Welcome to our weekly check-in, where we dive into the latest changes, improvements, and upcoming releases on Syft Analytics.

Happy New Year to all our users! We hope you had a wonderful festive season and that you're feeling ready to tackle the upcoming year. This week, as we all settle into what it means to be five years away from the start of COVID-19 (can you believe it?), we are happy to introduce some highly anticipated updates and changes.

The latest updates to KPI Scorecards mean that you can drill down into the underlying transactions making up key metrics and magnify the details on Live View reports. Read on for all the details.

By clicking on any number in your KPI Scorecard, you can now see the transactions that made up that number, giving you in-depth insights into what's causing various outcomes.

For example, if you see that your Operating Expense Ratio has decreased since the previous period and want to know why, you can click on the number in your scorecard and find all the accounts that make up that number. To find out more, you can click on the arrow to the left of any account name to uncover all the relevant transactions and see what's really going on in that account.

This is useful because it gives you the specific details that are impacting your financials so that you know where to focus to improve outcomes in the future.

Alongside drill-down in KPI Scorecards, you are now also able to use Magnify for KPI Scorecards in Live View reports. As a reminder, Magnify is a tool that is activated if you hover over certain figures in a Live View report, which provides a transaction-level drill-down.

So, what this means is that if you include a KPI Scorecard in a Live View report, you'll be able to hover over the scorecard in the report and see a little pop-up box highlighting the underlying transactions for metrics in your scorecard - drill down in real-time!

We are happy to introduce a highly anticipated feature - the ability to compare actuals to budgets and forecasts on dashboards for Connections (your non-financial data) and KPI Scorecard cards.

Let's look at how this works.

You can now compare Connection and KPI Scorecard Dashboard cards with the corresponding budget or forecast data in Syft. How do you do this? Simply click on the cog icon at the right-hand side of the card and select "Compare." You will then see the option to compare to a forecast or budget.

If you have multiple forecasts or budgets, you be able to choose the specific forecast or budget in question, and voilà! You'll have a clear comparison within your Dashboard!

You’ve likely dedicated significant time to planning for the future with forecasts and budgets. However, it’s important to review these regularly and compare them to actual results to determine if your performance is on track or if you need to make any adjustments. By being able to make these comparisons in dashboard cards, you can quickly assess whether you are on track through a clear visual representation.

You may have noticed that we have a beautiful new sign-in screen to welcome you back to work, courtesy of our very talented Design team.

Other updates include the following:

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

The past week has seen a series of weird and wonderful news stories, from a runaway emu being chased across Lincolnshire by 4x4 vehicle drivers to a missing cat who was found after taking a 300-mile journey to Coventry. A Swedish minister's banana-phobia has led to him insisting that any hotel rooms he visits in the future must be declared free of all bananas prior to his stay. While we haven't seen quite as many peculiarities on Syft Analytics, you may have noticed a few changes - most noticeably to our settings menu. Let's take a look at what this entails.

To streamline your Syft experience, we've combined our old Settings and burger menus so all your settings reside in one place. Now, you can find everything you need in the new menu at the top left of your screen and gain complete oversight over users, connected entities, and more. Read on to learn more.

To open the menu, simply click on the arrow next to the icon with your initials. This will open a dialogue box showing all your user information, as well as quick links to helpful resources and support channels.

The first sub-section under Settings is My Account. Here, you can see the following:

You will see that all of this is nested under the "My account section" within "Settings." Let's look at what else you can find under Settings.

Next, you will find the details of the plans for each of your connected entities. You will be able to see:

You can toggle between different plans with the drop-down menu, and you can change the currency with the accompanying drop-down menu. To see a summary of your pricing, click on "View summary."

This is where you can manage your billing and ensure that you are on the plan that makes the most sense to your business. For more information on our new plans, please read our article here.

Under Preferences, you can reset your Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), toggle on support access, or lock your organization.

