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

We can hardly believe we're half-way through the year already! In China, many have just celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival, a celebration that commemorates Qu Yuan, the beloved prime minister of Chu from the Warring States period, thousands of years ago. The holiday combines prayers for good luck with respite from the summer heat, incorporating dragon boat races and sticky rice dumplings known as zongzi.

In recognition of this holiday, we introduced a beautiful new login screen, which you can see below. Now, whether you celebrate or not, you can embrace the festivities of the dragon boats and perhaps give some rice dumplings a try!

There have been so many exciting updates and changes made to Syft Analytics this month. Let's journey down the stream in a dragon boat to see exactly what has been added.

Oversight has some additional functionality for you to take advantage of - helping you to build the view that makes most sense to you. If you watch our Quarterly Update Webinar, you should be familiar with the ability to add new columns.

Since the webinar, we've added new options. You can now add the following column types:

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

Report data:

Integrations:

Dashboards:

Cash Manager:

Budgets and Forecasts:

Consolidations:

Oversight:

Acces:

We're committed to continuously improving our product to help you achieve your financial goals. We hope these enhancements further empower your decision-making and streamline your workflows!

As April turns a leaf into May, we are confronted with a more official shift in seasons and, with it, a change in focus. Our focus this month so far has been on presenting you with a clearer picture of your connected entities with our revamped Oversight tool. Let's explore what this means, along with some of the other recent updates and changes made to Syft.

Managing outstanding invoices and prioritizing urgent payments can feel like a constant uphill battle, eating into valuable time and energy. We get it – no one lives for the task of chasing payments. Plus, keeping on top of your bills without causing cash flow shortages isn't always easy. But what if cash management didn't have to be so difficult?

Our engineers have introduced powerful new updates to Cash Manager that will transform how you handle receivables and payables. Now, you can send reminders to customers with unpaid invoices effortlessly, streamlining your follow-up process and improving your cash inflow. On the flip side, we've launched Cash Flow Assist to give you an immediate, clear overview of your upcoming bills, helping you identify and prioritize urgent payments with ease - without leaving your cash flow in the red.

Let's explore how this works.

In the Cash In section of Cash Manager, you can send once-off reminders to customers or clients who haven't paid their invoices. You can set these up to send immediately or in 12 hours' time.

To get started, simply click on the bell icon next to the customer's name under the Due column to create the reminder email. If you'd like to schedule the email to send in 12 hours' time, click on the drop-down arrow next to "Send now" and select "Send 12 hours from now."

You can send reminder emails to up to eight customers, with the option to CC different email addresses.

If you hover over the bell icon in the Due tab, you will be able to see if any reminder emails have been sent. If an email has been scheduled, the bell icon will change to a light blue color. Once the email has sent, the bell will become dark blue.

This is really useful for following up on outstanding invoices, helping you to avoid cash flow crunches in the future.

In Cash Out, you can use Cash Flow Assist to filter your bills according to those that you should prioritize paying. If you hover over the stars icon, Cash Flow Assist will give you a suggestion to improve your cash flow. For example, it might tell you that the bill you are looking at is one of your largest bills and you should pay it as soon as possible to avoid penalties and interest.

We've changed "expected date" to "due date" to help you stay on top of your upcoming bills. Moreover, you can now choose to increase/decrease the date on which you'll pay the bill based on the due date. You can also make adjustments to an invoice or bill that then apply to all invoices and bills related to that contact.

Most excitingly, cash flow suggestions have been added to the bills table to help you stay on top of your biggest and most pressing bills. There are 3 types of cash flow suggestions:

It's never been easier to pay bills at the time that makes most sense in terms of your cash flow management.

The dashboard is one of Syft's most popular features because it gives you the ability to quickly and easily create a clear, visual overview of your business's performance. With the ability to add metrics from across Syft, dashboards are super powerful. And now, you can choose to display data for multiple periods in a single card so as to easily identify trends and seasonality. Let's take a look at how this works.

If you click on the cog icon in the right-hand corner of a card within your dashboard, you'll see you have the option to change the period displayed for that card. If you click the drop-down arrow next to "Change period," you can choose to display any number of periods from 1 to 24 within that single card. This is great for making comparisons across a specific metric over time.

