1. No category

ARGUS Developer v7.0
Product Release Notes
Document Version 1.01
March 16th, 2015
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
Error! Unknown document property name.
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
March 16th, 2015
Published by:
ARGUS Software, Inc.
3050 Post Oak Boulevard
Suite 900
Houston, Texas 77056
Telephone (713) 621-4343
Facsimile (713) 621-2787
www.argussoftware.com
Information in these release notes is subject to change without notice and represents no commitment on the part
of ARGUS Software.
These release notes are copyright © 2015, ARGUS Software. All rights reserved. These release notes are a
confidential and proprietary trade secret of ARGUS Software and its licensors, made available only under a license
containing obligations of confidentiality. Information in these release notes is subject to change without notice.
"ARGUS Software" is a trademark of ARGUS Software, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are
property of their respective companies.
2
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
ARGUS Developer v7.0
ARGUS Developer System Requirements ......................................................................................................................4
Compatible Platforms and Products .........................................................................................................................4
System Requirements ...............................................................................................................................................4
Further documentation about this product ..............................................................................................................5
Enhancements Introduced in v7.0 .................................................................................................................................6
Known Issues and Workarounds in ARGUS Developer 7.0 ............................................................................................8
Fixed Defects in ARGUS Developer 7.0 ........................................................................................................................10
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
3
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
Error! Unknown document property name.
ARGUS Developer System Requirements
Before you Begin
Before starting to install ARGUS Developer, please take a moment to make sure that you have fulfilled the
following prerequisites.
Compatible Platforms and Products
This product has been verified to install and operate on the following platforms (or with the following products):
Desktop Operating Systems with latest service packs installed
 Windows Vista™
 Windows 7™
 Windows 8™
System Requirements
The following represents minimal supported system requirements for use of ARGUS Developer v7.0.
Client PC Requirements
 Memory: At least 2 Gb of RAM
 Hard Drive: At least 500 megabytes of hard disk space
 Processor: 1.5 GHz or faster
 Display: SVGA 1024 x 768 colour monitor
Microsoft Excel Export and Import Requirement
 MS Excel 2007™ or higher
For the Excel Analysis Reports
 MS Excel 2010™ or higher
Server Operating Systems (for SQL Server, if not running stand-alone)
 Windows Server 2003™
 Windows Server 2008™
 Windows Server 2008 R2™
Supported Database Environments
 MS SQL SERVER 2008™ (Recommended)
 MS SQL SERVER 2008 R2™
 MS SQL Server 2012™
 MS SQL Compact v3.5™ service pack 2 (subject to a database size limit of 4Gb – which approximates
to 500 .wcfx files)
Note: If MS SQL Compact is not already on the workstation, it is installed as part of the ARGUS
Developer v7.0 installation process.
Whilst ARGUS endeavours to correct known issues, software is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind,
express or implied. In no event shall ARGUS be held liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or
consequential damages arising out of the use of or inability to use this software.
ARGUS recommends that clients check new versions in a test environment before releasing to their users.
ARGUS will provide test licenses to all clients under support who wish to upgrade to the new version.
4
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
Further documentation about this product
Further documentation including these Release Notes can be found in the ARGUS Developer>Region>[select
relevant region] folder or downloadable from the ARGUS Software website:
http://customer.argussoftware.com/site/downloads/ARGUSDownloadsNewDev.htm.
This includes the following documents:

ARGUS Developer Release Notes version 7.0.pdf – These Release Notes in PDF format.

ARGUSDeveloperInstallGuide.pdf - The installation guide in PDF format.

Import Actuals Data.pdf – This guide details the file formats and process to Import actuals data into ARGUS
Developer.

Calculations Manual.pdf - This is a guide to the main calculation methods employed in ARGUS Developer.

Quick Start Guides – These handy guides show you the basics to get you started using the Project and
Snapshot (if licence acquired) modules.

