March 2024 Monthly Release - 22.4.30 (March 1)

EFIN-114555

EFIN-94429

Integration: Implemented Sex At Birth and Gender Identity with Unified Talent Products

For integrations with Unified Talent products:

• The Sex At Birth field has been added to the GetEmployee API to indicate an individual's sex at birth. The field is designed with predefined values to ensure data consistency and validation. It can only contain one of two character codes: M for male or F for female.

• The Gender Identity field has been added to the GetEmployee API to indicate an individual's gender identity. Now, when there is a modification in the Gender Identity field, synchronization will occur between the Unified Talent Products and PowerSchool ERP.

These are applied when information is synced from Human Resources, Employee, Employee Information.

EFIN-114188

Changes to Form for Warehouse Transactions

In Warehouse Inventory, we made minor changes to forms handling on the Entry and Processing, Detailed Displays, Inventory Transactions page so that it will compile correctly in a new version of Genero, which will be rolled out in a future release. There is no change in functionality of the page.

EFIN-111448

Advanced Workflows: Enhanced File Upload Validation in Expense and Leave Request

We have introduced a new feature aimed at enhancing user guidance during the file upload process for leave requests and expense submissions. Now, if users try to upload a file with an unsupported extension, an error message appears. This message includes a detailed list of supported file extensions, such as .bmp, .csv, .doc, .docx, .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .pdf, .png, .ppt, .pptx, .rtf, .tiff, .txt, .xls, .xlsx, and .xml.

This improvement is applicable to both the Leave Request and Expense Advanced Workflows.

EFIN-110550

Vendor Access Center (VAC) Vendor Management Enhancement: Improved User Data Removal

In System Administration, on the VAC Vendor Management page, previously when a user deleted a contact from a vendor record using the Remove User option, certain user details, notably the email address, remained in the system. This prevented the vendor from using the VAC Existing Vendor registration process. With this fix, we have modified the Remove User action to comprehensively erase all user details from the database to allow seamless re-registration.

EFIN-110144

EFIN-110100

EFIN-110096

EFIN-110093

Advanced Workflow: Expense Budget Checking Feature

For districts that use the Expense Advanced Workflow, a budget checking capability similar to that found in Requisitions and Purchase Orders has been incorporated. This feature operates during both the submission of expenses by an Employee and the subsequent modification and approval stages by Approvers at each level of approval. Throughout the approval process, indicators signaling Budget Exceeded appear on both the List and Detail pages, along with the addition of a Budget Exceeded Log button. 

The indicators are based on flags in Fund Accounting Organization Chart and Project List reference tables:

• When Check Budget Balance is set as Warning, approvers can proceed with expense approval.

• When Check Budget Balance is set as Fatal, approvers cannot proceed with expense approval with the current accounting.

 The Budget Exceeded Log identifies the individual line items that cause the budget to be exceeded. In cases where an expense consists of multiple line items utilizing the same budget units and accounts (or account numbers when using full account structure), resulting in a total exceeding the budget limit, a singular entry is recorded in the log. This entry specifies the associated budget unit and account, or account number. Multiple line items can be displayed for budget or project budget checks.

 Approval Detail Page modifications:

• Budget check validation will activate when the approver clicks the Approve button, operating as follows:

  • If the expense carries a budget exceeded flag and the associated Check Budget Balance is set to Warning, the approver can proceed with approval.

  • If the expense carries a budget exceeded flag and the associated Check Budget Balance is set to Fatal, approval is restricted. To proceed, either process a budget adjustment for the current accounting, or modify the budget unit and account, or account number, to one with available budget.

• The current functionality the prevents approval in cases of missing information for budget unit, account, or account number remains unchanged.

 Approval List Page modifications:

• Approval cannot be processed from the list page for expenses flagged as exceeding the budget or lacking information for budget unit and account, or account number. This restriction applies even during bulk approvals.

• A dialog will appear, listing the expenses for the respective category, and indicate whether it is missing information or exceeded budget.

• Approvers must navigate to the approval detail page for these expenses, where they can review and take the necessary actions. These actions may include entering accounting information if the submitter left it blank or modifying the accounting information to an account with available budget. If a budget adjustment is determined to be the best solution, it uses the regular budget adjustment process. After the available budget is increased, the approver can return to the task list.

• Approvers can only select a maximum of 10 records on the same page for bulk approval and proceed with the required action.

EFIN-106769

Support Message When Vendor Access Center (VAC) Administration Pages Do Not Load

In this release, we have introduced a user-friendly message aimed at improving the experience when encountering blank VAC pages that do not load. If a page appears blank due to exceptions or missing setup, a message now appears, directing users to contact PowerSchool Support for assistance. The message is designed to help users navigate the next steps in case there are issues causing the page to be blank.