The Users tab is where you should go to add and manage your users. Here, you can choose between inviting new users one at a time or importing them in bulk via a spreadsheet. You will then get a clear overview of your organization's users, roles, entity access, and login method.

You can also add existing Syft users to your organization by clicking the "Add user to entity" button and then selecting the relevant entity.

The Roles tab empowers users with the Owner role to set up user permissions to help maintain data security and the principle of least privilege. Here, you can choose between various default roles or create your own custom role. The standard roles are as follows:

As always, if none of these roles meet your specific user's requirements, you can create a custom role by clicking on "Create a custom role." You will then need to name the role, give it a description, and choose the type of role—either Member or Guest.

Under the Oversight section, you can track users' activity and your connected entities. Let's examine each sub-section in turn.

Under Activity logs, you can see the activities of each of the users in your organization, except for guest users. This helps you to see how often your team members are logging into Syft, as well as what features they are using and when they are using them, helping create a clear audit trail of Syft usage.

In this sub-section, you can view all the entities in your organization alongside the users who can view them. This helps you to easily assess who has access to what, and if anything seems incorrect, you can amend it in the Roles section.

At Syft, we know that form can be just as important as function. It's all good and well to have a report with all the necessary data, but you also want it to look professional. That's why in our Appearance section, you can change the branding and style of your reports and add a profile picture to your account.

Under Logos, you can add an organization logo and a client logo to ensure your reports are branded appropriately.

In this sub-section, you can create styles for your reports, including a beautifully designed cover page, customized front and back pages, and headers and footers.

In this sub-section, you can choose an icon to set as your avatar on Syft. Or, if you'd prefer a colored block, you can select from several gradients.

Now that we've navigated through all the main sections of this dialogue box, there's one more choice for you to make - light mode or dark mode. Light mode is the default setting. However, if you're like me, you'll love dark mode. If you've never given it a try, now's your chance. Simply click "Dark mode" to experience the beauty of a navy Syft setup and give your eyes some glare protection.

Of course, we always hate to see you go, but we know you can't spend all your time on Syft, nor should you. When you decide it's enough work for the day and you're ready for some much-needed me-time, family time, shut-eye, frisbee, or whatever it may be, just click the logout button. But don't forget, you'll need your email, password, and mobile device with 2FA installed to log back in next time!

From 20 November, there will be some exciting changes to our plan structure for all customers on Per Entity pricing. Our new pricing structure will provide ultimate flexibility that’ll add even more value to your subscription. Read on for all the details.

Don’t worry. The changes will require no immediate action from your side. Plus, you’ll now be able to select a combination of plans for each of your connected entities so that each entity has the plan that best suits its unique needs. Let’s break down exactly what this entails.

We’ll also no longer be selling Add-Ons, such as the Review Tool or Spreadsheet Link, as standalone products. Instead, these features will be spread across various plans, providing you with more value straight out the box.

All customers on our Per Entity plans will now have access to the full functionality of the Spreadsheet Link feature alongside varying levels of access to Syft Assist AI, Syft’s AI insights generator. Customers on Plus and Advanced will have access to the Financial Statements and Review Add-Ons.

Data syncs with your underlying data source are now bundled into various plans. Data refreshes will work as follows:

The best news for current users? There will be no change to existing Per Entity pricing. We will just add more value to your subscription going forward by including Add-Ons, Segments and Consolidations. We’ll amend your billing so that you have a mix of plans with added functionality and pay no more than your current price.

We’ll be retiring the Scale plan, but don’t panic. You won’t lose any functionality as a Scale customer. If you are on this plan, you will simply move to the Advanced with the exact same features and functionality – at a lower price point.

For more information, visit our Pricing page here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your account manager.

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

Some additional changes that have been implemented this week that you may want to be aware of include the following:

If you have any queries regarding these updates, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

We have launched a brand-new background for your log-in screen in preparation for Thanksgiving! Our design team also included a little easter egg for you to enjoy - keep your eyes peeled for the springbok hiding in plain sight and let us know if you found it.

