Roadmap

Our programmers have been hard at work checking in with customers, and weeding out those pesky bugs that get past our beta testers.  Here's a list of what we found and fixed in November/December 2024: 

1. Recurring Work Records:
   • Addressed overwriting issues by introducing a page refresh prompt for accurate background processing.
     
2. Timesheet List Enhancements:
   • Displays all users while restricting the “Add Timesheet” dropdown to active users.
   • Added a guide for managing inactive users when needed.
     
3. Customer List Export:
   • Resolved character limitation issues for smoother exports.
     
4. Closed Work Order Emails:
   • Fixed email delivery issues, ensuring all closed work orders reach the intended recipients.
     
5. Job Costing Report:
   • Excludes invoices marked as “Cancelled”, while maintaining historical invoice records for accurate reporting.
     
6. Event Date Time Zone:
   • Resolved discrepancies between local and server time zones, ensuring accurate scheduling and display.
     
7. Technician Scheduling:
   • Fixed persistence issues when switching between user groups and individual users.

ServiceBox 11.2 is here. We've worked hard to enhance the features you know and love:

• Revamped Timesheet List: We’ve introduced a new Timesheet List with a cleaner design, better spacing, and improved user guidance. The "Print All" button is now disabled until a specific user or period is selected, reducing confusion and improving the user experience. Improved validation ensures that all required fields are selected before proceeding with adding timesheets.
  
  Article: ServiceBox Timesheet List Revamp: Old World vs. New World Comparison
  
  
• Expense Accounts for Vendor Orders (QuickBooks Online, Quickbooks Desktop): When creating new items via vendor orders, you can now specify an expense account. This will automatically sync with your accounting software, ensuring accurate financial reporting.
  
  Article: Expense Account Settings for Vendor Orders QuickBooks Online
  Article: Purchase Expense Account Settings for Vendor Orders QuickBooks Desktop
  
  
• Auto-Generated Customer Account Numbers: ServiceBox now allows auto-generation of account numbers for new customers, ensuring a unique identifier for each client.
  
  

  Article: https://support.jobboxsoft.com...
  

• Colons in Item Descriptions: You can now use colons (:) in item descriptions without validation errors. However, please note: if you’re using QuickBooks, we recommend avoiding colons as they may cause sync issues.
  
  If you're using QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop, we recommend not enabling this feature due to limitations in how QuickBooks handles colons. QuickBooks treats colons as special characters, which can cause errors during the sync.
  
  Users now have the flexibility to decide whether to include colons in item descriptions based on your integration needs. If syncing items and invoices to QuickBooks is a priority, we recommend not using them. Otherwise, have at it!  
  
  

• Updates
  
  Here's some new information on the updates you've been asking about:

  Mobile App Update: The ServiceBox mobile app has been upgraded to the latest Capacitor Package Android - 4.8.1827300 for better performance and stability.
  
  Sage 2025 Accounting Connector Update:
  From Monday, the ServiceBox connector will be updated to be compatible with Sage version 2025.0. This ensures smooth integration and improved functionality for users syncing with Sage.

  "Customer Category" in Import/Export:
  Earlier, the "Customer Category" column was noticeably missing when importing or exporting customer data via Excel in ServiceBox. Now, users can see the "Customer Category" column included in their imported/exported customer lists.

  
  We hope these new changes and updates make your user experience smoother and more effective. If you have any questions about any of this information, don't hesitate to contact support by smashing your black ServiceBox "help" button, or emailing support@getservicebox.com. And as always, thanks for choosing ServiceBox!
  

This Autumn we knuckled down and sifted through our software for nagging little things we knew could be better. Here's some fixes we came up with, effective Nov. 1, 2024:

• Timesheet Lines Overlapping (Mobile App): We fixed an issue where timesheet lines were overlapping when holding the phone vertically, which made it difficult to read and select options.
  
  
• Quote Items Display Issue: Clicking on quote items used to cause the screen to expand horizontally, requiring users to scroll to see the full page. That is now resolved.
  
  
• Duplicate Payments in Invoice Form: Double-clicking the 'Save' button in the invoice payment form used to create duplicate payments, but we've now taught the software not to do that.
  
  
• Work Orders Displaying Incorrect Tabs and Attachments: We happily fixed an issue where incorrect tabs, notes, and attachments were showing on desktop work orders, causing confusion for office teams.
  
  
• Work Order ID in Vendor Orders: We noticed that refreshing or opening a Vendor Order from a Work Order caused the Work Order ID to be removed from the URL, leading to errors. Fixed!
  
  
• Work Orders Not Closing: Some customers were having an issue where their work orders couldn’t be closed despite all checklists and signatures being completed. That should no longer be a problem.
  
  
• Global Search Slowness: We've improved the performance of the global search, especially when searching for vendor orders.
  
  
• T&M Tab on Mobile – Cancelled Token Error: Some users noticed an issue where pressing the backspace key on the T&M tab generated a 'cancelled token' error. Fixed!
  
  
• Quote Status Date Bug: The Status Date was occasionally displaying incorrectly as '01/01/0001' when searching for quotes. The date now updates correctly with status changes.
  
  
• UI Improvement – Payment Box: Based on customer feedback, we’ve repositioned the "Do Not Sync to Accounting" checkbox in the payment box to prevent accidental selection.
  
  We work hard to create a hassle-free experience, and we greatly appreciate our users for letting us know when something slips through. If you ever notice a feature not behaving in the way that serves you the absolute best, don't hesitate to let us know us at support@getservicebox.com. Happy ServiceBoxing!

Hey folks!  Our developers took some time to address recent bugs and we hope that those of you affected begin noticing an improvement immediately. Here's what got fixed:

1. Signature Display Issue in Print Template: There was an issue where signatures were not displaying in the new print template. This bug has been fixed, and signatures should now appear correctly.