This feature is simple, yet powerful. Here are a few ways you can use it to your advantage:

If you're in marketing or sales, you're probably familiar with Mailchimp. Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing and marketing automation softwares, which helps you manage and communicate with your clients, customers, and prospects.

Keeping track of who's receiving, reading, and clicking on links in your emails is useful as this lets you see which campaigns are working well and which could be improved. Now, you can take this analysis a step further by pulling Mailchimp data into Syft to visualize, analyze, and report on.

Let's explore how you can connect your Mailchimp account and what this will empower you to do.

If you're new to Connections, don't fret. They're easy to add to your Syft account and give you lots of actionable insights. To get started, simply click on Connections under the Configure section of the left menu bar. From there, click on "Connect data" and scroll down to Mailchimp.

Once you've connected your Mailchimp account, Syft will generate a Totals tab displaying various audience and campaign metrics from Mailchimp.

Syft imports multiple data points from Mailchimp that help you to see active audience members, i.e. people who are reading your emails and interacting with them, and campaign metrics such as click rates, open rates, and bounce rates. The available fields include the following:

Focusing on unique email opens provides you with a more accurate and insightful view of email campaign engagement than traditional open rates. Because it narrows the focus to unique opens, this data point gives you a more realistic measure of your audience's engagement, which can help you better understand which campaigns resonate with your audience as well as pinpointing potential issues with the deliverability of your mail.

Plus, knowing how many unique opens you have can help you to segment your audience based on their level of engagement so that you can more effectively target campaigns at particular customer groups.

​If you're wondering why your active audience unique opens and unique clicks are the same as the campaign metrics for each month, this behavior is expected, unless you have deleted certain audiences or contacts.

Once you've connected your Mailchimp account, you can begin narrowing in on the data that's most important to you. Here are a few ways you can utilize this data in Syft:

What's more, you can compile all these reports, graphs, and analytics in a collaborative Live View report that updates in real-time. Or, if you prefer, you can include this data in an Excel, Word, or PDF report pack, which you can share with stakeholders, team members, investors or clients.

Keep tabs on the important metrics in your organization using one of three set views:

Add new columns to Oversight by clicking on the "+" icon. You can then choose from the following options:

Alternatively, if none of these views suits your needs you can create your own custom Oversight view.

To create a new view, click "+ Add view." You can then choose between:

The prebuilt templates are:

Once you've decided on a template, click "Use template," and you're good to go!

To create your own bespoke view, click "+ Add view" and then "Start from scratch." Next, select information from:

You can then specify if you would like to include decimal points and, if so, how many points.

Looking for custom views after you've created them? No stress. You can find them by clicking on the "..." button to the right-hand side of your other views at the top of the screen.

Choose to view your data for any of the following:

Oversight is packed with powerful tools, but keeping track of everything can be tricky. So, I thought I'd highlight a few important things that may not be immediately obvious:

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

As we approach the Easter Weekend, preparing for time with family and the hiding of many a delicious chocolate egg, I thought I'd take the time to look at some of the delicious treats nesting on Syft, which you may have missed.

You may have noticed that our new Easter and spring-time login page is now live! It's a great way to welcome you into Syft for the day.

And, once you're all set up, you may notice some exciting changes to your dashboard. Let's see what these are.

We’re excited to introduce a powerful new addition to your dashboard: profitability graphs. Dashboards already empower you to visualize a ton of insights, from KPIs to cash flow and customer trends, and now, you can complete the picture of your business with profitability metrics.

This new feature helps you to quickly understand where your business is thriving and where there’s room for improvement. With everything in one place, it’s easier than ever to make informed decisions and stay focused on sustainable growth.

When building out your dashboard, you can now add cards including metrics from the Profitability sub-tab under Visualize. Profitability is one of our most popular features under Visualize, so adding it to the Dashboard makes perfect sense.

These metrics paint the picture of your profitability - from the largest drivers of revenue to the biggest expenses, helping you to make data-driven decisions to improve your performance.

Once you've selected a metric to add to your card, you'll have the option to click on a bar or point within the graph to drill down into the underlying details. And there are layers of drill-down functionality for you to uncover!

