Today we launched a series of minor improvements to Intervals. Two worth mentioning are:
Executive Email Notifications on Task Comments
The executive user in Intervals has evolved over time. Initially this user level was meant to view reports and the budgetary status of projects and submit work requests. We have received requests to make this user level more intertwined with workflow so that they can watch the evolution of their requests and make comments along the way. At the same time we have received opposite requests to keep this user level out of the workflow. We have been balancing both views while keeping the functionality easy to use and straightforward.
When a comment is made on a task and the executive user is allowed to see it, there is a second option to email the executive users that have access to the project. This could be accomplished previously with the “send email message” functionality, but it was a bit cumbersome to use. This enhancement makes the email notification piece much easier to use and more natural.
Invoice by Amount
Prior to today the total amount was calculated based on the quantify and rate fields. This works well for many scenarios, but it was a bit inflexible. We regularly fulfill prepay maintenance contracts so we would put “1” for the quantity and “$5,000” for the rate. It works, but in reality there is not a quantity or rate…only the total amount. Now the quantity field will accept any monetary input. The existing functionality still works where you can enter the rate and quantity and the total amount will be automatically filled in. This enhancement is pretty minor, but it definitely allows more flexibility in creating invoices.