Navigate Chris21 – Tip 1: Exclude terminated employees from the default list

The default list you see when you login to Chris21 shows all employees, both active and terminated. Sometimes you may want to filter out the terminated employees from this list. This has two main benefits, one is to reduce the overall size of the list, and the second is to ensure that you only ever select active employees when you choose an employee from the list.

To filter the default list to show only active employees, right click anywhere on the list and click Include Terminated Staff from the pop-up menu. This option is selected by default so clicking it will deselect it.

Note: A tick next to the Include Terminated Staff menu item indicates that terminated staff are included in the default list. When the tick is clear, only active employees will be displayed.

To revert to showing terminated staff, simply right click on the list and click Include Terminated Staff.

Note: When you set this option, it will remain at the same status even after you logout of Chris21. The system remembers your setting until the next time you change it.

Navigate Chris21 – Tip 2: Use Save-As to create new records

When you need to enter data in Chris21 and you are looking for shortcuts to make your life easier, try this tip. Use Save As to use the data from one record to form the basis of another record.

For example, you may need to add new Position Table (PDT) records. As you might know, there can be quite a few fields that need to be updated to create each record. Therefore, this can be a time-consuming process, especially if you have many records to add.

To use the Save As functionality in Chris21 to create a new PDT record, you first need to open an existing PDT record that is similar to the record you want to create. Then click File -> Save As from the main menu.

Then all you need to do is change the Position Number to the new Position Number you want to create. At this point you can review the other fields on the form and change any as appropriate.

Then click Save to create your new PDT record.

Navigate Chris21 – Tip 3 : Show form identifiers on form tabs

If you have trouble remembering what the 3-character form identifier is for the form you are working with, you can show these on the form tabs. Just select Tools from the top menu in Chris21, then select Options.  Then select Interface Options. From the list of options select Show form identifier with form name. From now on, you will see the 3-character form identifier next to the form name.

I hope these tips help! If you have any navigation tips and tricks that you use, let me know and I will post them for fellow Chris21 users.

By now you would have received notification from the software vendor about this general release. The release is 8.19 base version, plus you must also:

• Install the most recent engine update. This will ensure you have the most up to date version of the software.
• Install the latest Client Interface. This will be installed on the desktop of each user involved in testing.
• Re-apply the XML templates to make sure you have the most up to date templates.
• Upgrade HR21 (if applicable).

Read the release notes to identify features that may be of interest to you

As you will be aware from previous upgrades, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the release notes so that you are aware of any new features that may find useful. The release notes also contain information about the upgrade process and the steps you should follow. 

When is the best time to do the upgrade?

There are two trains of thought. Do the upgrade early so that you have plenty of time to get any issues fixed or leave the upgrade until late so that many of the bugs have already been fixed.

Some clients take the latter approach in the hope that the upgrade will be less troublesome if they wait until later in the financial year. Usually there is a late update that must be installed so clients wait for this.

While I can see the benefits of this approach, I tend to think that performing the base upgrade as early as possible is the best approach. This will give you more time to address any problems that you might find. Through my experience with upgrades, I am often surprised that one client’s upgrade is smooth sailing while another’s is troublesome. There can be many reasons for this. Often is comes down to how your system is configured, what customisations you have, or what other systems you have that interface to Chris21.

I have seen clients leave it very late to upgrade and then it becomes more difficult to attend to issues. As everyone works to the same end of financial year deadline, things can get quite panicky as time starts to run out. And on top of an upgrade that is running late, you have end of year processing and the tax update to consider.

For these reasons, I believe it’s best if you can do your upgrade early, test and then you are aware of the issues you face and have plenty of time to schedule what needs to be done to fix them.

Then you only need to install the final update prior to the end of financial year.

What should your testing cover?

You likely already have your testing processes in place. As a minimum, Payroll should always test the critical processes that they use to complete a payrun.

I also test the following system functions:

• Customisations – to make sure these still function correctly. 
• Security – if changes are made to the security features in Chris21 and this can affect how people are able to access the system.
• Database option – if you are using SQL or Oracle to store the Chris21 database it’s important to test this to ensure your interfaces and reports function correctly.
• Email functionality – system generated emails should be checked after every upgrade.

Installing engine updates and testing

Engine updates are the patches that are released monthly by the vendor. These will usually fix reported issues but can also include new features or changes required by legislation.

Even though these updates are minor in comparison to an upgrade, they still make significant changes to your system and as such need to be fully tested. It’s not uncommon for an engine update to break something that was previously working fine.