EFIN-103073

EFIN-112775

EFIN-112774

EFIN-112765

EFIN-112763

Improved Mobile Approval Experience for Advanced Workflows

We have enhanced the mobile approval functionality for advanced workflow requests. Previously, users faced navigation challenges on Android and were unable to use the feature on iOS. We have addressed these issues to provide a smoother experience. Approvers can now easily manage approval activities on both Android and iOS devices.

EFIN-114706

AppSwitcher Available in New Employee Access Center (EAC)

The AppSwitcher is available in new EAC. Previously, it was not displayed.

EFIN-113615

Vendor Punchout (VPO): Move and Enhance the Special Notes on the Update Vendor Definition Page

In VPO, on the Update Vendor Definition page, when setting up Equal Level as a vendor, the value in the fields Send User Email and Long Supplier Part ID must both be set to Yes. The Special Notes on the Update Vendor Definition page were enhanced and moved to assist users who are configuring vendors such as Amazon and Equal Level.

EFIN-113605

Integration: Effective Date Changes for Email Voucher with the Operator as Records

When data was synced from Records to PowerSchool ERP, Effective Date Change entries were incorrectly created for the Email Voucher field with the Operator: Records. The Email Voucher field is not available in Records. A change was introduced to prevent Effective Date Change entries for the Email Voucher field when data syncs from Records.

EFIN-113450

New Employee Access Center (EAC) Displays Local Tax Check Title

In Human Resources, Reference Tables, on the Local Tax Codes page, if the optional Check Title field is present and populated, the payroll check PDF in new EAC displays the Check Title entered in the reference table. Previously, it displayed the default Local Tax label.

EFIN-113367

Revenue Budget vs Actual KPI Panel

The Revenue Budget v Actual KPI panel now loads successfully. Previously, the panel was not loading and displayed the loading dots or a null exception error if no data was present in the record.

EFIN-113285

Social Security Detail Report Sums Multiple FICA or Medicare Records

In Human Resources, Reports, on the Social Security Detail report. if an employee had two or more FICA or Medicare records on the same check, it caused a fatal error. This has been resolved by summing the FICA and Medicare entries on the report.

EFIN-112990

New Employee Access Center (EAC) Employee Edits to Tax Information

In new EAC, a validation error appeared when certain conditions occurred. If an employee had a previous local tax and also a change to the pay frequency, validation logic did not consider that the old locality tax entry would be unknown in the locality drop-down, and an error message appeared. The error occurred even if the EAC settings did not allow employees to change local tax information. The issue has been resolved.

EFIN-112983

Integration: SmartFind Express (SFE) Attendance Vacancy Records Post without Employee ID

For districts using SFE, previously vacancy records with no Employee ID were not posted to Human Resources, Employee, Attendance. Now on the Attendance, Post page if the user selects Substitute Only, the vacancy records are posted.

If not using SFE, then when Substitute Only is selected, only attendance records are posted.

EFIN-112977

Integration: Vacancy Attendance Records from SmartFindExpress (SFE) Allow Edits to Budget Unit and Account

In Human Resources, Employee, Attendance when Substitute Information is selected from the action bar, previously if a record was received from SFE and identified as a vacancy, an error occurred if the user edited the budget unit and account fields, indicating the entries were not on the organization chart or the user did not have security access. This has been resolved and going forward, the user will be able to edit these fields.

EFIN-112870

New Employee Access Center (EAC) Extended and Extended with Payrate PDF Stub Displays Up to 10 Leave Codes

In new EAC, if the Administration, Profiles, Paychecks Setup, Identifier 2191 PayCheck Layout is set to E - Extended or R - Extended with Rate, the PDF pay stub will display up to 10 leave codes present in the employee record.

EFIN-112846

Personnel Budgeting Position Status Report Vacancy Calculations

In Personnel Budgeting, Reports, the Position Status Report has an added field for vacant positions: Vacant Projected Salary. The value of this field is the Budget Salary for the position times the number of Vacant FTEs.

EFIN-112793

Federal and State Tax Appear on Non-Exempt Employee Paycheck When Calculated Withholding is Zero

In Human Resources, Pay Run Processing, for employees who receive printed paychecks, the paycheck print process has been modified to print federal and state tax information on the check stub when the calculated withholding is zero, if the employee is non-exempt and deduction gross is greater than zero.

A future release will include the same change for Employee Access Center (EAC) PDFs, Employee Mobile App, manual check printing, and scheduling the sending of payroll vouchers.

EFIN-112703

New Employee Access Center (EAC) Bank Information in Effective Date changes

In new EAC when an employee submits a direct deposit change with a routing number that does not exist in the Bank Codes reference table, a message appears on the Human Resources, Periodic Routines, Effective Date Changes: Deductions page directing the user to click Add Bank to add the new bank to the reference table.