2. Login Issue Due to Timezone Change: A bug was causing login issues when users changed their timezone from "default" to a specific one. The issue stemmed from how windows timezone works for different operating systems, and it has now been resolved, allowing users to log in successfully after changing their timezone.

3. 'Update WorkOrder' Feature in Secure Sites: The 'Update WorkOrder' feature ensures that when a work order is created from a quote, all items are copied over. A fix was applied so that any items not initially copied during the update process will now be correctly copied over to the work order.

4. Expense Account Setup for New Items in QuickBooks Online: We identified and fixed a bug where the system was not creating an expense account for new items in QuickBooks Online. A new setting, "Expense Accounts for New Items," has been added. This setting allows you to specify a default expense account, which the system will automatically use when creating new vendor order items in QuickBooks Online.

5. Keyboard Shortcuts on Quote Screen: Keyboard shortcuts were not functioning properly on the quote screen. Specifically, when a user pressed Enter, it didn't advance to the next field as expected. We've fixed this, and now pressing Enter after inputting the quantity will move the cursor to the next line in the item field instead of returning to the quantity field.

6. Extended 'To' Email Character Limit in Close Work Order Notifications: The character limit for the 'To' email field in the Close Work Order email settings has been increased from 100 to 500 characters. This allows users to send close work order notifications to multiple email addresses more easily.

7. Vendor Order Email Settings Save Issue: We fixed an issue where changes made in the 'From Email' dropdown field under vendor order email settings were not being saved correctly. The system now properly retains any updates made to this setting.

ServiceBox users can now delete payment records directly without creating a support ticket. You also now have the power to link or unlink payment and refund records from your accounting software, as needed.

We've created an article to walk you through what this means for your company and how to use it...just head to this link: https://jobbox.freshdesk.com/a...

Hey folks. We have two changes hitting ServiceBox on Sunday, April 7, 2024. One big and one small:

First the big: 

#1.  We've made a whole host of changes to the Check In / Check Out process. These enhancements aim to improve the accuracy of time tracking, streamline work order status changes, and ensure mandatory notes are completed by end-of-day. Read about these and other Check In changes here: 

https://support.jobboxsoft.com...

And now the small:

#2.  We've made some changes to the global search bar in the ServiceBox UI to make it more user friendly. We've made it better at sorting through the options to give you a smaller, more accurate list to choose from in response to your keywords. We've also made it easier and more intuitive to use (e.g. not case sensitive). Read about it at this link: 

https://support.jobboxsoft.com...

1. We added in a link to the above support article into the login page. It appears when an incorrect login is entered:

2. Customer should be able to re-print their receipts for the SMS add-on's now. They will appear in the list and can be printed.

3. There was a bug when a timesheet was created as a user enters labour in on a work order. It wasn't creating the timesheet with the default note. It will now do that.

4. You can now add the customer name via token to be entered into the quote text (the main quote text on the first tab of the quote). It isn't in the insert dropdown but if you enter {{customername}} it will put the customer display name into the main quote text. I also added in {{jobsitename}} in for this.

5. The quote approval email that was sent out AFTER the customer approved was not using the quote label in the PDF. So instead of printing Quote #1234 it just printed #1234. This is now fixed.

ServiceBox 10.9 addresses customer preferences by making some small but important modifications to several of our features:

1. ServiceBox has improved our Login screen by eliminating the "remember me" step, and making it easier to choose a new password in situations of emergency or simple preference.

https://support.jobboxsoft.com...

2. We now have a "Do Not Track Inventory" feature that allows smaller companies to disconnect inventory tracking during the accounting information transfer to Quickbooks Desktop or Online. This simplifies and tightens the focus of the transfer to core accounting data.

https://support.jobboxsoft.com...

3. ServiceBox introduces the Account Reconciliation Report, which is designed to provide clarity on discrepancies between invoices in accounting (QuickBooks Online, Desktop or Sage50) and ServiceBox, whether due to deletions, non-payment, or other reasons.

https://support.jobboxsoft.com...

Enjoy! And as always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to our dedicated support staff by clicking the black "Help" button on your ServiceBox desktop, or emailing us at support@jobboxsoft.com. 

We're releasing ServiceBox 10.8 this weekend with the following 4 upgrades:

1. Check in / Check out enhancements

You can now set the work order status to automatically change when the tech checks in or checks out of a job using their work order. You can also force techs to confirm the accuracy of job time recorded when checking out, or make the inclusion of maintenance notes mandatory.



For more information, head to: https://support.jobboxsoft.com...



2. Delete checklist items

We're introducing a new access role that allows admin users to decide whether basic users should have the ability to delete checklist items. 


Read more here: https://support.jobboxsoft.com...

3. Display item name / long description

We're introducing a feature that allows users to display both the item name and the item long description on the quote approval page.

This link will show you how: https://support.jobboxsoft.com...

4. Deactivate Quote and Invoice categories

ServiceBox has now made it possible to deactivate or reactivate specific Quote and Invoice categories as you need them. And while Quote and Invoice categories tend to be connected in ServiceBox, you now have the flexibility to deactivate/reactivate categories in either one independently.

Get the details at: https://support.jobboxsoft.com...

