File transfers enable staff and contacts to exchange files electronically and securely via NetStaff CS and NetClient CS portals. The file transfer function within Practice CS uses NetClient CS or NetStaff CS portals, but allows for additional control and monitoring than the traditional File Exchange function available through NetFirm.

License

Using web-based portals via NetClient CS and NetStaff CS is a service which incurs additional monthly fees, billed automatically to your firm. If you have questions about pricing, contact a CS Customer Service representative by calling 800.968.0600 and following the prompts.

To perform file transfers, your firm must be licensed for both the Client Management module of Practice CS and NetFirm CS.

Types of Portals and Expiration of Data

• Full NetClient CS portals: a permanent portal for a client or standalone contact of your firm.
• Temporary NetClient CS portals: a temporary portal that will expire and be deleted 30 days after creation. When the portal is deleted, all content associated with the portal is also deleted, along with this client's login credentials and password. You may create another portal at a later date for this same client, and the client may, if desired, use the same credentials as were used previously.
• NetStaff CS portals: a permanent portal associated with a member of your firm's staff.

Whether using a temporary or a permanent portal, all file transfers expire after 30 days are removed from the portal. When the file transfer is deleted, any related content (as well as any files uploaded) are also deleted from the File Exchange portlet in NetClient CS or NetStaff CS.

Checking File Transfer Status / History

You can check the overall file transfer status, individual file status, or electronic signature information status for all current and historical file transfers using one of the following screens:

• File Transfers tab under Actions in Manage Clients
• Firm Dashboard, Staff Dashboard, and Client Dashboard (via the File Transfers portlet).

For more detailed information, see the "Managing File Transfers" section of Practice CS: File transfer - process and procedures.

For a detailed list of what each status means, see File transfer status.

File Transfer Security

If system security is enabled, security groups are configured under Setup in the Security Groups screen in Practice CS. Required security group settings which control access to File Transfers are divided into two main areas: access to the file transfer related screens (in the Menu node) and access to the file transfer information/data itself (in the Data node).

Data options

You can separately manage the ability of staff to view, send, and delete file transfer data.

Options under Practice CS control access of the data related to the sender (originator) of the file transfer.

• This is the value found in the "Staff" column of the File Transfers window (or the "From Staff" field of the detailed file transfer window). For example, you could restrict access such that a staff member can only see file transfers that they initiated.
• If security privileges under Practice CS are set such that a staff can send file transfers "from" another staff, the staff person currently logged into Practice CS will be required to enter the "from" staff's NetStaff CS portal password before the file transfer can be initiated.

• This is the value found in the "Contact" column of the File Transfers window (or the "To" field of the detailed file transfer window). For instance, you could use these settings to only allow a staff member to send file transfers to staff or client contacts that are associated with their own office.
• The option "For Standalone Contacts without Associations" needs to be marked for the staff to be able to access file transfers for standalone contacts, since standalone contacts are not associated with a specific office.
• Although not shown above, the previous options should be configured for all three actions: viewing, sending, and deleting file transfer data.

Signature Information

Requiring a signature on a file transfer doesn't stop the recipient from accessing the file before "signing". The portal user can download the file without signing it, but the file transfer won't be considered complete (or update the status in the Manage Clients screen) until it is signed. The initial download of the file (before signing) will appear in the File Transfer Events (the detail window at the bottom of Manage Clients) but a notification isn't triggered for "complete" or "signed", nor is the status of the file transfer itself updated until it is signed.

The signature should be considered similar to the notification of a received email. The Practice CS electronic signature is NOT a legally-binding electronic signature for legal or IRS purposes. A true digital signature has multiple levels of protection. It uniquely identifies the person who signed it, the precise contents of what was signed, and can demonstrate that it has not been tampered with.

Portal FAQs

1. The client (i.e., recipient) has forgotten their password, how do you reset?
   • When a portal user enters an incorrect password, they are presented with a "Help! I've forgotten my password" link on the login page. They can follow this link to reset their password. Alternately, the NetFirm administrator at the accounting firm can reset a NetClient CS portal password using the NetClient administration screens.
2. Is there a data limit for file transfers?
   • There is no overall data size limit for File Exchange on the portals. However, disk space used for all web-based services is measured in aggregate, and if space exceeds the allocated amount, it will result in additional disk usage fees. Each individual file within a file exchange folder is limited to 2 GB.
3. There is a permanent NetClient portal that is no longer needed. Can it be deleted?
   • Yes, but not in Practice CS. Any portal can be deleted by the NetFirm administrator at the accounting firm, using the NetClient CS administration screens.
4. There are a number of unregistered portals that clients never registered. What happens to those?
   • Temporary portals will expire and be removed in 30 days whether registered or not. Full portals will need to be deleted as specified above.
5. When Practice CS creates a NetClient portal, can that portal be used for other NetClient functionality
   • Yes, client portals created by Practice CS have the same capabilities as portals setup manually in NetFirm CS.

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