In the latest product blog by Mandy Anger, Director of Product Development, Accelo took a look back at the updates it has delivered over the last few weeks. She also unveiled what the work management platform intends to deliver soon.
In terms of the updates already released, Anger noted key fixes that Accelo has made for the automatic start of project tasks, CSV imports, rich text formatting in emails or notes and retainer rollovers. Accelo has also improved the email template that allows users to invite teammates into Accelo but didn’t detail this.
Future updates
Google Contact API – coming soon – again
Top of the list is the improvements to the Google Contact API. This was also revealed in the previous product update. The only difference in the updates is that Accelo is migrating over to the new “People API”; it was previously “cutting over”. Once complete, the new API (and it is top of the list now) will simplify importing contacts from Google. No longer will users have to pull and push contacts; a new sync process replaces this. However, there is no indication of whether this is bi-directional or the master record holder system.
However, users can turn the sync on and off and decide whether they wish to import new records from Google. If required, users can also import email history from Google. One useful feature is the ability to create new records based on email recipients from existing customers.
Holiday Calendar to improve
Customer feedback on the existing holiday calendar has led the Accelo team to make improvements. Customers will have the ability to edit or even move the public holidays that Accelo automatically generates. Currently, Accelo has a fixed list of public holidays that employers can turn on and off.
The new functionality enables the administrator to create public holidays or company vacation days for specific groups. This group feature enables a firm to create different sets of holidays by country. Holidays can also be designated full or half days. Thus if the company gives employees a half-day on Christmas Eve, this can be applied if required.
Mobile improvements
With remote working becoming the norm, Accelo continues to improve its mobile functionality. The next update will enable users to update activities even if they haven’t created them. Available on both IoS and Android versions, users will see whether they have permission to update the activities.
Anger noted that there are risks with this feature as “Managers should note that they may not be able to fix errors made by their team.“ There is no indication that there is an audit log or rollback feature. Future customer feedback may request this.
Administration improvements
Accelo is centralising some features to the Manage Users licenses screen and has retired the Manage Account Screen. Administrators can now update both their credit card information and the user licenses on this screen.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Anger highlights some interesting updates that should roll out over the coming weeks. The Google Contact API is a work in progress but has some nice features, though it possibly needs further information about the detailed synchronisations settings.
The update to the Holiday calendar is significant and a major change for the system. What will be interesting is how that integrates with utilisation reports across a multinational organisation. The number of public holidays can vary significantly between different countries. These new features will enhance resource management and reduce the administration and potentially, errors.
Another set of iterative improvements that sees the Accelo work management platform evolving. There is no indication of the next major release by Accelo or what the team is working on for the longer term