1. In the accounting desktop connector, when using Sage 50, if multi user mode is turned on, the connector will no longer do automatic payment syncs. This is to prevent data integrity issues that can occur under this scenario. https://support.jobboxsoft.com...
2. Also when using Sage 50, the connector will no longer run the sync if the Sage 50 file identified in settings is not the last file that was opened in Sage 50. This is to prevent a common occurrence when a backup was restored to a new Sage 50 file which is to be used going forward, but the settings were not updated to reflect this. 
3. We received feedback from some users that preferred the status filters on the work order and invoice list to be links instead of a drop down. We have now enabled this via a user preference. Go to the user menu and choose 'My Preferences'. Check off 'Show Status Filters on Lists as Links' to enable this feature. https://support.jobboxsoft.com...
4. In the accounting desktop connector, when exporting customers, the experience should be much improved. The screen will load up to 1000 top level customers (this was an issue before when there were a lot of sub customers and jobs below the top level customers). We have also added a 'Next' button which will put the last name in the 'From' box and refresh the screen making it easier to bring up the next set of customers.
5. When syncing to QuickBooks desktop, we've added the ability to select the deposit account for each payment type. This is an optional setting; if the deposit account isn't set, the deposit account used will be the QuickBooks default. https://support.jobboxsoft.com...
6. For Sage, QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, we've added an option in settings to skip the paid invoice check. https://support.jobboxsoft.com...
7. For Sage, QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, we've added the ability to have the ServiceBox invoice automatically change status to "paid" when it's paid in accounting.
   
   QuickBooks Online: https://support.jobboxsoft.com...
   QuickBooks Desktop: https://support.jobboxsoft.com...
   50 Canada: https://support.jobboxsoft.com... 
   
   
8. The left hand navigation menu, for those items that have sub-items, for example the work order showing categories underneath, the sub items will no longer automatically appear on hover. They will appear when the black triangle to the right of the menu item is clicked. https://support.jobboxsoft.com...

On Sunday July 23rd, we will be releasing Version 10.6 of ServiceBox with enhancements to the accounting connector:

1. In the desktop connector, if there is a help desk article explaining a message that is shown in the window, the line will be highlighted in blue with a help icon and you can double click on it to see the message. To find out more, please read this article.

2. In the desktop connector, you will now be able to right click on a message and navigate directly to the entity (Customer, Jobsite, Invoice) in ServiceBox saving you the time to navigate there yourself. For more information, please click here.

3. In the QuickBooks Online connector, a similar help icon and highlight will show up for messages, you can click on the message and go directly to the helpdesk article.

4. Also in the QuickBooks Online connector, you will be able to navigate directly to an entity shown in a message by clicking on that entity in the message list. For more information please read this article.

5. In the desktop connector, we have added a 'features' link on the main page. This will bring up a history of features implemented in the connector. We are hoping this will add to our transparency when changes happen. To find out more click here.

6. We added the ability to copy messages to the clipboard to make it easier to keep track of the things that need to be done manually to fix the data so it can be brought into your accounting system. For more information, please see this article.

We have put out a couple maintenance items into ServiceBox:

1. Emails coming from us for signups, plan changes, invoices, etc should be a bit more reliable, they are now queued and run through a background process.

2. We added the ability for us to change the 'Assigned To' label in the Work Order and Work Order List.

3. On checklist item descriptions and notes, the system will now allow for and display new lines. Previously it concatenated lines together.

4. Since the release, invoice statistics were not changing when a location changed for those tenants using multi location. This is now fixed.

On June 25, 2023 we will be releasing new functionality into ServiceBox in the form of version 10.5.

1. The unit list page has been enhanced to allow customizations of what is displayed on the list. Custom columns and other fields can be added or hidden on the list as you choose. Please see https://support.jobboxsoft.com... for more information.

2. We have added in an advanced unit import/export feature. This will allow you to export all units in the system at once and import units across jobsites as you need to. The menu item will be available in your user screen. For more information please click this link: https://support.jobboxsoft.com...

3. Similar to the unit list, we have enhanced the check list list tabs (the tab on the job site, unit and work order screen showing all the applicable check lists). You will now be able to customize the fields that are displayed on this list, including adding unit custom columns onto this list. Please see https://support.jobboxsoft.com... for more information.

4. The invoice list has been rewritten to be more responsive. Please see https://support.jobboxsoft.com... for more information.

5. We have enhanced the work order list to allow you to choose what is displayed in it, including adding/removing custom columns, customer name, jobsite name or city. Pretty much every data point on this list aside from the work order number can now be added or removed. Please see https://support.jobboxsoft.com... for more information.

6. Also on the work order list, we have added advanced filtering into the list. You will now be able to configure an advanced criteria screen to search by city, assigned users, work order dates, next scheduled dates and much more. Please see https://support.jobboxsoft.com... for more information.

On Sunday April 2nd we did a maintenance release of ServiceBox with the following:

1. Users will now be able to download their own receipts by going to Settings->Plan and clicking 'Download Receipts'. Set the year at the top and the system will list the receipts for that year. Click on the one you would like to download a pdf.

2. Users will now be able to set the billing email that we send receipts and other automated emails to (including upgrades, future payment announcements, etc). This field is now available in Settings->Tenant->Settings

3. We have upgraded the version of the text editor we use for formatted text in ServiceBox. 

4. Users will now be able to move the help button to the right or hide it completely in the User Preferences page.

5. There is a new 'Support' page that can be used to search helpdesk articles and submit tickets.

We released a couple small fixes to our mobile app for version 4.4:

1. The account selection screen where you enter in your ServiceBox url will now validate the selection to make sure you have entered a correct value. This will hopefully prevent issues logging into ServiceBox.

2. We fixed Geolocation turning off randomly. This was happening in both iOS and Android and shouldn't happen again. If you turn off permissions in settings we may not detect that so if locations are not being reported you will still have to check your settings screen to make sure that ServiceBox has the settings available.

