. Previously, you were required to complete those tasks from the reconciliation page within cash management.
The enhanced matching rules that are a part of 2021 Release 1 will allow you to better match lump sum amounts from the bank to multiple transactions within Intacct.
An update that allows bank feeds to be automatically refreshed every four hours, rather than manually refreshed every day, is also being rolled out and should be generally available at a later date.
To find out how your company can take advantage of the upgrades in Intacct 2021 Release 1 to work more effectively, schedule a call with one of the experts at RSM today.
