An update has been released by Elesar Ltd to Prophet, the comprehensive accounts package for RISC OS. Version 4.05 of the software benefits from features requested by users and some problems addressed – including an important one for users of the Making Tax Despicable Digital (MTD) feature.
Dealing with that last item first, on 2nd January it emerged that any incomplete VAT returns for 2019 that needed to be submitted to HM Revenue and Customs under the UK’s MTD scheme were no longer listed – which meant they could not be submitted. The problem, it turned out, was that the API imposed a 366 day limit for returning liabilities and obligations – so if the software requested that information going all the way back to the start of 2019, that request couldn’t be fulfilled.
Upon discovery, Elesar issued a simple workaround so that people could still submit their returns while a proper solution was found. All that was necessary was as bit of time travel; users just had to set their computer’s clock to 1st January or earlier, and the missing obligations would magically be available once again. Although while displaced in time, for obvious reasons, users had to avoid making changes that would alter the course of – [checks…] – a few weeks of history.
With the updated version of the software the problem has been resolved properly, and Prophet can now retrieve the necessary information.
One of the feature requests that have been added is that a pair of system variables now exist to allow a user-defined action to take place before and after saving the Prophet database. The other is that when customer statements are exported as text, they now show the same fields as the printed version, making the two more consistent.
One of the bugs that has been fixed also relates to customer statements, in that the time periods set up for these are now acted upon. This means users can now specify the point at which their chosen reminder text is added to statements. The other fixes are:
- The ledger windows now close when Ctrl-Alt is pressed when a window’s close icon is clicked – which is supposed to close all windows, but previously left those open.
- Rendering problems have been solved when text areas in Drawfiles used non-standard fonts, and those files were in turn used as background images for invoices.
- An internal error when sorting the customer database has been dealt with.
The update to version 4.05 is free to users of version 3.93 or later – i.e. those versions supplied by Elesar Ltd – users simply have to run the installer application again. This will download the latest version, along with a revised copy of the 266-page manual.
To buy the software, simply pop along to the Elesar shop. Users of older versions – as supplied by Apricote Studios, who originally developed Prophet – can upgrade for £58.00 plus VAT (£69.60), while new users can purchase the software for £79.00 plus VAT (£94.80). The MTD option – necessary for any UK business with turnover above the VAT threshold – can be added for £45 plus VAT (£54).