For example, if you are viewing your dashboard from a monthly perspective over six months and you select the bar that represents a specific month, you can zoom into the daily transactions that led to that monthly result. And, if you click on the bar representing a particular day, you will open a table that shows the individual transactions for that day.

This means that you can see exactly what transactions have led to the outcomes represented on the graph - on a monthly and daily view.

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

That's it for this week! Wishing you all a wonderful Easter Weekend!

The second season of the Apple TV series, Severance, has taken the world by storm, inspiring a legendary IKEA advert for work that is "mysterious and important" and leading to researchers to interview employees about whether they would consider getting "severed" (having their memories of work and life outside of work separated) if the procedure were available in real life. Despite the dystopian nature of the show and all the potential ethical implications of this process, many of those surveyed actually said yes! As for us at Syft Analytics, we are certainly onboard with a holistic approach to lived experience - combining the joys of pop culture with our latest feature releases.

Here's the IKEA advert, in case you were curious:

We have a lot of exciting new features in the pipeline, but to make way for these, we needed to fix some existing issues. Read on for the latest fixes and we'll see you again next week, after more work that is certainly mysterious and important!

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

Until next week, enjoy these updates and maybe take some time to think about what work-life balance means to you!.

Acclaimed HBO TV series, The White Lotus, is having a noticeable impact on every country in which it is filmed. Thailand is already beginning to see an upsurge in tourism following the release of the first few episodes of Season 3 and other countries are sure to take notice of this potential form of advertisement. Just as the cash comes pouring into Thailand, the new features are pouring into Cash Manager, Dashboards, and beyond! Let's take a look at what's been added to Syft in the past week.

When you're running a business, you don't often have time to do much aside from focusing on daily operations. However, keeping track of your performance and cash flow is critical to staying afloat.

Meet Syft Send: a quick and easy way to access daily, weekly, or monthly summaries of vital data without having to dig through the data. With this new AI-powered tool, you can keep tabs on these essential metrics and receive alerts about uncommonly large transactions, abnormally high numbers of transactions, or unusually high-value transactions in the palm of your hand.

Read on to find out how this works.

Your days are busy, filled with far too many tasks. You don't always have the time to log into Syft and check your various reports. With Syft Send, you don't need to do this. To get a daily report of your sales, bank balance, and cash flow projections, simply open Syft Send and leverage the power of AI to summarize these key metrics. Syft will then send them to your email, WhatsApp, Slack, or MS Teams account every day so you don't miss a thing.

Daily too much for you? Perhaps you'd like a weekly summary. Use Syft Send to generate a weekly email or message on any of the apps mentioned above which summarizes metrics such as:

And, if you'd like a monthly summary, you can set one for this too. The metrics you can send in the monthly summary include the following:

When you're ready, click "Trigger Report."

In addition to automatic summaries, you can also use Syft send to set up alerts that track:

This is useful as it empowers you to quickly act when your bank balance is concerningly low or when there are anomalous transactions that you may wish to investigate.

To edit an alert, click on the pencil icon and then choose the relevant details to alter. Remember to click "Save" when you're happy with the information provided.

To open Syft Send, click on the airplane arrow at the right of your screen. Then, click on "Get started." From here, you can choose the type of summary or alert you'd like to set up, which reports to include and who should receive these reports.

You can now bring the activity metrics to customer cards in Dashboards, complete with all the functionality you know and love. You can:

Understanding your customers' activity is critical when it comes to determining areas to improve customer satisfaction, retention, and acquisition. But keeping track of these metrics can be tricky. Luckily for you, we've just added the ability to track these metrics in your Dashboard so that you always know what your customers have been up to.

Syft's Customer section provides a comprehensive overview of customer interactions, revenue generation, and payment information. This data is essential for making informed decisions about sales growth, customer acquisition, and customer satisfaction, as well as managing cash recovery.

The Customer Activity subsection provides you with a different view of your customers, removing itself from the currency value of transactions and instead representing the number of interactions you have within your organization. It focuses on three key customer data points, namely:

Now, you are able to add this customer activity data to your Dashboard just as you would other customer metrics, meaning that these metrics are right at your fingertips.

