March has seen a great deal of development take place in preparation for the next series of updates to SBS Online.

We have been hard at work improving a range of aspects related to staff contracts and navigation within the software. April will see the first of these updates arrive. The new update will deliver an improved allowance system. Firstly, you will be able to apply multiple allowances to the same contract. Next, each time you create an allowance you will be able to specify its future values for any given effective date. This means that you will no longer need to create new allowances each time their values change. In addition, you can state whether an allowance is FTE applicable and whether it generates superannuation contributions. With this in mind, we will also be giving users better control over the SEN and First Aid allowances because they will work just like regular ones. This will make the allowance system much more friendly, flexible and customisable. For those of you already using SEN and First Aid allowances, don’t worry – SBS Online will automatically accommodate this when the update is released. Also coming soon in the new update are a range of improvements to navigation and hyperlinks. Getting around the software will be quicker because more of the items and data on display will be hyperlinked. For example, click on any analysis tag to go directly to the analysis tag report. There are also enhancements to workflow with the addition of ‘Save and new’ buttons and ‘Back to top’ links. In addition, when working in a list, saving a change will return you to the same place in the list instead of at the top. Once these features are complete, we will have further news about upgrades to salary scales and other exciting features such as band ceilings and a search function. In the meantime, keep your eye on the SBS Online dashboard page for official news about the next update. As always, please contact the helpdesk should you require any assistance or have any questions. Until next time, we wish you a Happy Easter and a restful break!