Coming Soon: Now Available: Insert link to worksheets in other Excel binders

You have asked, and we listened! You can now quickly add a link in one Excel binder to a worksheet in another Excel binder. Once linked, you can then preview that external binder's worksheet in the current binder's Active add-in.

Right-click on a cell in the current binder and click on Active Workpapers → Add Worksheet Link

In the add-in panel, select the binder and the worksheet you want to link to.

Once the link has been inserted, clicking on that link will open a preview of the linked worksheet in the add-in panel for an easy, quick reference. You can click on the options on the top left of the preview to navigate to that external binder in Excel or Excel Online.

ATO Integration: Now available for non-ABN entities

We know how much time you've saved using our ATO integration to automatically import BAS lodgements, Integrated Client account and Income Tax account transactions for entities with an ABN. We have now expanded this integration to cater for entities without an ABN, such non-business individual clients. Ensure the client has the correct tax file number (TFN) in our Active Platform before inserting any of the ATO workpapers into a binder (J50/C50/H50).

Note: Due to privacy protection in the Xero Practice Manager API, the client's tax file numbers are not automatically synced across into Active Platform. You will need to update the client's tax file number in Active if you have not already done so.

Preview workpapers in Review mode

While in Review Mode, you can now click on the Excel workpaper in the index to open a preview directly in your browser, allowing you to perform the preview without needing to open Excel. This enhancement will save precious time during the review process and streamline your workflow. Try it out today, and let us know your feedback!

Click on 'Start Review' to enter Review mode:

Click on an Excel workpaper to preview:

The workpaper preview will be displayed in a PDF viewer along with critical information and actions on the top left section.

Additional Firm defaults

Firm administrators take note that we have introduced additional customisation options for firms to standardise their workflows. These include:

Improvement to Active - fyi Integration: Copy Documents from fyi

We are thrilled to announce a significant enhancement to the Active-fyi integration! With this highly requested feature, users can now copy documents directly from fyi to Active, moving beyond the traditional hyperlink method. This new functionality allows users to preview documents directly within Active, and these documents will also be included in the binder export pack. Firms can choose to continue using the existing hyperlink method or take advantage of the new document copying option.
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To select the option, please go to Admin Centre → Integrations → fyi → Document Linking Options in the configuration settings.

​Note: We've also implemented a security measure for this integration. This means users accessing documents using this integration must exist in both Active and fyi.
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Binders:

Love our calculators, but sick and tired of managing separate binders? We've got you covered. The CGT3 CGT Summary, D03 Company Debit Loan Summary and H12 Loan Summary worksheets are now also conveniently available in the Accounts & Tax binder, streamlining your workflow. Additionally, we've enhanced the Company Debit Loan Summary to include a detailed summary by director (borrower), making it easier to analyse and manage your data. Plus, all totals in the summaries now contain Reconciliation Fields, which can be used with the External Linking feature to boost your efficiency.

Worksheets:

NEW G16 Amortisation of Long Term Assets (version 5.24.0)

In response to client feedback, we’ve introduced a new worksheet designed for the amortisation of assets over an extended period (up to 20 years) – perfect for assets such as patents. This addition provides a solution for amortising long-term assets, which previously was limited to a 5-year period in other workpapers like G05 Borrowing Costs.

G05 Borrowing Costs (version 5.24.6)

This release includes a correction to the number of days used in the formula for calculate borrowing costs write-offs. In the previous version, the first-year calculation was overstated by one day resulting in a minor discrepancy, particularly when the entire cost was written off in the first year. The calculation logic has now been updated to accurately reflect the correct number of days in the first year, ensuring that the total cost write-off aligns precisely with the expected values.

C20 Tax Reconciliation (version 5.24.4)

We have listened to your feedback and have made it possible to easily insert your Tax Reconciliation into your financial statements if you are using our Active Ledger and Reporting product, removing the need for manual data entry and significantly saving time. The system streamlines the import process by detecting table types based on your financial report’s reporting suite. See the September Active Ledger and Reporting Release Notes for more information.

The worksheet has also been updated to remove a bug. In the “Accounting Expenditure subject to R&D Tax Incentive” cells for both the current and prior years, cell protection has been removed. This change allows you to input data without needing to unprotect the worksheet.

G10 Fixed Asset Reconciliation (version 5.24.1)

We've made significant improvements to the G10 Fixed Asset Reconciliation Workpaper to address key issues and enhance functionality. The Gain on Sale now correctly appears as a positive figure within the worksheet, and the Depreciation calculations have been adjusted to account for private use, ensuring accurate reporting. Additionally, the Balance per Ledger amounts are now prefilled from the Trial Balance, even if you are not connected to an Active Ledger & Reporting file.

H13 Hire Purchase Agreement (version 5.24.6)

This release includes corrections to the variance formulas for the Unexpired Interest disclosure, ensuring they now reference the correct GST-inclusive amounts.

N85 Workcover (version 5.24.0)

Due to the changes in the re-designed N80 Wages worksheet where Directors Salaries are no longer separately identified, this amount can no longer be auto-populated in the N85 Workcover worksheet. To accommodate this change, we have relocated the Directors Salary data to the Adjustments section for manual input.

