By
Mendy Green
October 20, 2022
•
20 min read
Professional Development

The butterfly effect is a term used to reference a scenario where, if you were to go back in time 1000 years and step on a butterfly and then return to your current time, you would find that everything has been changed. Potentially even you would no longer exist. This is explained as being caused by the fact that everything in the world is connected (as being part of the same ecosystem) and therefore given enough time the effects of a tiny butterfly being squashed can exponentially grow into an event where the Germans won World War II, or your parents never met.
In a world today where we are too busy to look beyond the face value, the lesson is pretty clear. If you go back in time, make sure you don’t step on any butterflies. If we were to stop and look beyond the face value, the lesson hits far closer to home. Scientists use this to explain that even a small change in a complex system can have a huge impact, but even they distill the true lesson down to its practical use for themselves.
Have you ever watched a Wave roll through the stadium audience, proud to join the hundreds raising their hands but jealous you weren’t the one who started it? What did the other person have that you don’t? Why couldn’t you be the source of this impressive movement visible throughout the entire stadium? The answer is honestly, nothing. Just the courage to go first, and be the leader, influencing others around you and creating an impact that spreads.
You have been created in order that you might make a difference. You have within you the power to change the world. – Andy Anderson
The Rising Tide Consulting Group is movement looking to start the waves, creating the tide, that will subsequently create larger waves, and larger waves, eventually rising higher and elevating everyone within the ecosystem. Let’s go back to the Wave in the stadium, can you imagine if the first person lifted their hands to create the Wave and the person next to them watched, acknowledged it was cool, and did nothing? The only reason why the Wave works is because the second person who follows, then the third, and the fourth and so-on. This is why at Rising Tide we are hyper-focused not on your business, but on your people. If we do your work for you, there is no impact, and we are left deciding if we should keep raising our hands to make up for the effort of those who aren’t joining or give up! If we can influence you doing your work, we can be the start of a massive wave that will spread not only throughout your entire business, but to your clients, and your vendors, raising the level of partnerships and quality of service being delivered to you, and by you.
The Rising Tide LevelUp Challenge is our ‘Audience in the Stadium Wave’. A movement started by our mentor Mendy Green on LinkedIn, where you take three stories, or analogies, and you pull out a lesson learned from each one (similar to how we did it with The Butterfly Effect mentioned above). After your three lessons you call out three new people to partake in the challenge and post their own. The lessons can be repeated, but the analogies or stories must be different.
In every situation, scenario, or story, there’s always a lesson to be learned. The scientists knew that when they framed the Butterfly Effect to teach their lesson, but each person will look at these stories and lessons through a colored lens filtered for their specific use case! It’s up to each individual as they hear these to take a lesson that relates to them. In fact, it is with Elizabeth Copeland’s lesson from the challenge (“Sometimes you need to stop and take in the view”) that we can examine analogies and situations and pull out a lesson from each one relevant to us to help us grow; the difference between taking something at face value or looking for that deeper meaning.
You can find her lesson and more by looking for the tags #RisingTideChallenge or #RisingTide on LinkedIn.

In Episode 16 of By the [run]Book, Mendy and Robbie continue reviewing HaloPSA v2.210, covering a wide range of updates across billing, workflows, integrations, AI, and asset management. The episode highlights several settings MSPs should review immediately—especially a billing change that can lock recalculation—as well as improvements to ticket automation, AI categorization, and service desk efficiency.
Watch Now: By the [run]Book: Episode 16
For easier tracking, check out haloreleases.remmy.dev to filter and search HaloPSA updates by ID, version, and keyword.
Editing billing time allocation will lock billing recalculation | v2.21 #1044274
A setting has been added to Billing configuration so that editing the billing time allocation on an action will lock the ticket from billing recalculation.
Credit notes can default to today’s date | v2.21 #1042924
A setting has been added to Credit Note configuration so that the Credit Date is set to today's date instead of the Invoice Date.
Auto-assign the next unassigned ticket when closing a ticket | v2.21 #1003964
Added a new setting that automatically assigns an Agent the next available Unassigned Ticket when they close a Ticket.
Parent tickets can inherit dates from child tickets | v2.21 #975755
Added a new Ticket Type setting: "Automatically set Start Date and Target Date based on Child Tickets".
This setting adds a new option for grouping ticket entities during invoice creation in the Ready for Invoicing area.
This setting locks a ticket from billing recalculation when billing time allocation is edited on an action.
A new variable has been added for adjusted opportunity value.
Workflow steps now require an outcome to be selected.
Invoices can now default to the customer’s main site address.
Credit notes can now default to today’s date instead of the original invoice date.
Halo can now remove FW: and RE: prefixes when creating tickets from email subjects.
AI generated summaries can now be displayed in ticket column profiles.
A new advanced setting enables configuration change tracking for Services.
A global setting can now display the asset DID as a read-only field.
Custom integrations can now use separate credentials per instance.
The Main Site Address field can now be used in client and site column profiles.
The instances area has been updated with a new loading method to improve performance.
