Nexus New Features and Changes

This document lists the new features and changes made in each release of Nexus. You can access this document at any time by selecting Help->What’s New from the Nexus menu.

Nexus 2022

• A new Electronic Payment provider has been added to Nexus: EdgeExpress. This is another provider offered by Global Payments Integrated (OpenEdge). EdgeExpress will be our preferred provider moving forward, and it provides a seamless upgrade path for users of XCharge and PayPros. Upgrading to EdgeExpress is NOT mandatory. XCharge and PayPros will continue to be supported, but there are some advantages to upgrading to EdgeExpress:
  • Decline Minimizer automatically updates expired and outdated card information stored in the Token Vault for recurring payments, resulting in fewer card declines.
  • Credit card receipts can be printed from within Nexus.
  • A variety of PINpad devices are supported, including contactless (tap-to-pay card or mobile), EMV (chipped), and traditional swipe.
  • A fully integrated Web Terminal allows credit cards to be processed via manual entry or an encrypted swiper when a PINpad device is not available/functional.
  • No separate application is required to be installed, maintained, and logged into (as with XCharge). A small piece of software is still required to communicate with PINpad devices.
  • When reversing an electronic payment, a return (void/refund) can optionally be processed automatically.
  • Upgrading to EdgeExpress may require some paperwork, but existing recurring credit card and ACH payments transfer over seamlessly. Give us a call to learn more.
• A couple of options have been added to the Bank Draft/Credit Card Info screen that appears when saving a contract using electronic payments::
  • Override Electronic Payment: Allows the user to specify an Electronic Payment Amount that is different than the normal Installment Amount.
  • Charge Final Payment: When selected, Nexus will submit a final Electronic Payment that is higher than the normal Installment Amount. Otherwise, Nexus will submit no more than the normal Installment Amount, and additional electronic payment(s) may be submitted to pay off the contract. This option is NOT available if the scheduled Final Payment is lower than the normal Installment Amount, or if Override Electronic Payment has been selected.
• TRAC$: The Electronic Payments checkbox and amount now appear on the TRAC$ Account screen. The amount field is only visible when both Electronic Payments and Override Electronic Payment have been specified on the contract.
• Account Type (Checking, Savings, Credit Card) has been added to the Scheduled Electronic Payments and Electronic Payment Status reports that are generated when submitting recurring electronic payments.
• Reprinting a receipt from the Detailed Inquiry previously sent it straight to the printer. It now displays the print preview window, which gives the user the opportunity to export the receipt to a file or direct it to a different printer. Receipts can now also be generated for Payment Reversals.
• For selected PIN fields, the following columns were added to the picklist: City, State, Zip, Home Phone, Cell Phone.
• A Property Type filter has been added to the Deeded by Date Range report.
• Improvements were made to streamline the process of exporting a report from the Preview screen.
• Several Relationships were added to the Relatives tab of the Personal Information screen.
• The Calendar was updated to improve stability.

Nexus 2020.3

• Two utilities have been added to the Tasks->Utilities menu:
  • Change Sales Program: Allows you to change the sales program on an existing contract after it has been finalized. Note that this change does not affect any pricing, trusting, or other financials on the contract.
  • List Logged-in Users
• Customer Profile: Property will now appear on the report if the person's only role on that property is "Reserved For".

Nexus 2020.2

• Enhancements were made to the Alabama audit reports that were introduced in 2020.1
  • On the Preneed Contract Log, an option was added to choose which sales programs appear on the report.
  • Be default, the Property Sales Log no longer includes contracts that do not contain interment rights. A new option was added to include those contracts on the report, should it be needed, but by default it is not selected.
• Zip code has been added to the top portion of the Task Center when a list of people is displayed.
• Cell Phone and Work Phone/Ext have been added to the Delinquent Accounts report. This displays only on the Detail report, when running normally or By Counselor.
• The Cell Phone field has been added to the Contract Entry Verification report.
• The webCemeteries upload utility has been updated to better support multiple burials in a single grave.

Nexus 2020.1

• Two new reports were added to the Reports->Funding->Audit Reports screen based on the requirements of the state of Alabama:
  • Preneed Contract Log
  • Property Sales Log
• Refund Date and Refund Amount fields have been added to the Contract Entry screen Financials tab. THESE FIELDS ARE INFORMATIONAL ONLY. No transactions are processed and no other financial amounts on the contract are affected by these fields. These were added for the new audit reports, but they could be used by any client that wants to record when a refund occurs.
• A new format has been added for exporting reports: {Data Only} Microsoft Excel 2007 Worksheet (XLSX). Like other Data Only exports, this is only available from the Export button, not from the Preview window.

