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Adrian Muscan

Simple Fund 360 New Features webinar recap with Alissa Haralambopoulos!

By New Features Recap, Simple Fund 360, Simple Invest 360No Comments

”What a way to wrap up a huge year with another release from the fabulous Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360 teams!

Simple Fund 360 New Features Webinar recap with BGL’s Product Advocate, Alissa Haralambopoulos!

The release webinar was presented on Tuesday 14th December, by Bradley Wilkinson, however in case you missed it, check out a brief recap below: 

Our new BGLSF360 ESA is well and truly up and running, with over 27,000 funds using the new ESA, if you are looking for any tips or tricks be sure to check out the Webinars that were run in October, these cover a lot of the common Superstream questions and go through some processing tips. You can find these on the BGL YouTube channel.  

Still on the topic of Superstream, Brad covered some common problems & solutions, and touched on the following improvements that have been added. Firstly, the option to select your bank account for the SMSF using the details that are already saved in the software, a new improved Validation process, and when USI details are entered, the bank details are pre-filled. 

The next exciting new release is the improved Xero Tax Integration! Now whilst Simple Fund 360 has always had Xero integration, from 2021 onwards you can automatically send the tax data to Xero Practice Manager. Simply validate the return (always recommended), then hit Xero Connect, this will prompt you to log in to your Xero account, and once this is done you can find the return under the Tax tab. 

The team have also added two new feeds, Xplore Wrap, and AustAsia Financial Planning under the Contract notes/Share Data pack. They have also rolled out some changes to the set up of the wrap feeds, now allowing you to link holding accounts to feeds, which also enables you to change the way the Investment Summary report is displayed, by grouping the assets into portfolios. 

Also on the topic of Reports, there has been a bit of tweak to the Index report, which will no longer list ‘failed reports’ in the list of reports shown. 

With the recent introduction of Director ID, the field has been added to Simple Fund 360 so you can capture this information there too. However, if you need to download a list, you can now export your contact list to a CSV file.  

Lastly, on the Entity Workflow screen, a new filter has been added so you can now filter by GST Registered Status and see all funds that are either registered or not registered. 

Moving onto Simple Invest 360, there have been a few new additions to the product. The first is the Revaluation Reserve that has been added for Companies and Individuals, the second is that Tax Instalments paid during the year will now show up on the Taxable Income Calculation, and lastly when processing a distribution for a trust you now can distribute either the taxable income or accounting income. 

If all of that wasn’t enough, we already have a bit of a teaser for what’s to come next year! Top of the list is the ability to also add broker details to the new reporting options, allowing you to display reports by a broker, more Superstream improvements, and a new and improved Document Screen! 

We wish you all the best for the holiday season and look forward to working with you all in 2022! 

If you would like you can watch the webinar below:

December 16, 2021
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CAS 360 New Features Webinar recap with Alissa Haralambopoulos!

By CAS 360, In the Media, Product UpdatesNo Comments

”The CAS 360 New Features webinar held on the 12th of August was jam-packed with some great updates, which you should be aware of!

CAS 360 New Features Webinar recap with BGL’s Product Advocate, Alissa Haralambopoulos!

The CAS 360 new features webinar held on the 12th of August was jam-packed with some great updates – which you should be aware of!

The following is a brief recap of what’s new: 

CAS 360 announced integration with its third Digital Signing provider: FuseSign - this integration went live on 12 August 2021. FuseSign is an Australian application that boasts quite a different price point from other providers, with document packs signed for as low as $0.90 per pack!

From the Company Selection screen, there have been new filters added, you can now filter by company type, eg. foreign companies, super trustee companies. You can also add a column to be able to sort or view by the manager if you are looking after a large number of companies and have them split between managers in the firm.

The ability for View Only users to be able to download the Trust Deed once it’s been uploaded into CAS 360.

Better support for the effective date when transactions take place in the default minutes and resolutions. You’ll also notice large numbers or shares etc. now show with a comma.

Email Settings - When an email is sent from CAS 360 it comes from [email protected] but the custom email address is now available for purchase. There is a process involved with setting this up to ensure this meets internet protocols. It means emails can come from the firm email address. There are limited spots available for this, so if this is something you are interested in, contact your Account Manager.

Documents Outstanding Export - Exports a list of outstanding documents to CSV. This can be done on a global level or on a company by company level.

