In This Release… [Click here for a video overview of all the new features]
Subscription Updates
Updated Subscription Process
The Striven subscription page has been redesigned to simplify the UI and to allow subscribers to choose between the Standard and Enterprise monthly plans.
There are different pricing tiers within each plan based on the total number of users currently using Striven.
For further pricing information, you can click on the Learn More link which will navigate to Striven’s pricing page. You can toggle between plans to view the available pricing tiers for each plan.
Usage Limits will determine which plan will best suit your Company’s needs. You can compare the differences between the plans by clicking on the Compare Standard & Enterprise Plans button on the subscription page.
Users participating in the 30-day Free Trial will be started in the Standard Plan by default, with the option to upgrade to the Enterprise Plan to increase usage limits.
- Note: Free Trial users will not be charged for the upgrade during the Free Trial.
During the 30-day Free Trial, the subscription page will display the trial expiration date on the top of the page, along with options to Subscribe Now or add payment information so that they will automatically be subscribed once the trial expires.
Subscribing to Striven can be accomplished with a simple, 2-step process. The first step is selecting which Plan is best suited for your Company. With your plan selected, you can choose to Add Premium Support along with the monthly subscription. Click the Learn More link to view the benefits included with Premium Support.
The second step involves entering your payment information. To view a breakdown of your subscription total, you can click on the View Details link next to the Total Today amount displayed on the page. This Subscription Details popup will show your current usage, your current Subscription selections, and the Total monthly amount for the subscription. Click Subscribe and you’re done!
Once subscribed, your subscription page will show the next Invoice date, which plan you are subscribed to, whether you are subscribed for the Customer/Vendor Portals, and whether you subscribed to Premium Support. The current payment method is listed with available options to edit the current payment method, change to an alternate payment method, or add a new payment method by clicking on the Manage button. There is also an Update Subscription button that will allow you to change your plan and/or add or remove Premium Support from your subscription.
Options on the Left Side Menu Bar on the subscription page enable you to view recent transactions related to your Striven subscription and manage your subscription notification recipients.
When a subscription payment is not paid, the system is locked and the subscription page will alert that the payment was not made or has failed and will prompt you to check your payment method. The page will also offer the option to refresh your status if the payment was successful after updating your payment method.
In the event you wish to unsubscribe from Striven, you can click on the Update Subscription button on the subscription page and then click the link at the bottom of the page to unsubscribe. There you will be prompted to select a reason you’re unsubscribing and encouraged to share any additional feedback. Click the red Unsubscribe button to complete the process.
Once unsubscribed, your subscription page will display the date you unsubscribed. If you need to access your Striven system again, you can always re-subscribe.
Upgrading Subscriptions
At some point, subscribers to the Standard Plan may exceed the usage limits for that plan and will need to upgrade to the Enterprise Plan. You will be notified once a Usage Limit threshold is reached, prompting you to either delete/deactivate some of the information or contact your system administrator to upgrade to the Enterprise Plan. If you have the necessary permission, you will see a link to the subscription page in the alert message to make immediate changes.
The steps for upgrading are easy to follow and quick to complete.
- Navigate to the subscription page found in the Striven Diamond menu in the top right corner of the Striven page (or by clicking on the Upgrade to the Enterprise Plan link in the Usage Limit Alert if you have access).
- Click on the Upgrade to Enterprise button and then confirm by clicking on the Update Subscription button.
That will automatically upgrade your plan so that when you return to the location in Striven where you reached the Usage Limit, you will be able to continue as the limits will be increased with the upgrade.
Links for Usage Limits
For more information regarding Usage Limits, click here to compare limits per plan or here for API Usage Limits details.
Accounting Updates
Flag Equity Account as Retained Earnings
We now have the ability to flag an Equity-type account as a Retained Earnings account which will be calculated into the Retained Earnings amount on the Balance Sheet, Balance Sheet by Class, and Trial Balance reports in Striven.
The flagged Equity-type account you create will not display on the reports but will be automatically calculated as part of the Retained Earnings on the reports behind the scenes.
Previously, the Retained Earnings were calculated based on the following:
- On the Balance Sheet & Balance Sheet by Class Reports: Net Income from the start of time to the end of the previous fiscal year.