F20 Livestock (version 5.24.0)

We have implemented updates to enhance accuracy and functionality to F20 Livestock. Named ranges from the deactivated PP04 Livestock have been transferred to this worksheet so that data flows to PP05 Forced Sale Livestock. Additionally, the Average Cost formula has been amended to round values to two decimal places, ensuring consistency with Active Ledger and Reporting values.

C12 Deferred Tax (version 5.24.2)

We have resolved issues to improve the functionality of the C12 Deferred Tax worksheet. The left and right sides of the workpaper now consistently treat assets and liabilities, ensuring accurate deferred tax liability calculations. A new input section has been added to properly account for tax losses and their related deferred tax assets. Additionally, we corrected the variance calculation, which now accurately reconciles the net movement of the taxable/(deductible) temporary difference to temporary differences in the C20 Tax Reconciliation worksheet.

Detailed Checklists

What you have been waiting for! Our popular detailed Smart Workpapers checklists are now available in Active. As part of this month’s Tools and Calculators rollout, we are introducing specific checklists for Capital Gains Tax (CL3A CGT Checklist Items Detailed) and Company Debit Loans (CL3B Company Debit Loan Checklist Items Detailed and CL3C Debt and Equity Checklist Items Detailed) to help streamline compliance processes. These checklists are designed to ensure all compliance items are thoroughly considered. In the coming months, we will be adding more checklists covering Accounts & Tax, further enhancing your workflow and supporting comprehensive compliance management. Stay tuned for future updates!

Restore Deleted Files

Good news! You now have the ability to restore Active Ledger files that were accidentally deleted. Simply access the Recycle Bin and use the 'Restore' button to recover your data within 365 days.

Monthly Depreciation Report in Assets Module

Users can now generate a monthly depreciation report directly from the Assets module, providing an easy and detailed view of asset depreciation on a month-by-month basis. This report streamlines tracking and enhances visibility into asset value changes over time.

Account and Report Label Mapping Report

Users can now generate a report displaying all accounts and their associated report labels. To access, go to the Reports tab, select Mapping Report, choose the desired report from the dropdown, and run it to view all accounts linked to relevant report labels. This feature provides a clear overview of account-label associations for easier review and management.

File Level Page Layouts
Users can now customize page layouts specifically at the file level, allowing for greater flexibility and personalization in financial report formatting. Simply navigate to your clients file, select File Settings and then Page Layouts

to create a file specific page layout.

Once created, generate a new financial report and be sure to pick this new layout for your desired statement.

This improvement supports a more tailored approach to meet each client's unique presentation requirements.

Review Workpapers from Financial Statements

We’ve introduced a powerful new feature that allows financial statements to be cross-referenced with relevant workpapers and supporting documents. This enhancement enables reviewers to quickly scan and verify key balances directly from the financial statements, streamlining the approval process. Partners and reviewers can now focus on areas of concern or interest with greater efficiency. Additionally, this feature supports a quick review process, allowing users to preview, review, and verify work completed directly from the Financial Reports. The result is a faster, more transparent, and accurate review workflow.

Simply use the dropdown to link your financials to the binder where your work has been performed and generate a report to see this feature in action.

Move Ledger Files from One Client to Another

We’re thrilled to introduce a feature that will make managing your datasets even easier. You can now move datasets from one client to another directly within the platform.

Simply select File Settings > Edit File

and select the client you would like to move your data to. This update puts more control in your hands, saving you both time and effort, so you can focus on your core tasks without interruption.

Conditional Display of Cashflow Line

Based on customer feedback, users can now hide the cashflow line "Cash Generated from Operations" when there are no interest or income tax account balances. This enhancement provides cleaner, more relevant reports by automatically removing unnecessary lines, improving readability and reducing clutter in your financial statements.

Set Brand Colour at Global Level

Users can now set the branding colour at a global level, streamlining the process of applying consistent branding across all reports and documents. Find this setting in your Admin centre, under Global Report Settings. This enhancement ensures that your organization’s visual identity is automatically reflected, saving time and ensuring brand consistency without the need for manual updates.

Bug Fixes

Ability to import tables from a Binder into Financial Reports

Users can now upload binders with tables, which will be automatically recognized within the import modal. These tables can then be effortlessly integrated into the financials, removing the need for manual data entry and significantly saving time. The system streamlines the import process by detecting table types based on your financial report’s reporting suite.

Simply select the relevant binder, and the system will identify and import the appropriate tables into your financials.

Once imported, generate your financial statements to see this table now in your reports.

Improvements to Reporting

We have made significant improvements to the customisations you can make to your financial reports:

Default Depreciation Report Setting

Users can now set the default depreciation report type directly in the Admin Centre, simplifying and standardizing report generation. To configure this, navigate to Ledger & Reporting Admin Centre > Report Masters, select your desired template, and add a new page for the Depreciation Report. In the Customise screen, choose your preferred report type, then Save and Close the template.
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When you generate a new financial report, it will automatically use the updated template. This enhancement saves time and ensures consistent reporting by allowing you to pre-define the preferred report format.

Assign Inventory Account to Trading Account (NZ Only)

When setting up a trading account that is noted as Livestock, users are now able to link this to an Inventory account. Simply select the Inventory Account from the drop down during setup.

Once saved, navigate to the Accounts screen and select the ‘Divisional and Trading Account View’. Using the drop downs, allocate the relevant Inventory accounts to their respective divisions and trading accounts.