Updating of System Messages - Attention box newly designed, modernised the look and feel.

Added Trust Meeting Address to meeting usage report.

Added Company Name to the trace number heading track.

Decimal places for dividend statements, meaning you can now select how many decimal places you would like to show.

Trust deeds will also appear under the Documents tab.

When you import data from ASIC via an RA71 or Annual Review it does not import the history, just the data. It will override whatever history is in the software.

6 new features were introduced for completing discretionary trust distributions:
- You can now copy a previous distribution for a prior year if there are only small changes;
- Set the Order of how the names appear on the resolution when using free text, this can be done by both % amount or name.
- Adding the ability to expand the free text size;
- Can add a beneficiary more than once;
- Merge fields were added to improve the look of the distribution minutes.

The team have also been busy implementing some performance gains, whilst these are mainly under the hood they should result in an improvement in the efficiencies.

Looking forward to the next release and will definitely be keeping an eye on what’s to come!

In case you missed it, you can watch the CAS 360 New Features webinar recording below.

August 26, 2021
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Simple Fund 360 New Features Webinar recap with Alissa Haralambopoulos!

By In the Media, Product Updates, Simple Fund 360, Simple Invest 360No Comments

”Overall a massive update, ensuring the software is well and truly ready to assist you with processing your 2021 financials and returns.

Simple Fund 360 New Features Webinar recap with BGL’s Product Advocate, Alissa Haralambopoulos!

We start this Simple Fund 360 new features webinar with two screens that have received facelifts after many years…

The first is the Fund Dashboard screen, this new screen gives a great overview of the selected fund including details such as ABN, TFN, Superstream Status, deed uploaded, how many unmatched transactions you have, workpapers left to complete, data feed reconciliation status and client queries. The dashboard also gives an overview of the funds’ investments and performance, as well as allowing for notes to be displayed on this main page so that they are easily accessible.

The other dashboard which has received a makeover is the reports screen. You still have access to all the reports you’ve come to know and love, the big difference is that now you can not only see the report categories, but you can also see a list of all reports which can be filtered A-Z or new-old. The new reports screen also allows you to add tags to reports, meaning you can now filter by these too, think ‘GST’ or ‘Pension’ tags. You will still be able to access your report packs, and create additional report packs if necessary. You can also now preview reports with a single click. 

The 2021 tax return is now available for lodgement with the ATO for those super-speed processors! The audit workpaper reports have also been rolled forward and updated for the 2021 financial year. Along with this, we are working on adding the 2021 Distribution Tax Data, if you find an Annual Tax Statement that is not currently available in the software, please send it through so that we can look to add the data for you.

Another new arrival can be found on the Property Dashboard, where you are now able to generate a fund level or global level Property Summary Report, this report can show you the property type, valuation and the last valuation date. Great for checking the status of all the properties in all the funds you manage. This report can also be generated from the reports screen. 

Are you currently using digital signing? If it’s an idea you’ve been toying with, be sure to check out our latest digital signing integration partner, FuseSign. An Australian based business, offering fantastic pricing for BGL clients, it’s definitely worth looking into. This integration is also available across all BGL products. 

The pension reduction has been applied in the software for the 2021 financial year for the 50% reduction. This update can be seen on the pension dashboard, and various pension reports. Also updated for this year is the NCC Bring forward extended to age 66, this can be seen on the Contribution Dashboard and Contribution Breakdown Report.

Finally, there was a new broker added, Soundbridge Financial Services, so if this is a provider that your client is using, you will now be able to set up data feeds for this.

Overall a massive update, ensuring the software is well and truly ready to assist you with processing your 2021 financials and returns.

Looking forward to the next release and will definitely be keeping an eye on what’s to come!

In case you missed it, you can watch the Simple Fund 360 New Features webinar recording below.

August 17, 2021
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Bank Data Automation with Simple Fund 360

By Industry, Simple Fund 360No Comments

Looking to get more out of your Simple Fund 360 software but not sure where to start?

From my experience, the most important step is to have a plan, and break it down into stages of automation (Bank, share, wrap). Also, be mindful that adding on Bank or Share data is not necessary for every client. 

Start with a plan

Ensure you have account details in the software – these will have transferred across from Simple Fund Desktop if they were input there, if not, they can be input in Simple Fund 360. By entering them in, you can see if the account is supported, and also track to keep an eye on if/when this status changes. 