This week, many of us are getting all dressed up to haunt the halls of our workplaces as ghosts or grizzly Frankenstein monsters. For many people, Halloween is taken for granted, but did you know that this year marks the first year since 1938 that the children of Des Moines, Iowa, will go trick-or-treating? In an attempt to decrease hooliganism in the streets of Des Moines, the city introduced Beggars' Night on the day before Halloween. For Beggars' Night, children must tell a joke to receive a treat. But this year, the expectation of heavy rain and thunderstorms led the city to move Beggars' Night a day later, coinciding with Halloween.

Whether you're a long-time fan of the spooky night or a newcomer like the kids of Des Moines, you want to feel safe on the streets. In accordance with this, we've introduced some great safety features across Syft, and rather than any tricks, we've got a whole pumpkin patch full of treats.

We've enforced multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all Syft users to ensure your data is as secure as possible. The extra layer of security means that it is far more difficult for unauthorized users to access your information.

To use MFA on your Syft account, you will need to install an authenticator app either Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or Authy) on your mobile phone and then connect it to Syft by scanning the barcode. The access code the app provides will change every 30 seconds, so be sure to input it quickly!

To reset your MFA, simply navigate to Settings > My Account > Preferences and click the "Reset" button to the right of User Security.

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

This week has been filled with some weird news stories, from New Zealand's Dunedin airport implementing a three-minute time limit on hugs in the drop-off zone to a British chestnut-conking champion being exonerated of allegations of cheating to my personal favorite - German police busting a pizzeria for delivering a side of cocaine when customers ordered menu item number 40. While our updates might not be quite as strange, they're certainly as varied, with improvements to Layouts, Dashboards, Cash Manager, and more.

Without further ado, let's dive into this week's updates and changes.

Tired of making changes in your underlying accounting software and not seeing these reflected in your report layouts on Syft? No worries. We've heard your frustration and found a way to remove it! With our latest updates to Layouts, you can see the changes you've made on your underlying software on Syft, saving you a lot of time and hassle.

You can now sync your Syft layouts to your underlying accounting provider as the source of truth. In other words, any changes made in Xero or QuickBooks Online, for example, will show up in Syft when your data refreshes—easy as pie.

You now have the option to choose how your layouts sync. Syft can sync any of the following from your underlying provider:

The choice is yours.

Syncing classifications may also move accounts around so that they are placed in appropriate categories according to the account types in your underlying accounting provider. So, bear this in mind when you make your selection.

Effortlessly monitor key transactions across your Profit & Loss (P&L) and Balance Sheet accounts with Transaction List cards on Dashboards.

Meet Transaction List cards on dashboards - a new way to view granular detail at a glance. This feature allows you to effortlessly monitor key transactions across your Profit & Loss (P&L) and Balance Sheet accounts. Plus, we've added the ability to drill down into transactions across accounts on your dashboard.

Thanks to the Transaction List card, you can now clearly see the largest transactions taking place in your most important accounts, ordered from largest to smallest for your convenience.

What's more, you can now drill down to the daily transaction level on all cards. Just click on the line or bar in your graph, and voilà!

When you add a new card to your dashboard, you'll see that you have the option to 💡select "Transaction List" as your source type. If you select Transaction List, you will then be prompted to select P&L and Balance Sheet accounts, and you can choose from totals in each statement. This will then generate a miniature version of the transaction list, showing you exactly what makes up the account.

You can also select an entire category to pull through all the underlying transactions for that category.

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

But wait, there's more. At a company that prides itself on continuous innovation, there's always more to the deploy notes than the big shiny updates. Every small change makes a difference, after all. So, let's take a look at some of the smaller changes implemented this week.

Our Cash Manager tool is fresh off the press, but that doesn't mean it's staying as is. Like a bestselling novel, there are new editions coming out all the time. Our latest updates include significant improvements to the AI predictions for bills and payments to give you the most reliable predictions for future cash out.