3. We have also changed our support of Android versions to go down to version 5.1 within the Play Store.

On Sunday March 26th we released Version 10.3 of ServiceBox with the following:

1. We have added the ability to send out service reminders to customers a configured amount of time after the last closed work order. This functionality was experimental before but it is now generally released. It includes the ability to override the email to which the service reminders are sent at the job site or customer level.

2. We added in the ability to delete Vendor Orders. If a vendor order has received items or is linked to accounting, those received items will have to be reversed and the links removed before deleting them.

3. When setting up the 'Pay Now' button for invoices, you will now see a full html button rather than a token. This will give the ability to adjust the layout and format of the button.

4. For the 'Day Before' notification, you can now set the earliest and latest times these notifications can be sent out. This will allow you to prevent notifications from being sent at midnight as they are now. If the system detects it is outside of the acceptable window, it will wait to send notifications.

On Sunday, February 26th, we will be releasing version 10.2 of ServiceBox with the following:

1. The Job Site Add/Edit screen has been rewritten in our updated framework. We have also integrated it into the quote, work order, and recurring work screens 'Add Job Site' button so now when you add a Job Site in one of those screens it will have all of the fields of the main edit form available.

2. On some tablets, when going into portrait mode, users were unable to insert items into some tables. They will now have an 'Add' button on the table to add records via a pop-up form.

3. We had a bug on the Work Order print and email that prevented users without access to all Work Orders from being able to print Work Orders they do have access to. This is now fixed.

4. On the Work Notes tab, there was a bug that when selecting a unit, the details were not being displayed below until the note was saved. This is now fixed.

5. On the email tabs, we now will accommodate email addresses from customers and contacts that are delimited by semi-colons as well as those separated by commas.

6. On the invoice screen, email tab, the zero dollar warning was showing up in some cases where the invoice total was greater than zero. this is now fixed.

7. On the quote calculator and work order materials, you will now see an 'add item as new' entry when typing an item description. This can be selected to add the item being entered as a new item.

On February 12th we will deploy Version 10.1 of ServiceBox into Production. This release we concentrated on expanding our functionality around imports and exports but there is a couple other pieces of cool functionality coming in this release.

1. On the main jobsite list off of the left navigation you will now have Export and Import buttons. This will allow you to export your jobsites (currently all of them will be exported with no filter), make changes or additions and then re-import them. 

2. On the unit tab of a jobsite, you will see a set of export/import buttons. This will allow you to export units from the jobsite, make changes and additions and then re-import them.

3. On the main Work Order list, you will now have an export/import button. Currently this will export all your work orders, we will be enhancing the filtering on this soon. 

4. Email Address Book: On the email tabs you will now see a little address book button beside the To, Bcc and Cc fields:

These buttons will bring up a dialog that allows you to find any email address stored in ServiceBox from customers, contacts, vendor orders and users and then add it to your email. The dialog will allow you to search by name and to filter by type:

5. We have re-written the work order and invoice print to allow for us to do more extensive customizations on your prints for you. Please contact support@jobboxsoft.com to get the pricing for custom print templates.

6. Work Order Close Email: We have added into the work order close email the ability to add the url to the work order. This will allow you to add a link to the work order to the email that gets sent out on close so the recipient can go directly to that work order from the email they've received. 

7. Customer Links Button: Going forward, instead of editing the customer to remove the links to the various accounting software, this will now be done via the 'Links' button on the main customer page.

At long last our purchasing module has been implemented. We have articles to introduce you to using vendors and vendor orders in your ServiceBox in our support system:

Vendor

Vendor Orders

There will be more information coming with our news letter on January 16th so keep your eyes open for that!

On Sept 11, 2022, we put in version 9.11 of ServiceBox including the following:

1. We have added some new criteria types for reports to make our reporting offering a bit more flexible. You will now be able to request a report that has criteria based on larger selections. When entering the criteria you will be able to enter a minimum of two characters to search a larger set of possible data.

2. We have added compression to our caching to improve performance.

3. Annual subscribers will get an email a week before the subscription fee is collected.

4. We have re-written the Purchase Order table on the work order. This is part of our ongoing effort to modernize our development environment for ServiceBox.

5. When using the desktop accounting connector (Sage and QuickBooks Desktop), you will be asked to confirm how you want payments to be processed. A manual option with a screen showing the payments that have not been processed is now available.

6. We have exposed our Customer Hold feature to general availability. This will allow you to mark certain customers 'on hold'. Basic users will not be able to use these customers on Quotes or Work Orders. Admin users will see a warning if one of these customers are selected.

7. Our broadcasts have been improved to prevent you from seeing the 'loading' indicator while loading. 

On Sunday August 7, 2022 we will release Version 9.10 of ServiceBox. This will be a smaller release. It will contain the following:

1. Quote Print enhancements - We will now have greater flexibility in how we can set up your quote print including multiple templates and different formats selectable at the time of print. We will be charging for the service of customizing your quote print but it will allow for your output to be very customizable.

2. Quote Calculator Rewrite - We have rewritten the quote calculator tab. The major enhancement you will see is that you can override and edit the long description for line items. You are no longer restricted to the long description originally set up in the settings.

3. User Add/Edit page rewrite - We have rewritten the user page. The format will be a little tighter so there will be less scrolling needed when editing a user profile. 

4. Multi Location Enhancements - For those customers using multi location, we will now be able to set you up to restrict users to just see the data in their allowed locations. This includes the customer, jobsite, work order, quote, invoice and recurring lists along with the scheduler. Our support team will be able to create roles that can see all data and roles that will be restricted to particular locations.

5. Quote Print Settings rewrite - We have re-written the quote print settings screen as well to support the quote print enhancements.

We have put in a few fixes and improvements into ServiceBox:

1. There was an issue emailing quote with the breakdown, this is now fixed.

2. On the quote email tab, it was easy to miss the notification at the top right that the email was sent so we added a label below the send button that will show the last time the email was sent since the tab was opened. This label will be blank on the initial load of the page but will update each time an email is sent.

