• What is recorded
• How it works
• Master
• Fields
• Theory of Operation
• Schedule
• Automation Jobs - run once per day
• Archive
• Changing A Tasks Deadline

The Tern Compliance Diary tracks legal deadlines for company activities such as tax returns, VAT payments and company insurance renewals. Recurring tasks can be added along with a nominated owner who is frequently reminded to comply with the task as needed.

What is recorded

1. Confirmation statement/PSC (annual)
2. Audited accounts & filing (annual)
3. Corporation tax returns & filing
4. Corporation tax payment
5. VAT (quarterly)
6. Insurance - renewal dates
1. Public liability & employers liability (mandatory)
2. Professional indemnity
3. Death In Service
7. Sponsorship license
1. Sponsorship license renewal
2. Sponsored individuals
8. Investor reporting
1. Quarterly valuation
2. Asset confirmations

How it works

The diary is run from Smartsheets, which contains 3 sheets: Master, Schedule and Archive.

Master

Smartsheet Sheet

The master sheet contains the template definition of the task, when the action is first due and by whom. The frequency is also configured in this sheet, yearly or quarterly.

The task status of items in the Master should always be PENDING.

Tasks are created with a UniqueID column which cannot be changed - this identifier is also copied into the Schedule and Archive spreadsheets and used to correlate changes and updates.

If you wish to create a new task or to change the values for the next instance of a task, you need to modify the Master sheet. The next instance is created once the existing task is completed from the Schedule spreadsheet.

Fields

Most fields are self explanatory, additional information below:

1. “Single Owner” - this is a single person responsible for closing this task when complete
2. “Notify To” - One or more people who are notified about this task, when its due/overdue etc.
3. “Initial Legal Deadline” - This is the first date to trigger the task when a brand new task is created
4. “Legal Deadline” - this is calculated automatically and normally contains the due date of the next instance (once the one in Schedule sheet is complete) so is typically set for the next year.

Calculated/formula fields which cannot be changed manually:

1. “Last Complete” - Finds the maximum legal deadline date for this task on the Schedule sheet
2. “Pending Task” - Checked if the Schedule sheet has an outstanding task matching this Unique ID (its not completed)
3. “UniqueId does not exist in schedule” - Unique Id for the row does not exist in schedule sheet. This is true when a new task/row is created in the master and the overnight copy job has not completed.

Theory of Operation

A master task list is created in the Master sheet with all the activities required. Smartsheet automation jobs are then used to clone the tasks into the Schedule sheet.

When a new task is created, it will not appear in the schedule until the following day after the automation job has completed.

There are 3 automation jobs, which run once per day:

1. “Force task status to be pending” - this simply ensures that any task in the master sheet is at a PENDING status.
2. “Copy new task into schedule sheet” - when a new task is created, clone its values into the Schedule sheet. The cloned task will have a status of PENDING meaning its outstanding. This job only creates tasks once, when its initially created in the master.
3. “Create recurring tasks in Compliance Tasks - Schedule” - this clones an existing task from the master into the Schedule. This occurs once the existing task in Schedule changes status from PENDING to COMPLETED. This job creates the repeating tasks based on the data in the master.

In general, only people creating new or editing the master definition of a task need access to the Master sheet, for day to day operation the changes are made in the Schedule.

Schedule

Smartsheet Sheet

The schedule sheet is the dataset of outstanding tasks. This sheet is where users will update a task to COMPLETE. Tasks should NEVER be created directly into this sheet. The data is automatically cloned from the master.

Column/field highlighting is used to indicate overdue tasks or approaching deadlines.

Automation Jobs - run once per day

1. “Tasks overdue and/or due in next 7 days” - this is a simple email alert to Karthik/Tom/Stu to indicate overdue tasks. It runs on 1st of the month.
2. “Update request” - as the legal deadline and reminder dates approach, the task “single owner” and “Notify To” list are emailed to update the task and complete it. When the user(s) are notified, the last notification date is set to avoid spamming users every day.
3. “Archive completed rows” - once a task is marked as COMPLETED it will be automatically moved to the archive sheet.

It is the responsibility of the “Single Owner” user to complete the task which the activity is performed by simply updating the status to COMPLETED - no other fields should be edited.

Comments and file attachments (screenshots) can be left against a task if required for audit evidence.

Archive

Smartsheet Sheet

The archive sheet is nothing more than an historic log of completed tasks moved from the schedule. The data in the archive should not be edited or deleted.

Changing A Tasks Deadline

If you require a temporary change to an existing pending task deadline (a one off event) edit the “Legal Deadline” column in the SCHEDULE sheet. The “Reminder Date” will automatically update based on a formula.

If you require a permanent change to a task deadline/definition make the changes in the Master sheet. This is required for example, if the deadline for VAT returns changes or is aligned with year end for accounting purposes.

Steps:

1. Delete the relevant PENDING task from the Schedule sheet.
2. In the Master sheet, edit the relevant task/row and update the “Initial Legal Deadline” column with the new due date.
3. Overnight, the task will be created automatically in the Schedule by the automation jobs and will continue to run on the updated settings in the future.