Simply click "Add card," select "Customers," and scroll down until you reach "Activity." Here, you will see all your customer activity metrics, including:

These metrics are valuable to keep on hand as they allow you to see where your sales and marketing efforts may be making an impact, where customer service or product quality may need to be improved for greater customer retention, and where you may want to find ways to keep customers coming back for more. It's also useful to know if there are certain customers whose business you have become reliant on so that you do not run into issues if they suddenly stop buying from you.

As with other Dashboard cards, you can represent this data in the way that suits you best. You can choose the graph type, change the graph colors, navigate to the data source, duplicate the cards and change the time period for better comparisons, and drill down into transaction level detail to see the invoices behind each bar on your graph.

Connections has had a UI overhaul, making it easier for you to navigate this powerful feature.

Recently, scientists trying to bring back the extinct woolly mammoth created a woolly mouse instead. Just like scientists are reviving extinct species, the Syft team has revitalized the dashboard with new features that bring fresh life to how users interact with data. Let's take a look at the latest improvements made to Syft this week.

Dashboards have been through a lot of changes in recent months, from the ability to add Cash Manager graphs to being able to compare to budgets and forecasts. Our latest change is something you can't miss - a new way to add and edit cards. Let's unpack this change.

To add a card, you will do the obvious thing - click "Add card." You can then choose the relevant entity from the drop-down menu and select the category of card. The categories include:

Once you've chosen from these categories, a new menu will appear. For instance, if you have multiple scorecards, you can select the one you would like to showcase, or if you select Customers, you will be prompted to select a specific metric such as Customer Sales or Growth in Customer Sales. You can then add the card to your dashboard. As easy as that.

Syft will also move you to the newly added card so you can see exactly where it is.

To edit a card, click on the cog icon in the right corner of the card. This will open a neat strip menu where you can alter any of the following:

There's also an extended menu which you can open by clicking on the ellipsis (...). In this menu, you can:

It's sleek and intuitive, with all the same options as before.

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

As we reach the end of February, there have been a number of strange stories in the news. In Florida, a woman was arrested for vandalizing the wrong car - she'd thought it was her ex-boyfriend's car she was spray-painting but it turns out it was his neighbor. "Puppy mountain," a mountain-face along the Yangtze River in China, has transformed into a tourist destination following a popular social media post, and the bizarre trial of the expertly burgled $6m gold toilet began in the UK...

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

At Syft, no features have been vandalized or stolen - only beautifully enhanced. And, while our features aren't quite puppy-shaped, we do have some great improvements to usability to share with you. Let's get to it.

In case you haven't tried it before, Cash Manager is a powerful feature for short-term cash flow forecasting. Cash Manager uses the power of AI to provide you with a real-time, detailed view of your short-term cash position and financial performance by using historic data from your accounting provider.

Our latest update means that you can get a clear view of your cash transactions according to customer or supplier. Let's have a look at how it works.

Once in this table view, you can hone in on specific customers or suppliers to see how transactions with them are affecting your cash flow.

We love this feature because it enables you to access another view of your cash, focusing on contacts. This means you can zero in on specific customers or suppliers and assess who you may need to contact to ask for invoices to be paid or repayment terms to be extended.

You can now add your KPI Scorecard metrics to AI commentary in Reports. When building a report template, simply click on Summary > AI Templates and you will see that you have the option to add your KPI Scorecards directly into the commentary to draw attention to these key metrics upfront.

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

We've also made a host of improvements to KPI Scorecards, the Data Quality tools, budget comparisons in dashboards, and issues with Connections and the date selectors for cash out graphs.

Happy Valentine's Day! Whether you're getting ready for an evening of feasting and frolicking beneath the stars, ready to cosy up and watch a movie while munching on chocolates, or are just enjoying an excuse to dress up in red and pink, there's something to be said for the festivities of this red rose affair. We, at Syft, are certainly not immune.

On this day of love, we have some beautiful new features and enhancements to existing features for you to enjoy. From an improved way to measure your data quality to several quality of life improvements across the software, there's a little treat for everyone to enjoy this Valentine's Day. Let's dive in!

Review the quality of your data before you begin analyzing or reporting on it. Keep tabs on anomalies and check the progress of your review.

Before you start analyzing or reporting on your data, you need to be sure that you're working with good quality data. With the new Data Quality dashboard, you can do just that. From a clearer way to identify anomalies in your data to a progress bar that tracks the review process, we've got you covered. Let's dive into the latest updates.