3. On the import from QuickBooks Desktop to ServiceBox and the download from ServiceBox to QuickBooks Desktop, we added the synchronization of the customer category in ServiceBox and the customer type in QuickBooks. When exporting from QuickBooks Desktop to ServiceBox, if the customer type in QuickBooks is an exact name match for the customer category in ServiceBox, it will set this value. When synchronizing customers from SerivceBox to QuickBooks, there is now a setting on the Customer/Jobsites tab to have the connector attempt to set the customer type in QuickBooks. If the names match and this checkbox is checked off, it will set the customer type in QuickBooks.

4. There was an issue with the address completion functionality on the RecurringWork screen. This is now fixed and you will see the address selection when typing in address line 1 when adding a customer or jobsite.

5. Drag and drop functionality is now available again in the attachment screen. You can drag files onto the file chooser control and it will automatically add them in. The space to drop the files will turn grey when you drag them over.

6. The new quote print functionality was producing a long unreadable file name. We have fixed this to be a more friendly name.

On July 10, 2022 we deployed Version 9.9. The following is contained in this version:

1. The biggest new functionality in the system is the new Quote Approvals link. You will now be able to send out a link with your quote that will allow your customers to approve a quote online, with a comment and a signature. Once the quote is approved, a to do can be created to follow up and schedule the work. For more information see this link: Helpdesk : ServiceBox (freshdesk.com)
2. We have also added new functionality to add 'Service Charges' into your work order. Your techs will be able to enter a configured code into your service charge and you will be able to configure the number of hours that the tech will receive on their timesheet and/or the invoice item and quantity that will get created on a timesheet. This functionality should be used when you want an entry on the labour to result in a different type of invoice item being created (in any of the categories on the workorder) and/or a number of hours to be created and categories. For more information, see this link:User Guide - Advanced - Service Charges : Support Documents (freshdesk.com)
3. Attachment tabs have been rewritten and redesigned. When adding an attachment you will now see a tabbed display allowing you to add a file on one tab, dropbox link on another and a new feature to add a url link. This last feature will allow you to add a link to anything that can be reached via a browser as an attachment. 
4. On Work Order we will now use browser native dropdown controls in mobile with restricted dropdown fields. This is an experimental change that we are hoping will improve the experience and reliability of the custom fields on Work Orders.
5. We have re-written the Quote Email settings tab. This re-write will allow us to add more flexibly written custom print templates to your Service Box.

On July 6, 2022 we will add in the functionality to set which deposit account is to be used when payments recorded in ServiceBox are transferred over to QuickBooks. This is an optional setting on the QuickBooks screen under Settings->Payments:

Setting this value will set the deposit account on payments seen here in the payment screen in QuickBooks Online: 

Leaving the setting blank in ServiceBox will allow QuickBooks to use the default deposit account which is usually 'Undeposited Funds'.

This Saturday we are putting in a fix for the search text box on our lists. Previous to the fix, deleting the text you entered to search the list didn't re-run the search with no search text. This will be fixed in this release.

On March 20, 2021 we will be releasing the following features:

Upgraded Rich Text Editor

We have upgraded the richtext editor (Version 5) to allow for uploading of images to the editor in both desktop and now with the mobile application.  Previously mobile users couldn't upload images to the rich text editor, but now all devices can.

Improved Messaging

As part of our continued pursuit of customer satisfaction we are adding in messaging to help with the onboarding and training of new customers and new users.  You will see additional messages that will display when a new user is created or to promote new features that may be helpful for you.

Internal Performance Improvements

To dos

We have rewritten the to do sections for improved performance.  All to do sections have been updated with the new and improved code.

Notes

Along with the To dos we have re written the internal notes sections.  The purpose of the re write is to improve performance of the application when loading Notes.  You now will also be able to view all historical notes (depending on your access) from the work orders in order of when they came in.

Updated Email Templates

For notifications to you our customers we have updated our emails so they will look similar to the styling of the ServiceBox application.

Foundational Features for Inventory Phase 2

Though not officially released we are currently building the foundation for Inventory Phase 2 including: Vendors and Vendor Orders

On January 30th, 2022 we will be releasing version 9.7.

Behind the scenes we have been doing a ton of work to re-write and upgrade ServiceBox with the newest technologies to make the system even more performant, scalable and stable. 

This release contains many of these improvements. It also contains one big piece of functionality:

Quote Templates

You will now be able to activate a Quote Template feature in your Features tab. This will allow you to set up a list of quote items and inventory items that can be used as a standard when creating a quote. When adding items and inventory, you can select whether quotes using this template will grab the latest pricing or you can set the pricing in the template to fix it for the specific template.

On October 3rd, 2021 we will be releasing version 9.4 of ServiceBox. This is a smaller release due to a backlog of final tweaks needed for the new look that was released earlier this year. The major functionality in this release is the ability to create alternative email templates for Quotes, Work Orders and Invoices. For more information about how to use this, please see the article here.

One other change you will see is that scheduled events can no longer span multiple days. Instead you will have to create a repeating event if it needs to cover multiple days.

We are releasing Version 9.3 on September 5, 2021. This release will include the following:

1. If you have 'Quote by Dollar Amount' activated, a bug with the accounting integrations has been fixed. Invoices should come down properly.

2. We have re-written the Work Notes tab on the WorkOrder screen to improve performance.

3. We have added an External Intake Form into our app. This will allow you to embed a form in your website for a customer to submit a request. The customer will be created in ServiceBox and a ToDo added with the request they have submitted. To set it up you can go to Settings->Customer->Portal Intake Form. From there you can specify how to create the Customer and Todo, customize the styling on the form, what message should be displayed after the user has submitted the form and the parameters for the email that gets sent out after submission. Also on this screen is the html to use to embed the form in your website.