Tickets generated from Contract Schedules can now be created a specified number of days before the appointment date.
Additional ownership-related fields are now available in asset column profiles.
Asset dependency diagrams can now display customizable fields.
The client API endpoint can now return website data when requested.
The Twilio WhatsApp integration has received multiple improvements.
Assignment rules can now be disabled during Salesforce sync.
Runbooks triggered via webhook can now use a secret URI parameter for authentication.
HubSpot quote imports now include a default user field.
Agents can automatically receive the next unassigned ticket when they close one.
Chat Bot input steps can now access browser local storage.
Additional configuration options are now available for asset system fields.
Asset custom buttons now support dynamic visibility.
Asset fields can now perform SQL lookups.
Stock bins can now be selected for non-serialized assets.
Date custom fields now support validation rules relative to the current date.
Workflow Stage can now be used in the report query builder.
The New Relic integration has received improvements.
The phone number requirement for anonymous portal tickets can now be configured per ticket type.
Parent tickets can automatically derive start and target dates from their child tickets.
AI can now suggest ticket categories from a configurable list.
A new setting expands how Agent Site Restrictions apply to users and organizations.
Halo now allows configuration of how appointment unique IDs are generated.

Episode 15 of By the [run]Book covers Halo v2.208 and starts into v2.210, with Mendy and Robbie walking through SLA refinements, shifts/time tracking updates, billing cadence improvements, and tighter access controls across portals and reporting. Key moments include new SLA response targeting options, a clock-in/clock-out widget for shifts, a bi-monthly schedule period, and expanded team leader controls. This is a useful episode for MSPs looking to tighten operational workflow, reporting governance, and self-service experience improvements.
Watch Now: By the [run]Book: Episode 15
For easier tracking, check out haloreleases.remmy.dev to filter and search HaloPSA updates by ID, version, and keyword.
Adds an SLA option so your first response target can differ from subsequent response targets.
Adds the FAQ List Ticket field as a workflow criteria option.
Allows ticket end-user updates when an anonymous chat is successfully upgraded.
Adds a clock in/clock out widget for Shifts.
Adds a 2-month schedule period option.
Improves Knowledge Base latest article links.
Adds “Visible - Read Only” for Agent Asset details visibility.
Adds load-balance on reopen if assigned agent doesn’t meet qualification rules.
Introduces a module for an Opinyin integration.
Adds test email sending for individual mail campaign messages.
Adds new Halo API actions in runbooks.
Splits KB view counts so end users see only user views (when enabled).
Adds item group restrictions + running cost total on portal ticket item selection.
Adds a Ticket Reference field that’s searchable and usable in column profiles.
Groups service subscribers.
Adds $ variables for CONTRACTSLA, CONTRACTSUBTYPE, CONTRACTSTATUS.
Adds improvements to Agent Resource Booking.
Adds encryption options for variables/responses in integrations/runbooks.
Adds software expiry date tracking on assets.
Adds ticket-type control for end-user approval action visibility.
Allows team leaders to modify agents’ preferences.
Adds bulk add assets via the asset search modal.
Adds chat profile overrides at the user role level.
Allows KB links to include FAQ lists and auto-expand on open.
Allows HTML formatting in popup notes triggered by ticket rules.
Shows credit notes alongside invoices in the portal.
Adds a setting to limit users/agents to one active session.
Adds TD Synnex Quote Line Imports.
Adds dark mode counter widget color options.
Adds downpayment invoice creation from sales orders (fixed price + T&M).
Adds settings to limit portal options to Web Access Level list values.
Adds access control for reports.
Adds a deep link button on imported Addigy devices.
Multiple changes made to the Expenses list.
Allows embedding Halo portal/agent UI (including dashboards) in SharePoint via iframe.
Changes how recurring invoices appear/create based on month selection.
Ensures billing template application creates a billing plan record per matching contract/agreement.
Adds Last Contacted + Created Date fields to NinjaOne device import.
Removes quote “Send” button so sending happens only via ticket/opportunity.
Disables change history tracking for selected asset fields.
Adds invoice access restriction levels (No Access/Site/Client).
Shows the overriding contract field even if it isn’t on the field list (admin-editable only).
Enables database lookup while entering an action in the self-service portal.
Updates the Account Integrator for Sage UK v32 (2026).
Adds a setting to group ticket entities separately during invoice creation.

In Episode 14 of By the [run]Book, Mendy and Robbie wrap up v2.206 and dive into v2.208. Join us while they unpack a dense set of workflow, billing, automation, and self-service portal enhancements. Highlights include conditional workflow steps, improved qualification matching, project–contract alignment, and powerful new portal customization options. This episode is ideal for MSPs who want tighter operational control, cleaner billing, and more flexible automation inside HaloPSA.
The following features stand out as a few of the impactful changes:
On-call Notification Enhancements #422926
Halo introduced various enhancements to notifications to better support on-call workflows, and Mendy called out that this release note quietly included a massive underlying change. The key takeaway was that important platform-impacting updates can be buried in “notification” notes, so MSPs running on-call should review notification behavior closely after updating.