Once set-up, this will append the selected account into the financial statements and create an optional inventory valuation at the end of the Trading Account Profit and Loss page.

Restore Deleted Binders

Good news! You now have the ability to restore binders that were accidentally deleted after October 1, 2024. Simply access the Recycle Bin and use the 'Restore' button to recover the binder within 365 days.

Improvements to processing and reviewing journals

With this update, you can now create and preview journals against an account in the trial balance without navigating away from the trial balance page.

Simply right-click on the account balance you want to create a journal for, and in the appropriate period column, and click 'Add Journal.

A new slideout will be displayed on the page for you to add a new journal against that account.

To review journals that have been added against a specific account, if you have the Adjustments column displayed, simply click on any of the adjustment amounts (in blue font) to view the journals slideout. This will then display all journals that have been added for that account.

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Profit Reconciliation Report

Another item that has been highly requested by our users: Profit Reconciliation Report. This report can be used to explain how the accountant has arrived at the final profit or loss amount from the client's amount. Our report includes all journals that relate to a profit or loss account (excluding income tax expense adjustments).

Note: The Profit or Loss amounts in this report are before tax, so these amounts may not match the profit or loss amounts in the Trial Balance.

This report can be accessed from Journals -> Reports -> Profit Reconciliation. If you have the Adjustments column visible, you can click on the adjustment amount for total Profit (in the Profit and Loss view), or the adjustment amount for the Current Earnings system account to view the Profit Reconciliation report.

Note: The new Journals slideout and Profit Reconciliation report are not available for binders connected to Active Ledger & Reporting. We are looking to include this functionality in the future.

Export Trial Balance directly into binder

While working in the Excel binder, you can now directly export any Trial Balance section directly as a worksheet into the binder. Simply right-click anywhere within the Trial Balance and click on 'Export to worksheet':

The worksheet will be inserted towards the start of the binder with a date stamp so that you know when this worksheet was inserted. This export function will take note of the selected filter in the Trial Balance (All/Assets/Liabilities/Equity/Balance Sheet/Profit and Loss) and export accordingly.

You can then add this worksheet as a record into the index via the 'Link to Existing Sheet' option in the 'Add Record' window.

Note: This trial balance worksheet does not update automatically.

Added ability to bulk send invites to users in the Admin Centre

As part of our continuous improvements, we have added improvements to streamline the user management process by adding a ‘bulk send invite’ feature.
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Now from the User’s page in the Admin Centre, you can select multiple users at once by ticking the checkboxes for each user and send an invite to all of them with a single click of the ‘Bulk Send Invite’ button.

Other updates

Here are the other updates we have released this month:

Analytical Review

As part of the normal process of preparing the financials for clients, accountants often need to perform a deeper analysis of certain accounts. To assist with this process, we have released several improvements:

1. Default Index Columns

Firm administrators can now create default sets of columns for different binder types. For example, the Accounts and Tax binder can be set to include the variance and percentage of sales calculation columns by default so that the preparers do not need to add these columns each time a binder is created manually. These calculations are useful for identifying accounts that have a substantial variance compared to the previous period.

Navigate to Workpapers Admin -> Binder Settings -> Binder Defaults to create different default column sets for different binder types for the firm.

Note: Any new default column sets will only be displayed in new binders created subsequently.

2. L06 General Ledger Analysis

After identifying accounts where additional work is required to analyse the transactions, try out our new L06 General Ledger Analysis to easily identify the reasons for variances. While similar to our existing L05 General Ledger workpaper, the L06 workpaper also includes the general ledger transaction for the previous period, as well as an easy-to-understand summary table with which you can group transactions to easily compare.

You can choose to insert the new L06 workpaper in the same 'quick-insert' way you would insert the existing L05 workpaper. Firm administrators will need to opt-in for the 'quick-insert' method by navigating to Workpapers Admin -> Firm -> Preferences and ticking the Enable General Ledger Analysis quick insert checkbox.

Quick-insert:
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3. Date selector for data imports

Once you have inserted the L06 General Ledger Analysis workpaper, you will notice that it also includes an 'Import Date Range' field in the settings area. With this release, we have introduced the ability to easily customise the date range for which you want to run the data import. Besides the L06 workpaper, we will roll this new feature out to the H50 Integrated Client Account and C50 Income Tax Account workpapers in our next release. Stay tuned!

Firm-level audit logs

Practice administrators now have access to firm-level audit logs, which track when the following have been created or deleted:

To access these logs, navigate to Admin Centre -> Firm -> Audit Log.

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Note: these events will only be tracked from this release (29 August 2024) onwards.

Workpapers Preferences

Firm administrators, take note: we now have a dedicated page for Workpapers preferences (settings). Navigate to Workpapers Admin -> Manage Firm -> Preferences. As we continue to build out more customisation options for practices, this page will house these preferences.

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Index Improvements

When no records are added to the account, the "Add Record" button appears more prominently. If there are recommendations, they will also be displayed here (represented by the 'star' icon).
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Manage Reconciliation Fields

You can now manage your reconciliation fields easily by using the 'Manage Reconciliation Fields' button.
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Notes & Queries Improvements

We've added a new feature that displays the account name and record name for notes & queries, making it easy for you to see which account/record the note is for. Plus, the edit button is now visible all the time.