EFIN-112641

Bank Transmission File Format Improved Messaging

In Fund Accounting, Reference Tables, on the Bank Transmission File Format page, at least one record with a specific Layout Code and Record Type 2 - Batch Header must have the Batch Group checkbox selected. This was existing functionality. Previously, a fatal error occurred when creating a bank transmission file that used a Record Type 2 format and no existing record had the Batch Group checkbox selected.

We have added a message that appears in two situations, alerting the user that there is no Batch Group selected for Record Type 2.

• On the Bank Transmission File Format page, when adding a Record Type 2 record and there is no existing Record Type 2 record for the same Layout Code with Batch Group selected.

• In Fund Accounting, Vendor Checks, on the Bank Transmission File page when a Layout Code is used that has no existing Record Type 2 record with Batch Group selected.

EFIN-112328

Deductions Cannot Use Fund Accounting Profile Accounts Payable Account

In Human Resources, the Deductions reference table has been updated to prevent the Withholding Account on the Employee tab and the Benefit Liability Account on the Employer tab from being set to the Fund Accounting Profile Accounts Payable account. Prior to this update, when the Accounts Payable account was assigned on a deduction, an error occurred when a user attempted to post the payroll charges on the Fund Accounting Automated Payroll Interface page.

EFIN-112121

New Employee Access Center (EAC) Dynamic Leave Request Warning Icon on List Page

In new EAC, previously there was a discrepancy that caused warning messages on the Leave Request detail page when there was no warning icon displayed on the list page. New EAC was not saving a validation result that was applied in old EAC and PowerSchool ERP core software. The list page was also not reassessing the warning status when the page was loaded. This has been resolved by storing the validation result and updating the list page to reassess the status when the page loads. As a result, the warning icon on the list page is consistent with a warning and icon displayed on the detail page. The warning icon appears on both list and detail pages when leave is outside the calendar range or when multiple leaves are requested for the same date.

EFIN-112064

Enhancements to Vendor PunchOut (VPO)

An update was made to address an issue in VPO where the items in two orders were assigned to the wrong Amazon order when 2 purchasers placed their orders at the same time. Enhancements were also made to assist PowerSchool with troubleshooting when issues occur with Vendor Punchout. Logging enhancements were added to log and track the Session ID from the initial page load. Enhancements were made to aid in troubleshooting the issue where Buyer Values were being switched on Amazon orders.  

EFIN-111816

Employee/Benefit Information Dependent Column Headers

In Benefits, Employee/Benefit Information, Benefits page, on the Dependents tab, the column headers have been updated to correctly display the titles. Prior to the fix, the column titles for Notification Date, Other Insurance and Coverage Level displayed only the first word and then wrapped to a second row that did not display.

EFIN-110234

Employee Access Center (EAC) Paycheck Voucher Deduction List

In EAC, paycheck vouchers that have more than 20 deductions were displaying the 19th deduction and amount multiple times. This has been corrected and each deduction is now listed one time. If deductions exceed the space, the remaining deductions are summed and All Others appears as the title.

EFIN-109894

Terminated Employee Login for Employee Access Center (EAC) with Single Sign-on (SSO)

For districts using SSO with EAC, previously the administration Login Setup Identifier 2601, Allow Login Using Email Address, was removed from the administration options. This prevented an administrator from allowing terminated employees to log in to EAC using their district email address. The identifier has been added so that terminated employees are able to log in to EAC.

EFIN-109323

Legacy Employee Access Center (EAC) Tax Information Email Trigger and Effective Date Changes Notification

In legacy EAC, we have refined the email trigger mechanism for Tax Information changes. Now, when an employee opens the Tax Information page and clicks Update, then clicks Save without making any changes, it does not trigger email notifications or send a record to Effective Date Changes. Previously, an email was triggered with no change identified in the body of the email, and no associated Tax Info records were found in Effective Date Changes. 

EFIN-108636

Integration: Certification Types Received from Talent Products Insert in Reference Table

In Human Resources, Reference Tables, Applicant Tracking, Certification Types, the records received from integrated Talent products will insert and be saved in the Certification Types table.

EFIN-106148

Display Budget Iteration and Phase on Budget Entry Page

In Budget Preparation, Entry & Processing, Budget Entry, when a user performed a search on the expenditure ledger, the iteration and phase was not displayed on the screen. This has been resolved.

EFIN-105211

Import Batch Timecards Update for Full Account Structure

In Human Resources, Payroll, Import Batch Timecards page, after initiating an Import from the action bar, the Define Column Mapping and the Static Column Value Mapping pages will display the correct fields based on the Fund Accounting profile setting for Full Account Format.

• If Full Account Format is enabled, the account number field will display for the employee and substitute.

