Overview

RMS

• A new Revenue Center Forecasting screen for both desktop and mobile.
• An enhancement to the method by which forecast environments are applied.
• User interface improvements to the Employee Maintenance screen.
• Improvements to Budgeting functionality.
• Improved performance and security for Budgeting reports.
• Improved performance of Time & Attendance reports.
• Ability to run End of Pay Period Reports for a specified date range.
• Flexibility to have different flow plans based on special occurrences that affect guest demand for service. 
• A new Punch Rounding work rule.
• A new statistical calculation method used in forecasting business volumes.
• Ability to add day count labels to schedules in the Scheduling screen.
• Enhancements to the Manage Event Orders screen.
• Improvements to the Mobile App Time Card.
• New messages in the Time Clock.

Administration

New button icons on the Employee Maintenance screen  (14076)

On the employee pane of the Employee Maintenance screen (Main Menu > Admin > Employee Maintenance), there are new button icons for the Add New Employee and Mobile Invite functionality.

In previous releases, the Add New Employee button was a green plus icon and the Mobile Invite button was a text-only button with the label "Mobile Invite."

In this release, the Add New Employee button is an icon of a person with a superimposed green plus sign, and the Mobile Invite button is an icon of a mobile device with a superimposed green plus icon.

Setting user permissions to edit forecast data  (14171)

In previous releases, the Actions tab of the Security screen (Main Menu > Admin > Security) had only one permission to both view and edit forecast data on the Revenue Center Forecasting screen. In this release, there are two separate permissions: one to edit forecast data and another to view forecast data.

For more information on the new Revenue Center Forecasting screen, see the release notes on Revenue Center Forecasting screens in desktop and mobile.

Budgeting

Confirmation message when recalculating budget datasets  (13274)

In this release, users with the appropriate property settings now see a confirmation message when they recalculate budget datasets. On the Budgeting screen (Main Menu > Financial > Budgeting), when users click the Start/Update button for the Calculate Working Dataset task, the resulting dialog box now includes a message confirming the specific budget that will be recalculated. This improvement addresses concerns over accidentally calculating the wrong budget.

Locks on budget lines  (13226)

Opening the main Budgeting screen (Main Menu > Financial > Budgeting) no longer places a partial lock on the budget structure.

Calculate for EPEP check box has been removed from budget lines  (13350)

In this release, the Calculate for EPEP check box has been removed from the Edit/View Line dialog box, which appears when users edit a budget line (Main Menu > Financial > Budgeting).

Performance improvements in Budgeting  (14544, 14546)

This release includes performance improvements to the Budgeting module, which now features faster screen load times.

For more information, contact your UniFocus Partner Relationship Manager.

Budgeting, Reports  

Security improvement to the Budget Labor Summary By Day report  (14296)

The Budget Labor Summary By Day report (Reports > Budgeting > Comparative > Budget Labor Summary By Day) has been modified to improve labor structure security settings. 

Improved labels and text on the Profitability report  (14550) 

The Profitability report features the following text and label changes that improve the clarity of the report and better describe the data that is being reported: 

• In previous releases, the line of text below the report name, which identified the duration of report coverage, was labeled "From Period 1 to Period 12." This label was inaccurate if the selected end date for reporting was not period 12. Also, the word "to" in the label could suggest that the reporting duration was period 1 up to but not including period 12. In this release, this line of text has been changed to "From Period 1 through Period 'X,'" where "X" is the period selected in the Display/Period menu of the report configuration screen (Reports > Budgeting > Comparative > Profitability). Also, the word "to" has been replaced with "through" to more accurately describe that the reporting period goes up to and includes the selected end period. For example, if users selected "Period 7" in the configuration screen, the line of text would be " From Period 1 through Period 7." 
• In previous releases, the dataset columns of the report were labeled "Virtual" for all datasets (Period and YTD). In this release, the datasets columns are labeled "Base," "Comp 1," and "Comp 2."
• In previous releases, the Total line was displayed at the bottom of the report. In this release, the Total line has been removed.

Budgeting, Revenue

Self-clearing locks upon new session start  (12567)

In previous releases, if a user logged in to the Budgeting or Revenue modules, all components of those modules were locked to other users. If the session was disconnected, the user was locked out of the module and required UniFocus Support to unlock the session.

In this release, if a user is logged in to the Budgeting or Revenue modules, only the component with which that user is working is locked. Other users can log in and work with other components. If the session is disconnected and the user logs back in, they are prompted to clear the lock. This improvement eliminates the need to contact UniFocus Support to unlock the session. 