Decide if feeds are needed

Once account details are in the software and you are able to determine whether or not the feed is supported. The next step is to decide if the fund needs to have bank feeds set up. 

If you know it’s a fund that has one or two monthly transactions, let’s say interest or rental payment, feeds probably aren’t a necessary addition. 

The feeds are great when you have multiple transactions occurring throughout the year, even multiple bank accounts (keep in mind a bank data pack, when added to a fund, allows unlimited accounts to be set up using one pack). In no time at all, you will also notice that when a client does a lot of interbank transactions, these will start to match off against each other automatically. 

Another great benefit of having the bank feeds is the ability to generate an info request at the start of a compliance job, that covers everything that has occurred in the fund for the year rather than having to potentially ask for bank statements, then process those only to have to go back to the client and request invoices, or further details on deposits/withdrawals, etc. With the bank feed, you have visibility over this information before you have even made contact with them. 

As an accountant, I found that I was generally able to complete 75-95% of the processing of a compliance job before we had even sent an info request out the door. 

How to set up

Once you have determined that a fund needs bank feeds, you will need to generate an authority form. This will need to be signed by the client and then returned to you to provide to BGL. Having had experience with this process, I can’t recommend enough, providing this to the client when you are either meeting with them face to face, or when you are providing them with other documents for signing. The rate of return we had when including this authority form with a collation pack was much higher than when it was sent as a stand-alone email. 

Now, with Westpac accounts, you will need the client to log in and authorise the feed, there is no form. However, if you align this with a client meeting, you can step them through this process. 

Another method to consider if you are not getting the client ‘buy in’ that you had hoped for is to outline in the client engagement/fee quote that additional fees may need to be charged for data entry. This was another tool we used to discuss with clients the reason we were implementing this change. 

Once the bank feeds were set up for the funds we looked after, the ability to review and provide current information to clients became a breeze, also as I mentioned earlier, the completeness in which an info request could be sent at the start of a compliance job was far, far more efficient – as we only had to go to the client once for the required information, rather than drafting the initial info request blind and hoping that everything was included.  

So from here, the first step is to review your funds, ensure you have bank account details set up in the software to check to see if the account is supported, then look to see which funds are suitable for feeds. Once this has been determined, consider the timing on when you will send out your forms. This could be a project to look at before we tick over to the next financial year, which would mean a full year of data in the fund. 

Remember you can check your usage levels for Bank Data packs either in the Feed Management Screen or using MyBGL if you have access. If you do need to purchase Bank Data packs or add additional packs, this can be done via MyBGL.

If you didn’t get the chance to catch the Bank Data Feeds Automation with Simple Fund 360 webinar, check it out.

June 22, 2021
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Trust Distribution with CAS 360

By CAS 360, IndustryNo Comments

Trust Distribution with CAS 360

As 30 June quickly approaches, we enter the familiar and sometimes frantic phase of the year where tax planning becomes front & centre. 

Reviewing family groups, company performance, and projecting how they might end the year, enables firms with the opportunity to plan, and ensure their clients are in the best tax position possible. 

But did you know that you could be generating all your Trust Distribution statements from CAS 360?

Recently we ran a webinar on the benefits of managing your Trusts in the software. The ability to generate unit registers, unit certificates, capture trust events, and most importantly for this time of year, generate your distribution statements and declaration of distribution. 

In order to get your trusts into CAS 360, you have the option of manually setting them up, however, if you’re also managing the corporate trustee for the trust in CAS 360, the beneficiary details, addresses etc, will already be in your software, so it will make adding these details a breeze. 

Alternatively, we have a template that can be downloaded, you then provide us with the details for all your trusts, and we will complete a bulk import into CAS 360 for you.  

The document templates are customisable also, so once your trusts are in, you are able to download the template and adjust as necessary, personalising the content and the experience for your clients. 

Dividend statements can also be prepared from within CAS 360, another wonderful tool to be utilising at this time of year if you have companies declaring year-end dividends. 

With both of these options, you can also enable the use of Digital signing, using either DocuSign or Adobe sign, both integrated with CAS 360.

If you didn’t get the chance to catch the Trust Distribution with CAS 360 webinar, check it out >>>

June 8, 2021
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