4. We now can import timesheet data into QuickBooks Online. When a timesheet is submitted, the data will be transferred to QuickBooks for employees that are linked in the settings. A limitation of the SDK provided by QuickBooks online means we will not be able to set the payroll type for the time data. We will update the integration to do this as soon as this limitation is removed.

On July 25, 2021 we will be releasing Version 9.2 of ServiceBox. The following new functionalities are included in this release:

1. We have added the ability to show custom columns from the work order on the scheduler. There is a new 'Show On Scheduler' checkbox. When checked off, the column will then display on the work order list on the left. It will display on the scheduler card and on the popup that displays work order information when the scheduler card is clicked.
2. In the email dropdowns on the work order, emails from jobsite contacts will show up in the lists. Previously these lists only showed contacts linked to the customer. This includes the En Route notifications, the Day Before notifications, as well as the email drop downs on the email tab.
3. We have added an experimental feature to show check in/out status indicators on the scheduler. When activated in Settings->Features (under Scheduler Features), an icon will show up if the user has checked in or out of a work order. When they have checked in the indictor will look like this:
   
   and when they've checked out it will appear like this:
   
   On the popup showing work order information you will also see details about the check in status:
   
   
   
4. We have added into the customer list the ability to export and import customers. This works in a similar fashion to the inventory and quote items import/export. You can export a customer file, modify and add customers and re-import the file to make changes and add new customers.

We are releasing Version 9.1 of ServiceBox on June 13, 2021. This version contains the following:

1. We've gotten excellent feedback about our New Look and have incorporated much of the items that were reflected back to us. This version marks the end of support for the old look. All customers will be moved over to the new look without the option to switch back. This will allow us alot more flexibility moving forward to make changes in the system without having to support two looks and feels. Please keep the feedback coming, it's your comments that help shape the product.

2. We have added SMS Messaging into the system as our first ever 'Add-On' to ServiceBox. SMS messaging will allow you to text one or more phone numbers with your 'Day Before' notifications on work orders, along with your En Route notifications. Because this option increases our costs, we have decided this will have to be a paid 'Add-On' to the system. To add an SMS Plan, go to your 'Settings->Plan->Add Ons'. Select the type (currently just 'SmsMessaging') and add in the plan. We currently only have one option at $10/month which includes 500 sms messages with additional messages at 2.5 cents per message. Once you do this, you can specify one or more phone numbers to receive messages for your En Route and Day Before notifications on the work order. Each message to each phone number is counted as a message.

3. We had an issue when the date drop-down is near the bottom of the screen and the calendar moves below the browser window. That has now been fixed. The window will now ensure the full date control is visible in the screen.

4. We added an 'Are you sure...' prompt when deleting work order materials and invoice items.

5. We adjusted our workorder alerts so that alerts are no longer sent out if a workorder is scheduled in the past.

We will be deploying a hotfix the evening of May 27, 2021 for a few fixes:

1. Reporting will be added to the mobile version of the app.

2. We are adding back the the spinner on the numeric inputs.

3. We will be fixing an issue on the timesheet where it wasn't saving the scroll position

We are proud to release Version 9.0 of ServiceBox on May 23rd, 2021! With this release we will switch everyone over to the new look and feel of the product. For this release we will still allow users to revert back to the old look however for the next release we will discontinue support for the old look.

Included in this release:

1. Fixes and enhancements to the new look, many of which resulted from feedback from users who switched over at the earliest opportunity.
2. Work Order custom columns can now be marked as 'required to close' which will prevent a user from closing the workorder unless there is a value in these fields.
3. We have improved the reporting of inactive  emails in ServiceBox. If you attempt to send an email to a user that has been marked as 'inactive' (ie. a previous email to this user has bounced due to a bad email address) an email will get sent to the 'from' email indicating which emails were inactive. Our support team can re-activate emails if needed but if the reason the email was inactivated is that it was an invalid email, activating the email will not fix that. Note, this only applies to ServiceBox instances that are not using a custom SMTP server.
4. We have also improved reporting of bounced emails. If we receive a bounce report from our email provider, we will email the 'from' user on the email to indicate a bounce report was received. Again, this also only applies to ServiceBox instances that are not using a custom SMTP Server.
5. We have added the ability to specify roles that can bypass closing requirements for work orders. If the role is granted access for this a checkbox will appear above the 'OK' button. If checked off, then closing requirements such as checklists or number of attachments will be bypassed for this workorder. If you'd like to activate this, please contact support@jobboxsoft.com.
6. We have added the ability to allow a role to clear signatures on a workorder. If you'd like to activate this on a role in your ServiceBox, please contact support@jobboxsoft.com.
7. You can now set the order of custom columns within settings simply by changing the column order. You will have to refresh the setting screen after saving to see the columns in the new order.
   
   
   
8. We discovered a bug that allowed the changing of invoice items after setting a status. This caused recalculations which changed the invoice totals on a "closed" status. That is now fixed.
9. We also fixed a bug allowing the deletion of inventory items from an invoice even after setting a status that did not allow recalculations.
10. We added in the ability to disable signatures for specific checklists. This will allow you to activate signatures on checklists in general but specify specific checklists that do not require signatures.
11. We added an option in user preferences to default the calendar on the dashboard to all user events:
    
    

On Sunday May 2nd, Version 8.11 will be released. The highlight of this release in our opinion is the first glimpse at the new look and feel for ServiceBox. We have been working for months to bring you our updated interface and you'll be able to preview it in the system. To do this, simply go to your user preferences screen and select "Use New Look And Feel":

We are in beta for this so if you run into any issues, you can always switch back by unchecking the box. If you do encounter any problems, please report them via feedback ticket or by emailing support@jobboxsoft.com.

