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Build 12....
Companies Act 2006 Changes from 1st October 2008
| • | New tick box for PLC traded on a "Regulated Market" |
| • | New style paper Annual Return for returns made up to 1st October 2008 onwards |
| • | New "Significant Shareholders" report calculates the end of day holdings for each member in each class of shares for a specified period and reports on whether the specified "significant holding" percentage has been reached and when |
| • | When producing a list of Past and Present Shareholders, the software will automatically calculate percentage holdings of each shareholder in each class of shares on a daily basis in order to determine whether they have exceeded the 5% holding criteria for the purposes of the new style lists of Past and Present Shareholders |
| • | New style paper List of Past and Present Shareholders (Schedule A and B) for returns made up to 1st October 2008 onwards (to take into account new exemptions in certain circumstances from providing members' addresses) |
| • | eFiling of Annual Returns for returns made up to 1st October 2008 onwards amended to take into account new exemptions in certain circumstances from providing members' addresses |
New "Action Filter"
| • | A considerable amount of development work has gone into providing a new "Action Filter". The old "Action List" functionality plus a lot more has now been replaced and incorporated into the "Action Filter" which filters the "Company List" list of companies to show only those companies that meet the "Action Filter" criteria. |
| • | The Company List screen now has an "Action Report" which produces a report of those companies that match the above "Action Filter" |
| • | The results of the Action Filter can be output as a CSV "Mailmerge" file |
eFiling Log Enhancements
| • | The performance of the eFiling Log on slow networks has been enhanced, providing faster access to the eFiling log data |
| • | A new facility to "Archive" eFiling Log entries has been added so that old eFiling entries can be removed from the log so as to provide a clearer view of the remaining entries. Archived entries can be restored at any time if required |
Data Conversion
| • | The data conversion procedure which is run when the software is updated, now does not re-run the conversion when each workstation (with a local copy of the program files) on a network is updated - the conversion is performed just once when the first workstation is updated |
Print Registers etc. Report
| • | The selection screen for the "Print Registers etc." report has been enhanced - now clearly shows the dates criteria used for each section of the report |
Build 11....
2006 Companies Act
| • | The software now caters for a company not having a Company Secretary from 6th April 2008. |
Annual Returns – Companies House Changes
| • | Changes to e-filed and printed Annual Returns/Schedule of Past and Present Members as per change in specification by Companies House.... only negative transfers are now included (ie, AWAY from the named member) within the details of share transactions. |
Stock Transfer Forms
| • | The reverse side of stock transfer forms have been revised in accordance with March 2008 budget changes re stamp duty. |
Share Certificates
| • | New options for share certificates to be signed by one director or the company secretary or, from 6th April 2008, by a director plus a witness (these options should only be used if the company’s Articles of Association permit). |
Members
| • | Improved handling of allocation of next member folio number when creating a new member. |
e-Filing
| • | Improvement to "View Problems" messages when e-filing using the e-Filing module |
| • | Previously the Company Secretary was always indicated as the "Authoriser Designation" but from 6th April 2008 there may not be a Company Secretary. Accordingly, the software now enables you to specify the "Authoriser Designation" for all e-Filed documents. |
Improved Action List
| • | Tabs reorganised in Action List for easier navigation. |
eFormations
| • | Improved design of main entry screen. |
| • | New option to supply text of own objects. |
Build 10.01
| • | New Authority2file technology works in conjunction with our Companies House eFiling module to fully automate obtaining authority from your client to electronically file forms at Companies House. |
Once you have specified the form data and ticked the "Request Authority from Client" box, the software handles the rest automatically and will only release the eFiling instruction for filing once the client has emailed their authority.
