2026
May 8
New features
- Export to BrightAP with automatic account mapping — trial balances can now be exported directly to BrightAP even when the file uses a third-party chart of accounts such as Xero or QuickBooks. A mapping screen pre-fills known mappings and highlights any unmapped accounts; mappings are saved for future exports, and journal entries can be included using the same mappings.
April 24
New features
- Group Workpaper Sharing — workpapers can now be shared across group structures directly from the workpaper index. Shared workpapers appear read-only in the subsidiary file with a clear
- label, and can be unlinked to create an independent copy at any time. Supporting documents (Word, Excel, PDF) can also be shared with the same read-only protection
- (AU Only) SMSF Dashboard uploaded documents now show the date they were added, with sorting by upload date
- (AU Only) SMSF Dashboard text entered in A1 workpapers now preserves line breaks, spacing, and numbered formatting
- (AU Only) SMSF Dashboard now has direct access to the Help Centre via the profile dropdown menu
- Xero import now automatically selects the client when only one is available on the connection
- (AU Only) Document eligibility controls are now available on the SMSF Dashboard
February 19
Enhancements
- (Essential) The trial balance now includes a “Docs” column with colour-coded status indicators (red/amber/green) for supporting documents against each nominal code; clicking an indicator expands the row to show the documents
- (Essential) Supporting documents can now be moved between nominal codes directly from the trial balance, using the “Move” option in the document menu
February 10
Enhancements
- Status Profiles have been introduced, allowing statuses and sign-offs to be customised for industry templates without creating a full custom firm template
- Files can now be assigned to a team member at the same time as updating the workpaper status
- Advanced Risk Scoring has been added, giving Likelihood and Magnitude ratings, a calculated Risk Score and Level, filtering by risk rating, and a Risk Matrix visualisation (optional, enabled at firm level)
- Flow Analysis has been added to the General Ledger page, showing a Sankey diagram of transaction flows between accounts, with the ability to filter and group the GL transactions table
Improvements
- Dual code handling has been improved in General Ledger transactions, with warnings for unmapped dual code accounts and better error handling
- Improved handling of zero-balance journals when importing from Xero
- Dropdown positioning improved in Manage Templates and Workflow Manager
2025
December 17
Enhancements
- Planning Lockdown has been introduced, allowing firms to control when team members can access different sections of an audit file. Folders can be designated “Planning” or “Planning Accessible” in industry or firm templates, with a firm-wide lockdown level of High, Medium, or Off. Override actions are logged in the Activity Feed, and Review Points, Journals, and Trial Balance remain usable while planning folders are locked
- Forethought, a new AI-powered support chatbot, has replaced AMY, giving instant answers to BrightWorkpapers questions via a chat icon at the top of any page
November 17
Enhancements
- File creation has been improved for easier selection of the industry template
November 10
Enhancements
- Introducing BrightWorkpapers Essential — a new streamlined way of working designed for small UK accounting practices, bringing Excel workflows into the cloud with a trial balance-focused approach. Ideal for practices with 1–5 employees, up to 150 clients, preparing FRS 105 and FRS 102 1A accounts
October 10
Enhancements
- Corporate group structures can now be tracked and visualised via a new “Groups” tab on the client page, linking clients as parents or subsidiaries and navigating between related clients
- Client names in files are now clickable, jumping straight to that client’s details; a new “Client Details” button has also been added to the file menu, and clients can be searched by Client ID
- Creating a new client has been simplified — enter the client name and go straight to the client record to add the rest of the details
- Journals can now be created from anywhere via the new “Add a Journal” option in the Journal Entries dropdown, using a pop-up window that automatically references the page being worked on
September 19
Enhancements
- Bank transaction data now displays dates in a consistent DD/MM/YYYY format for improved readability and data management
- Enhanced data filtering capabilities have been implemented for bank reconciliation workflows to help organize transactions more effectively
Bug fixes
- Resolved an issue where users with names containing special characters experienced difficulties with email notifications during the login process
- Improved login security validation to ensure proper protection mechanisms are consistently enforced
- Corrected errors that occasionally occurred when accessing certain application settings, improving overall system reliability
- Resolved an issue that could occur when exporting journal entries, ensuring more reliable data export functionality
September 5
Enhancements
- (AU Only) SMSF Dashboard improvements have been implemented with enhanced status tracking, notification improvements, and a new “Queries with Auditor” section for better workflow management
- Journal functionality has been significantly enhanced with configurable support levels, modal creation options, and streamlined dropdown menus based on template settings allowing users to now create journals from anywhere
- Show incomplete procedures functionality has been introduced allowing users to filter workpapers to only show outstanding work
Bug fixes
- (AU Only) SMSF notification system issues have been fixed including proper status updates and default notification team functionality
- Trial balance import issues with Xero integration have been resolved
- Client creation process now properly allows apostrophes in client names during new file setup
- Website links in workpaper comments now properly copy during workpaper copying and roll forward processes
- Trial balance import from Bright AP no longer incorrectly applies change tracking on first import