- On the Trial Balance Report: Net Income from the start of time to the End Date specified by the report filter, or today’s date if the End Date is left blank.
With this new feature, when you flag an Equity-type account for Retained Earnings, any postings (such as Journal Entries) will now be calculated into this amount on the reports.
To use this feature, a new GL Account will need to be created, set as an Equity type, and the Retained Earnings Account option selected.
With this new account established, you can create a Journal Entry and select the flagged Retained Earnings account to adjust the amount as needed, making sure to select an offsetting account with which to offset the posting as well.
Sales Order Type Settings
We have a new Sales Order Type setting that will allow you to automatically copy certain Sales Order information to a Task when creating it from the Sales Order. These settings can be found on the Sales Order Type Info Page. There is a new section called “Create Task from Sales Order Settings” which houses the following options:
- Copy Name to Task Name
- Copies the Sales Order Name as the new Task Name
- Copy Customer Notes to Task Description
- Copies the Sales Order Customer Notes to the Task Description
- Copy Internal Notes to Task Description
- Copies the Sales Order Internal Notes to the Task Description
- Copy Contact to Task Requested By
- Sets the Task’s Requested By entity with the Sales Order Contact info
Now, when you create a Task from a Sales Order, you should see the Task Name carry over from the Sales Order Name, the Requested By field is automatically filled in with the Sales Order Contact, and the Customer Notes and Internal Notes are saved in the Task Description field.
Allow 0 Quantity Line Items on Sales Orders
Striven will now enable users with the appropriate permissions to create Sales Orders with 0 quantity Line Items. Users will only have to put in the quantity on the related Invoices. This update will also apply on the AP side wherein Purchase Orders will allow 0 quantity Line Items, but the related Bills will need to include the quantity.
- A checkbox has been added to the AR Settings page in the Sales Orders section to Allow 0 Quantity Line Items on Sales Orders. This feature is turned off by default, so you will need to toggle the box to turn this feature on.
- User Roles may need to be updated to include the “Sales Orders - Allow 0 Quantity Line Items” permission in order to utilize this feature.
- Zero (0) Quantity Line Items on Sales Orders will also be accessible through the Striven API.
Historical Accounting Migration Tool
Striven has added a new Historical Accounting Migration Tool for subscribers who want to enter in their historical summary data by fiscal year instead of one Journal Entry with the Opening Balance for each account.
Previously, entering the historical accounting data was difficult because the data entry person needed to manually figure out the differences in the balances each period and then create a Journal Entry for each period for each account. With the addition of this new permission-driven Historical Accounting Migration tool, the process will be much easier.
Before using this new tool, you will need to ensure that you have the “Accounting - Historical Migration” permission included in your User Role.
This new feature can be found by navigating to Company → Settings → Accounting → Historical Accounting Migration.
These are some recommended preliminary steps before creating the Adjustment Journal Entry using the new migration tool:
- Import or manually enter the Chart of Accounts
- Import or manually enter open AR (Invoices, Credit Memos, Open Payments)
- Import or manually enter open AP (Bills, Bill Credits, Open Bill Payments)
- Import or manually enter Inventory Adjustments to set your starting inventory
- Enter Sales Tax Adjustments
Once the preliminary steps are completed, you will want to run a Trial Balance Report in your legacy accounting system of the oldest period you want to enter the data for, and then export that data into a CSV file to use for import instead of manually entering the amounts for each account for the next step of the process.
The following columns are displayed on the data entry page for the Historical Accounting Migration Tool once the period is selected for the Adjustment Journal Entry and you click the Next button:
- Column 1: Lists all the GL Accounts imported into Striven. This includes all active and inactive accounts that have any activity during the selected period.
- Column 2: Lists the report data coming from the Trial Balance run in Striven for the same period.
- Column 3: Data entry fields where you can enter the data from the legacy system. (The import feature can be used for this data entry to make the process faster).
- Column 4: Displays the Adjustment Journal Entry data, which is calculated using the data from Column 2 and Column 3.
The goal with the Historical Accounting Migration is to create the Adjustment Journal Entry so that when added to the current data in Striven, the balance matches the legacy system data. And the great part is that Striven does the calculations for you!