The fully automated Authority2file process:
1. Prepare form data
2. Tick "Request Authority from Client" box
3. An email is automatically sent to client with attached PDF of equivalent completed paper form to be eFiled, requesting authority to eFile the information
4. eFiling instruction automatically added to eFiling queue and placed on hold, "Awaiting Authorisation"
5. Client replies "I Agree" to the email, signifying their authority for you to eFile the information
6. The email reply is automatically retrieved by the software and, if authorised, the on hold eFiling instruction is released and sent to Companies House
7. Email automatically sent to client confirming that form has been eFiled
| • | All forms and reports produced by the software are now produced as PDF files (no other software required to produce the PDFs) which can be either viewed or printed using free Adobe Reader software or can be emailed. Coupled with this is the new Report Log which saves a copy of each PDF form/report produced together with description/user comments. This log allows you to retrieve, at any date in the future, the original report which can then be either viewed, printed or emailed. |
| • | New Share Certificate Log records details of share certificates produced and stores PDF copies of the certificates in conjunction with the report described above. |
| • | New optional "Companies House Data Check Plus" module enhances the standard Companies House Data Check facility by allowing you to actually download filed documents (in PDF format) re any entry in the Company's online Filing History (requires Companies House "XML Gateway" account). The module also allows bulk checking of all companies' data with Companies House with a single click. |
| • | Status of last Companies House data check now shown on Company List screen and also in the "Action List". |
| • | New Share Reorganisation Wizard automates the task of calculating and posting share transactions in respect of share reorganisations, eg. share splits, rights issues etc. The wizard even deals with the redemption of any remainder shares. |
| • | Multi Company change of address facility allows the printing of forms 287, 190 and 353 for multiple companies where the registered office is at the presenter and the presenter changes address. |
| • | The existing "Other Company Files" facility has been enhanced to allow you to specify any local or network folder for each client in addition to the system folders already used. Navigation of the files/folders has also been made easier. |
| • | New facility added to send emails to Directors, Secretaries and Members of a Company. |
| • | Email address fields now exported in person, director and member mailmerges. |
| • | Added button to request Personal Authentication Data by email for a Person/Director/Secretary. |
| • | Company 'Other Files' window enhanced to allow sorting using column headings. |
| • | Enhanced data file backup now creates compressed zip files. Options added to backup scanned document PDF files and saved report PDF files. Email data files option also uses compressed zip file. |
| • | Printed Annual Return form 363a now automatically attaches schedules of past and present members. |
| • | Schedules of past and present members now only shows entry for a member/class shares if either a non zero balance or where there was a transfer in the period. |
| • | Form 225 (Change of Accounting Date) now has option to save new accounting dates back to Company record. |
| • | Enhancements to user interface and cosmetic improvements. |
Build 9
NEW CONCEPT OF "PERSON"
In previous versions of the software, details of members, directors and secretaries were held separately in each company. The latest version now has a new Person database where a person's particulars are stored centrally. The advantages of this are:
| • | If you amend a person record, the details will automatically be reflected in all members, directors and secretaries for that person. eg. Changing an address. |
| • | Other Directorships of a person are now automatically maintained in respect of all companies administered within the software. A director of multiple companies will automatically show the correct Other Directorships within each company. |
| • | It is easy to create a new member, director or secretary based on an existing person record. |
| • | You can print, email or eFile forms 288c in respect of changes to a person across multiple companies in one go. |
| • | Can now "drill down" from a person to their underlying Memberships, Directorships and Secretaryships. |
As part of the conversion process from previous versions to version 9, all members, directors and secretaries data will be analysed and "Person" records automatically created.
IMPORTANT NOTE
It is likely that there are some anomalies within your existing data that give rise to multiple “Person” records being created for the same person if, for example, you have inconsistent addresses or forenames. In these cases, the conversion process will create multiple Person records which will be marked with a red exclamation mark. It is up to you to “merge” them in order that, for example, Interests in Shares and Other Directorships are correctly maintained (see below).
How were duplicate Person records created?
When the automatic data conversion process takes place when you upgrade to version 9 of the software, Person records are automatically created for all Director, Secretary and Member details.
In some cases, whilst the names of Persons created are the same, some information such as address or date of birth are different and therefore multiple records are created for what may well be the same person.
Duplicates may also have been created manually by mistake or automatically when importing a company. In all cases you must therefore manually MERGE the multiple records into one.
Indication of possible duplicate Person records
As an indication of possible duplicate records, the list of Persons shows an exclamation mark next to all entries which have identical or similar details.
Marking records indicated as a possible duplicate as non-duplicate
If an entry marked as a possible duplicate is not actually a duplicate, you can highlight it and click on "Mark as non duplicate" - the entry will then show an exclamation mark with a blue cross..
Preventing records being marked as a duplicate in the future
You can also prevent an entry from being marked as a duplicate in the future - highlight it and click on "Prevent being marked as duplicate" - the entry will then be displayed with a blue cross.
