(Archive) GOLD 14.4 December 2015

December 7, 2014

Accounting/Back Office

Quickly Filter the General Trial Balance Report for a Specific General Ledger Account

We recently implemented some enhancements to the General Ledger Trial Balance (Print G/L Trial Balance on the General Ledger (MNGELE) menu), to allow you to include multiple G/Ls on the report, even non-sequential account numbers.  What we heard (loud and clear!) was that accountants really hated having to search by description, since they know the numbers by heart.  Starting with the 14.4 release we are adding a “Jump to code starting with” field on the selection screen for the G/L code.  Enter a specific G/L account in the field and press Enter and you will advance down the listing to that account.  This makes it very easy to jump directly to the G/L account you need, while still allowing you to select multiple G/Ls for the report.  

  • Keep in mind that the enhanced lookup window for G/L (from the 14.2 Release) allows you to also select multiple G/Ls that are not directly next to each other, and you can select them in any order!  This saves you from the work of running the report several times, each for single a G/L.  On the lookup window (shown above), hold down the Ctrl key and then click to select each G/L account that you would like included on the report.  

The “Jump to code starting with” feature will also be available on all other multi-select lookup windows used on various screens within CU*BASE.  In other cases, this will help you advance to a purpose code, category code, etc.

CEO

Enhancement to Branch Reassignment Tool to Use Geographic Location of Member

Currently, credit unions have the ability with the assistance of a client service representative to reassign members to the branches they use most often. But what if some members haven’t had any teller activity in the last 3 months? With the 14.4 release, we’ve enhanced this tool to allow for the use of geographic location for members without teller activity so that they will be reassigned to the nearest branch within a defined number of miles.

In order to use the branch reassignment by geographic location feature, you must have had the Member Demographics analysis run for your credit union. This tool calculates the distance between your members and branches/ATM locations. For pricing and more information, check out the “Member Demographics” booklet available on the Reference page of the CU*Answers website.

  • More information will be available in the “Using the Member Branch Reassignment Tool” booklet.  

Lending

Inactive Credit Cards Report Now Allows for the Exclusion of Closed Loans

Credit unions can now select to exclude closed loans on the Inactive Credit Cards Report (accessed via List Inactive Credit Cards on the Online ATM/Debit/Credit Card Processing (MNATMD) menu) by unchecking the new “Exclude closed card” filter on the selection screen.

New Columns Added to Accounts with Negative Balances Report

We’ve updated the Accounts with Negative Balances report (LNGBL) to add some more columns to the report including first date negative, number of days negative, negative balance limit, and if the account is in a “locked” status. This report helps to determine where the bulk of your negative activity is occurring for different types of negative balance accounts (savings, checking, etc.).   It can also be used when gathering data for the 5300 Call Report to adjust loan and share totals for negative share amounts.    

EFT

Configuration Allows for the Display of the Entire OTB Credit Card Number in Inquiry

Currently all but the last four numbers in an OTB credit card are masked if this information is researched using Inquiry.  This is on the screen accessed by OTB (F17) from the account detail screen.  With the 14.4 release, credit unions can select to display the entire credit card number.  Contact a Client Services Representative for assistance.

  • self-processors:  To make this change, uncheck the Mask OTB CC number field on the fourth Processing CU Parameters screen (OPER 10 > 2).

General

Print Button Removed from the Network Links Window

There are various ways that you can print what you see on a CU*BASE screen.  Besides clicking the Print button, you can use File>Print, or you can right-click on the title bar and select Print. All of these methods print a copy of the CU*BASE GOLD (graphical) screen directly to your chosen Windows (network) printer.  

The other method, a small printer button on the “Network Links” window, printed the emulator or “green screen” content only.  This older feature is being removed with this release, for two reasons.  Most importantly, because of changes over the years to how CU*BASE printer sessions are set up, we are no longer able to direct this “host print” function to your default report printer as we did in the past. In addition, we no longer design host screens to be viewed by end-users, often abbreviating or even eliminating labels that give the content meaning, in order to fit maximum content on the screen.

Year End

Reminder: PMI No Longer Reported on Form 1098 per IRS Reg. Changes

IRS regulation changes for 2014 will result in Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) premiums no longer being required to be reported on the 1098 tax form. As such, we have changed the 1098 vendor print file so that forms vendors can optionally choose to print whatever is in the “Mortgage insurance premium paid” and/or “Property Tax paid” fields in the Tax File for the account in CU*BASE, along with an appropriate label. Forms printed by Sage Direct* will include both of these amounts. If no data is filled in, that box on the form will remain empty.  

You will still be responsible for filling in Mortgage Points paid as usual, and remember that this can be done any time during the year to avoid the last minute rush at year-end. Refer to page 25 of your 2014 Year-End Processing Guide for instructions.

  • Note: if you use a print vendor other than Sage Direct for your tax forms, the file they receive will contain the data, but they will need to change their programs in order for it to be printed. We’ll be sending all print vendors the new file specifications, but you will need to contact your vendor for details on their plans.

More information is available in the “2014 Year-End Processing Guide” for Online and Self-Processing credit unions.