In Consolidations, the structure view is now visible on the Options menu on every report.

In our latest episode of Beyond Insights, we spoke to Pravashni Naidoo, CA (SA), about her research into digitalization and its impact on the accounting profession. You can find it on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your podcasts!

Written by Nikhita Vallabh

This week has been a remarkable one for classical music lovers with the discovery of a previously unknown composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, adding to the timeless legacy of one of history's most celebrated composers. Just as the world of music continues to surprise and evolve, so does Syft, bringing you our latest updates that push the boundaries of innovation. With these new features, we've composed something extraordinary for you to discover. 🎵

We’ve made key adjustments to the side menu for an even more intuitive experience. The "Visualize" section has been revamped to make finding dashboards and KPIs easier than ever.

We’ve taken KPI visualization to the next level! Now, KPI graphs within "Visualize" are powered by KPI Scorecards, giving you the ability to visualize custom metrics from any of your existing scorecards. This update allows for a more detailed and flexible approach to understanding your data.

In addition, KPI Scorecards have replaced traditional KPIs in the "Budget" and "4-Way Forecast" features. This means you can now select custom metrics to budget or forecast, directly from your KPI Scorecards, for a more tailored financial planning experience.

The trial balance report now follows a default layout to streamline your workflow. This update brings consistency and ease, ensuring your data looks clean and organized across the board.

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

We’re excited to announce that Build P&Ls, Build Balance Sheets and Build Ledgers now come with the capability to handle cell equations, bringing Excel-like power to your workflows! You can add, subtract and perform various calculations across any column and row, unlocking a new level of customization and data analysis for Syft users.

Simply click "Add columns" within a Build report, choose the "Cell equations" option and start calculating with ease!

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

This week, the UK made headlines by closing its last coal power station, taking a bold step as a pioneer in the global transition to renewable energy. While Britain has historically played a role in the introduction of coal, it's now leading the charge to phase it out - showing progress in the journey towards a sustainable future. At Syft, we echo this trailblazing spirit by continually enhancing our products to empower you and your business with these new updates!

We’re excited to roll out our HubSpot integration, now live for customers to seamlessly track CRM data within Syft. For each HubSpot deal pipeline, you can now access key metrics such as "Contacts created", "Deals won" and "Meetings completed".

Each deal pipeline will receive a dedicated Connections page on Syft, with metrics displayed for optimized tracking. The number of pipelines available will depend on your HubSpot pricing plan.

Connecting your HubSpot account is easy and straightforward. Once authenticated through HubSpot’s login page, users will be automatically redirected back to the Connections page, where HubSpot data integrates seamlessly with Syft. Learn more about how to connect HubSpot to Syft here.

We're thrilled to introduce a powerful new feature for Dashboards - drill down! You can now click directly on any dashboard card to dive deeper into the data. For instance, when viewing a monthly graph, a simple click will take you straight to a detailed daily view, allowing for more granular insights at your fingertips.

This drill-down functionality is fully interactive while viewing dashboards or embedded/shared versions.

Introducing an exciting new feature - Syft Assist AI is now available directly on your dashboard cards! Now, each dashboard card has a sleek AI icon at the bottom. Click the icon and a swipe-up panel will reveal tailored, intelligent insights specific to that card, giving you more targeted and valuable information at a glance.

Cash Manager just got another upgrade! Now supporting new download options to give you even more control over your financial data:

We’ve also made significant performance and usability improvements:

And with Syft Assist AI ready to provide insights and summaries at the click of a button, you’re equipped with even more data-driven power. Click the AI icon at the top right of the "Overview" tab to generate instant, intelligent insights.

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

We're streamlining trial balance uploads using Spreadsheet Link in Excel or Google Sheets and removing manual uploads. No more manual work slowing you down - Spreadsheet Link ensures your data flows seamlessly, keeping everything accurate and up-to-date.