The Review tab has been around for some time. However, we've recently made some changes to its component parts to make it more intuitive to use. The latest update is to the Data Quality sub-tab, the first place you visit in Review.

Previously, you could access health reports for data and anomalies separately. However, these have now been combined to streamline the process and eliminate any redundancies.

At the top of the screen, you will see header cards. By default, these cards will be blank. However you can edit them to highlight specific accounts or transactions to which you may want to pay closer attention. You can also pin any card you want to see to the top or remove irrelevant cards.

By default, you'll see the following columns in the table:

However, you can also add a column for importance to rank any of those items as less or more important. And you can add a column for people to allocate certain team members to those items.

One of the greatest new additions to the Data Quality tab is the ability to track your progress with the Progress column. Here, you can see what percentage of anomalies or data issues have been reviewed and it changes from red to orange to green to visually show your progress.

What else can you do in Data Quality? Here are a few tips and tricks:

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

Have you seen the great movie Don't Look Up? If you haven't, it's a 2021 satirical treat that follows the tale of two low-level astronomers who try to warn an incredibly stubborn human race that a comet is on its way to planet Earth. While this may seem like a farfetched idea, it's a lot closer to home than you might think.

NASA recently concluded its analysis of the orbit of an asteroid finding it has a more than 1% chance of impacting Earth in 2032. The good news? We have a way to defend ourselves. Meet the Double Asteroid Redirection test (DART for short). This neat piece of equipment can send out a satellite to redirect hostile missiles. Pretty cool, right?

Anyhow, now that we can rest assured that an asteroid shouldn't be colliding with our beloved home planet, let's look at some more earthly news... This week on our very own Earth-bound software, we've made some exciting updates to help you keep tabs on your cash management - and more.

Cash Manager has come to Dashboards! Add Cash Manager data to your dashboard to stay on top of your cash in- and outflows

Every decision you make relies on a clear understanding of your business’s financial health. That’s why having real-time cash flow insights at your fingertips is essential. With the latest update to Dashboards, you can now track Cash Manager data alongside other key metrics, giving you a more complete picture of your financial position.

Let’s explore how this can help you stay in control and make smarter decisions with this new functionality.

If you're unfamiliar with Cash Manager, this is Syft's AI-powered tool for short-term cash flow projections. Cash Manager provides you with a detailed, real-time overview of your short-term cash flow position and financial performance based on data pulling through from your accounting software.

Now, you can connect data from Cash Manager to your dashboard to keep track of this information alongside other key metrics.

Navigate to Visualize > Dashboard and click "Add card." You can then select the relevant entity and choose Cash Manager. Lastly, you can select which card to show, choosing between the following:

Then click "Create" and voilà - you have a new dashboard card!

Now that we've covered the basics of this new feature, let's look at some of the powerful functionality you have:

And, as with other Dashboard cards, you can hover over the graph to magnify the details.

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

This week, many people around the world celebrated the Lunar New Year, welcoming in the Year of the Snake. The snake represents calmness and introspection, qualities that help us make wise and graceful decisions. From all of us at Syft, we hope you have a fantastic Year of the Snake, embracing the wisdom, intuition, and problem-solving skills associated with this elegant reptile.

On our side, this week has focused predominantly on enhancements to existing features. However, we have many new features in the pipeline, so hang tight for February!

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

Until next week, stay well and keep tracking the metrics that mean most to you and your organization.

This week a Chinese fitness influencer broke the Guinness World Record for the most pull-ups completed in one minute - 44! A woman in Virginia, USA, won a major lottery prize for the second time, and a British woman geared up in a polar bear costume to run a marathon in Norway and break a world record to boot!

While we haven't been breaking sporting records, it's been a pretty productive week at Syft Analytics too. We've had some guests here from various Xero teams abroad and, while setting up new laptops and systems, we've also implemented some exciting changes on Syft. Let's dive in.

Cash is the lifeblood of any business. That's why we have invested so much time and thought into our Cash Manager tool. Over the past few months, we've overhauled Cash Manager to improve your short and long term cash flow forecasting capabilities. And this week, we are proud to introduce a host of other enhancements to make managing cash a simpler and more integrated experience.