Other items included in this release are:

1. For those customers that are using our experimental 'Multi-Location' functionality, you will now be able to filter your workorder list both in the main app and the scheduler by location.
2. We have added a 'Total Owing' token into the invoice emails to allow you to indicate in the email the amount remaining to pay on an invoice, in the case of partial payment.
3. We have added into the work order status setup the ability to automatically change the status of a quote when a work order is set to a status. To use this, go into Settings->Work Order->Status:
   
   
   
   
4. We have fixed an issue in our Multi-Location functionality. When a work order was printed it did not use the location's address. This is now fixed.
5. We added a setting in 'My Preferences' to default the status filter on the work order list. This will guarantee a particular status is always selected when returning to the work order list. Please note that if this option is set, then the return to scroll position will not work. To activate this go to User Preferences:
   
   
   
7. With Recurring Work, when selecting 'Monthly' you will have the option to select Monthly on the same day of the month or pick the same week day instance (for example, the 3rd Monday of the month).  You will see this selection when picking a 'Monthly' recurring work.
8. We have added a 'Dashboard' menu item into the system. Previously, the 'Home' menu when to the dashboard (the activity feed and calendar). Now the "Dashboard' menu option will take you to that screen and the 'Home' menu will take you to your configured 'Home' screen.
9. We fixed a bug with the status change on checkout. Previously the status change was saved first then the time entry was saved to the database. If the status was changed to a closed status and the email on 'close setup' was setup, the time entry would not show up on the work order when it was sent. This is now fixed but please note: if the automatic status change is enabled (not just the allow status change) on checkout, then the close email will not have the time entry because the status change is made, and then the user is prompted to enter their time.

On Sunday April 11, 2021, ServiceBox will release version 8.10 with the following enhancements and new functionality:

1. Recurring Work will now allow a selection of one or more weekdays when selecting a 'Weekly' recurring work. For example, you will now be able to set up a recurring work to be applied to Monday Wednesday and Friday every two weeks. Workorders will be created and scheduled (if selected) on those weekdays every second calendar week (the calendar week running from Sunday to Saturday). Existing weekly recurring work will be defaulted to have the weekday of the 'next day' selected.
2. The red line indicators on the Contact Details screen have been refactored and should be more reliable.
3. We now have the ability to prevent users from seeing the customer information on a work order through security settings. If you'd like this set up, please email support.
4. We have added in settings around work order checkouts. On the Settings->Work Order->Check Out page, you can now set up check outs to trigger an automatic status change on the work order and you can also allow a user to set the new status on check out. There is a setting to set the defaulted status on check out.
   
   
   
   If the 'Allow setting Work Order status on Checkout' is checked off, the user will get a selection of workorder statuses when they check out and the time entry dialog is shown:
   
   
   
   
5. We have done some optimization work on the work order list page that should improve performance there.
6. Two new inventory reports were added. Inventory By Location will show the inventory grouped by location. Inventory usage by location will show the inventory that was taken on work orders by location.

On Sunday March 14th, we will release version 8.9 of ServiceBox. It will include the following items:

New functionality 

1. We added in the ability to restrict users' check ins to one work order at a time. To set this up, go to Setting->Workorders and check off "Restrict check in one workorder at a time". You will then have to set a Restriction Start Date. This will be the date the restriction started so if the user had checked in and not checked out of a work order before this date, they will not get an error.
   
   If this is checked off, the user will not be able to check into a work order if they have not checked out of a previous work order. There will be a message with a link to the work order(s) that they are already checked in on so they can check out.
   
   
2. We added an experimental feature to allow the scheduling of groups from the workorder schedule tab. When activated, you will see a selection of 'User' or 'User Group' in the screen. If you select 'Group', all users in that group will be scheduled to the selected date and time:
   

Enhancements

1. The system will now prevent an invoice from being emailed with a payment link to our portal payments if there is not a payment method set up that is marked as a 'Portal Payment'. This will prevent payment links from causing errors when a customer tries to use it to pay their invoice.
2. The customer import from accounting to ServiceBox will now be asynchronous. This should improve the performance of that import.
3. Previously on the invoice list, scroll position was not maintained when deleting an invoice or returning to the screen after exiting an invoice. The scroll position will now be maintained.

Bug Fixes

1. There was an issue setting a payment type to be portal payment if it wasn't already marked as a 'keyed card'. The system will now allow editing a payment to be only a portal payment and not a keyed card.
2. Several screens had issues with the red line indicator on tabs, which indicates data is present. We have refactored these indicators to be more reliable.
3. Expenses were not deletable from a workorder. This is now fixed.
4. The 'Select Files' button to select attachments or files was sometimes difficult to click. This is now fixed.
5. There was a bug that caused work orders to be removed from the recent item list at the left. This is now fixed.

NOTE: All users Sage and QuickBooks Desktop should download this update due to compatibility issues.

We have enhanced the accounting integration with QuickBooks Desktop:

1. For the QuickBooks US version, we can now link ServiceBox Tax Levels to QuickBooks Desktop sales tax item types. This means you will no longer have to create a Tax Group if there is only one tax item to be applied. 

2. For all QuickBooks versions, if the sales tax is setup in a customer in QuickBooks and it is different from the default in ServiceBox, exporting the customer from QuickBooks will set the tax level on the customer. To make sure taxes get set in ServiceBox, check off this option when exporting:

3. For all QuickBooks versions, when adding or updating a customer in QuickBooks, if the tax level is set on the customer in ServiceBox, it will attempt to set the sales tax on the customer in QuickBooks. To activate this, check off this option in settings:

NOTE: Canadian integrations initially had an issue with this update. A fix has been put in version 8.8.2102.36142. Please make sure you are running this version or later.