Environments, Planner Engine

KBIs flow plans associated with environments  (13058)

In this release, if a KBI is configured as being subject to environments, users can now specify which flow plan should be applied to that KBI when an environment is applied to that KBI on a day. This improvement provides the flexibility to have different flow plans based on special occurrences that affect guest demand for service. 

For example, a hotel restaurant might have a KBI called Dinner Covers that represents the number of customers that have dinner in the restaurant each day. There is a default flow plan for Dinner Covers that represents the usual flow of customers during dinner each day. However, when there is a NFL Football game near the hotel, the flow of dinner customers is different. Using this new feature, this KBI can be configured to use a different flow plan when the NFL Football Game environment is applied to the KBI. In this way, the system can accurately account for changes in guest demand when the business is operating under non-normal circumstances.

Forecast environments automatically applied to actual environments  (13589)

In previous releases, environments affecting business volumes had to be applied to KBIs as part of the forecasting process and then later again applied as part of the process. In this release, forecast environments are automatically applied as actual environments. This improvement eliminates the dual entry of environments, reducing work and saving time for users responsible for applying environments. If necessary, users can edit or remove a forecast environment that was automatically applied as an actual environment.

Labor

Calculate Forecast Accuracy in Task Scheduler  (14278)

The Task Scheduler screen (Main Menu > Admin > Task Scheduler) now includes a radio button for the task Calculate Forecast Accuracy, which calculates system and manager forecast accuracy statistics. These statistics are now available in the Revenue Center Forecasting screen.

Manage Event Orders

Related events marked as "dirty"  (10537)

On the Manage Event Orders screen (Main Menu > Labor > Planning > Manage Event Orders), if an event changes to a status of "dirty" (that is, work content must be generated or regenerated for the event), all related events are automatically marked dirty as well. 

Options for refreshing event information  (10545)

New options in the Manage Event Orders screen enable users to refresh the list of tasks and resources based on manual changes that have been made to the event orders. Changes include the following:

• In the action selection row (under the Labor Summary pane), A Regenerate Event Orders option has been added to the Generate drop-down list. This option regenerates tasks and resources for all listed event orders.
• In the Selected Event Details pane (that expands on the right side of the screen), refresh buttons (  ) have been added to the following sections:
  • Event information section (main heading of pane)—Refreshes functions and resources for the entire selected event. 
  • Details—Refreshes event details for the entire selected event.
  • Resources—Refreshes resources for the entire selected event.

Option to bring all employees in at the earliest start time when tasks are linked  (12695)

Banquet operations using event related standards and linked tasks now have the option of bringing all service staff for an event in at the same start time.

For example, a banquet event might have two linked tasks:

• A Wait on Medium Reception task that requires 5 employees from 4:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. 
• A Wait on Plated Dinner task that requires 10 employees from 6:30 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. 

In previous releases, with these linked tasks, the system would create:

• Five shifts from 4:30 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. to wait on the Medium Reception and to wait on the Plated Dinner. 
• Five shifts from 6:30 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. to wait on the Plated Dinner. 

In this release, banquet managers can continue to use the methodology above, or they can bring all the service employees for the linked tasks in at the earliest start. The resulting shifts would be 5 Wait on Medium Reception and Plated Dinner shifts from 4:30 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. and 5 Wait on Plated Dinner shifts also from 4:30 P.M to 11:00 P.M.

If you want to use this new feature, contact UniFocus Partner Support as it cannot be configured in the System Setup screens.

Labor, Forecasting, Mobile

Trend-Adjusted Exponential Smoothing  (14140)

This release offers an improvement to the statistical calculation methods used in forecasting business volumes. 

In previous releases, the Past Average method was used to calculate business volumes. This method involved a simple moving average by which the user determined the number of past time periods to include. The system then gave equal weight to each period. With this method, if there was a recent change in business volume, weighing each time period equally will not account for the changes and might result in an inaccurate forecast.

In this release, the Past Average method has been replaced with Trend-Adjusted Exponential Smoothing (TAES). TAES is a forecasting technique that uses information regarding 1) average business volumes in the past and 2) trends observed in volumes in the past (up-swing or down-turn) to develop a forecast of future demand. This new method improves upon the original method and works as follows:

• It incorporates a weighted average of actual business volumes using up to 15 data points.
• It incorporates a weighted average of trends—up-swings and down-turns—in business volume.
• It employs mathematical logic to determine the optimal weights to be used for both average business volume and average trend that result in minimized forecast error over the time period analyzed. 

Trend-Adjusted Exponential Smoothing in Forecast Structure  (14331)

For statistical KBIs in the Forecast Structure screen, the Labor Statistical tab on the Edit KBI dialog box now features a Trend Adjusted Exponential Smoothing radio button. The Past Average radio button and the #Data Point drop-down menu have been removed.