'Clear All Filters' button in Insert Record Template Modal

Users can now utilise the 'Clear All Filters' button to remove all filters when searching for a record.

Binders:

2025 Activity Statement Workpapers

We have released the Activity Statement worksheets early this year, so you can get started on those July IASs! Along with the expected regular updates, we have also updated the Fuel Tax Credits rate from 05 August 2024 and added new activities in line with the ATO calculator.

What to expect in the future - We understand that entering the GST data manually is frustrating, which is why we continue to work on automating this function. Our developers are working hard to capture the GST data required to populate our worksheets. Once this is available you will see upgraded worksheets, along with a rolling summary and improved navigation. So, stay tuned!

Worksheets:

Personal Rental Property worksheets are scheduled for removal

We would like to inform you that our personal rental property worksheets, 21A and 21B, will be removed at the end of August as part of our continuous improvement. This change is due to the introduction of the upgraded M25 and M26 rental property worksheets, which are now available for all entities and flow through to the B01 Individual Summary. We encourage you to start using M25 and M26 for your rental property reporting needs. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Note: Data will not roll over from the old version to the upgraded version, due to the move from three properties to one per sheet. On occasion we have to make the difficult decision to improve a sheet at the cost of losing fixed data. Please copy your property information into the new worksheet and you can rest assured your data will roll forward seamlessly in the future.

Content Update

All master template references to 'significant accounting policies' have now been updated to 'material accounting policies' in line with changes to terminology in Australian Accounting Standards.

Bug Fixes

Enhancements to Class and BGL Simple Fund 360 Integrations

Based on popular feedback, we have made significant improvements to the data that is imported into our binders from Class and BGL Simple Fund 360. Our integration now imports the headers and ensures all accounts are correctly grouped in a meaningful way and reflects how it looks in Class or BGL.

Here is an example:

A new way to add and preview supporting documentsWe have now consolidated all supporting documents related to an account or record into a new document section. You can quickly add supporting document(s) by clicking on the 'add supporting document' button and preview documents(s) by clicking on 'View supporting document'.
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When there are multiple attachments, you can simply navigate through this list in the new attachments window to preview each one. If you are using our integration with HowNowX or FYI Docs, you will be navigated to the document's location in either software.

J50 BAS Lodgements updates

Our J50 BAS Lodgements workpaper now retrieves the revision indicator from the ATO, which means that the summary section will now display the latest revision (if an activity statement has been revised), which will then flow through to the other relevant workpapers.

Changes to creating binder at client group level

To prevent any accidental creation of binders for client groups (instead of the actual client), there are now only two ways to create one:

1. If a binder has not been created for the client group, click on the grey Workpapers icon in the Home screen for that group to create a group binder.

2. If binders already exist for the client group, then navigate to the Workpapers tab, and ensure the correct client group is selected in the client filter at the top of the screen. Then click on "+ New Binder" to create a binder for that client group.

Repositioning of Record Details button

We have moved the Record Details button in the index screen to the More Options menu at the end of the row.

Rollover bug fix

Our rollover process now takes into account that certain worksheets in the source Excel binder may not exist in our templates. Where this is the case, the rollover process will now continue with other worksheets and complete the process.

Introducing sticky filters!

We've implemented user-requested improvements so that the filters you set on the client, binder, and ledger screens will be remembered until you clear or update them, saving you time and clicks.
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​Completed Records/Workpapers: Auto-Revert to "In Progress" on Balance Change
Previously, if the balance amount in a completed workpaper changed, the record status remained unchanged. This update introduces a new behaviour:

This ensures completed workpapers accurately reflect current balances, prompting users to review and update the workpaper as needed.

Binders:

Trust Binder (incorporated into the Accounts and Tax Binder)

Introducing a new way to handle your Trust jobs. From basic distributions through to complex streaming, our new and improved worksheets have you covered. No longer get distracted by company-centric worksheets and workflows. Our updates include:

Worried about applying carried forward losses? The following worksheets are here to assist:

Note: The TD09 Recoupment of Losses worksheet has been deactivated. You are now able to use the C15 Losses worksheet instead.

Unlucky enough to have to apply some streaming to the Trust Income? We have collated the necessary worksheets into their own Trusts with Streaming section in the General tab of the Index.

Worksheets:

Along with the expected updates to 2024 dates and rates, we are releasing not one, not two, but three new worksheets:

NEW D05A Work from Home Deduction (for Individual binders)

Designed to simplify the tracking and management of expenses incurred while working remotely. This comprehensive tool allows you to easily record and categorise various work-from-home expenses such as internet, utilities, office supplies, and more. The worksheet includes automated calculations for total expenses and provides insights into deductible amounts, ensuring accurate and efficient documentation.

NEW K20 QBCC Minimum Financial Requirement

Our new QBCC (Queensland Building and Construction Commission) worksheet is specifically designed to assist with calculating and tracking Net Tangible Assets and other essential financial metrics required by the QBCC. Additionally, it incorporates critical calculations to help manage maximum allowable revenue based on the financial sustainability requirements set by the QBCC. This new worksheet aims to streamline financial reporting and enhance the management of your building business's financial health.