• If Full Account Format is disabled, the organization and account fields will display for the employee and substitute.

EFIN-102985

Title and Budget Title Fields Added to Details for Update Expenditure Budget Page

In Budget Preparation, Entry & Processing, Budget Administrator, Display Budget (Update Expenditure Budget page), after performing a search and from the action bar clicking Details for a selected record, the Title and Budget Title fields were not displayed. The page now displays two separate fields for Title and Budget Title. This applies regardless of whether full account format is active or not.

EFIN-91882

Resize, Remove, and Rearrange Columns Allowed on Requisition Entry

In Purchasing, Requisition Processing, on the Requisitions page, when adding a new requisition, on the Line Items tab when entering the account information, columns can now be resized, removed, or rearranged. Previously, the fields could not be manipulated and users had to scroll to display important information, for example the line amount.

EFIN-114718

Affordable Care Act (ACA): Create Employee 1095s when Setup Employer Check History Date is S-Pay Start Date or E-Pay End Date

In Human Resources, Periodic Routines, Affordable Care Act, 1095 Maintenance, when the Setup Employer page set the Check History Date as S - Pay Start Date or E - Pay End Date, the Create Employee 1095s process would produce a fatal error. This issue has been resolved.

EFIN-114005

W2 and 1099-R Allow Alpha Characters in State ID Number

In Human Resources, Periodic Routines, W2 Processing and 1099-R Processing, in the respective Set Up W2 or Set Up 1099-R Parameters wizards, the State ID Number field now allows alpha characters in addition to numeric and hyphen characters. The change also applies to the W2 Wizard: W2 and 1099R Employer Maintenance page, which can be reached through either process by selecting Set Up Employer Records, then clicking Edit, then selecting the Additional States tab.

EFIN-113734

Employee W2 File Update Combines Duplicate State or Locality into Single Line

This applies to all states that have the Prior Earnings/Tax Information for State and Locality.

In Human Resources, Employee Information, on an employee record, the Prior Earnings/Tax Information page may have the same State or the same Locality entered in both Current and Prior fields at the time when W2 Processing, Copy W2 Information is run. When the Create Employee W2 file is processed, it will now combine the taxes and wages into one state or one locality for the employee on the Employee W2 File Update page. Previously, it was split into two separate entries.

EFIN-113656

Corrected Instances of 1099R to 1099-R and Federal ID Field Changed to Read-Only in Print 1099-R Forms Options

In Human Resources, Periodic Routines, Year End, 1099-R Processing, a few pages incorrectly labeled Information blocks and action names with 1099R, omitting the hyphen. These have been brought to standard with other pages to read 1099-R.

On all Print 1099-R Forms and Create 1099-R Electronic File pages, the Federal Tax ID field drop-down menu has been replaced by a text box that displays the Federal ID Number from the 1099-R Parameters page. This is due to the 1099-R process only using that ID in processing, with the drop-down menu being a relic of prior implementations.

EFIN-113038

ACA 1095 Upload File Error Corrected

In Human Resources, Periodic Routines, 1095 Maintenance, when uploading a 1095 Employee File, if more than 32,000 errors were found a fatal error would result. This has been corrected.

EFIN-112935

Usability Enhancement for W2 Electronic State File Generation

In Human Resources, Periodic Routines, W2 Processing, Create W2 Electronic File when Include RS Records selected, the state now defaults from the Set Up W2 Parameters page. It will no longer be possible to leave this field blank. It is a required field.

EFIN-112679

Removed Non-standard Message when Backing out of Add in 1099 Processing, W2 Processing and 1095 Maintenance

Previously when a user backed out of adding a new record on some pages, a form of a message appeared stating Record not added. These were non-standard messages and have been removed.

• Human Resources: 1095 Maintenance and W2 Processing: Employee W2 File Update pages

• Fund Accounting: 1099 Processing: All four Maintain Work Files pages

EFIN-111037

Removed Set Up Employer Records from 1099-R Processing Center

In Human Resources, Periodic Routines, Year End, 1099-R Processing, during internal testing it was discovered that an employer record was not used. 

For W2 Processing, the employer record, stored by tax year and control number, appears on the W2 Employee File Update maintenance page. It allows districts to be selective when printing W2 forms and generating electronic files for employees. For 1099-R Processing, we do not store that employer record on the Maintain 1099-R Workfile page for the employees, therefore it does not allow districts to be selective when printing 1099-R forms or generating electronic files. Therefore, Set Up Employer Records has been removed from the 1099-R Processing center.

In addition, in Human Resources, Periodic Routines, Year End, W2 Processing, Set Up Employer Records Edit, the W2 Wizard: W2 and 1099R Employer Maintenance page title has been changed to W2 Wizard:  W2 Employer Maintenance. The reference to 1099R has been removed.