OpenAir Enhancements

January 22, 2011

Overview

Resources
Support time zones for resource bookings
Select different time zones to book resources and view time zones in calendar.

Google Apps Calendar integration
Integrate OpenAir with Google Apps Calendar and export bookings and task assignments for individual users.

Display "Phase" in Bookings List view
View the associated project phase name in the Bookings list view.

Details ...

Projects
Override hourly bill rates for billing rules directly on task edit form
Input hourly bill rates for assigned users on the task edit form.

Display project created date in Projects List view
View the date of when a project is created.

Details ...

Account-wide
Associate custom fields with Payment types
Allow for payment type custom fields.

Additional terminology options
Override terminology for "Hotel bill", "Historical utilization", and "Assigned utilization".

Details ...

Invoices
Additional option for invoice layout terminology overrides
Override terminology for "Customer PO Number" for invoice layouts.

Details ...



Details

Resources
Support time zones for resource bookings
In the September 2009 release, OpenAir introduced the ability to input start and end times for resource bookings. This is beneficial for managers that need to staff their resources for a particular timeframe within a day. For companies that have employees located in different time zones, or have employees that travel, it is helpful to be able to book these resources in the appropriate time zones. Currently, the default time zone in OpenAir is Eastern Time. With this release, we have added the ability for resource managers to select a different time zone to book their resources. In addition, resources can also view the bookings in the OpenAir calendar in different time zones.

To enable the ability to book and specify different time zones, please contact OpenAir Support.

Please note the additions in the following areas:

Personal Settings:

  • Once the functionality has been enabled, users will be able to navigate to their Personal Settings page and select the time zones they wish see as available time zones for display. To select these time zones, navigate to Home > Personal Settings. Under the "Display Options" section, leverage the "Time zone quick display choices" picker to select the appropriate time zones for display.
Resources bookings:
  • Once the display time zones have been selected, resource managers can now select a different time zone when booking a resource. To create a new booking, navigate to Resources > Bookings > New. Select the Resource, Client: Project and start and end times for the booking. Under the "Booking Time zone" dropdown, select the desired time zone to which the resource should be booked in. Please note the following:
    • When a resource has been selected on the form (e.g. booking form), their default time zone will display adjacent to their name.
    • Only bookings that have a start and end time established on the booking form will have the selected time zone respected.
    • On the bookings list view (Resources > Bookings > List), the time zone display choice dropdown is available in the upper right. The dropdown will allow users to toggle between different time zones while looking at the list of bookings. An additional option for "[Resource's time zone] is made available to view the bookings in the booked user's personal time zone setting.
    • If the option [Resource's time zone] has been selected in the dropdown, users can add "Resources - Time zone" as a column in the list view. To add this column, navigate to Resources > Bookings > List and click on the "Customize list view" link on the upper left corner of the top menu bar. Click "Resources - Time zone", select "Add selected items." Click OK.
    • In addition, Start Date [resource's time zone], End Date [resource's time zone], Start Time [resource's time zone], and End Time [resource's time zone] have been added as available columns in the bookings list view.
Calendar:
  • For users that wish to see the start and end times for their bookings in their calendar view, navigate to Home > Personal Settings and under the "Display Options" section, check the option "Show work schedule time ranges on the calendar" and click Save.
  • The time zone display choice dropdown has been added to the calendar view in the upper right. Bookings that are displayed in the calendar will respect the current time zone selected from the dropdown.
  • If a user has the ability to view multiple users' calendars and one user is selected for viewing, the default personal time zone setting for the selected resource will be displayed adjacent to their name.
Note: The current time zone selected in the time zone display choice dropdown will be applied to all areas where the dropdown is available until a new time zone has been selected.

Google Apps Calendar integration
OpenAir is pleased to introduce a real time integration between OpenAir and Google Apps Calendar. For companies that have a Google Apps account, events such as bookings and task assignments can now be exported in real-time from OpenAir to Google Calendars for individual users. This integration ensures that a resource's schedule is always in sync between OpenAir and Google. OpenAir will be the system of record for the bookings and task assignments. Please note this integration is not currently available for personal Google accounts. To enable the Google Apps Calendar integration, please contact OpenAir Support. Once the feature has been enabled, please note the following setup requirements and additional information:
  • The domain name will need to be entered. Within Google Apps Administration, navigate to the "Advanced tools" tab. Click on the "Advanced tools" tab and select "Manage third party OAuth Client access". In the client name enter www.openair.com and paste in "http://www.google.com/calendar/feeds/" into the "One or More API Scopes" edit box and click Authorize.
  • In OpenAir, navigate to Administration > Global Settings > Account > Integration: Google Calendar. Enter the domain and click Save.
  • With the integration's authentication process, OpenAir does not need to store the Google credentials for individual users. User configurations can be controlled by an administrator that also has access to Google Apps admin utilities.
  • Once the OpenAir Google setup form has been saved, multiple custom fields associated with the integration will be created automatically. The majority of these custom fields will not be visible on forms.
  • User level custom fields are available on the user demographic form to indicate whether bookings and/or task assignments should be exported to Google Calendar for that user. This can be set on a per-user basis.
  • A user's Google username can be set on the user demographic form in the "Google username" custom field.
  • On the booking type edit form, a custom field can be leveraged to indicate whether bookings with this booking type should be exported to Google. Additionally, if a timed booking has been created, users can specify if these timed bookings should be set as busy in Google. Otherwise, these bookings will be set as a free event in Google. These settings can be configured on a per-booking type basis.
  • The export will create an "OpenAir" calendar for each configured user. The time zone for each user will be the same as the user's time zone specified in OpenAir on their user demographic form.
  • Any booking created in OpenAir that does not have a start and end time specified will be created as an all day event in Google. The timed bookings will be exported assuming the user's time zone in OpenAir, or the time zone designated on the booking.
  • OpenAir Calendar settings, which determine how the subject and text of the calendar event are displayed, will be respected on the Google Calendar. For example, custom fields can be included in the subject or body of the event.
  • If a user deletes the OpenAir Google calendar from their Google Apps account, the option "Reset My Google Calendar" option can be selected in the "Personal Settings" form. This setting will allow for a new OpenAir Calendar to be created. Only new OpenAir Calendar events will be exported to this new calendar.