NEW G29 Accumulated Property Cost Base and CGT

We are pleased to introduce our new Accumulated Property Cost Base and CGT worksheet, designed to streamline the tracking of initial purchase expenses and ongoing holding costs. This innovative tool allows you to roll forward costs year by year, ensuring comprehensive and accurate records are maintained effortlessly. When it comes time to sell, this worksheet simplifies the calculation of Capital Gains Tax by providing a detailed summary of all relevant expenses. This enhancement aims to make property financial management more efficient and stress-free, giving you peace of mind during the selling process.

But why stop there? We have also been busy improving some of your most used sheets, with some major upgrades to improve usability and increase efficiency, including the long-awaited…

H11 Chattel Mortgage Schedule and H13 Hire Purchase Schedule

We are proud to announce a significant update to our loan repayment worksheets, now accommodating annual repayments to provide flexibility in managing loan obligations, as well as the ability to deal with irregular and off-off payments. Additionally, we've introduced a new feature that simplifies loan balance reconciliation by enabling you to view total loan balances in a consolidated manner, adding to the traditional split between current and non-current amounts.

M25 Rental Property and M26 Rental Property Summary

The new design simplifies your workflow by consolidating all data for a single property into one comprehensive sheet, replacing the previous three properties per sheet system. The summary worksheet now effectively collates information from all your properties, providing a clear and concise overview. We've streamlined the interface by removing unnecessary monthly clutter and added a tax summary feature to facilitate easy transposing into your tax return. These improvements aim to enhance usability and efficiency in managing your rental properties.

Note: Data will not roll over from the old version to the upgraded version, due to the move from three properties to one per sheet. On occasion we have to make the difficult decision to improve a sheet at the cost of losing fixed data. Please copy your property information into the new worksheet and you can rest assured your data will roll forward seamlessly in the future.

F30 Prepayments

We have now introduced the capability to separate tax and accounting concepts as required, ensuring greater clarity and precision while still reconciling them to your Ledger. The layout has been revamped for a more user-friendly experience, making it easier to navigate and utilise. Additionally, we have integrated the Small Business Entity section into the main worksheet for streamlined access. You can now easily track movements with clear opening and closing balances, enhancing the overall functionality and efficiency of the worksheet.

G05 Borrowing Costs

This enhanced version now accommodates up to 20 loans, providing a robust solution for managing multiple borrowing costs. Additionally, the improved rollover feature allows you to keep track of individual loans efficiently while ensuring that the overall expense and asset are balanced accurately to the ledger. These improvements offer a more comprehensive and user-friendly experience, making the management of your borrowing costs more straightforward and precise.

G15 Blackhole Expenditure (previously G15 Intangibles)

Due to changes in the write-off rules around formation costs, we have converted our Intangibles worksheet to purely deal with blackhole expenditure, providing a more focused and efficient tool for managing these specific capital expenses. This updated version now accommodates up to 20 expense items, ensuring comprehensive tracking and reporting. The worksheet also features our new design, improving usability and readability.

N56 Payroll Tax

The Payroll Tax worksheet has been updated for 2024. This release includes the latest rates and thresholds for all Australian states and territories including calculation of the Mental Health and Wellbeing surcharge and the COVID-19 debt temporary surcharge for Victorian employers. Insert the updated worksheet, select your state, and enter your payroll information. The worksheet will handle the calculations, ensuring you use the correct rates and comply with the latest regulations.

Partnerships

Alongside our improvements to the Trust worksheets, we have added additional worksheets to improve the experience when working on a Partnership:

B01 Individual Tax Summary (for Individual binders)

The Individual Summary now prominently displays both taxable income and estimated tax payable before adjustments.
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Looking ahead, we're working on expanding this functionality to include tax calculations for various individual types and incorporating our ITR sheets with the Individual ATO pre-fill. Stay tuned for these future developments as we continue to refine our tools.

Coming later this month:

NEW K04 Dividends Calculator (including improvement to C05 Franking Accounts)

We will be releasing our new Dividends Calculator worksheet, designed to enhance the declaration process. Each declaration will now utilise an individual worksheet, which flows seamlessly into a new summary area in the C05 Franking Accounts worksheet. This setup will provide greater control, flexibility, and tracking of declared dividends, including the ability to split declarations by share class if needed. Additionally, the new summary in the C05 Franking Account worksheet will enable easy reconciliation of both declared dividends and dividends payable balances to the ledger, ensuring accurate and efficient financial management.

We have released the following updates:

Active - HowNow X Integration
We are excited to introduce our latest integration item: Active Workpapers - HowNowX Integration. This Integration allows users to seamlessly search and link documents stored in HowNowX directly within Active Workpapers, thus eliminating the need to switch between applications. Additionally, the Integration enables users to export finished binders directly to HowNow X, bypassing the manual process of downloading and uploading completed binders. This streamlined workflow saves time and minimises the likelihood of errors.

To learn more about how this works and how to set it up, please refer to this article: How to set up and use Active - HowNow X integration : Business Fitness Help & Support

​Bulk Status Update Feature

This new feature allows you to effortlessly update the status of multiple accounts at once. Say goodbye to repetitive individual updates and hello to a much faster workflow.

Here's how it works:

That's it! The statuses of your selected accounts will be updated in a single action, saving you valuable time and effort.

Swinging Accounts

In response to popular demand, we are very pleased to announce that you can now set accounts to swing between different classifications depending on whether the account balance is in negative.