User Guide - A printable version of the context sensitive help system is downloadable from the ARGUS
Software website.
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
5
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
Error! Unknown document property name.
Enhancements Introduced in v7.0
The following are enhancements, features, and modifications added for the new Snapshot module in ARGUS
Developer 7.0.
Snapshot Module [These enhancements will be only available if the user has acquired the
additional Snapshot module. Please contact ARGUS Software for more details]
Description
Type
Budget Cash Flow - is a powerful analysis tool to:
Budgeting




Compares the budget of all costs, revenues and financial (including
Structured Finance) records against the latest forecast
Enable to track the progress of development projects
Ability to re-forecast your model to account for actual spending
Calculate KPI’s based on forecasts and actual costs and revenues from
accounting systems
KPI Budget Dashboard – Compares the original budget KPI’s to the current KPI’s
showing the fixed and percentage variance
Budgeting
Spread Variance editor – where actual spending varies from the forecast, redistribute or absorb the variances into future periods. 5 options option are available
for re-modelling the variances:
Re-modelling





Add to the next distribution period
Add to the last distribution period
Spread evenly over the remaining distribution periods
Spread proportionally over the remaining distribution periods
Manually adjust the future forecasts
View mode - controls which view of the Budget & Project Cash Flow is displayed:
User Interface

Actual/Forecast – this is the up to date view of your project model. It
contains actuals that have been imported and the corresponding forecasts
for future periods
 Original Budget – this is the view of your project when the Original Budget
was created.
 Revised Budget – this is a view of your project when the Revised Budget was
created.
 Current Forecast - this is a dynamic view of the Project Cash Flow (excluding
actuals)
Budget Reports – Consolidate information across multiple portfolios and projects
with three new reports::



6
Reporting
Budget Summary
Cash Flow
Actual Transactions Log – see details of what has been imported
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
Cost Codes (chart of accounts) – are the primary system data component when
configured in ARGUS Developer allows it to work with a variety of external data
sources
Platform
Import Actuals Data : the ability to import actual transaction from an external
Finance/Accounting systems:
Platform