Merging records
To MERGE Person entries, first highlight the entry to MERGE and then click on "Merge selected person with another". Then select the person to KEEP. The two entries will be merged and all cross relationships automatically resolved. If you have more than two entries to merge, then they must be merged two at a time.
E-FILING DIRECT WITH COMPANIES HOUSE
The latest version has a new optional eFiling module which allows you to eFile Companies House forms directly with Companies House. The software handles both sending of instructions and the receiving of responses from Companies House without the need for any external software. An Internet connection, dedicated email account (we can provide this for you if required) and an eFiling account with Companies House are required.
LOOK & FEEL
Enhancements to look and feel of the software, including:
| • | "XP" style task panels and entry screens giving easier access to commonly-used functions |
| • | New-style lists that can be re-ordered (forwards and backwards) by clicking the required column heading. |
| • | Windows Explorer-style “locators” that let you find entries in a list by simply typing on the list |
| • | "Required" fields (fields that must be completed in order to save the record) are now indicated by a blue box. |
STATUTORY REPORTS
All Statutory Forms for a company are now more easily accessible on a new Statutory Forms window that allows forms to be printed, emailed or eFiled.
FORM 42 DATA AND REPORTS
| • | Whenever a new share transaction is entered, Form 42 information will be automatically entered, which you can then edit if necessary. This information will be used for the purposes of producing schedules to support Form 42 each year. |
| • | Share Types can now be defined as “Restricted” or “Unrestricted” for the purposes of Form 42. |
| • | Members can be marked as being employees of the company for the purposes of Form 42. |
ENHANCED MEMBERS TAB
The list of members in the Members tab now has additional columns showing the total holdings for each member for each class of shares.
ENHANCED MEMBER SHARE TRANSACTIONS SUMMARY
The Share Transactions screen for each member now:
| • | Shows the total holding for each separate class of shares |
| • | Shows the total holdings broken down by type of transaction |
IMPROVED SHARE TRANSACTION ENTRY SCREEN
| • | Simpler intuitive layout |
| • | Easier entry of share transfers |
| • | Automatic updating of double-entry when a transfer is edited |
| • | Intelligent auto-allocation of next transaction reference |
DIRECTORS INTERESTS IN SHARES
Directors interests in their “own” shares are now automatically handled by the software.
IMPROVEMENTS TO MINUTES WIZARD
The minutes wizard can now insert appropriate text in a minute of a directors’ meeting depending on whether the company has indicated that it has dispensed with AGM’s.
NEW COMPANY GROUP NAME
The Company Info screen now has a new entry field “Group Name” which allows you to specify that a company belongs to a group of companies. Group companies can then be excluded from Other Directorships lists on forms 288.
SHARE CERTIFICATE MAILMERGE
Share certificate data can now be exported as a “mailmerge” (CSV format) data file that can be used to produce share certificates to your own design.
ENHANCED ADDRESS FIELDS
All address fields now have two or more address lines, Town, County, Post Code and Country.
DIVIDEND WAIVERS
Dividend waivers can now either waive a percentage or a fixed monetary amount.
TEMPORARY FILES
Temporary files that are created from time to time by the software are now located in your Windows “TEMP” folder. This solves issues that some users experienced when using diskless workstations or Terminal Server sessions.
NEW FORMS MODULE
The Forms module has been completely re-designed and re-written and is now renamed “Forms Online”. The module now works by downloading the actual standard forms from the official websites and, once downloaded, enables users to access the local, downloaded copy without being connected to the Internet. The software comes with a standard database of over 500 forms, including Companies House, Inland Revenue, VAT and other forms. Forms can easily be found by form number, name or category and by a powerful search facility. The database is constantly being updated and enhanced and the software automatically checks for updates each time it is used. Additionally, you can insert as many additional "User" forms as you wish. Even if you do not subscribe to the Forms Online module, it will run in Evaluation Mode (which simply puts an “Evaluation” watermark on each form) so you can see for yourself how it now works.
DATA EXCHANGE "EXPORTED" FLAG
When a company's data is exported using the "Data Exchange Module", the company's record will be flagged as exported. This flag is reset when the company is imported.
IMPROVED SCANNED DOCUMENTS MODULE
Completely re-written scanned documents module that now stores documents in standard multi-page PDF files. New scanning engine that works without the need for any 3rd party imaging software.