For example, if the entity has a Directors Loan Account with a credit balance (liability) in 2023, but in the 2024 financial year it has a debit balance (asset), the Directors Loan Account will swing from being a liability in the 2023 financial year to being an asset in the 2024 financial year (see example in the screenshot below). This ensures the account is represented as a positive figure on the page.

This is also particularly useful in ensuring that the Financial Information section of the company tax return workpaper captures the accurate financial position of the company.

You can now choose to swing accounts:

To learn more about how this works and how to set it up, please refer to our article: How to set up and use account swinging.

NB: If you are connecting a binder to a dataset in Active Ledger & Reporting, the binder will import the account swinging configuration from Active Ledger. Any further changes to the swinging properties will need to be configured in Active Ledger.

Fixed Assets Improvements

Our team has been busy incorporating your feedback into our Fixed Assets module to cater to various scenarios you may encounter.

Here's what we have delivered in June 2024:

Binder Export Improvements

We've heard your feedback and made significant improvements to the Binder Export process!

Binders can now be exported directly as a single PDF file, eliminating the need for ZIP folders in most cases. This simplifies sharing and storing your binders, making them readily accessible for reference.

ZIP exports will still be used in the following instances:

These enhancements give you greater control and efficiency when exporting your Binder information.
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Quick-Add New Row in Excel

You can now easily add a new row to a table while retaining existing formulas. Simply right-click on the last row, go to the ‘Active Workpapers’ option, and click on ‘Insert Row Below’. Or, you can use the keyboard shortcut ‘Ctrl+Alt+i’ to quickly insert a row below the active cell.

Compare and Reinstate Previous Data Imports
We're excited to announce a powerful new feature that allows you to effortlessly review and reinstate prior import runs. With this update, you can now compare and reinstate past imports whenever necessary, giving you greater control and flexibility over your data management.

To find this feature, navigate to the 'Journals' page in the binder, and navigate to the 'Import Runs' tab. Here you can find all past import runs, and you can choose either to Reinstate or Compare the data.

Binder Top Banner Makeover: More Room for What Matters!Have you noticed a change in the binder page? We listened to your feedback and made some improvements to the top banner to enhance your experience.

NEW Worksheet:

C35 Professional Firms Profit Allocation

We have listened to your feedback, and we're happy to announce a new worksheet designed to streamline risk assessment for professional firms. This worksheet directly addresses profit allocation practices in accordance with the ATO's PCG 2021/4 guidelines. The worksheet guides you through the three key risk assessment factors outlined in the PCG, ultimately determining your firm's relevant risk zone. This newfound clarity empowers you to make informed decisions regarding profit distribution, ensuring compliance and minimising potential risks.

Worksheet Improvements and Bug Fixes:

G31 Division 7A

Streamlining your Division 7A calculations just got easier! We've revamped our Division 7A worksheet to mirror the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) own calculator, creating a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. This alignment ensures consistency and clarity when determining your Division 7A obligations. To further enhance your workflow, we've implemented a sleek new design and consolidated all loan details into a single location. These improvements empower you to confidently navigate Division 7A calculations with greater efficiency and accuracy.

FB10 Car Fringe Benefits & FB20 Multi-Car Fringe Benefits

We're pleased to announce that our FBT worksheets, now incorporate support for Electric Vehicles (EVs). This update reflects where eligible EVs are exempt from FBT, but still need to be declared as reportable fringe benefits. Our enhanced worksheets seamlessly handle both scenarios, ensuring accurate calculations and streamlined reporting for companies offering EVs as part of their employee benefits package. Stay compliant and confident in your FBT calculations.

N80 Wages

We've just released an update to our Wages worksheet that includes a helpful new feature. Now, the workpaper will automatically warn you if your total payroll exceeds the minimum threshold (for the lowest state) for registering for payroll tax. This will help you stay on top of your tax obligations and avoid any potential penalties.

M03 Capital Gains

Our popular Capital Gains worksheet is now the go-to for all entity types. Because of this, we have added a new owner split area to easily keep track of assets with multiple owners.

H35 Provisions Tax

We fixed a bug in which the Income Tax Expense from the C20 Tax Reconciliation worksheet was coming in as a negative.

Copy & Paste from Excel into Report Builder

If you have content from Excel that you wish to add to the financial reports in Active Ledger & Reporting, you can now simply copy and paste it in! For example, you can customise the content in the tax reconciliation section of the report, and copy & paste in the tax rec data from Excel.

Automated Tax Calculation in Reports

We have now added a new ‘Applicable Tax Rate’ field in Datasets, which drives the tax calculations in the Reports.

Ability to Customise Column Widths in Report Templates

Due to popular requests, we have released a feature where you can now, at the firm level, customise the width of the columns in your financial reports. Firm administrators can do this by going to Ledger Admin -> Styles and either select an existing style or create a new style. You can now see a new section called 'Standard Column Widths' in which you can choose what the column widths should be in your reports.
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Checklist Customisation

We heard your feedback and are excited to announce new checklist customisation features in the Admin Centre! Now, as an admin user, you can:

To learn more, visit this article How to Customize System Checklists or Create New : Business Fitness Help & Support

Enhanced Notes and Queries

Now, you can easily add links to documents and attach files directly to your notes and client queries. Plus, you can personalise your notes with different font colours.

