Overview
Admins and Managers have the ability to add, edit, and delete Checklist Items on the Folders tab and the Checklist tab. Additionally, via Inline changes only, Users and Workflow Users may create non-recurring checklist items from the Checklist tab as well as edit or delete items they created. Perhaps most importantly, changes can be applied going forward to future months. This eliminates the need to navigate to the Manage Checklist page in the Admin Settings section of FloQast if you need to make minor changes.
Adding Checklist Items
Admins and Managers will see an "Add" button that appears on both the Close The Books tab and the Checklist tab (example in the Checklist tab shown below).
When pressing the "Add" button, a slide-out will appear.
As a user, you now have the opportunity to configure the following settings for your new checklist item:
- Entity - You may select any entity that you have access to
- Folder - You may select any folder that exists in the entity you selected for the month currently in view
- Assignees and Due Dates - You may assign any users (besides Auditors and Sys Admins) to the checklist item as long as they have access to the entity you selected
- Description - You can set the actual description of the checklist item
- Frequency - You may select the frequency option. The options include Non-Recurring, Weekly, Every 2 weeks, Monthly, Quarterly, Annual, Weekly, and Custom
- Tags - You may select any tag previously created in the system or you may create a new tag
FAQs
Question: What month(s) will my checklist item get added to in FloQast?
Answer: If you select "Non-Recurring" as the frequency, the checklist item will only get added to the month you are currently looking at in FloQast (October 2019 in the screenshot above). However, if you select any other frequency (e.g. "Monthly", "Quarterly", etc.), the checklist item will get added to the selected month and all future months in FloQast in accordance with the selected frequency. For example, if you add a monthly checklist item to July 2019, the item will get added to July, August, September, and all months up to your latest month that exists in FloQast. You will also notice the checklist item will appear on the "Manage Checklist" page in the settings section of FloQast, which ensures the item will get added to future months in FloQast when those months are created. In a more complicated example, if you have a 12/31 year end, and you attempt to add a quarterly checklist item to July, the item will in fact not get added to July (since it is not a quarter end month), but the item will get added to September and future quarter end months. If you select "Every 2 weeks" you will be prompted to select a start date, which is the first day the item will be due, and then the item will populate for two weeks from that date and going forward.
Question: Can I add checklist items to locked folders?
Answer: For control purposes, you may not add checklist items to locked folders. The screenshot below shows that locked folders are not selectable when adding a new checklist item. If, for example, you have a folder (e.g. "Accounts Payable") that is unlocked in July, locked in August, and unlocked in September, and you attempt to add a monthly checklist item to a folder beginning July, the system will still not tamper with the locked folder; the checklist item will be added to July and September, but not August.
Question: I attempted to add a monthly checklist item to an old month (e.g. June 2019), but it does not seem to be getting added to all subsequent months. Why is that?
Answer: The item should in fact get added to all subsequent months if you selected the "Monthly" frequency. However, the item will not get added to subsequent months if the folder you added the item into is already locked in subsequent months or if the folder does not exist in subsequent months.
Editing Checklist Items
Admins and Managers also have the ability to edit checklist items already in the system, and optionally apply their changes forward to future months. These users can click the settings gear icon (see screenshot below) next to any checklist item in order to edit the item.
Similar to the process of adding a new checklist item, a slide-out will appear (see screenshot below).
This process works almost the exact same way as adding a new checklist item to the system. However, there are some key differences:
- You will not be able to move the checklist item to a different entity. However, you will be able to move the item to a different folder in the same entity.
- For recurring checklist items (i.e. monthly, quarterly, annual, or custom frequency items), you can select whether you would like to apply changes to "This period and going forward" or "This period only". If you select "This period and going forward", then FloQast will apply the checklist item settings to the current month in view and all future months in the system where that checklist item exists. The change will also carry through to the "Manage Checklist" page in the settings area of FloQast if the item exists there. If you select "This period only," then only the currently selected checklist item will be updated.
FAQs
Question: What happens if I remove an assignee, but they have already signed off on the checklist item in the currently selected and/or future months?
Answer: FloQast will not remove any completed signatures. However, if for example a user has signed off on an item in the currently selected period only, and you want to remove them as an assignee in future periods, you are still able to remove them as an assignee and apply your changes going forward and the user will successfully get removed as an assignee in future periods.
Deleting Checklist Items
Admins and Managers can also delete items and optionally apply the delete to future periods. This feature is accessible using the same settings gear icon that allows for edits.
A delete button appears in the bottom left of the slide-out and users can decide if they want to delete the item only in the month they are viewing, or if they also want to delete the item in future periods.
FAQs
Question: What happens if I delete the checklist item and apply my changes to "This period and going forward" but the item is already signed off or locked in a future period?
Answer: If the checklist item is locked or partially signed off in a future period, the item will not be deleted in that period.