We put in a fix last night for the Inventory Import. Occassionally the inventory import would stop prematurely if there was a number rather than alpha characters in the description field. 

Version 8.8 was released this weekend. The release includes the following:

Enhancements

1. You now have the ability to set quote and invoice categories to 'Restricted Add' and 'Restricted Edit'. Restricted Add will not allow basic users to add items into the quote, invoice or workorder for these categories. They will have to pick from a list. By default admins will have access to add items. Restricted Edit will prevent users from changing the unit cost or markup on items that already exist in the database. If they are able to add new items in (ie. the category is not set to 'restricted add'), they can set the unit cost and markup for the new item but once it is saved to the back end, they can no longer change it.

2. Plan change and Signup warning on annual plan - When changing your plan in the system, you will get a warning if you are changing from a monthly to annual plan. This is to prevent unintentional plan changes to annual plans. There will be a checkbox to confirm that you agree to the conditions of the annual plan (ie. no partial refunds for downgrading mid term).

3. Roadmap - We added in a 'Road Map' menu item which will show what is under review, planned and in progress in the submitted feature requests.

Other items

We have been working hard to upgrade the look and feel of ServiceBox. We are planning on increasing the screen real estate used by the app and modernizing it's look. This should be coming in a few months in a preview form that users can opt in and out of.

We have also been working hard to stabilize the mobile app. Given the wide range of devices being used, this has proved quite complex but we are hoping to be near a final stable version of the app.

New Functionality:

1. We have added in the ability to include invoice notes and maintenance notes as items when syncing from ServiceBox to Sage. There are two new settings in the "Export/Import" settings tab for Sage, one determines the placement of the invoice note (before or after invoice items) and the other determines the placement of the maintenance notes (again, before or after the invoice items).
2. We added the "Invoice Accounting Import Status Report" which will allow you to view what invoices have or haven't been imported into your accounting software.
3. When changing your plan from a monthly to an annual plan you will now have to click on a checkbox that you acknowledge that annual plans are not refunded mid term due to the 10% discount you get on the plan rate.
4. When using the 'Forgot Password' functionality, you can now enter your user name or email to reset your password.
5. On Quotes and Invoices, if the total is $0 a warning will display on the email tab under the send button to alert you that you are about to send out an item with a $0 total.
6. We have added in an experimental feature to allow for groupings of users. User Groups can be created in the Settings->Tenants->User Groups tab and users can be assigned to zero, one or more groups. Once done, you can filter the schedule based on user groups. To activate this feature, please contact support via the 'Feedback Button' in ServiceBox or by emailing support@jobboxsoft.com. This feature is experimental so if you find any issues please report them for us to take a look and fix them.
7. A long requested feature of adding an end date into recurring work has been added. Setting this date sets the date on or after which a workorder will not be created. So if you set a recurring work to repeat starting on January 1st and set an end date of January 15th, it will create a recurring work on the 1st and the 8th.
8. We added 'Job Site Only' contact field types into workorder custom columns. These fields allow you to select contacts only related to the job sites so if you wanted a column for the contact phone to call when arriving on site, a contact can be added to the jobsite and selected in this field on the workorder.
9. We have added the invoice tab into the job site screen so you can view invoices only related to that jobsite.
10. We added an email button on the checklist so you can email an individual checklist to a customer.
11. A 'Total Invoice' token was added into invoice emails allowing you to add the total of the invoice into your invoice emails.
12. We now prevent unchecking the 'default labour' and 'default material' checkbox on invoice categories.
13. We added as an experimental feature, the ability to search long descriptions on quote/invoice items and inventory when entering them on a quote, workorder or invoice. If you are interested in trying this out, please notify support through the feedback button or by emailing support@jobboxsoft.com.
14. We added in the '...' button in work order materials for long descriptions.

Bug Fixes

1. We have worked to fix the occasional issue of custom columns doubling up on the work order page.
2. We fixed an issue when a tax level was deleted that was linked to a customer. This caused an issue creating an invoice.
3. We fixed an issue on the quote list. When returning back to the quote list after having viewed a quote, the position was not kept. This should now be working.
4. Also on Quote Searches, the status that was currently selected was not underlined. It now should be.
5. Recurring work was not setting the proper custom column order when creating a work order. It now should be.
6. Previously, you could not clear a work order category on a recurring work once one was selected. This is now fixed.
7. Also on the work order categories, the dropdown list for this field was not respecting the sort order on the recurring work screen. It is now.
8. Occasionally pictures were being uploaded multiple times in the attachment screen if clicking ok multiple times. This has been mitigated.
9. There was a bug in job site columns. When the field was emptied, it was not removing the value. This is now fixed.
10. On Quotes, users were unable to see their own notes on quotes under certain circumstances.
11. There was an issue importing invoices based on quotes to QuickBooks.
    
12. There was glitch on displaying an ampersand (&) on quotes. This is now displaying properly.
13. We fixed an issue getting back to SB in the new mobile app after entering the scheduler.
14. We fixed an issue with users being kicked back to the login on the mobile app when a server exception occurred.
15. We fixed an issue with workorder links not working in the mobile device under specific circumstances.
16. We fixed a bug in the quote item export when there were many tax levels with long names.
17. We fixed an issue in the Accounting Connector related to the Invoice Note and Maintenance Note placement setting for QuickBooks Desktop.
18. We fixed an issue in Sage when viewing receipts in the Customer Aging report. The system was not allowing you to drill down to the receipt from this screen.