QBO Accounts Receivables/Payable balances data flow to Trade Debtors and Creditors Workpaper

Enhance your workflow efficiency with our latest update. Now, seamlessly import debtor and creditor balances from QuickBooks Online (QBO) straight into the F05 Trade Debtors and H05 Trade Creditors workpapers. Just add either workpaper to a QBO-linked binder and watch as the data auto-populates for you.

NB: Please note that QBO creates distinct ledger accounts for Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable in foreign currencies. While multi-currency support is on our roadmap, the current integration only imports balances in the local currency. When incorporating F05 or H05 into a multi-currency QBO file, only local currency balances will be imported.

Editability of Workpapers after Approval

Our latest functionality empowers users to interact with approved/completed workpapers without compromising the integrity of the work done. Enjoy the flexibility to revisit and engage with your work, maintaining control and precision in your Workpapers experience.

If your firm prefers to enforce a lockdown on approved/completed workpapers, simply navigate to Workpapers Admin -> Firm Details and scroll down to the Options section. There, you can tick the checkbox titled "Lock worksheet after approval". This will prevent anyone from updating worksheets that have been marked as approved.

Binder Updates:

2024 Interim Accounts & Tax Workpapers

Need to complete 2024 Interims or even get started on some 2025 jobs? Good news - our 2024 Interim Accounts & Tax Workpapers have been released. The main updates include:

Please keep in mind that any 2024 tax rate or legislation changes between now and the end of the financial year will be reflected in our Accounts & Tax release at the end of June, along with other design updates and improvements.

Compare Datasets

Active Ledger & Reporting users can now compare two datasets in a client file and automatically adjust for any discrepancies. You can find this new feature in the Datasets section of a client file. Select the two datasets you want to compare (ie previous year dataset and the opening balance for the current year dataset) and our comparison tool will suggest the balancing amounts required to balance the two datasets.

Please note, the Balancing Journal generated in this process will only be posted in Active Ledger. It can be marked for export in order to be included in the year-end adjustment journal to be posted back to the accounting file if necessary.

Integration with BGL 360 (Beta)

We're thrilled to announce a long-awaited update that our customers have been asking for a native integration with BGL 360! With this highly anticipated release, you can now connect to BGL 360 from Active Workpapers to pull the Trial balance and General Ledger details.

Note: Due to current API limitations, we are unable to push journals from Active Workpapers into BGL. As we continue to improve this, adjustment journals can be manually raised in BGL to reflect the balance in Active Workpapers.

Define Standard Chart of Accounts:

We are excited to announce that firms can now define a standard chart of accounts for different entity types at the firm level in Active Workpapers. This means the accounts will be presented in a standardized manner regardless of the accounting software used, such as Xero or MYOB. If you are an Active administrator in your firm, you can configure the chart by going to Workpapers Admin > Standard Chart.

Streamlined Binder and Ledger File Navigation: Say Goodbye to Tab Spam!

We've heard your feedback loud and clear! Clicking on a binder name or ledger file name will now open the binder or ledger file directly within the current window. This eliminates the creation of unnecessary tabs and keeps your workspace clutter-free.

Want to open a binder or ledger file in a new tab? No problem! Simply right-click on the name and select "Open link in new tab."

This change ensures a smoother and more efficient browsing experience for all our users.

Binder Updates

2024 Fringe Benefits Tax

We are excited to announce the release of the latest version of our FBT Workpapers, now with a refreshed design and enhanced functionality to streamline your fringe benefits tax calculations and reporting. With a focus on user experience and efficiency, this update introduces two new worksheets: a specialised worksheet for managing multiple cars and a comprehensive employee summary sheet, each designed to optimise your tax reporting processes.

The first addition, the FB20 Multi-Cars Fringe Benefits worksheet, is specifically designed to accommodate the complexities of calculating FBT for multiple vehicles. This enhancement not only simplifies data entry and calculations but also enriches the reporting capabilities, ensuring a more efficient and comprehensive tax reporting process for businesses managing vehicle fleets.

We have also introduced the FB19 FBT Employee Summary worksheet, designed to provide a holistic view of all employee benefits in one place. This sheet makes it easier than ever to review and analyse the total reportable benefits across your entire workforce. With all employee FBT data consolidated into a single, easy-to-navigate worksheet, you can now ensure no detail is overlooked in your FBT reporting.

2025 Salary Sacrifice

Our latest update also includes Salary Sacrifice Workpapers, engineered to calculate potential savings for employees engaging in salary sacrifice arrangements. This feature is designed to provide clear, concise insights into how salary sacrifice can impact take-home pay and tax liabilities, offering employees a transparent view of the financial benefits of such arrangements.

2024 Tax Planning

Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living - Medicare Levy) Bill 2024 (Stage 3 Tax Cuts) passed both Houses on 27 February 2024 and received Royal Assent 5 March 2024. This change resulted in the Medicare levy low-income threshold for the 2023-2024 income year increasing from $24,276 to $26,000. And the phase out threshold increased from $30,345 to $32,500. For this reason, we have re-released the 2024 Tax Planning starter to take into account the new rates.

Ability to export Asset Reports in PDF and Word formats

Users can now export Asset Reports as PDF files or Word documents.

Mapping Report Available in Reports Tab

Effortlessly visualize the grouping of all source accounts to Active Ledger groups and classifications, enhancing clarity and precision in your financial mapping. Plus, you can now export this insightful report directly into Excel for seamless analysis and sharing.

