CMap Winter 2024/25 Release

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Introducing the Winter 2024/25 Release

The CMap Winter 2024/25 Release is packed with exciting upgrades! Let’s take a look in more detail…

Timeline Dependencies—along with some other minor enhancements—will transform the usability of the tool. We’re making it much more intuitive, so you won’t have to make changes individually stage by stage anymore.

Building on these Timeline changes, CMap AI: Project Automation will allow you to apply automation rules based on changes to the Timeline e.g. if a stage shifts forward two weeks, the resourcing for that stage can automatically adjust by the same amount of time.

We're also excited to launch our brand new CMap + Salesforce Integration. You'll be able to manage your pipeline in Salesforce, take advantage of CMap’s Fee Estimator for quoting, pull that value into Salesforce, and keep both systems in sync—lovely!

For our Enterprise customers, we’re introducing a new option for the logic applied to FX Rates on Revenue. Instead of using the FX rate from the Project’s Start Date for the entire project duration, you’ll now be able to apply the FX rate that corresponds to each monthly period.

By popular demand, we’re adding a host of new Invoicing Bookmarks, providing you with fresh ways to present data on your backing sheets.

We’ve also upgraded the "Help" widget to make In-app Help more accessible than ever. It now suggests articles directly relevant to the page you're on, keeping you in CMap.

Finally, Audit Logs. Invoicing is due to arrive before the end of 2024. With Revenue and Fee Estimator to arrive in 2025. While we don’t have specific timings to share on those two follow-up areas just yet, we hope to have some news for you in the near future!

These updates will be rolling out from October 2024 through to March 2025. As always, we’ll keep you informed directly within CMap—so keep an eye on those bell notifications!

Timeline Dependencies

The Timeline has received a major upgrade! We’ve introducing dependencies e.g. allowing you to say that Stage B can't start until Stage A is complete. If the end date of Stage A shifts, Stage B's start date will automatically adjust accordingly. For projects with multiple stages and dependency relationships, any changes will cascade smoothly through the entire relationship chain, ensuring your timeline remains accurate and up-to-date.

Additionally, you have the flexibility to introduce offsets, allowing you to easily manage situations where the next stage may need to start earlier or later than just the day after the previous stage ends. Plus, we’ve provided a convenient tool to automatically set up dependencies for the common scenario where each stage relies on the one before it—eliminating the need for manual set up every time.

A monumental UX improvement!

Important Note for Consulting Edition Users (Does Not Apply to AEC)

Retirement of Stage Dates in the Fee Estimator (Consulting Edition only, NOT AEC)

After the Timeline Dependencies upgrade is launched, setting "Stage Dates" in the Fee Estimator will be retired. Stage Dates will now be managed exclusively through the Timeline. If you don’t currently have the Timeline as part of your plan, good news—you’ll be getting it enabled!

Why Are We Retiring Stage Dates in the Fee Estimator? (Consulting Edition only, NOT AEC)

The decision comes down to eliminating data discrepancies and ensuring a seamless user experience as we roll out Dependencies and future Automation + AI upgrades. These advanced features are not supported by the Fee Estimator’s Stage Date tool, leading to potential conflicts between the tools.

For instance:

  • Date mismatches: Adjusting dependent stages in the Timeline would cascade updates automatically, while the Fee Estimator’s Stage Dates would retain the original, unchanged dates irrespective of if a dependency was in place in the Timeline
  • AI Automation inconsistencies: e.g. Updates to stages in the Timeline could trigger resourcing data being automatically moved—with the upcoming Project Automation upgrade—, but the same updates in the Fee Estimator wouldn’t have any impact

This disconnect could result in unreliable data, reduced efficiency, and an inconsistent experience.

By retiring Stage Dates in the Fee Estimator and centralising stage date management in the Timeline, we’re ensuring you have consistency of data, greater precision, and are fully ready to tale advantage of the upcoming Automation + AI upgrades.