COMPANIES HOUSE LIVE DATA CHECK
This new facility allows you to:
| • | Instantly compare your basic company data with live Companies House data, highlight differences and automatically update your own records |
| • | Import all basic company data for a new company by simply entering the company registration number |
Build 8.20
Interim release to compliment release of Build 7.01 of Electronic Formations software.
Import Form Internet The Data Exchange Module now has an extra button Import eFormation from Internet. This allows you to import the written up registers, pdf copies of the certificate of incorporation and Memorandum & Articles of Association in respect of a company, incorporated through the Electronic Formations facility, into PC Share Register Plus by automatically downloading the data straight from the Internet without the need for any disks.
Bulk Request CAC Codes We have been working closely with Companies House in order to ease the burden of applying for Company Authentication Codes (CAC's) in order to start e-filing for a large number of companies. Previously, each company had to apply in writing to Companies House, specifying the 6 digit CAC code that it wished to use for e-filing. We have agreed with Companies House a method by which PC Share Register Plus will send by email a list of all companies that require a CAC code and Companies House will then allocate a random 6 digit code, notifying the code in writing to each company's registered office. Once received, all you have to do is enter the relevant code for each company into PC Share Register Plus. At the time of releasing the software, Companies House were still working on their part of the process and were not accepting these requests.
Build 8.1x
Enhanced Minutes: "Rich Text" support means you can now fully format the text with fonts, styles, size, colour etc. and import/export formatted text with word processing software and other Windows programs.
New "Group ID" field added: for directors, secretaries and members - this allows for automatic synchronisation of details of personnel with the same "Group ID", avoiding the need to make amendments more than once.
New Directors/Secretaries and New Members wizards: Easily add new directors, secretaries or members from their existing entry in the same or other companies.
Other Company Files Viewer: From within the program you can now view a list of "other" company files (and open them) that have been produced outside of PC Share Register Plus and saved in designated folders for each company. eg. word processing files.
Partial waiver of dividends: Now possible to partially waive dividends - the percentage waived can now be entered.
Combined Register ->PDF: Printout can now be emailed as a PDF attachment.
Individual minutes ->PDF: Can now be emailed as a PDF attachment.
Reorder Company List by Registration Number: Can now re-order Company List by Company Registration Number.
Presenter Logos on Forms: Different logos can now be printed on company forms for each different presenter. Previously, the same logo printed for all presenters.
Email Footer Text: Option to specify email footer text for each presenter which will appear on outgoing emails generated by the software.
Revised Companies House Forms: All forms updated to new October 2003 versions.
Cosmetic: Numerous cosmetic improvements to the user interface.
Improved window resizing: Windows can be resized to fit your display.
XP Look and Feel: For users of Windows XP, the user interface now displays using the XP style buttons etc. The program still works with older versions of Windows, but will display "traditional" style buttons etc.
Bug Fixes: A number of minor bugs have been fixed.
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Build 7.1
Electronically file Companies House forms: From within the software you can now eFile certain company forms using the eFILEit electronic filing gateway. There is no additional subscription for this service, just a small filing fee charged by eFileit. Fir more information or to open an eFileit account visit www.efileit.co.uk or call 020 7353 9471.
Email Forms as Adobe Acrobat PDF files: From within the program you can now automatically create PDF files of completed forms and send them by email.
New Standard Minutes: You can now create and edit a library of Standard minutes. When you create a new minute you can then insert the text of one of the standard minutes.
Enhanced Dividend Waiver Facility: Previously, you could only flag a member as waiving all dividends or none. Now you can specify which members are waiving each dividend separately
New Fields: Can now enter contact and bank details for each company. These details are now included in the Company Mailmerge files.
Enhanced Evaluation Mode: In evaluation mode, there is now no limit on the number of companies that can be set up.
New license banding: 1, 2, 3 or 4 company license has now become a 10 company license. A new 25 company band has also been added.
Cosmetic and user interface enhancements.
Corrected bug re member's address in Deeds of Waiver.
Data Exchange Module: Can now select, not only the drive letter to/from which to export and import, but also the folder.
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Build 6.0
New Security Module introduced as an optional module that allows you to set up users/user groups and allocate specific access rights to each individual. If using the Security Module, the Events Log now records the User Name of the user performing the task.
Share types with par value of less than 1p are now allowed. Shares with a nominal value per share as low as £0.000001 (0.0001p) are now possible.
Ten user-definable date fields can be created and used to record and track such things as Corporation Tax Return filing date etc.