A Customer/Vendor will be required at the bottom of the page before creating the Adjustment Journal Entry. This will be used for AR/AP entries if any. Typically, you will use your own Company for this Historical Summary Journal Entry.
You will also see an option at the bottom of the page to attach multiple files which will be accessible from the Journal Entry being created.
Once all the legacy data is entered or imported, and the total debits and credits of the Adjustment Journal Entry column are matching, you can complete the process of creating the Adjustment Journal Entry.
After you click the Create Journal Entry button, a confirmation page will appear with a link to view the Journal Entry you just created and a button to Create Another Entry.
When viewing the Journal Entry you just created, the Transaction Date will be set to the period start date, and the memo field will include info about the period and Class, if applicable.
Reconciliation Page Updates
We have included three new updates to the Reconciliation Page in Striven. These include:
- The ability to “lock” transactions in a pending reconciliation.
- The ability to hide transactions already cleared in a pending reconciliation.
- A transaction’s Created By column is now displayed on both sides of the reconciliation.
Reconciliations can be a long process, so Striven provides a Save & Resume Later button to save your progress. With this update, you will now also have the option to “lock” transactions that you have already cleared while processing the reconciliation. This will ensure that no one can make any changes or void these transactions while they’re in a pending reconciliation.
When viewing these transactions, they will display a Pending Reconciliation tag showing the info related to the reconciliation and alert users as to why they cannot make changes or void the transaction.
In addition to this new “lock” feature, you will also be able to hide transactions you’ve already selected and saved as cleared in the pending reconciliation. You’ll find a checkbox at the top of the reconciliation page with the option to Hide already selected/saved transactions. Toggling on this feature will hide those transactions you have selected and only display the transactions you have not yet cleared.
These hidden transactions will still be included in the reconciliation calculation and the final saving, but will not clutter the page while resuming the reconciliation. This will save time and effort when determining where you left off when you last worked on the reconciliation.
Once the box is checked, the option switches to Show already selected/saved transactions so you can see all the reconciliation transactions displayed again.
With this update, you’ll also notice the addition of the Created By columns to the reconciliation page for both sides of the reconciliation so you know who created the transactions.
Custom Fields Updates
Allow Edit Option for Custom Fields that are Visible on Portal
Striven now has the ability to determine whether a Contact can edit specific Custom Field data from the Customer/Vendor Portal.
So for example, when viewing a Customer Asset Type Custom Field, you can select to have it visible on the Customer Portal. Once the Portal visibility is set, the option to Allow Edit will display for selection. Checking the box for this option will enable Contacts to edit this Custom Field data while viewing on the Portal.
- Note: If the Custom Fields are not set to Allow Edit, they will not display on the Add Asset page in the Customer Portal.
Inventory Updates
Item Numbers
We have added a new field on the Item Info page for Item Number, which will provide the ability to track an Item Number when working with Items. This data field has also been added to the following areas of Striven:
- Inventory Settings Page: We have added an option in the Other Settings section of the page to Prevent Duplicate Item Numbers to avoid confusion when searching for Items by Item Number.
- Note: Turning this option on will not check for existing data to see if it complies, but if you update, add, or reactivate an Item in the future with a duplicate Item Number a validation message will appear stating “Item Number already exists. Please update and try again.”
- Items List Search Panel: A search filter has been added at the top of the page for Item Number.
- Items List: There is now an Item Number column in the Items List.
- Search & Add Items: There’s a new search filter for Item Number when searching for an Item on a Sales Order.
- Item drop-down list: You can now search the Item drop-down list by typing ahead using the Item Number saved in your system.
- Printable Formats: There’s a new Item Number column available for selection in the Items Section of the formats.
- Reports: In reports in Striven that show Items, such as the Item Profitability Report, the Item Number will now be appended to the Item Name.
- Note: The Item Number will also show on exported reports in a separate column.
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Report Builder Data Sets: Item Numbers will be added to the Data Sets where it is applicable:
- Item Number as a filter and a column in the Items Data Set.
- Item Number as a column in the Transaction Details Data Set, Sales Order Details Data Set, Inventory Data Set, Inventory by Location Data Set, Purchase Order Details Data Set, and the Builds Data Set.