Get into the Halloween spirit with our new login animations! Each time you log in, enjoy an intriguing surprise that brings a touch of Halloween magic to your experience.

As Google DeepMind’s AlphaChip transformed computer chip design using advanced AI models this past week, we’re bringing the same level of innovation to Syft. Just like AlphaChip streamlined chip design, we’ve streamlined your financial insights and analytics with these powerful updates!

We’ve given the report table a sleek upgrade, making it easier to use and a whole lot better to look at! Here's what’s new:

Exciting news - users can now send Syft reports directly to WhatsApp, Slack and Microsoft Teams. This streamlined sharing feature makes it easier than ever to distribute insights and updates to your team, all from one place.

New enhancements are here for your dashboard! Dashboard cards now feature the ability to compare to Prior, Prior Last Year or None, depending on the selected period type. You can easily adjust this setting through the menu in the top right of each card, offering more flexibility in your comparisons.

The following cards now come with the compare-to options of Prior Last Year and None:

We've revamped the Review section to enhance your navigation experience! Reports within Review have been thoughtfully rearranged, making it easier for you to find exactly what you need with greater efficiency. Enjoy a smoother journey through your insights!

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

While space explorers were safely splashing down from the Polaris Dawn mission and world leaders united to shape a brighter future at the UN, we’ve been adding our own touch of innovation to Syft. This week’s updates will help your insights soar to new heights - without ever leaving the ground! 🌍

The latest and greatest version of Cash Manager is here! It has not only had a makeover but is packed with powerful new features:

Need the previous version of Cash Manager? You can still access it under "Options" > "Entity" > "Old Features". Stay tuned for permissioning details and for what's coming next.

Transaction list entities just got a power boost! We’ve completely reimagined how transactions are managed in transaction list entities, delivering significant improvements to enhance performance, scalability and flexibility. Here's what’s new:

The benefits:

Users can now report any WorkBase that they find misleading, contains inappropriate content or represents a business inaccurately. Simply click on the “Report” link located in the footer of the WorkBase, and an email alert will be sent to our team, prompting an investigation. We’ve made it easier than ever to keep the platform respectful for everyone.

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

Our team has gone all out this time, bringing you an interactive pre-login page! We won't disclose too much as we want you to discover the magic.

It's Friday the 13th, but no bad luck here—just thrilling new features and fang-tastic updates! 🎃

You can now quickly rename your reports with just a click—hit the pencil icon, and you're set! Stay organized with a fresh look as the report builder is now automatically color-coordinated based on their sidebar icons. On top of that, we've enhanced report error tracking - no more guessing! If a download error occurs, the system will now pinpoint which specific report caused the issue, giving you clarity and saving time.

Multi-assigned anomalies just got smarter! They now use the "default account" from Xero for a contact as the expected account, making your anomaly tracking even more intuitive.

Users now have even more control over their WorkBases! You can delete your WorkBase directly from the bottom of the "Setup and styling" page, streamlining your customization experience. Additionally, adding videos just got easier—simply use a link instead of uploading a file, making media integration faster and smoother.

Here are a few other easter egg enhancements that we've made to Personal WorkBases:

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

We’re constantly enhancing Syft to make it even more powerful and user-friendly. Here are the latest updates.

We’re rolling out some exciting updates to Anomalies based on your feedback:

These updates are all about giving you more power and flexibility in identifying and resolving anomalies!

The retained earnings calculation for trial balance entities has been reverted to its previous state, ensuring more accurate reporting!

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

Experience the vibrant welcome of Africa with our brand new login animations! Get ready to be greeted by the stunning landscapes and wildlife as you sign in to Syft.

We’re constantly enhancing Syft to make it even more powerful and user-friendly. Here are the latest updates.

We've made your personal WorkBase even better! In the Skills section, popular skills and technologies now come with beautiful logos, making your expertise stand out effortlessly.