Nexus 2020

• Nexus 2020 is the official release of the features listed below in the interim versions of Nexus 2017.50 through 2018.90. If you were running one of these previous interim versions, then you may already have some of these new features.

Nexus 2018.90

• Enhancements were made to the Transaction History and Customer Profile reports.
• Fields were added to the Item grids on the Task Center.
• Birth Country was added to the Personal Information screen.
• Added Header/Footer support to the MBS Word Processor built into Nexus.
• MBS Report Writer 7.5 features the following enhancements:
  • Cross-tab reports are significantly faster and more flexible.
  • There's a new option when emailing a report: Embed report in email. Turn this on to include the report as HTML in the body of the email.
  • There's a new output type: Microsoft Word Merge to a PDF file.

Nexus 2017.93

• The following improvements have been made to IMAP within Nexus:
  • A Selection Style button has been added to the map toolbar. This controls how a space is highlighted when it is selected.
  • The printed locator can now be adjusted to use a different zoom and to display a label (such as the deceased name). Contact Technical Support if you need assistance with these features.

Nexus 2017.90

• The Contract Date field now appears on the Contract Save Options screen when a contract is finalized. This allows the contract date to be changed/verified at the time the contract is finalized. Options are included to quickly choose a date.
• The Contract Date can now be changed after a contract has been finalized.
• Previously entered transactions (payments, allowances, etc.) can now be edited from the Detailed Inquiry screen Transactions tab. Only a limited selection of fields can be changed.
• The Last Statement Date field was added to the Detailed Inquiry screen.
• When multiple burials are entered into a single space, information from all burials is now transferred to the map by the Update IMAP program.

Nexus 2017.84

• The Contract Renewals screen now includes a Contract Number field, so that an individual contract can be searched for and renewed.

Nexus 2017.83

• The Task Center People->Property and Property->People pages now display all Property Roles for a person.

Nexus 2017.80

• MBS Report Writer has many new features and enhancements. Here are the highlights:
  • Executable files have been moved to the workstation to prevent security issues. Files remaining on the server have been reorganized.
  • Dashboards can now include all types of reports, not just charts and gauges. Note, however, that the dashboard window doesn't scroll so it's really only appropriate for short, informative reports
  • A new type of output is available: Microsoft Word Mail Merge. This allows you to perform a mail merge from a report to create form letters.
  • There are several new colorful templates available.
  • Consult the MBS Report Writer Help file for more details.

Nexus 2017.73

• Two new checkboxes have been added to the Task Center Property page and Find Property screen to assist when searching for property: Only Occupied and Only Sold.

Nexus 2017.70

• Import Links: Links can now be imported on the Import screen (Tasks->Import Data).

Nexus 2017.60

• Property Prices: Nexus now has the capability to set prices on individual properties and to use those prices when the property is sold on a contract.

Nexus 2017.50

• Real-World Maps

  Nexus and IMAP now feature full support for maps that contain real-world (longitude, latitude) coordinates. NOTE: The following features require a map that has been drawn using real-world coordinates. If you have an existing map, please contact MBS to inquire about our conversion service.

  • Longitude and Latitude fields have been added to the Property table and screen.
  • On the Departments screen, a new "Extract Coordinates from Map" checkbox has been added.
  • When checked, the Update IMAP program will extract coordinates for the map(s) and populate the long/lat fields in the Property table.
  • A new "Extract All Coordinates from Map" checkbox has been added to the Update IMAP screen. By default, the program will only extract property that has zero long/lat coordinates to save time. When this box is checked, coordinates for all property will be extracted, overwriting existing long/lat values. This is useful if major changes are made to the map after the initial extraction.
  • An "Online Map" button has been added to the map screen in the Task Center. This allows a Google Maps link to be sent via text message or email, or opened in a web browser.
• webCemeteries Improvements
  • Longitude and latitude coordinates are now included in the upload, allowing them to be used on the webCemeteries site and mobile apps.
  • An "Update webCemeteries Automatically" checkbox has been added to the webCem screen. When checked, it will run automatically once per day at startup.

Nexus 2017

Nexus 2017 includes a large number of new features and enhancements. Please contact Technical Support at (800) 844-4447 if you need assistance with these new features.

