Do I need to import this or not as in mandatory? I don’t want to import it and lose settings that have been in place for years. I assume that I only need to update it if I am missing something that I need?
Would I need to import this periodically to update the settings?
When I select UK, I can see a list of settings that I can add for example, Report Transformation - VAT Calculation Worksheet. But I already have this in Manager. So is this list showing everything that I could import or just things that are not already within Manager (even though I clearly have the VAT Calculation Worksheet) How do I tell what I already have in Manager that is listed in this list? For example, I already have Tax Code 20% so not sure why it’s listed in the import option.
I am not sure that this idea is practical as the program is obviously able to tell that I am in the UK so need the Report Transformation - VAT Calculation Worksheet for UK and I need 20% VAT and many other UK based settings which I already have. So what is the point of this feature?
No, you don’t need to. But… whatever is in global repository is guaranteed to work in future versions. If we rename a variable, then we will fix all affected XML files. If you keep report transformation to yourself, you will need to maintain it yourself.
Not sure what you mean but when changes are made to global repository, they will be included with newer version. Upgrading to newer version will automatically refresh your old settings with new ones. You don’t need to click Import button just to get newer version of VAT Calculation Worksheet. You will get it automatically.
I should probably just hide those which you have already imported. For now, if you import tax code which you already have, it will simply override the old one with new one but being no difference between them will have no effect.
The program is able to tell you are in UK only for existing businesses because you were previously using built-in tax codes for UK.
The program cannot tell where you are if you are setting up new business.
What do you mean by this. Does importing the localisation upload changes I make to the transformation report settings?
With point 2, what I mean is I can import the localisation today and select all the options, lets say there are 6 options today. But will I need to check back in six months time and see if there are new options to import as there might be 7 options in future, and I have only imported 6 today which existed and will now have a seventh option to import that did not exist today?
Yes I would recommend hiding things which are already imported. As the list grows this will become more relevant with time.
If you make changes to imported report transformation, those changes will be eventually lost. That’s because imported report transformation will be always synced with global repository.
But chances are 7th item might not be relevant to you. You don’t have to import everything. Only what you need. For example, you can delete tax codes you are not going to use even if they are available under your country.
I don’t think that I will change the report transformation, but in the interest of enabling users to change the report and not have it overwritten by Manager updates, is it not possible to use the same concept as custom themes for this, so changes are not overwritten in the same way that custom themes are not affected?
Whether I want option 7 or not is not the issue. Basically you have answered my questions. The relevant points are this: Import only what you need. Good! That answers that. However, the second point is that you will need to import settings in the future as new settings get added over time. It’s not a case of importing the localisations once when you create a business and then never having to import again. If you create a new setting in three years time, I will need to import that.
I would recommend the following. Update the documentation to clarify that you only need to import settings you need (not everything by default) and that the import is not a once off thing - use it once when you create a business and then never again. Users will need to over the years import more new settings. I would also recommend that the import option hides settings already included in the program as this list will grow over time.
@dalacor, remember the only settings or reports you will import will be country-specific. So it won’t be so much what is added to the program as what changes occur in your country. And those are likely to be things you know are coming or are announced. Or, if someone develops a whiz-bang report transformation you read about in the newsletter and want to try. I really don’t anticipate a constant deluge.
It is already possible. Do not edit imported report transformations, create new one. Anyway, the whole workflow will evolve somehow to make things more obvious as to what is imported and what is private to you.
It’s possible “import” function will evolve somewhat and rather than individually selecting items to import, you just import country-specific “report” and Manager will figure out what tax codes, custom fields and other items to import to support this report. That would make things a lot simpler.
Yes @Tut that is true. But my point is that I am thinking of the future. New users starting with Manager need to know how the localisations work. The documentation explains how to import country specific settings, but does not make clear to new users (or old users) when one should import these settings.
Just checked and I see what you mean. I was just responding to your earlier point about losing the settings here. I doubt that I will make changes, but it’s good that it works like custom themes. Well done.
Yes, I think the import function will probably need to evolve over time. I am not worried about it per se, just anticipating some of the future questions that new users will have such as knowing when to import settings, what’s already imported and what it might overwrite as these were the main questions that I was thinking about when reading the documentation. I think a country specific import would work better for most users - keep it simple.