Replicon and Polaris new feature summaries - latest update
Q2 2025 - Planned new features
RESOURCING
Task allocation in Polaris
Currently in Polaris, you can allocate resources to projects, and you can assign resources timesheet access to tasks.
But soon, you’ll be able to allocate resources directly to tasks.
This will allow project managers to check resource availability when planning tasks and to view actual hours worked per task versus the allocated hours.
Hiring integration with Talent Management in Polaris
Currently in Polaris, if no suitable resource is available to fulfill an allocation request, the resource manager can mark that role as To Be Hired. However, since HR and hiring capabilities are beyond the scope of Polaris, managers have to manually handle hiring requests and allocations outside of the app.
Soon in Polaris, we’ll be introducing an integration with Deltek Talent Management (DTM) that enables automated requesting, fulfillment, and allocation of new hires.
Two Project reports recategorized under Resource in Polaris
We’ll soon be moving two report templates currently located under the Project category to the Resource category. The two templates are:
- Resource Request vs Allocation, and
- Resource Allocation
PROJECTS & BILLING
Project mass edit in Polaris
You'll soon be able to edit multiple Polaris projects at once.
To mass edit, you’ll go to the Projects list page, select the projects you want to edit, make your changes, and click Mass Edit.
This new functionality will allow you to quickly make changes to multiple projects, right within the project interface.
Capped billing in Polaris
In Polaris, you’ll soon be able to set a cap on the amount that can be invoiced for a project.
If billing managers attempt to send invoices that exceed the total contract value you’ve set for that project, they’ll encounter an error message.
Time off visibility for project managers in Replicon
Project managers will soon be able to view time off for members of their project teams. This should help managers better understand resource availability, and better plan their projects and forecast revenue.
On the Team > Time Off tab for a project, they’ll be able to see time off that is either awaiting approval or has been approved, for all team members who are assigned to that project as individuals.
TIMESHEETS & PUNCHES
Timesheet template effective dates in Replicon and Polaris
Sometimes, administrators need to change which timesheet template a user or group of users is assigned – for example, if users change departments or locations.
Soon, when administrators assign new templates to users in their user profiles, they will be able to choose when the assignment takes effect. This has two main benefits:
- It allows admins to set up new timesheet templates before the new template takes effect
- It allows a record of old template assignments to be saved when a template is changed
Project Time Correction report in Replicon and Polaris
We’ll soon be adding a report template designed for project managers called the Project Time Correction report.
This report allows project managers to:
- Check for post-approval changes that may impact previous client billing
- Review changes they’ve asked team members to make, in a single location
Improved support for punch functionality in Polaris
Currently, when punch users access Polaris, they don’t see a Time Punches tab in their My Work section, but instead have to follow a roundabout path – navigating from Reports to My Replicon – to find that tab.
We’ll soon be improving the user experience for those using Replicon time punches in Polaris. To see these changes, customers must be using Replicon’s Workforce Management or Time Attend Plus products, together with Polaris.
TIME OFF
An update to time off delete approval in Replicon
In Q1 of 2025, we added the option to allow approval when a user attempts to book time off, for each time off type.
Soon, we’ll be adding a new setting that lets administrators require approval for only past or only future bookings.
We’re introducing this option to support the common scenario of allowing deletion of future time off without approval, while requiring approval when deleting past time off, since past time off has more impact on other data.
New deletion of submitted bookings option in Replicon
Currently, for each time off type, administrators can choose to allow all bookings, no bookings, future bookings, or past bookings that have been submitted to be deleted.
Soon, we’ll be allowing an additional option: Bookings up to X months in the past only.
SCHEDULING
Project Manager shift scheduling in Replicon
Soon, project managers will be able to carry out shift scheduling in Replicon, without needing schedule manager or supervisor permissions.
This will allow PMs to directly schedule their project team members, from the projects they own only. This is helpful in cases where the PM handles all shift scheduling for their team, and can also help filter shift workers if one manager acts as both PM and supervisor.
Shift Assignment Audit Trail report in Replicon
Soon in Replicon, we’ll be offering a new report template and default report called Shift Assignment Audit Trail, that shows all changes (add, modify, and delete) made to shift schedules.
For example, you might use this new report to confirm when the shift was scheduled, if an employee complains that a shift was updated right before it occurred so they didn’t receive enough notice.