Assign Contract to Projects & Tasks Created from Sales Orders #1027598
Projects and tasks created from sales orders can now automatically inherit the contract created from that sales order, tightening the link between quoting, delivery, and billing. The hosts emphasized this as a practical fix for MSPs who see project time accidentally hitting the wrong agreement (and wrecking profitability reporting), especially when doing fixed-fee or prepaid project work.
Workflow Automations Using Client/Site/User Custom Fields #1022399
Workflow automations can now use client, site, or user custom fields directly as criteria, reducing the need for workaround runbooks that copy those values onto tickets. The hosts positioned this as a meaningful automation upgrade because it makes routing and logic cleaner, easier to maintain, and more scalable for MSPs with account-specific processes.
Watch Now: By the [run]Book: Episode 14
For easier tracking, check out haloreleases.remmy.dev to filter and search HaloPSA updates by ID, version, and keyword.
Full Feature List:
Added the ability to add Azure/Entra distribution groups as followers | v2.206 #770320 | 1:52
Added an option in AI settings to generate an AI summary of the article based on the title, description and resolution Added an option in AI settings to use the AI-generated summary of an article to identify and flag potential duplicate articles before submission | v2.206 #767579 | 2:58
When tickets have a Teams chat open, if the ticket is closed, a closure message will be sent to all chats | v2.206 #635732 | 3:29
Various enhancements to notifications to support on-call notifications | v2.206 #422926 | 4:02
A setting has been added to Sales Order Configuration so that a specific Status can be set once all Items on the Sales Order are consigned | v2.208 #1034330 | 10:24
The setting "Tickets with the default Organisation/Site must be moved before working on the Ticket" can now be overridden at Ticket Type level | v2.208 #1033540 | 12:51
"Do not disturb" mode for Halo notifications | v2.208 #1028655 | 16:04
A setting "When creating Projects and Tasks assign the Contract created from the Sales Order" has been added to Configuration > Sales Orders > Processing Sales Order Lines that allocates Projects and Tasks created from Sales Orders to the Contract created from the Sales Order | v2.208 #1027598 | 17:27
An Item property had been added to the Milestone so that the Invoice Item can be edited/set after creation of the Milestone. This Item will be used when creating an Invoice directly for the Milestone only | v2.208 #1027578 | 20:33
Added Canned Text Shortcuts for Chat | v2.208 #1024945 | 23:07
Additional data has been added to the Invoice Line object to store the Origin Sales Order Line that the associated Recurring Invoice was created from and to store the Occurrence Count for Recurring Invoices | v2.208 #1024614 | 28:23
Report display improvement when using customised table html | v2.208 #1024326 | 28:55
Added Managed Identity via Azure Arc as an authentication option to the Microsoft Entra integration and Office 365 mailboxes | v2.208 #1024317 | 29:36
It is now possible to set a Tax Exemption reason for a Halo Customer on creation that will be pushed to Quickbooks when the Customer is not taxable | v2.208 #1024297 | 29:44
A setting has been added to allow recurring invoice lines to be hidden by default when viewing the recurring invoice | v2.208 #1024067 | 29:57
Multiple changes to available $ variables | v2.208 #1023687 | 32:18
Added the setting 'Automatically create Change Advise Boards from Teams' to Approval Process settings | v2.208 #1023311 | 32:55
A setting has been added to the QuickBooks Integrations setup so that a Closed Date can be entered. | v2.208 #1022558 | 33:16
You can now use Client, Site or User Custom Fields for criteria on Workflow Automations | v2.208 #1022399 | 33:41
The variable $ SERVICEID can be used in database lookups to obtain the ID of the Service linked to the Ticket | v2.208 #1021534 | 34:21
Custom Statistics Tables added | v2.208 #1019726 | 34:32
Decimals are now allowed within the field "Tickets Opened/Closed within the last X days" in AI suggestions | v2.208 #1018082 | 37:42
Added a new Knowledge Base setting that allows you to hide FAQ tiles that have no results matching the current search in the Portal | v2.208 #1012783 | 37:50
Added a manufacturer field to the suppliers tab of assets | v2.208 #1009501 | 37:57
Improvements to Qualification matching | v2.208 #1008143 | 38:01
Various improvements to the self-service portal | v2.208 #1007918 | 40:49
You can now use Client, Site, User and Organisation level $ variables in the Self Service Portal custom HTML Headers and Footer | v2.208 #1007759 | 43:43
Enhancement to Client-Ticket Type restrictions | v2.208 #1006158 | 47:49
Added a Chat Audit Area Added a new Chat Transcript style | v2.208 #1004851 | 48:34
You can now set feedback and survey links to be single use | v2.208 #1002898 | 48:41
Added an Advanced Setting to alter the Tree menu width | v2.208 #999276 | 51:57
You can now make your custom hompage HTML in the End-User portal appear as a sticky banner across all portal pages | v2.208 #996323 | 52:48
Added option to exclude non-invoiceable time from budget calculations | v2.208 #994004 | 56:01