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Editions: All
Plans: All

CMap AI: Project Automation [Coming Soon]

We're excited to introduce a new "CMap AI" admin section where you can control "Project Automation"! This feature will allow you to establish rules that are automatically triggered whenever there’s a change to a project’s Estimated Start Date or the Timeline. For example, you could set up a rule that automatically adjusts resourcing every time a stage is pushed back in the Timeline, ensuring that everything stays in sync. And that a fresh auto-forecast of revenue data should be applied to reflect those changes. This update comes with a slight shift in how permissions are managed: the permission will be tied to "CMap AI" itself, meaning that the rules will apply regardless of individual user permissions.

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Editions: All
Plans: Available in Beta

Audit Logs: Invoicing

Originally scheduled for Summer 2024, "Invoicing"—the first area to receive the Audit Logs treatment—has been moved to Winter 2024/25, but we’re still aiming for release within the 2024 calendar year. This is a complex project, and we needed to rethink a few areas to ensure the solution scales effectively.

Don’t worry—"Revenue" and "Fee Estimator" are set to follow in 2025. While we’re not yet certain on their exact timelines, we’ll keep you updated!

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Editions: All
Plans: Enterprise

CMap + Salesforce Integration

We're thrilled to announce that our new CMap + Salesforce Integration is in Beta (full launch TBD), allowing you to connect the two systems seamlessly! This integration opens the ability to manage opportunities in Salesforce and trigger the creation of a corresponding synced opportunity in CMap. where you can use the Fee Estimator—for the roles, rates, etc., that aren't available in Salesforce—and pull the Fee Estimator value into the deal in Salesforce. It’s truly the best of both worlds!

This integration requires one of the following Salesforce Editions:

  • Performance
  • Enterprise
  • Unlimited
  • Developer

Unfortunately, the Essential, Standard, and Professional Editions don’t include the API access or APEX functionality needed for this integration.

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Editions: All
Plans: Add-on

Revenue FX Rates Upgrade

When managing a project in a foreign currency, the FX rate from the project's start date is applied for the entire duration. However, for longer projects in particular, this approach doesn't account for FX rate fluctuations. To tackle this issue, we're introducing new logic for our Enterprise customers that enables you to report revenue using the FX rate relevant to each individual month.

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Editions: All
Plans: Enterprise

[AEC] Invoicing Bookmarks

We've created/updated six bookmarks, designed to give you greater control over the details you provide to your clients.

Gone are the days of building reports and copy-pasting data into your invoice documents. These new bookmarks will streamline your process and help you deliver invoices more effortlessly.

Here’s what’s new:

1. New “StageBreakdownGrossExcludingAdditionals” Bookmark

Need a version of your “StageBreakdownGross2NoHeader” bookmark that focuses solely on Fees? This bookmark filters out Additionals/Externals (Note: including anything marked as “Fee Inclusive”) to give you a Fees-only breakdown.

2. New “StageBreakdownGrossExcludingFees” Bookmark

Prefer to see only Additionals/Externals in your “StageBreakdownGross2NoHeader”? This new bookmark does just that, excluding all Fees (Note: excluding anything marked as “Fee Inclusive”), giving you an Additonals/Externals-only breakdown.

3. New “StageBreakdownGrossExternalsbyName” Bookmark

This is a variation of the “StageBreakdownGrossExcludingFees” bookmark (above), which organises Additionals/Externals by External name rather than by Stage.

4. New “StageBreakdownGrossExternalsSplit” Bookmark

And this variation groups Additionals/Externals first by Stage, then by External name for even more detailed breakdowns.

5. Improved “ExpensesByStage” Bookmark

The formatting of this existing bookmark has been updated to match the Microsoft Word styles used in your other bookmarks, saving you the hassle of manual updates.

6. New “ExpensesByStage2” Bookmark

Like the original “ExpensesByStage” but without the “Document” column. Simply swap out the old bookmark for this one if the extra column isn’t needed.

For more information or support, feel free to reach out. Happy invoicing!

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Editions: AEC
Plans: Growth, Pro, Enterprise

In-app Help

We've upgraded the "Help" widget in CMap. It now goes beyond simply letting you create a support request or taking you away to browse the Learning Center. Instead, it highlights articles relevant to the page you're on and opens them directly in the Help window, so you can stay in CMap. If you prefer, you can still access the full article in the Learning Center with just a click.

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Editions: AEC + Consulting
Plans: Starter, Growth, Pro + Enterprise

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