Portlets overview

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The dashboards in Workpapers CS can be populated with a variety of portlets, which provide a snapshot of various pertinent information for your firm, staff, and clients. You can decide which portlets should appear on your dashboards and arrange the layout of the portlets you choose to display. To add portlets to a dashboard, use the Select Portlets dialog.

Portlets may display summaries of data pulled from Workpapers CS reports, time entry information, client information, your email and calendar, staff availability, FileCabinet CS documents, and more. Some of these portlets also serve as links to data, reports, or other information.

The following table lists the portlets that are available for selection in the Home, Firm, Staff, and Client dashboards.

Notes

  • For information about portlets that are available in the Workpapers Dashboard, see Workpapers portlets, overview. (You must be licensed for Workpapers CS and have the appropriate security privileges set up to activate this service.)
  • When present, click the maximize maximize button button in the title bar of the portlet to maximize it within the dashboard. To restore it to its previous configuration, click the dashboard icon in the Navigation pane or choose it from View command menu.

See also: Working with portlets

Available portlets

Portlets

Dashboards

Home Firm Staff Client
Account Analysis
Displays the same information that you can create in the Account Analysis - Two Year Comparison report in the Report Designer. To view data in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to access the Actions > View Account Activity dialog.
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Account Balances
Displays account balances for the selected client. To view data in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to access the Actions > View Account Activity dialog.
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Accounting CS Library
[[may need a separate help topic]]
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Checkpoint

Opens the Checkpoint login page. If you choose to have Checkpoint remember your username and password, you will be logged in automatically.

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CS Home Page

Opens the home page of our website.

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Engagement Binder Portlet

Enables you to roll forward multiple Tax Return binders at the same time. (Note that only binders with a Tax Return type are listed.) This is helpful for firms that process high volumes of tax returns for their clients. This portlet displays the client ID and name, current status, and period end date of the binders for all clients.

To roll forward binders, mark the checkbox next to the engagement binders to roll forward, update the Binder name and Period end dates, and then click the Roll Forward button.

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Engagement Binder Status

Displays the Engagement Binder name, type of engagement, status, period end date, report release date, completion date, and days remaining. This is same information that you can create in the Engagement Binder Status report in the Report Designer.

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FileCabinet CS Documents

If you are a licensed user of FileCabinet CS, this portlet displays a drawer of your choosing. To change the default drawer, right-click within the portlet and choose Options.

To display a specific document within the selected drawer, navigate to that document and double-click it. (Click the Back button to return to the dashboard.)

To open the FileCabinet CS browser, click the title bar of the portlet.

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Help & How-To

Opens the Browse subjects page for Workpapers CS in the Help & How-To Center, offering quick access to information you need while using the application.

To launch this portlet page in your browser window, click its title bar.

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Income Statement - Actual vs. Budget

Displays the same information that you can create in the Income Statement - Current Year - Budget - Variance financial statement in the Report Designer.

Note: To view the information in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to view the information in the Actions > View Net Income/Loss dialog.

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Net Income - Actual vs. Budget

With minor changes to the totals Income Statement - Current Year - Budget - Variance financial statement in the Report Designer, you can create a similar chart in the Report Designer.

Note: To view the information in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to view the information in the Actions > View Net Income/Loss dialog.

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Notices

Displays product alerts and important update release information. When the application is opened, the notification system will automatically notify staff members when an alert has been posted to the Notices portlet.

Notes

  • The Notices portlet is activated on the Home Dashboard by default.
  • Alert notifications can be disabled for individual staff members by marking the Disable alert and update notifications checkbox in the Setup > User Preferences dialog.
  • In the updates section of the portlet, recent CS Connect updates are listed indicating that an update is available for download. You can click the available link to apply the download and read the advanced User Bulletin for the update. (This section does not apply to Virtual Office CS users as all updates are applied automatically and bulletins can be viewed at any time from the News portlet.)
  • The Accounting Updates section of the Notices portlet provides information about updates that are available for download or when updates are ready to be applied. (Your login account must have the appropriate privileges to download and apply updates. If you do not have the appropriate privileges, you can still view the update notifications as necessary.)
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PPC

Opens the PPC login page. If you choose to have PPC remember your login name and password, you will be logged in automatically.

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Resources

Displays a list of links to important resources such as help topics, PDF guides, Forms CS catalogs, user bulletins, application download information, support tools, and other relevant links.

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Revenues and Expenses

Displays the same information that you can create in the Revenues and Expenses financial statement in the Report Designer.

Note: To view the information in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to view the information in the Actions > View Net Income/Loss dialog.

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Solutions

This portlet enables you to add shortcuts to your dashboard.

Right-click within the portlet and choose Add from the context menu. Then navigate to appropriate file, select it, and click Open to add a shortcut to the application within this portlet.

Note for Virtual Office CS users: Right-click within the portlet, choose Add from the context menu, and then navigate to the X:\PCSSolutionsPortlet folder. Here you will have shortcuts to any applications available to you from Virtual Office CS.

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Source Document Processing Status

Enables you to view the status of source documents or to transmit and retrieve source documents in the engagement binder for all clients without launching the Workpapers Dashboard.

For details, see Using the Source Document Processing status portlet.

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Staff Availability

Enables you to view the current status of firm staff (For example, in or out of the office, at lunch, in a meeting, and so forth).

To update your own status, click the Update Availability button.

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Staff In/Out Availability

Enables you to indicate your current status (For example, in or out of the office, at lunch, in a meeting, and so forth).

Select the appropriate item from the Availability field and, if appropriate, indicate the time you will return and any additional comments.

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System Information

Displays information about the workstation you are using, including specifications for the hardware, operating system, and various applications.

To send this information to CS Support, click the title bar of this portlet.

Note: This portlet is not available in the Virtual Office CS or Software as a Service environment.

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Tax & Accounting Blog

Opens the Tax & Accounting Blog page of our website.

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Tax & Accounting Community

Opens the Tax & Accounting Community page of our website.

Note: If you opt for the Tax & Accounting Community to remember your name and password, you will be logged in automatically.

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Tax & Accounting Events

Opens the Events page of our website.

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Tax & Accounting Newsletters

Opens the newsletters page of our website.

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Tax & Accounting Press Releases

Opens the Press Releases page of our website.

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Web Browser

Opens the default browser to your Home page within the dashboard, enabling you to browse the internet or your network.

Note: This portlet is not available in the Virtual Office CS or Software as a Service environment.

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