OPEX v1.11.8 — merge fields upgrade & agent approval ✍️

This is a big one for anyone who builds contract templates. The contract editor has been rebuilt from the ground up: more room, a tidier field list, formatting for every field, and smarter merge fields and form fields. There's also a new agent approval step before a contract goes out, variations on the contract summary, a simpler way to fix a purchaser's solicitor after exchange, and new ways to record how a deposit was paid.

What's new

Merge fields upgrade: a rebuilt contract editor

The screen where you place merge fields, form fields and signature panels on your contract templates has been rebuilt. It's the first stage of a bigger upgrade, with more to come.

• More room to work. The editor is now almost full width, with separate panels for the element's name and version, merge and form fields, and signatures, plus a calmer background.
• Find any field fast. Merge field categories have been tidied up and listed A–Z, and the search box finds any field by name.
• Format each field your way. A new Field Formatting panel shows the field you've selected and lets you set its font size and weight.
• One field, many formats. Similar merge fields have been merged into one field with options. For example, Purchaser Address lets you pick which purchaser and which layout. Dates can include the time, and lists can run vertically or horizontally.
• Form fields for the right person. Checkboxes and text fields can be assigned to purchasers, a specific purchaser, vendors or OPEX users, and text fields can be made mandatory.
• New: Radio Options. Yes / No to start with. Rename the options or add your own.
• New: Purchaser FIRB. The purchaser answers the FIRB question while they sign, so you don't need to know it before the contract goes out.
• New: Plan Registered merge field. It returns Yes or No from the project's Post Registration setting.
• Copy and paste. Select a field and use Ctrl + C, then Ctrl + V (⌘ on a Mac). The copy lands where your pointer is.

Your existing templates keep working. The older, separate versions of the merged fields now sit in an "Obsolete" category at the bottom of the list.

Pre-send agent approval

A new Auto Process switch has a nominated agent check each contract before it's released to the purchaser or their solicitor. It suits agencies where several agents write contracts and one person checks them before buyers see anything. Turn it on in Project Settings › Auto Process, then add the approving agent in the Contract Journey. It works on its own or alongside the existing agent check after the purchaser signs.

Variations on the contract summary

A contract's Summary step now has a Variations panel under Tasks. It lists each variation with its status, OMNO, purchaser and exchange date, and you can open a variation from there or in a new tab.

Edit a purchaser's solicitor on an exchanged contract

Fixing a typo in a purchaser's solicitor details used to mean replacing the solicitor. There's now an Edit link next to Replace Purchaser Solicitor on the Contract Details step. A short warning explains what an edit changes: the signed contract PDF stays as it is, and the updated details are used for the PEXA Workspace. Use Replace when the purchaser has moved to a different solicitor.

New deposit payment methods, and the right method on the sales schedule

When you receipt a deposit, the Method of Payment list now includes Deposit Bond, Coposit and Bank Guarantee. The sales schedule's Method of payment column now comes from each contract's deposit receipts. When a contract's receipts were paid in different ways, it shows "Mixed".

Sunrise Date

Projects have a new optional Sunrise Date: the date the financier approves the developer to start construction. It sits under the sunset date in Project Details, in a section now called "Sunrise/Sunset Date". It's just a date, with nothing calculated from it.

Reporting improvements

• Sunrise Date. Added to the Project Details section of the report builder.
• Sunset Date moves. For consistency, Sunset Date now sits in Project Details rather than Contract Details. If you have saved reports that use it, check them.

API improvements

• Sign in as a named user. Integrations can now connect as a named OPEX user through an OAuth sign-in, so they act with that user's permissions. It's built for developer clients connecting their CRM, and for AI tools that need to respect what a user is allowed to do. Existing system-to-system integrations keep working as they are.
• Return a contract to draft. A contract can now be returned to draft via the API, with the same rules as the app. For example, an exchanged contract can't be returned to draft.

All API documentation, including code examples, can be found in our Developer.OPEX portal.

General improvements

• Contract archiving removed. Contracts can no longer be archived on their own, because it was easy to mistake for deleting. When a development is finished, archive the project instead.
• Longer solicitor firm names. The purchaser's solicitor Firm field now takes up to 100 characters. Longer names previously stopped the contract details saving.
• Purpose merge field. When no purpose has been selected, the PDF now leaves the Purpose merge field blank, matching what you see on screen.
• Financier dashboard. The welcome message now shows your firm's name and the number of projects the financier can see.