COMPLIANCE
New and updated compliance rules in Replicon
This quarter, we added/updated the following compliance rules:
- We added two new out of the box pay rules this quarter, one for the British Virgin Islands and one for Uzbekistan
- We released a Maximum overtime hours in a period timesheet validation rule
- We added a Bookings must start prior to a date-based period time off booking validation rule
- We’ve updated the Yearly/Monthly accrual with expiry & rounding time off accrual rule
Planned new features for Q1 of 2025
IN REPLICON & POLARIS
ZEROTIME™
Auto Populate timesheets in ZeroTime™
Replicon and Polaris’s ZeroTime™ feature enables automatic collection of work hours and activities that users can apply to their timesheets.
Now, ZeroTime offers an Auto Populate feature. This feature allows time and related data to be collected and allocated to timesheets without any manual intervention by the user, resulting in literally zero time spent populating the timesheet.
ZeroTime™ suggestions based on historical timesheets, favorites, and defaults
Currently, when an employee starts using ZeroTime™, it can take a few days for our machine learning algorithm to train on their usage patterns.
So, this quarter, we’ll be speeding things up a bit, by adding data from the user’s historical timesheets, timesheet favorites, and timesheet custom field defaults to the algorithm.
Configurable status: Not configurable
Enhanced ZeroTime™ inline timer
Currently, the inline timer available when recording ZeroTime™ notes stops running if you leave the Notes dialog.
So, to make this timer more useful, we’ll soon be upgrading it so it continues to run in the background as you work on other pages.
Configurable status: Not configurable
TIME OFF
Holiday calendar effective dates
Administrators will soon be able to set effective dates when assigning holiday calendars to users. This will allow you to retain historical data when you have to switch calendars, and will allow you to set up calendar assignments in advance.
Plus, we’ll be offering a new option that will let you update all automatically-generated holiday bookings to match the new assignment.
TIMESHEETS
New approval date/time column in Time Entry Details report
We’re adding a Time Entry Approval Date/Time column to the Time Entry Details report template.
This column will allow customers with multiple downstream ERPs, who therefore use reports to transfer data to their ERPs, to filter time entries essentially in real time, so hours can be billed for as quickly as possible.
SYSTEM
Upgrades to meet new WCAG standards
In December 2024 the W3C published revisions to their Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, including updates to WCAG 2.1 AA, which Replicon supports.
We’ve been making some adjustments to our products to ensure we support the changes, and we’ll be completing those changes this quarter.
IN POLARIS ONLY
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Dela project risk management
To help project managers better predict project risk, we’ll soon be launching Dela Project Analytics, an AI-powered tool that will show project managers:
- Whether a delay is likely, and
- A predicted completion date, with a confidence threshold percentage
- A summary of current risks and mitigation plan
PMs will also be able to set their risk tolerance on a per project basis, meaning fewer warnings will display if your tolerance is high.
Linked projects
In Q1, we’ll be launching a feature that allows project managers to link projects that are related together. Links can be categorized as change requests, phases, or simply ‘relates to’.
Linking projects will allow you to instantly view hours, cost, and revenue totals for all linked projects, on the Linked Projects tab.
Task dates can be set to roll up to their parent
Currently in Polaris, when a child task’s dates change, their parent task’s date range doesn’t update.
So, if a child task is delayed or finishes more quickly than expected, sub-task dates may extend beyond the date range of their parent task. This can create confusion and make project estimation and planning more difficult.
Therefore this quarter, we’ll be launching a new setting that, when enabled, will automatically adjust parent-level dates to match their earliest and latest child task dates.
COST MANAGEMENT
Cost manager role
This quarter, we’ll be adding a new role to Polaris: Cost manager. Users assigned this role will be allowed to approve, force approve, reject, reopen, and delete time and expense sheets.
This role is similar to the cost manager role we currently offer in Replicon, and will allow customers using it to more easily upgrade to Polaris.
IN REPLICON ONLY
TIME OFF
TOIL pay codes can be linked to a time off type
If you use time off in lieu (TOIL) in Replicon, for each pay code employees can select when allocating TOIL, you’ll soon be able to set an associaed time off type. This change should make it easier for employees to submit TOIL, and should reduce errors.
COMPLIANCE
New statutory pay rule: Cayman Islands
This quarter, we’ve introduced a new out of the box statutory pay rule for the Cayman Islands. And, we’ve also updated our Lithuania pay rule.
New time off booking validation rule: Ensure a gap between two bookings
This quarter, we launched a new time off booking validation rule called Ensure a gap between two bookings that checks that there is, at minimum, an amount of time you specify between two time off bookings.