Configure a direct connection to your external system
Import via .csv or .xml files
ARGUS Developer now uses a database platform and supports SQL Server and SQL
Compact Edition.
Database
SQL Compact Edition is ideally suited to single-user installations
Existing ARGUS Developer models (.WCF, .WCFX) must be imported into the database,
either on a one-by-one basis, or as a batch, before they can be used.
File Formats
A new File tab contains the Backstage for all file, database and configuration options.
All things that you can ‘do to’ a project are available here.
Backstage Area
Manage individual users and user groups to apply security using system permissions
Security
Snapshot specific sample files : To assist you with how some of the new features
work, sample data files can be found in the ARGUS Software installation sub-folder
Region > [my region] > Data
Sample Data
[myregion] Sample Cost Codes .xml : contains a set of cost codes that will allow the
actuals from the sample .csv file be imported into the sample model (see Help files >
Cost Codes)
Lark Wood Pond [myregion] sample project.wcfx : an ARGUS Developer project file
with sample cost codes already assigned to the items in the Project Cash Flow (see
Snapshot Quick Start Guide)
Lark Wood [myregion] Sample Actuals.csv : contains several months of sample
actuals data that can be imported into your sample model (see Snapshot Quick Start
Guide)
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
7
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
Error! Unknown document property name.
Known Issues and Workarounds in ARGUS Developer 7.0
Item
8
Description
Workaround
17760
VAT on Revenue collected as part of sales
proceeds calculates as positive receipt rather
than cost
As this VAT tax is a pass through, and
Developer does not currently tie the receipts of
tax collections to the eventual tax payments, it
is suggested that the amounts be entered as
0.01 as a placeholder
19716
Reserve Account Balance is negative at the
end of the cash flow
Try restricting the distribution of profit from
the reserve account until the final project cash
requirement
20048
Unable to switch off letting cost on renewal of
lease
None - the option works on both first term and
renewal terms
22083
Profit Warning on Appraisal Summary when
Project Funded Interest is present
Various reasons for this - see other Document
22470
For a New Project, Export to Excel is throwing
error message in Windows 2000
Excel 2007™ or higher are supported
23110
Structured finance not showing all finance
structures in Phase Group Box
Ensure that only one Finance Structure has All
Phases linked to it
65707
If the system date format on your PC is
changed ddMMYYYY, an Access Violation is
seen when trying to launch the application
Do not change your system date format to this
format
65799
When selecting the Repay Balance
functionality on a Timed Repayment Line in
the Finance Cash Flow, an outstanding balance
still remains.
Manually enter a value into the Timed
Repayment Line to ensure outstanding balance
is 0
75359
"Devwin.exe has stopped working" error is
displayed on closing the application,
Devwin.exe process is still running even after
closing the application
Use Windows Task Manager to End Process
76573
Adding watermarks to a report leads to very
large fonts being displayed on the report
Do not add a watermark
78457
Access violation occurs when copying &
pasting a cost code to other rows in the
Project Cash Flow
Close the cost code drop-down list before copy
& pasting
79163
If the Cost Code description is updated, it is
not updated if that Cost Code has been
assigned to a row in the Project Cash Flow
Do not update Cost Code descriptions
80129
If a user has created a connection to SQL
Server using SQL Server authentication in the
database wizard, on logging on to AD an error
Use Windows Authentication to connect to the
SQL Server instance
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
message "Could not verify the password is
seen" is displayed
80332
The total number of units entered in
Capitalized Rent, Unit Sales etc. records is
added to the Total for Phase Revenue in the
Budget Cash Flow
None – the total number of units is not usually
material in relation to the overall revenue value
- it becomes incorporated during rounding
80652
Imported actuals are moved by a
corresponding number of months, forwards or
backwards when the Project Start Date is
changed
Once actuals have been imported do NOT
change the Project Start Date
UK users only
Following the Stamp Duty reforms announced in the UK Government’s 2014 Autumn Statement to Parliament, the
supplied Stamp Duty scheme template (see Help > Acquisition Costs > Stamp Duty) in ARGUS Developer has been
updated to reflect these reforms. They came into effect for residential properties on 4th December 2014.
In addition, the Scottish Parliament has been granted the power to set their own rates for Land & Buildings
Transaction Tax. The proposed new rates are due to come into effect on 1st April 2015.
For further details, follow the link:
https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax-rates
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
9
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
Error! Unknown document property name.
Fixed Defects in ARGUS Developer 7.0
Item
Release