Our latest updates give you the ability to integrate the Cash Manager calendar view with your favorite calendar tools. Plus, we've streamlined the adjustment process for invoices and bills, added the ability to import quotes and draft invoices from your underlying providers, revamped our overdraft limit, and given you the ability to drill down into cash flow predictions to see where these come from. Read on to learn how to manage your cash seamlessly with Syft's latest tools.

Tired of revisiting Cash Manager every day to see when you can expect new in- or outflows of cash? No worries. With our new integration, you can sync Syft to your Google, Apple or Microsoft Outlook Calendar so now you'll be notified about expected cash in- or outflows alongside your usual calendar events.

To access this feature, navigate to Cash Manager -> Overview. You will see that at the far right-hand side of your screen, there's a button that says "Integrate calendar." If you click on that, you'll be prompted to connect Cash Manager to your calendar software. Simply copy the link provided and you'll see a calendar event download and your cash flow information will be connected to your calendar. Now, whenever you consult your calendar, you'll be able to see when you can expect cash to be flowing out of your business.

This integration is available on the Advanced plan. For more about plans, visit our pricing page.

Adjusting your invoices just became much easier. Once in the Invoices section under Cash In, hover over the date of the invoice you'd like to amend and then click on that date. You'll then see a little hover menu with the following options:

Once you've made the relevant selections, click "Apply" and presto, your invoice has been adjusted!

If you've created draft invoices in your underlying provider, these will now pull through on Syft. You'll know that these are drafts because they will be tagged as such. You can then choose whether to include or exclude them from the Cash Manager calculations.

This is one of the most highly anticipated features in Cash Manager - the ability to include quotes from your underlying accounting software in cash flow forecasts. Now, any quotes that you have on Xero, QuickBooks Online, or Sage will pull through to the Quotes sub-tab under Cash In.

You choose which quotes you would like to include in Cash Manager's calculations, find all the relevant details of the quote and include the conversion rate for that customer, which will then reflect as a neat color-coded graph. You can arrange your view according to total value, average conversion, or expiration by using the tiles above the table. You can also group the table by customer and toggle between a current view and a view of expired quotes.

If you're on the Plus and Advanced plans, you can see whether your expected cash flow is negative but within your overdraft facility or whether it is exceeding your overdraft. To see this, navigate to Overview and select Balance from the drop-down menu above the graph.

How to tell how you're faring? It's simple:

You'll also see that the overdraft limit is indicated by a tag on the left-hand side of the graph.

One of the most exciting new additions to Cash Manager is the ability to use drill-down on AI-generated predictions. What does this mean? Within Recurring for Cash In or Cash Out, if you hover over the prediction tag, you are prompted to click and you can see the transactions that contribute to the prediction. This means you can see exactly where the predictions come from and unlock a greater understanding of your cash projections.

With the latest enhancements to Cash Manager, it's now much easier to manage your cash. From adding expected in- and outflows to your calendar to help you keep track of your cash in the midst of your busy day to a new seamless way to adjust invoices and bills to greater visibility of your overdraft limit, we've got you covered. Moreover, with the ability to view draft invoices and quotes and drill down into the makeup of Syft's AI predictions, you now have the full picture of your expected cash flow and are equipped to manage your cash like a pro.

When it comes to your sales taxes, it goes without saying that you want to make sure you're paying the right amount of tax and not a dime more. Syft's Review feature set gives you the power to review your VAT/GST transactions to ensure that there aren't any transactions that have been miscoded.

In the past months, we have made several changes to the Review tool and the VAT or GST section was next in line for a revamp. The recent updates to the VAT/GST Review tools ensure a more streamlined experience of using these features, from a neatened up sidebar to a more succinct view of your accounts and transactions.

Our latest updates include the following:

Moreover, if you navigate to the multi-period view at the top of the page, you have the option to view metrics as an amount or as a percentage. Once you've selected percentage, remember to expand categories to see an account-by-account-level breakdown and isolate the accounts you'd like to investigate.

With the improved navigation and tools to easily gauge exactly what's going on in your input and output tax accounts, it's never been so easy to review your VAT or GST. I hope you will make the most of the new features available and ensure that your sales taxes are in order.

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

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.

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!