• Work Orders
  • The terminology "Customer Service Request" was changed to "Work Order" throughout Nexus.
  • Work Orders have been added to the Task Center.
  • The Employee Code field can be automatically populated based on the current user that is logged in. This option is configured on the Counselors/Employees screen.
  • An Audit Trail tab has been added to the Work Order screen. Select Maintenance->Configuration Options from the Nexus menu to enable this new feature.
  • Multiple decedents, property locations, and work order types can now be associated with a single work order.
  • Added a field for Initiation E-mail address.
  • Work Order reports can now be filtered based on the current status.
• Property
  • A Property Status field has been added to the Property Maintenance screen. This allows a custom status code to be assigned to a piece of property.
  • A new screen (Maintenance->Property->Property Status) has been added to maintain property status codes. Codes can be configured as Unavailable for Sale or Unavailable for Burial.
  • Property Status Codes can also be configured as Private/Restricted. This will inform the user that information regarding the grave should only be given out to certain people (for example, only owners), according to cemetery policy.
  • Property inventory rules, counts, and reports have been updated to respect the new property status field.
  • Property Styles can now be configured to show Department and the new Property Status field.
  • Property on the Task Center can now be filtered by Property Type.
• Mapping: The following changes have been made to the map within Nexus:
  • The new Property Status field (see above) is now used to the status of each space in the map.
  • The map locator can be setup to show only nearby deceased that have a marker/memorial installed. This option is configured in the IMAP section of the Maintenance->Departments screen.
  • All Theme and Legend properties are now saved when changes are made. Previously, only the shading color for property status was saved.

  Several additional capabilities have been added to mapping as well. These can ONLY be configured by MBS Technical Support. Contact us if you are interested in these new features.

  • Multiple themes are now supported for map fields in addition to Property Status.
  • Which data fields appear on the map locator can now be customized.
  • Locators can now display the currently selected theme/shading.
  • Locators can now be configured to exclude nearby deceased from appearing.
• The Calendar on the Task Center now allows different colors to be assigned to each department. This is configured on the Schedule Codes screen (Maintenance->Services->Schedule Codes).
• The Interment Authorization Form now supports Electronic Signatures on the Service Entry screen.
• Contract Date and Net Price columns have been added to the Trust Fund Status Report.
• Cell Phone has been added to the TRAC$ Account Maintenance screen.
• The webCemeteries upload now includes all property, ownership data, and property status.

Previous Releases

• Support for electronic signatures has been added to the Service screen. These signatures are included on the Interment Authorization Form.
• Options have been added to the Commission Codes screen (Maintenance->Commissions->Commission Codes) to exclude codes from sales/override volume. This refers to the Sales Volume and Override Volume fields on the Counselors/Employees screen Volume/Reserve tab. Commission will still be earned on commission codes unless the Non-Commissionable box is also checked.

• An Additional Notes tab has been added to the Personal Information and Property Maintenance screens. This allows the user to enter multiple notes regarding the person or property. Select Maintenance->Configuration Options from the Nexus menu to enable this new feature.
• Nexus has a built-in Audit Trail that tracks changes made to important data. The Audit Trail can now be displayed directly on the following screens: Personal Information, Contract Entry, Services, Property Maintenance, and Counselor/Employee Information. Select Maintenance->Configuration Options from the Nexus menu to enable this new feature.
• Property fields in Nexus have been expanded from 10 characters to 20 characters.

• Property Items
  • Nexus now tracks which items have been purchased for a piece of property. This appears on the Task Center Property page on the Items tab in the bottom section of the page.
  • The link between items and property is maintained on the Contract Entry screen when adding/editing a line item. In most cases, Nexus will handle the associations for you automatically, but they can also be tweaked by the user.
• Personal Information
  • Relatives: The Relationships tab on the Personal Information screen has been replaced with a Relatives tab. Multiple people can now be associated as relatives with a person (previously it was just Next of Kin).
  • Pictures: A new Pictures tab has been added to the Personal Information screen, allowing you to associate pictures with a person.
  • AKA: A former/alternate name can now be entered for a person. The AKA name is also searched in addition to the existing name on the Task Center.
• Services
  • Multiple Burials per Property: Nexus has always prevented the user from entering more than one burial service for each space. If multiple burials are done in the same space, then we required you to a enter an additional property with a different depth. Nexus now includes an option on the Property Codes screen (Maintenance->Property->Property Codes) that will allow multiple burials in a single space. You will still receive a warning message if a burial already exists in the space, but it will not prevent you from entering another burial service.
  • Service Director: A new Service Director field has been added to the Services screen. For example, a Funeral Director could be entered in this field. The picklist for the Service Director is specified on the Vendors/Providers screen in the new Addtional Contacts section.
  • Scheduling Report: A new Scheduling Report has been added to the Service Reports screen.
  • Interment Authorization Form: An Interment Authorization button has been added to Services screen. This generates a PDF form that is auto-populated and can be further edited by the user. MBS also offers services to customize this form according to your needs.
  • Authorized by: Added "Authorized by" and "Authorization Date" fields to the Services screen to record who (usually a family member) authorized an interment. This information will appear on the Interment Authorization form.
  • When a new service is entered, the Scheduled Date is now defaulted to the current system date.
  • If a space had previously been reserved for a person, Nexus now compares the Service PIN to the Reserved For PIN for the property. A warning is displayed if the PINs do not match.
• Task Center
  • “Service for” (with the name of the deceased) and "Burial Location" columns have been added to the Services page top grid.
  • “Add Service” has been added as an additional task for property records.
  • The People and Services pages now have Notes tabs.
• Funeral Module
  • To Do Checklist: A new To Do Checklist feature has been added to the Funeral Module Case Management screen.
  • Relatives: This feature has been improved to function as it does on the Personal Information screen.
• MBS Report Writer
  • Batch reports
  • Improved Excel and Word exports
  • Donut chart
  • Gauge report
  • Grouping formulas
  • Consult the MBS Report Writer Help file for instructions on these new features.
• Utilities
  • A new Tasks->Utilities menu has been added giving easy access to utilities that were formerly only accessible from the Command Window. Access to these utilities can be controlled using Menu Security.
  • Property Utilities have been added to make correcting property records much easier.
  • The Combine PINs utility has been improved, making it easier to find and combine duplicate personal information records.
• Miscellaneous
  • Added Zip Code to the Counselors/Employees screen.
  • Reduced size of webCemeteries upload.
  • When starting, Nexus checks if a recent backup of the SQL Server database has been made. If not, a warning appears.