Revenue Center Forecasting screens in desktop and mobile  (14139, 14376) 

This release features a redesigned Revenue Center Forecasting screen, which is accessed by clicking the Edit Revenue Center Forecast task button on the Planning screen. The Revenue Center Forecasting screen displays forecast data for an organization's revenue centers. On the Revenue Center Forecasting screen, users can do the following:

• Select planning periods and revenue centers.
• View business volume forecast information for each revenue center.
• View weather forecast information (if available for the date selected).
• Edit business volume forecasts.
• Apply, change, and remove forecast environments.  
• View details and statistics for KBIs.

A highlight of this updated screen is that it offers a quick way to apply, change, or remove forecast environments if users did not already do so in the Enter Forecast Environments screen. In previous versions, if users were viewing the Revenue Center Forecast screen and realized that they forgot to add a forecast environment to a KBI, they had to go back to the Enter Forecast Environments screen and apply the forecast environment. With this release, users can apply or change a forecast environment directly on the Revenue Center Forecasting screen, and the system forecast will be updated automatically. 

This release also features a mobile version of the new Revenue Center Forecasting screen. 

In the desktop view, the screen shows the first seven days of the selected planning period for the property. If there are more than seven days in the planning period, users can click an arrow to see the next seven-day increment. In the mobile view, the screen shows data for one day at a time. Users can scroll horizontally to view data for different days. 

The Revenue Center Forecasting screen features the following:

Planning periods and revenue centers

Users can view any revenue centers to which they are granted access. By default, both the mobile and desktop views open to the most recent planning period available. In the desktop view, users can select the planning period and revenue center on the same screen. In the mobile view, users must first select a revenue center and then select a planning period.

Weather forecasts

The weather forecast is displayed for the location of the selected property. With this information, forecasting managers can quickly see the weather on a given day so that they can make an educated guess as to the impact that the weather might have on business volumes. The weather forecast data includes the temperature (high and low) and an icon that indicates weather conditions.

Forecast environments

Forecast environments are atypical circumstances that affect business volume and demand for labor. For example, an NFL football game that occurs near a restaurant would typically cause a spike in demand. Users apply forecast environments when they know that a unique event will impact the need for labor. If a forecast environment is applied to the KBI for the selected revenue center, the name of the forecast environment appears for the date it is scheduled. Users click the Change button to switch to a different forecast environment. If a forecast environment is not applied, an Add button is available to apply a forecast environment.

Forecast information

• Forecast Accuracy by Day—The overall forecast accuracy of all KBIs for the day.
• System Accuracy—In recent weeks with the same business conditions, on average the system forecast was within X units and Y percent of the actual business volume.
• Manager Accuracy—In recent weeks with the same business conditions, on average the manager forecast was within X units and Y percent of the actual business volume.
• KBI forecast data—A number and an icon are displayed for each day. The numbers indicate the number of units (for example, covers), and the icon represents the variance of the system forecast from the actual business volumes.
• System Forecast—The volume forecast generated by the system. In each cell, the number indicates the system forecast value and the icon indicates the recent average variance of the system forecast to the actual business volume.
• Manager Forecast—A manually entered forecast by a manager. If there is no manager forecast, the cell is blank.

KBI statistics

The Revenue Center Forecasting screen also displays additional statistics that are helpful in finalizing forecasts of business volumes.

Labor, Scheduling, Work Rules

Adding counts to labels on the Scheduling screen (14087, 13986, 13987, 13988)

New functionality enables users to add day counts to labels on the Scheduling screen. With the Schedule Label Addendum work rules, users can apply a count to labels based on the number of days used or the remaining balance of the configured accruals for certain types of time-off requests. 

For certain types of time-off requests, users can configure Schedule Label Addendum work rules that apply a count to schedule labels based on either:

• The number of days used. This count is in ascending order. For example, if counts are applied to employees' sick (S) days, managers can use the Schedule Label Addendum rule to add a count to the "S" labels that appear in employees' schedules. Each time employees take sick days the counts on the labels go up—if employees took 3 sick days, the labels would read "S 3."
• The remaining balance of the configured accruals. This count is in descending order. For example, if employees are entitled to 20 vacation (V) days per year, managers can use the Schedule Label Addendum rule to add a count to the "V" labels that appear in employees' schedules. Each time employees take one of their V days, the count on the label will correspond to the remaining balance. If employees have taken 1 V day, the label on their schedule would be "V 19" because they have 19 remaining V days.

These counts also appear in the Sch Notes (schedule notes) column of employees' time cards. Based on the examples above, if the Sch Label column is visible in employees' time cards, text such as "V 2" and "S 2 appears.