Customise the wording used by the Minutes Wizards.
Customisable Share Certificate Borders You can now select the share certificate border when printing share certificates by choosing one of the pre-defined border types. You can also add your own custom borders.
Share Types Tab, which lists the classes of shares for a particular company, now also shows for each class of shares, the Authorised and Total Issued number of shares.
Minutes can now be created without specifying the date of the meeting. The minutes will be printed with a row of dots in order to manually insert date at a later stage.
Company List can now be ordered in Manager Reference order and by user defined dates order.
New Report added re List of Companies by Client Reference.
Added a To Do flag for each company which can be set by users. When set, the company will be displayed on the Company List screen with a ! and will also be included in the Action List.
New Mailmerge Facility
It is now possible to produce mailmerge files that can be used in Microsoft Word and other programs in respect of:
- List of all Company Names and Addresses and other details on system
- Details of all Companies listed in the Action List
- Members names and addresses of a particular Company
- Directors names and addresses of a particular Company
- Company details and dates
- Dividend Warrants/Tax Vouchers (enabling you to create your own custom design, including cheque printing)
Certificates of Membership for Guarantee Companies you can now be restricted to certificates for those members joining after a specified date.
Share Certificates can now be produced without specifying the date of the certificate. The certificates will be printed with a row of dots in order to manually insert date at a later stage.
New Reports - directors address labels and overprint directors addresses.
Events Log printout - can now select the date range to be printed .
Deeds of waiver - corrected inconsistency in printing. Commas are now not automatically inserted between address lines to be consistent with share certificates.
Solved problem whereby you could not previously override automatic calculation of total consideration on share transfers.
First line of Presenter address increased to 70 characters. By use of a comma in this first line, it will automatically be split into two lines when used as Registered Office address.
Fixed problem with tabbing to next field/selecting fields in minutes update screen.
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Build 5.2/3
New Document Scanning Module introduced as an optional additional module that allows paper based documents to be scanned and saved by PC Share Register Plus for later retrieval/Viewing/Printing.
Ability to record name of Companies with very long company names.
Can now automatically insert address of Registered Office of company into Minutes.
Ability to automatically insert name and address of Members and Directors of company into Minutes.
Now able to print Certificates of Membership for companies limited by guarantee.
New Email Data Files option.
New Electronic Formation facility allowing you to form companies direct from your PC. This service is brought to you in conjunction with the leading company formation agents The London Law Agency Ltd.
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Build 5.1.2/3
Improvement to member selection screen for Share Transfers.
Build 5.1.1
Fixed problem with list of directors/secretaries incorrectly showing as 1st if appointed at a future date.
Build 5.1
Fixed intermittent problem with dividend summaries.
Enabled printing of Form 288a with blank appointment date.
Build 5.03
Modifications made to speed up display of Company List.
Build 5.02
New manager field added for each Company.
Can now restrict view of list of companies to selected Presenters or Managers.
Lists of Companies reports can now be restricted to selected Presenters or Managers.
Build 5.01a
Corrected problems with joint shareholding names on reports and share certificates.
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Build 5.01
New style (September 1999) Companies House Forms 363a, 288b and 88(2) implemented. (The previous forms will be accepted by Companies House until September 2000)
Form 391 added (Removal of Auditors)
The number of the last share certificate is retained for each company and the starting number for new share certificates is automatically incremented.
Two new flags added to member records re dividends to:
a) suppress calculation of tax on dividends to that member (eg. for group companies)
b) waive dividends for that member
Two new Share Movement types added: Reorganisation and Purchase own shares
Deeds of Waiver can now be printed for any member with Dividend Waiver flag set.
Resolved problem with last few words of dividend narrative not printing.
Dividend Warrants can now be printed as either Large (1 per A4 page) or small (3 per A4 page).
Cosmetic changes to Combined Register and other screens.
Can now change the date criteria whereby dates turn Red on Company List screen.
New Action List added. You can now view and print lists of companies with Red dates.
New Year End report added which allows you to print out lists of companies with a particular year end month, regardless of last accounts dates.
Other Company List reports now include reference to Company Registration Number and Year End.
New menu option added within File menu to Backup data files.
New report Overprint Members' Addresses added which will print members' names and addresses onto an A4 page in order to align with standard window envelopes. This may be used to print members' details on standard letters etc., eg. notices of meetings.
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