• The Aged Trial Balance report can now be run as of a past date.

• Nexus Funeral Home Module Available! After years of development, our Funeral Home module is now available for combination cemetery/funeral home operations. Features include:
  • Fully integrated with existing cemetery functionality.
  • First call entry screen to open a new case.
  • Recording of all details required for funeral cases including vital statistics, death info, doctors, body preparation, life history, veteran info, obituary, and more.
  • Complete scheduling for events, locations, staff, and other resources (see more info below).
  • State and federal forms including death certificates and veteran claims.

  We've only scratched the surface. If you own a funeral home, please contact MBS at (800) 844-4447 to learn more.

• Service and Event Scheduling: Service entry was expanded to meet the needs of funeral homes, but these new features are available and useful to cemeteries as well. Highlights are:
  • Scheduling of service events, locations, staff, vehicles, outside providers, and pallbearers.
  • A graphical scheduler and conflict management make sure you don't double-book resources.
  • A new service/events calendar available directly on the Task Center make it easy to see today's and upcoming services.
• Multiple Beneficiaries: You can now enter multiple beneficiaries on a contract by entering up to two beneficiaries on each contract line item.
• You can now manually select which transactions appear on the Accounts Receivable Receipts and the Commissions Due this Period reports, both available on the Current Transactions screen.
• Count totals have been added to the Aged Trial Balance report.
• A "Cards Remaining" option has been added to the Property Cards report, allowing them to be printed on partially used sheets.
• The Document Control report now has filters for Date Assigned and Repeats.
• TRAC$ has new options to automatically create a note when a mail merge letter is printed or when an action is changed.
• You can now search property by Deed Number on the Task Center.

• MBS keeps an ever-watchful eye on new technologies, balancing the needs of our clients, while being careful not to chase software fads. This release culminates a major effort by MBS to modernize our software by moving Nexus data into SQL Server. SQL Server provides a modern database and makes it easier for MBS to use new technologies for future development... when appropriate. SQL Server runs in the background without affecting the Nexus user. However, there are some direct benefits to our clients:
  • No more data corruption! Say goodbye to data repairs, reindexes, and packs. SQL Server is highly reliable and actively protects your data.
  • Improved security: SQL Server provides an extra layer of security to prevent unauthorized access to data.
  • Improved performance for large databases and clients with a large number of users.
  • A favorite choice among IT personnel, due to their familiarity with the technology.
• Significant improvements have been made to the Period Close, Current Transactions, and other reports that you can "Accept".
  • The Period Close screen has been redesigned, while remaining familiar to Nexus users.
  • The beginning of your Fiscal Year can now be specified on the Company Setup screen. NOTE: It must be specified before you will be allowed to run a report that uses this information.
  • Report numbering has been improved and uses the fiscal year information to provide more informative report numbers.
  • These three reports can now be "accepted": Monthly Account Summary, Trust Fund Withdrawals, and Sales Tax Payable. This means that backdated transactions or corrections can appear on the current period's report. NOTE: The first time you accept these reports, you should set the ending date to the previous month or year, so that past transactions do not appear on the current period's report.