I recommend that you re-run all your testing whenever a new engine update is installed.

Unfortunately, you can’t ignore an engine update because you might think it has no relevance to your system. As mentioned, there could be important system wide fixes or legislative changes involved. Plus, you will need to be on the latest version when troubleshooting issues.

Keep an eye out on this blog because I may add more articles of interest to the upgrade. Also, if you haven’t already, connect with me on LinkedIn and join my group the Chris21 Support Network. If there are known issues with the upgrade there could be discussions about them in the group.

As always, feel free to contact me with any questions about the upgrade or if you need help getting yours done.

It can sometimes be challenging when you are asked to write a report in Chris21 but you’re not sure if you can get the information required. You know how to write reports but sometimes they can be tricky.

There are all sorts of little tricks you can employ when using the Chris21 report designer.

For instance, did you know there are hidden fields that are available to you? Hidden fields are those that do not appear on the Chris21 form but are on the file, or perhaps generated on the fly, and therefore can be accessed in your reports.

A good example of this is the Manager Number on the Details (DET) form.

This field doesn’t appear anywhere on the DET form, but it can be included in your report output. This can be very handy if you want a report that shows employees and their current manager.

Incidentally, this report will also highlight cases where an employee does not have a manager. This tells you that you need to update the Relationships (REL) form.

Identifying Hidden Fields

In the Report Designer you add fields to your Chris21 reports using the Field Chooser. You then navigate to the form you want to report from. By default, this will display a copy of the actual form, you then choose the fields you want in your report.

All pretty standard so far right? But you don’t have to be limited to the view of the form.

Hidden Fields Are Not Immediately Obvious

I guess that’s why we call them hidden. They are just one of those things that are there, but you won’t know it, especially as a new user.

You must go looking to find fields that are not on the form but that you might want in your report. Fortunately, they are easy to find when you know how.

Select the All Fields tab at the bottom of the Field Chooser. This will display a list of all the fields that are available, but don’t necessarily show on the form.

When you scan through the list, you might be surprised at the fields that are there, but you didn’t know existed.

In the example below, I have found the Managers Number field.

Double click this field to add it to your report.

Usually, you will want the manager’s name to go with their number. You can translate this field to get the manager’s name, as you would do with DET NUMBER to get the employee’s name.

A Bit More Help

For more help to achieve this, see my blog Did You Know You Can Include the Manager’s ID in Your Chris21 Reports?

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment!

You have two options when considering position management in Chris21. You can re-use positions among multiple staff or you can create a new position number whenever someone starts in a new role.

There is no right or wrong, one way is not necessarily better than the other. It’s really a matter of preference according to the way the organisation is structured.

There will always be occasions when you will need to create a new position. This would be the case if the position role is new and none of your existing positions match. In this case a new position number is warranted. However, there are plenty of occasions where a new starter will fit into an existing position. And in the case of multiple similar roles, for instance, a nurse role or council depot worker, it would be beneficial to use the same position number.

If you do create a new position number for each new starter then this means each employee will have a unique position number. If you choose instead to re-use your position numbers, you could have any number of staff sharing one position number.

A good way to approach this question is the look at the advantages of each option:

Advantages of creating new position numbers in Chri21

• Every employee will have their own position number. This helps if employees performing the same role work in a different organisation level;
• A different position number for each employee can allow for better reporting. Each employee number/position number combination will be unique;
• Employees can be assigned to different managers;
• Changing details about a position won’t affect any other employee. For instance, changing the leave group.

Advantages of using a position for multiple incumbents in Chris21

• Better for establishment reporting. You set the establishment count for each position and can then report on establishment count and vacancies;
• Position maintenance becomes much simpler because there are less positions to manage;
• Reporting can be more difficult when trying to identify specific employee groups;
• Information will flow through from the master position record (PDT) to the employee position record (POS). For instance, leave groups, cost splits.

These are just some of the points that come to mind. You may very well have other reasons why your method of position management works best for your organisation.

While sharing position numbers is appropriate in many cases, bear in mind that manager positions shouldn’t be shared. This will have implications for workflow because the system won’t know which manager should receive workflow requests. If managers are sharing a position, then the workflow will be directed to the first manager found alphabetically. This of course may not be the correct manager.

Ultimately there is no definitive right or wrong way to assign position numbers in Chris21. The best method for you will depend largely on the way your organisation is structured.