Description
Area
29143
7.0
Operated Assets: Start date displayed in the Rates & Occupancy tables does
not agree with selected income flow start date when accessed via the main
toolbar
Capitalised
Rent
40113
7.0
Cash Flow Options: Changes to the ‘Number of Calculation Iterations’ field
were not being saved and applied
Structured
Finance
42096
7.0
Summary Report: Total Area and formatting of Imperial/Metric units were
incorrect on the Summary/Pro-forma Report when merged phases selected
Reporting
43401
7.0
Summary Report: Currency symbol is displayed on some fields and not on
others
Reporting
43413
7.0
Summary Report: does not have a blank line to separate Sales totals from the
Purchaser's Costs/Sales Fees
Reporting
43418
7.0
Summary Report: Heading Additional Revenue appears on the Summary
Report when no additional revenue has been entered
Reporting
43419
7.0
Summary Report: Underlining of the Construction Totals is incorrectly placed
Reporting
43605
7.0
Net Operating Income Report: Report analysis years do not correspond to the
years defined by the Project timescale
Reporting
43642
7.0
Summary Report: Page does not refresh figures (Equity IRR%) when the option
"Include Interest and Finance Fees in IRR Calculations" is turned on/off
Calculation
50100
7.0
Summary Report: Cost type "Revenue reducing cost" does not appear
Reporting
50507
7.0
Finance Cash Flow: When tax is applied, the Summary By Source view does not
calculate the After Tax Equity IRR
Calculation
50912
7.0
Sensitivity Analysis: Data shown as "N/A" within the Analysis Results tab is
displaying a value instead when generating a report
Sensitivity
Analysis
53415
7.0
Additional Related: Line item entered in 'Acres' shows up in pro forma as ‘pf2’
Formatting
53739
7.0
Detailed Cash Flow Report: will not print in portrait
Reporting
55652
7.0
Element Cost Summary Report: Total Construction Estimate Line is not
displayed
Reporting
64538
7.0
Additional Revenue: manual adjustments to data distribution automatically
revert to Phase Start timing
64691
7.0
Sensitivity Analysis: Sensitivity fields not being loaded into Setup tab
Sensitivity
Analysis
64790
7.0
Leasing Commission Profile: If checked, Renewal Rate on First Renewal Only
calculates ALL renewals.
Capitalised
Rent
10
User Interface
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
Item
Release
Description
Area
If unchecked, Renewal Rate on First Renewal Only calculates only the first
renewal
67256
7.0
Add New Finance Structure: When creating new a Finance Structure, the
Mortgage is active by default – it should be inactive
Structured
Finance
68138
7.0
Export Reports: Stream write error occurs when trying to export reports to .rtf
format in a Citrix environment
Reporting
68338
7.0
Enhanced Excel Analysis: Error exporting file to Excel
70148
7.0
Copy Finance Structure: Date and settings are not correctly copied
70181
7.0
Geared IRR: When Interest Cost assumptions have been excluded, they are still
included in the calculation of Geared IRR
Calculation
70183
7.0
Finance Cash Flow: Class "TreXMLDeveloperData" cannot read Element
"Developer data" error message displayed when re-allocating cash in the
Finance Cash Flow
Structured
Finance
70184
7.0
Enhanced Excel Analysis: 'Discrepancies exist in Key Profit KPIs in this
workbook; please see top of DataCheck worksheet for details.' being displayed
even if there no discrepancies during the exporting of data
Analysis
Reporting
70336
7.0
Project Cash Flow: Cannot copy & paste from Excel into Project Cash Flow
User Interface
70341
7.0
Structured Finance IRRs: ‘Maximum Number of iterations reached’ error
message displayed even if the IRR has been calculated
Structured
Finance
70422
7.0
Balancing Account: The Fixed Contribution is displaying values when it should
be 0
Structured
Finance
70698
7.0
New Source of Funds: Creating a new Source of Funds from Sources tab does
not appear for selection on Profit Distribution tab
Structured
Finance
72604
7.0
Mortgages – Income Selection: The areas selected are not maintained when
navigating to other areas of the application
Structured
Finance
72669
7.0
Funding Source Cash Flow Report: Access Violation error occurs when
Previewing Funding Source Cash Flow report
Reporting
72923
7.0
Finance Cash Flow: Construction loan is not paid down when mortgage
proceeds are applied
Structured
Finance
74807
7.0
Mortgages: ‘Month to Repay Mortgage’ column not retaining user input when
reloading data file
Structured
Finance
76426
7.0
Licence Maintenance: 4 Combi licences allowed to be activated but ARGUS
Developer only recognises 3
76804
7.0
Timescale & Phasing: ‘Integer Overflow’ error when changing the number of
months in Timing & Phasing editor
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company
Analysis
Reporting
Structured
Finance
Platform
User Interface
11
Release Notes for ARGUS Developer v7.0
Item
Release
Description
Error! Unknown document property name.
Area
76827
7.0
Stamp Duty Configuration Template: Cannot add or modify Stamp Duty
schemes
79265
7.0
Sensitivity Analysis: Analysis Results are not displayed when selecting
Operated Asset models
81369
7.0
Projects – Delete Projects: Deleting a project which has been opened, deletes
the first project in the portfolio instead
12
User Interface
Sensitivity
Analysis
User Interface
ARGUS Software – An Altus Group Company