Display "Phase" in Bookings List view
The Resources Bookings List view enables resource managers to view the projects to which resources are booked. In addition to booking resources at the project level, it may be beneficial to book resources at the task level for additional granularity. When booking at the task level, it may be necessary to view the phase to which the task is mapped within the project. With this release, we have added the option for users to display the phase name directly on the Bookings List view.

To add the phase name to the bookings list view, users with the appropriate role privileges navigate to Resources > Bookings > List and click on the "Customize list view" link on the upper left corner of the top menu bar. Click "Project - Phase", select "Add selected items." Click OK.
Up
Projects
Override hourly bill rates for billing rules directly on task edit form
OpenAir's flexible time billing rules allows managers to bill users' time at a designated rate based on their time entries. In addition to configuring different filters and date ranges in a billing rule, users' default bill rates can be overridden at the billing rule level as well. Often times, a project may contain tasks for which the hourly rates for assigned resources will vary throughout the life of the project. As rates may change, it is beneficial for project managers to be able to modify these rates in a streamlined manner. Rates may be changed individually on the time billing rule, however, it may be more efficient to override these rates directly on the task edit form. With this release, OpenAir has added the ability to override user bill rates at the task level. This functionality will work in conjunction with the time billing rule. Users will also be able to override these rates in the "Assignments" picker, which can be found in the task grid.

To enable the ability to override bill rates on the task form, please contact OpenAir Support.

How to override bill rates on the task form:
  1. Once the feature has been enabled, navigate to Projects > Projects > [select a project] > Financials > Billing.
  2. Under the ÒNewÓ dropdown, select ÒTime billing ruleÓ. Check the option ÒUse bill rate override from task assignmentÓ and click Save.
  3. To override a user's rate, within the project navigate to Phases/Tasks > Outline view > [select a task].
  4. In the "Assignments" section, select the users to be assigned to the task and next to each user in the "Hourly bill rate override" column input the appropriate bill rate for each user.

Display project created date in Projects List view
Project managers frequently create new projects, either manually through the OpenAir application or automatically via integration methods. In order to efficiently manage these projects, it is key to know when these projects have been created to ensure that the appropriate resources are being staffed and managed. In this release, we have added the ability to view the project's created date within the projects list view.

To add the project created date to the projects list view, users with the appropriate role privileges navigate to Projects > Projects and click on the "Customize list view" link on the upper left corner of the top menu bar. Click "Created Date", select "Add selected items", Click OK.
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Account-wide
Associate custom fields with Payment types
For companies that use OpenAir for expense report management, it is beneficial to understand how the expense had been paid (e.g. Cash, Credit Card, Company Paid). This information is particularly useful for reimbursement purposes. It may be necessary to have additional custom fields on each payment type form to distinguish one payment type from another. With this release, we have enhanced the custom field functionality to include the ability to create a custom field associated with payment types.

To create a new payment type, users with the appropriate role privileges navigate to Administration > Application Settings > Expenses Settings > Payment types. Under the "New" dropdown, select "Payment type".

How to create a payment type custom field:

  1. Users with the appropriate role privileges navigate to Administration > Global Settings > Custom fields.
  2. Under the "New" dropdown, select "Custom field". Under the "Add a custom field to" dropdown, select "Payment type" and under the "Type of field to add" dropdown, select the type of custom field. Select Continue.
  3. Enter the "Field name" and "Display name". Fill any other necessary fields and click Save.

Additional terminology options
OpenAir's terminology functionality allows for overrides to default terminology, thus enabling additional flexibility in customizing the application. The ability to customize terminology allows companies to maintain the existing terminology already being used within their organization. With this release, we have added additional options to the available terminology values that can be customized. These values include "Hotel bill", "Historical utilization", and "Assigned utilization".

To modify the terminology, users with the appropriate role privileges navigate to Administration > Global Settings > Display > Interface: Terminology.
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Invoices
Additional option for invoice layout terminology overrides
For companies that send invoices to their clients directly from OpenAir, different invoice layouts can be configured to modify the appearance of an invoice based on client needs. Invoice layouts can be assigned at the client, project or invoice level. In addition to being able to sort or group items, the terminology for certain fields can be overridden and applied to that specific invoice layout. In the November 2010 release, OpenAir enhanced the configuration capabilities of invoice layouts by adding the ability to override the terminology for "Agreement" and "Customer PO". With this release, the additional option for overriding the terminology for "Customer PO Number" has been added.

To enable the ability to override terminology for invoice layouts, please contact OpenAir Support.

How to override terminology for invoice layouts:

  1. Once the feature has been enabled, navigate to Administration > Application Settings > Invoices Settings > Invoice layouts.
  2. Create a new layout or existing one.
  3. In the "Invoice terminology" section, override the terminology of a field(s). The overridden terminology will apply to that specific layout.
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Suggestions, problems, or questions?
Contact us at support@openair.com. We take pride in the outstanding care we give our customers. Please let us know how can we improve your experience with OpenAir.