ATO Integration: Integrated Client Account and Income Tax Account

We are excited to announce two more features to our ATO Integration series - Integrated Client Account and Income Tax Account. Simply insert our new H50 Integrated Client Account and C50 Income Tax Account templates into your binder and it will auto-populate with all the relevant ATO transactional data for these accounts. No more logging into the ATO portal to manually retrieve these data. Imagine the time you will save for each job.

Watch the video below to see it in action.

Learn how to use the H50 Integrated Client Account and C50 Income Tax Account templates here.

Fixed Asset Automation with Active Ledger & Reporting

Introducing our latest feature in Active Workpapers' automation series: Fixed Asset Automation with Active Ledger. If you manage assets in Active Ledger & Reporting, simply insert the improved G10 Fixed Assets Reconciliation workpaper template in Active Workpapers, and watch the automation working its magic - fetching fixed asset data from Active Ledger & Reporting and populating G10! This saves you significant time by eliminating manual data entry and speeding up the reconciliation process.

​Watch the video below to see it in action.

Our comprehensive guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to use the Fixed Assets Automation with Active Ledger & Reporting. Click here

Improved Workpaper Template: G10 Fixed Assets Reconciliation

Based on valuable user feedback, we redesigned the G10 Fixed Asset Reconciliation workpaper template to help you reconcile your Fixed Asset Register and Accounts, regardless of where you maintain the assets balances.

If you manage the fixed assets outside of Active Ledger and Reporting, simply enter the data manually in the G10 Fixed Assets Reconciliation workpaper.

J50 BAS Lodgements Updates

We have improved our J50 BAS Lodgements worksheet to now prepopulate the last activity statement before the start of the current financial period. For example, in a binder where the period has been set to 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, the data for the June 2022 Activity statement will also be included and will be brought across to J51 GST Reconciliation and N80 Wages & PAYG to reconcile the opening balances.

Current Year Earnings account in the Trial Balance

We have listened to your feedback and have now included a Current Year Earnings account in the Equity section of the Trial Balance. This system account reflects the net profit of the year, and by including it in the Equity section, it ensures that the total Equity balances with Net Assets in the Balance Sheet.

Improved Document Link functionality

This enhancement empowers users to effortlessly add documents to the 'Notes/Hyperlinks' section in Excel workpapers by right-clicking and selecting the 'Add Document Link' option. Users can either upload a new document directly or link an existing one, enabling seamless cross-referencing of documents in their workpapers.

When a worksheet does not have linked documents, the "Add Document Link" button prompts users to add a document.

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However, if the workpaper has existing documents available, users can select a document from the available list or upload a new one using the 'Add More Documents' button.

Binder Updates

Tax Planning

The latest update to our Tax Planning binder enhances the user experience with a redesigned, more intuitive interface, including easier navigation between worksheets. This update also introduces the ability to compare current and previous period tax data. These improvements, along with our core offerings of optimising tax position strategies and techniques for minimising tax liabilities, solidify Active Workpapers as a comprehensive and user-friendly solution for efficient tax planning and management.

Template Improvements and Bug Fixes

N15 Entertainment

Presenting a preloaded Entertainment template. Now, you can directly import transactions from Xero, which saves time and minimises errors from manual data entry. This template also simplifies the identification of non-deductible amounts, which are seamlessly integrated into the Tax Reconciliation process.

F05 Trade Debtors and H05 Trade Creditors

The latest update introduces a streamlined design overhaul for both the Trade Creditors and Trade Debtors worksheets, enhancing the user experience with a more user-friendly interface. This update also includes new graphical sections, which provide a visual representation of financial data to aid you in your analytical work. Additionally, "Analytical Insights" have been integrated into both analysis sections, offering deeper, actionable insights into financial standings.

We are excited to release the revamped Provision for Doubtful Debts section, featuring a "Debtors at risk" table that highlights the top 10 'at risk' debtors based on customisable sensitivity settings. These design and feature updates not only enhance the visual and functional aspects of the templates but also incorporate advanced analytics features, significantly improving insights and efficiency in managing monthly workpapers.

N75 Superannuation

Our latest release features a redesigned superannuation template, aimed at improving user navigation and efficiency. Alongside the aesthetic enhancements, we've corrected a previously encountered bug where late payment warnings were not appearing as intended. This update ensures a smoother experience and better compliance with superannuation payment deadlines.

J50 BAS Lodgements

In line with our recent updates across various templates, the BAS Lodgements sheet has also undergone a redesign to ensure consistency and enhance user experience. The sheet also introduces a new feature: a deferred GST column. This addition is designed to provide users with more flexibility and accuracy in managing GST obligations, particularly for those dealing with imported goods and opting for deferred GST schemes.

C25 Group Tax Reconciliation

We're thrilled to introduce our new group tax reconciliation worksheet, developed in response to your valuable feedback. Designed to simplify the task of summarising tax positions across various entities, this tool also efficiently handles trust and partnership distributions among entities. Furthermore, it allows for the inclusion of your tax planning estimates, enabling a comprehensive comparison with the final results.

Company Tax Return

Changed the Closing Stock figure to display as a positive in the Financial Information section, so that it would import into APS Tax correctly.

We have introduced the ability to import all accounts from a source system. Import accounts with nil balances to see a full listing of all available accounts when working through your compliance jobs.