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Imports: Imports now provide the ability to import or update Item Numbers.
- APIs: The following APIs will have Item Numbers included:
- Get Details: Response info includes Item Numbers.
- Search: You can search using Item Numbers.
- Post: You can update the Item Numbers.
Scheduling Notification Updates
Appointment Reminders
We’ve added a feature in Striven to send Appointment reminders via text message and/or by email. These reminders can be configured at the Appointment Type level and Appointment level in your system. They can be sent to all the Appointment Attendees, including Employees, Contacts, or Candidates.
Striven previously already had a reminder feature that works via a Chrome popup notification which appears 15 minutes before the Appointment, but these new reminders will expand the reminder options to SMS and/or emails.
On the Appointment Type level, we’ve added two options at the bottom of the Basic Info section to Send Reminders to External Attendees (Contacts or Candidates) and/or Send Reminders to Internal Attendees (Employees).
Once selected, there will be an option to send the reminder via email and/or text message, as well as the option to select when to send the reminder prior to the Appointment. You can set the reminder to be sent 7 days, 1 day, 1 hour, or 15 minutes before the Appointment.
- Note: These settings can be overridden at the Appointment level as desired.
Appointment reminders set at the Appointment Type level will only apply to new Appointments created after the reminder settings are saved, and will not be applied to existing Appointments.
In order for the text messages option to work, users will need to have the phone number configured for all the Attendees and must have the Twilio Integration activated in their Striven system.
On the Appointment level, there will be a button to Edit Reminder Settings to configure reminders that will override the Appointment Type reminder configurations. This way you can either have automatic reminders set based on the Appointment Type, or customize your reminder settings per Appointment.
Reminder Notification Content
The following notifications have been added to Striven’s Notification & Portal Content:
- Appointment Reminder
- Appointment Reminder - Text
- Appointment Reminder External
- Appointment Reminder External - Text
You can edit the content of the reminder messages for either emails or text messages and customize them to include details using merge fields as needed.
Appointment reminders will display as being sent by the set Organizer of the Appointment.
Miscellaneous Updates
Sales Order Update
Populating Task Location when creating a Task from a Sales Order
- The Ship To Location on a Sales Order carries over as the Location for the Task created from the Sales Order.
AR Transactions Update
Allow Sending to Anonymous Emails from AR Transactions
- We now have the ability to enter an email address in the To: field when sending a Sales Order, Invoice, Sales Receipt, or Credit Memo from Striven.
Customer Dashboard Update
The Upcoming Appointments widget on the Customer Dashboard will now have the ability to show Appointments for ALL Employees, as well as for a specific Employee, instead of just being filtered for yourself.
Import Update
Striven will now allow you to complete Location Status updates via the Locations Import tool.
Manufactured Items Update
Manufactured Items will now display fields for Taxable, Manufacturer, and Manufacturer Part # on the Item page.
Security Updates
Please review the following settings and adjust your User Roles for these new permissions as needed:
- Accounting - Historical Migration
- Sales Orders - Allow 0 Quantity Line Items
- Time Clock Data Set
- Time Clock Data Set - API Access
- Time Clock Data Set - Export
Notifications & Portal Content Additions
The following email and portal content have been added:
- Appointment Reminder
- Appointment Reminder - Text
- Appointment Reminder External
- Appointment Reminder External - Text
Report Builder Additions
The following lists additions to the Report Builder Data Sets in this release:
- Added State Filter to the Employees Data Set
- Added Termination Date Period and Hire Date Period filters to the Employees Data Set
- Added State Column and Filter to the Employee Salaries Data Sets
- Added Salary Change Date (Period) filter to Employee Salaries Data Set
- Added Current Salary Effective Date filter to Employee Salaries Data Set
- Added Item Category filter to Transactions Detail Data Set
- Added Item Number as a filter and column in the Items Data Set
- Added Item Number as a column in the Transaction Details Data Set, Sales Order Details Data Set, Inventory Data Set, Inventory By Location Data Set, Purchase Order Details Data Set, Builds Data Set
- Added Related To ID column to the Happiness Rating Data Set
- Added Order Date to Sales Order Data Set
- Added Time Clock Data Setstrong text