- Various system errors and database-related issues have been resolved for improved stability
- Workpaper copying and navigation functionality has been improved for better user experience
- SMSF Dashboard favicon has been added for better user recognition
August 29
Enhancements
- Automated workpaper functionality has been significantly enhanced with improved data processing for fixed assets, trade debtors, and trade creditors
- Fixed asset data integration from Xero has been expanded to include disposal information and enhanced filtering capabilities
- Data field application process has been improved with better validation and user feedback when importing general ledger data
- Invoice data processing has been enhanced with improved date formatting and additional data fields for both customer and supplier invoices
Bug fixes
- User list sorting has been restored to alphabetical order when adding members to engagement teams, replacing the previous creation order display
June 27
Enhancements
- (AU Only) Client query interface has been redesigned with improved layout and more intuitive controls for better user experience
- Version history is now automatically hidden when workpapers are marked as complete, providing a cleaner interface
- User-friendly error messages have been added to provide clearer guidance when integration issues occur
Bug fixes
- Justification column entries in group risk assessment workpapers now save properly
- Review point filters now correctly display only review points and exclude client queries
- An issue preventing files from being added to read-only users has been resolved
- Supporting documents marked as complete can no longer be accidentally overwritten
- Monthly and quarterly files can now be successfully copied into Year End/Exempt files
- Materiality figures in completion risk assessment reports now display on print preview
- Various system stability issues have been resolved for a more reliable user experience
May 23
Enhancements
- Tracking changes when re-importing the trial balance. This feature will allow users to see what has changed between uploads of the trial balance.
- BrightID improvements, and a more prominent button on the login page
- Improvements have been made to how workpapers are copied between files in the system
- Review points have been enhanced to allow the changing of the reference after creation, and to allow multiple references on a review point
- (AU Only) Date Received column has been added to the External Firm page to show when queries were last received
- Various security related issues have been improved
Bug fixes
- When changing the name or reference of a workpaper, editing it again will now hold the original edit without needing to refresh the page
- a bug meaning that the integration with Bright Accounts Production could unexpectedly delete journals has been resolved
- An error allowing materiality to become stuck on an amount has been resolved
April 25
Enhancements
- AMY has had improvements to provide links to the help centre within answers and a small UI update.
- Conclusion building blocks have been added to the completion statistics of a workpaper, making it easier to see where a conclusion may have been missed within a workpaper.
Bug fixes
- Completion report will now correctly display the materiality figure when in print view and downloaded.
- Accounting structure performance has been improved, editing accounting structures will now be faster and more accurate.
- Conclusion on the A71 workpaper within pension files will now work as expected
- Review points will now correctly display the staff list depending on permissions
April 11
Enhancements
- Bright Accounts Production integration – Release of an improved integration with Bright Accounts Production for two way integration of trial balance and journals
- Exclusion of old templates – Old templates will no longer show up on the list of files when creating a new file or rolling a file forward
- Copy workpaper updates – improvement where it will now be possible to select folders from both the source and target when copying workpapers between files, negating the need to create folders before copying anymore.
- Administrator queries – improvements to the administrator queries to show if no response is required and additional filters
Bug fixes
- Audit Plan tool tips fixed to not disappear on scrolling the page
- Improvements to speed of large files
- Review point permission changes
- Bright Accounts Production prior year import will now import correctly
March 21
Enhancements
- Improvements to customiser in some templates including the ability to hide folders no longer required
March 5
Enhancements
- BrightID will be released as an optional way to log in and allow our users to migrate their login to BrightID ahead of it being switched over in the future.
- The status column on the working paper index has now been changed to show the completed sign off on a workpaper, allowing used to more easily see who has signed off a workpaper and when.
- Old templates will be hidden from the new file creation menu, meaning only relevant and up to date templates will show.
Improvements/Bug fixes
- Fixed a bug that could cause materiality to get stuck on the Group Materiality workpaper
- Regional settings will now apply as expected
- Conclusion on A71 on some templates has been fixed to work as expected
February 13
Enhancements
- Content resources – The way that resources related to our content is provided has been overhauled making it easier than ever to view and copy example letters, reports, and other content-related resources.
- Clone template – we have added the ability when creating a firm template to clone an existing industry template as a starting point for your custom template
- Conclusion UI change – to make it clearer when a conclusion is required in a workpaper, the answer will now be blank until an answer is selected instead of defaulting to the top response. The conclusion drop-down has also been moved consistently to the left side of the workpapers in all places
- Audit plan headers – the audit plan headers are now sticky, meaning as you scroll down the audit plan the headers will remain in place
Bug fixes
- Customiser hiding folders has been fixed, this mainly affected the PF folder in some audit files
- Copying workpapers speed has been improved