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

Syft has been selected as a Featured app on the Xero App Store for the month of September! 🚀 The Featured apps collection is a curated selection of apps that are providing great experiences for Xero's customers.

In this week's new episode of the Syft Analytics podcast "Beyond Insights" we talk to Bryan Cowie, Head of Finance at Elliptic. We dive into the importance of securing your cryptocurrency transactions, how to ensure you are secure on the blockchain and what Byron has learned in his time as Head of Finance for one of the world's largest crypto verifiers!

We’re constantly enhancing Syft to make it even more powerful and user-friendly. Here are the latest updates.

You now have the flexibility to configure your dashboard animations to play on repeat! Plus, you can toggle this setting on or off for each of your embeds, giving you full control over your dashboard's visual flair.

We’ve introduced a new column type within your Builds called "Templates". You can choose from three versatile templates to supercharge your financial analysis:

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

We have updated articles within the Syft Analytics Knowledge Center to keep you informed and equipped to create the best reports for your business or clients.

We’re constantly enhancing Syft to make it even more powerful and user-friendly. Here are the latest updates.

A new version of shared dashboards is here! The new version includes a static header and footer and let's you know whether or not the dashboard is rolling. Our new shared dashboards also shows you that your data is live and linked to Syft.

On top of that, we've also made it easier to create new dashboards and manage existing dashboards.

The Anomalies features you know and love have received a visual upgrade, making them easier on the eyes while still delivering the critical insights you need. But that’s not all...

You can now "Select all" within any divisional selectors on Syft. Even better you can "Select all" within a location, code or class! This new feature will help save you time when analyzing your report per specific division.

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

We’re constantly enhancing Syft to make it even more powerful and user-friendly. Here are the latest updates.

We’re excited to introduce Personal WorkBases, giving you more flexibility to create and manage your own profile with ease! Simply select the option "Add personal WorkBase (Digital CV)" at the bottom of the WorkBase hamburger menu.

The setup and flow are similar to Business WorkBases, so you’ll feel right at home. Once you’ve customized everything to your liking, don’t forget to hit "Publish WorkBase" and bring your Personal WorkBase to life!

We’ve added some exciting new capabilities to KPI Scorecards, designed to make your experience even more powerful and insightful.

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

We’re thrilled to bring you a powerful new feature that’s all about getting insights faster. You can now access our lightweight benchmarking tool even before logging in! Head over to our benchmarking tool to start comparing key metrics and gaining valuable insights in no time. It’s quick, easy and available right at your fingertips.

We’re constantly enhancing Syft to make it even more powerful and user-friendly. Here are the latest updates.

Our WorkBase Knowledge Center is now hooked up to our home page via the footer for quick access. Discover a treasure trove of guides, tips and support articles to help you make the best WorkBase for your business. Dive in and get the answers you need with ease.

Downloading PDFs from a Live View now comes with a loading state 🔃. This enhancement ensures a smoother and more informative experience, letting you know your download is in progress.

Users can now exclude the front page from their report packs within Styles, giving you more control over your document presentation. Tailor your reports to your exact needs and preferences.

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

Stay in the loop with other exciting updates and tidbits regarding everything Syft! Here’s what else is happening:

We heard you, and we've taken action. Our team has taken all of your questions about KPI Scorecards and created an in-depth guide for your convenience. Everything you need to know about KPI Scorecards can be found here.

We’re constantly enhancing Syft to make it even more powerful and user-friendly. Here are the latest updates.

We've introduced KPI Scorecards to help you navigate between financial health, sales health and KPIs. It is a single place to create and track criteria instead of having to duplicate it in both health scorecards and KPIs. Here are some key functionalities this feature includes:

Here's what we've improved under the hood:

Stay in the loop with other exciting updates and tidbits regarding everything Syft! Here’s what else is happening:

Thank you for being a valued part of our community. Stay tuned for more updates!