Using the UltraTax CS Home Page

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New (tax) year, new help!

Fixed Assets and UltraTax CS 2023 help is now on Help and Support. We're still moving articles, but you can find most content for the 2023 tax year there. Continue using the Help & How-To Center for tax years 2022 and older.

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The UltraTax CS Home Page provides links to frequently used functions and displays information regarding the status of UltraTax CS. By default, the Home Page opens when you open UltraTax CS, or you can click the Home Page Home Page button button to view the Home Page. To view each section of the Home Page, click the links in the left pane.

Note: You can configure the Home Page to display when no other windows or dialogs are open, or you can choose to never display the Home Page. To do this, choose Setup > User Preferences > Home Page tab, and select the appropriate option from the Display the Home Page drop-down list.

Video overview

The following video outlines the features described in the table below.

 

Home Page sections 

The UltraTax CS Home Page contains the following features. 

Section General Information
Alerts This section provides notification of important information about UltraTax CS. It also contains any reminders that have been set up via the Client Status system.
Product News Click the Product News link to view electronic filing and other news about UltraTax CS applications.
Electronic Filing Live

Click the Electronic Filing Live link to view status information on returns that have been transmitted for electronic filing. For more information, see Viewing the live status of electronic filing transmissions.

Note: You must have an active internet connection to view the live status of electronic files. To maintain an active connection, choose Utilities > CS Connect, click the Communication Setup button, click the Direct (LAN) connection to internet option, and mark the Internet connection is always online checkbox.
eSignature Status Live

Click the eSignature Status Live link to view status information on eSignature documents which have been transmitted by your office. For more information, see Tracking and retrieving eSignature documents.

Note: You must have an active internet connection to view the live status of eSignature documents. To maintain an active connection, choose Utilities > CS Connect, click the Communication Setup button, click the Direct (LAN) connection to internet option, and mark the Internet connection is always online checkbox.
Bank Products This section contains status information about electronically filed returns that utilize bank products. The Bank Products section displays on the Home Page only if you mark the Use Refund Advantage bank products checkbox in the Setup > 1040 Individual > Federal tab > Bank Products dialog.
CS Connect Services

The CS Connect Services section displays updates that were downloaded and applied via CS Connect Background Services. 

To update CS Connect Background Services settings on the CS Connect tab of the System Configuration dialog via the UltraTax CS Home Page, click the CS Connect Services link and then click the Change link.
UltraTax CS Updates This section contains information about application updates that are available for download. This link displays only if there are available updates.
Recent Activity This section displays the most recent client returns your preparers, staff and reviewers have accessed, along with the time spent in each client's record. You can use the Setup > User Preferences > Home Page tab to specify the number of clients displayed here.
Custom Links Icons for all custom URLs or links to local or network files that you set up in the  Custom Links dialog in the Setup > User Preferences > Home Page tab display in the left pane of the UltraTax CS Home Page.
Client Profiles

This section of the UltraTax CS Home Pages enables you to quickly open a client's return, search your client list by first or last name, update client contact information without opening the client's return, access return information, view return history (when applicable), view the status history of clients' returns, as well as add, edit, or view external client documents. For more information, see Viewing client information from the UltraTax CS Home Page.

Note: If the client's data is password protected, you can only see protected information if you enter the client's password or the master password.
Product Releases This section displays information about upcoming UltraTax CS release dates, as well as a detailed installation history.
Product Information

Click the Product Information link to access information about all UltraTax CS products for which you are licensed, as well as Platform information. The Product Information section includes the following sections.

  • Platform User Bulletins. Contains links to Platform user bulletins that apply to all UltraTax CS applications.
  • Platform guides. Contains links to PDF guides that apply to multiple UltraTax CS applications.
  • Products. Contains information about the available returns for the applications for which you are licensed, such as a list of forms and worksheets that are available. You can click the More information link to access state electronic filing information, such as whether the state has electronic filing mandates. If an application is not installed, the product flag is unavailable.
Data Locations This section displays all of the data locations specified in the Setup > System Configuration > Data Locations tab. You can expand each link to see how many clients are in each data location.
Firm Information

Click the Firm Information link to view information about network users who are currently using the application. You can review graphs that display current and prior-year clients by entity, see a breakdown by year and entity of how many clients each preparer, reviewer, or staff is assigned, and view computer hardware information for network users. For more information, see Reviewing your firm's workload in UltraTax CS.

Note: To access the Firm Information section, choose Setup > Security; enter your password and click Continue, if necessary; mark the Display Firm tabs on the home page checkbox in the Security Configuration dialog; and click OK. If you enabled advanced security, choose Setup > Security, enter your password and click Continue, click the Groups tab, click the Edit Group button, click the Administrative link in the Privilege column, set the Home Page privilege to Allow, and click OK twice.
Multimedia Presentations This section contains video presentations about items, such as new features in UltraTax CS, as well as PDF documents with information related to the videos.
Research on the Web This section displays links to useful websites.
Help, Support & Ideas

This section lists Support operating hours and links to Support resources.

It is easy to access our Help & How-To Center. From within UltraTax CS, you can click the Help button on the toolbar, click the Help & How-To Center link on the Home Page, or press CTRL+Y to open the Help & How-To Center.
Forms CS This section links you to the Forms CS website.
Welcome to UltraTax CS The Welcome to UltraTax CS link near the bottom of the pane, displays when you first open UltraTax CS after you have installed the application. This section provides descriptions of the information available via the Home Page navigation pane. When applicable, the section descriptions point you to the corresponding Home Page section or direct you to the appropriate tab in UltraTax CS.

 

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