Work Rules

New work rules in the Schedule Label rule type  (14091, 14088)

The Schedule Label rule type contains the following new work rules:

• Not Scheduled—Users apply this work rule to create a schedule label that is auto-generated when employees are not scheduled and do not have any time off of a specified type.
• Approved Time Off —Users apply this work rule to create a schedule label that is auto-generated when an employee has approved time off.

Back From Break With Grace work rule  (12907)

The Punch Rounding work rule type (System Setup > Work Rules > Punch Rounding) now includes a new Back From Break With Grace work rule. With this work rule, users can configure grace periods on back from break punches so that back punches will be rounded to the break threshold length if they fall within the grace period. This rule is helpful in locations where there are long lines at the Time Clocks. If the work rule is applied, employees only get charged for the break time taken and not the time they spent waiting in line at the Time Clock.

Adding an offset start date when configuring benefit accruals  (13984)

When configuring benefit accruals, users can now configure a start date that is X number of months or days after employees' anniversary date. In the Benefit Accrual rule type (Work Rules > Benefit Accruals), the Anniversary Year work rule includes two new parameters, Offset Amount and Offset By Days, so that users can specify the days or months by which to offset the accrual.

Reports

Weekly Schedule Report Schedule Label Addendums  (14085)

The Weekly Schedule Report now displays label text that also appears on the Scheduling screen. Use the Schedule Label Addendum work rules to configure these labels.

Mobile 2.0

Improvement to the Earnings section of the Mobile App Time Card screen  (14265)

The Earnings section of the Mobile App Time Card screen now displays earnings that employees can enter at a Time Clock. With this streamlined functionality, employees can now use the Earning section to track their tips. 

Time & Attendance

Export/Print Option in the Attendance Violations and Events Screen  (11534)

The Attendance Points and Events screen (Main Menu > Time & Attendance > Attendance Points and Events) now features options to print or export information on the screen.

Punch source now displayed for both open and closed pay periods in employee time cards  (14442)

In previous releases, when editing shifts in employee time cards (Main Menu > Time & Attendance > Review Pay Period), the Edit Shift dialog box displayed the source of individual punches only in open pay periods. Once the period was closed, the punch source was no longer visible. In this release, when editing shifts for past periods in employees’ time cards, the Edit Shift dialog box now displays the source of individual punches for both open and past (closed) periods.

Time & Attendance,  Reports

Improved tracking of shifts spanning workweeks in reports  (13725, 13726)

In previous releases, when the Regular Hours Distribution work rule was applied, shifts that started at the end of a workweek and went into the next workweek were counted as two different shifts in the Shift Details and Earning Details reports (Reports > Time & Attendance > Earnings). The worked, adjusted, paid, and break hours were shown on the first segment of a spanned shift and shown as "0.00" on the second. 

In this release, when the Regular Hours Distribution work rule is applied, the Shift Details and Earning Details reports now count a shift that spans two workweeks as a single shift but displays the shift in two sections. For example, a workweek might run from midnight, Monday morning to midnight, Sunday night. If a shift goes from 11 PM to 7 AM, then one hour (11 PM to 12 AM) is accounted for in the previous workweek. The rest of the hours (12:01 AM to 7 AM) are accounted for in the next workweek. A single dash (–) appears before the second section of a spanned shift to indicate that the shift is counted as one shift even though it appears in two sections. Regular, overtime (OT), double time (DT), hours, rates, and costs appear for the day on which they occurred during a planned shift. 

Improved performance of various Time & Attendance reports  (14700)

This release offers performance enhancements the following Time & Attendance reports:

• Shift Details
• Hours and Earnings Recap
• Earnings Details
• Hours Worked by Work Class
• Average Hours Worked
• Paycheck Approval
• Unapproved Shifts
• Minimum Wage
• FLSA Minimum Wage

Selecting custom dates for the End of Pay Period report (16717)

In previous releases, you could only run the End of Pay Period report for a selected pay period. In this release, the End of Pay Period configuration dialog box has been modified so that you can specify whether to run the report for a selected pay period or for a custom date range.

Time Clock

New message for unscheduled shifts  (14025)

When an employee punches in for an unscheduled shift, the Time Clock displays the following message:

You are not scheduled.

This punch may require manager authorization.

To accept push YES.

Message when finger is not properly placed on scanner  (14683)

In previous versions, if users did not correctly place their fingers on scanners, the Time Clock would direct the user back to the main screen instead of displaying a message that it did not recognize the finger. In this release, if users incorrectly place their fingers on the scanners, the Time Clock returns a message that informs users how to correctly position their fingers on the scanner:

• Finger too far up
• Finger too far down
• Scan too fast
• Finger too far right
• Finger too far left