Firm > Preferences tab

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On the Preferences tab you can enable firm security in the application, allow staff members' workstations to remember their login information, select fields that require data entry confirmation, disable Event Tracking, and more.

Choose Setup > Firm Information > Firm and then click the Preferences tab.

Fields & buttons

  • Enable firm security. Mark this checkbox to require passwords when a firm database is opened. Otherwise, firm staff can launch and access all areas in the application without using a password.

    Notes

    • You must enable firm security to use the Workpapers service for any client or to enable Accounting CS Client Access for any client.
    • You must exit the application and then reopen it for the new setting to take effect to enable firm security.
    • Firm security cannot be disabled after it has been enabled.
  • Enable Remember login information. Mark this checkbox to display the Remember login information checkbox in the login screen. This provides staff with the option to log in from their own computers without re-entering their user ID and password each time they attempt to log in. Leave the checkbox cleared to require staff to log in each time they open the application. (To make the login screen reappear for staff, clear this checkbox or just choose File > Reset Remember Login.)

Select fields that require confirmation. To specify that a data entry confirmation prompt be displayed when changes are made to certain types of fields within the application, click the Ellipsis button button. In the Data Entry Confirmation Entries dialog, mark the checkbox for each field that requires re-entry for data confirmation, and then click OK.

Prompt to generate liabilities for handwritten payroll checks in Enter Transactions. Mark this checkbox to prompt that handwritten payroll checks have been entered during this session that have not had liabilities generated yet. You can choose to generate the liabilities from here, or do so later.

Require Hire date. Mark this checkbox to confirm that the hire date is entered for the current employee prior to saving the employee record. A warning will flash next to the Hire date field in the Personal tab of the Employees screen when you attempt to save the employee record without entering a hire date.

Require Birth date if active retirement plan deduction. Mark this checkbox to require that a birth date be entered (in the Personal tab of the Employees screen) for any employees for whom a retirement plan deduction is set up. This ensures that the application can increase contribution limits for retirement plans when appropriate. For more information see Customizing settings for employee retirement catch-up contributions and limits.

Prompt when EIN/SSN is blank or "Applied For." Mark this checkbox to verify and prompt that a EIN/SSN has not been entered or has been set to "Applied For" prior to saving the employee record in the Employees screen. Click the Yes or No button when you are prompted with the following message:

This employee is missing an EIN/SSN. Some payroll tax returns may be rejected if a valid EIN/SSN is not entered. Do you want to continue saving the employee?

Show me.

The application's Event tracking features are enabled as the default setting to monitor specific activities that affect your firm database, which are recorded in the Events tab of the Firm screen. Mark the Disable event tracking checkbox to discontinue event monitoring.

Data entry method. Select either Bank Account or Journal as the default data-entry method to use when entering data in the Actions > Enter Transactions screen. The method selected here applies to any client the first time a staff member of your firm opens the Enter Transactions screen for that client.

Note: You can select a different data-entry method on a client-by-client basis by choosing Edit > Options from the Enter Transactions screen, and that selection then becomes the default method for that client.

Data sharing is enabled by default with other applications in the CS Professional Suite.

  • Enable data sharing. Mark this checkbox to show the Data Sharing Data sharing button toolbar button and enable data sharing for the application.
  • Synchronize pending updates upon opening the application. Mark this checkbox to allow the application to check for data sharing updates for all clients while the application is opening.

Tax Firm ID. (Use this field only when the firm ID is different between the Accounting CS and UltraTax CS applications for which you are licensed. For details, see Sharing W-2 data with UltraTax CS). Enter the tax firm ID from UltaTax CS to which you want to export employee W-2 information from Accounting CS. This feature enables you to create an XML file containing employee W-2 information that can be imported into another application for client Form 1040 processing. See Exporting W-2 information to another application. Currently this feature supports imports only into UltraTax CS.

Data sharing is disabled for the client when a firm ID is entered in this field and the Send W-2s to UltraTax CS checkbox is marked on the Integration tab of the Setup > Clients screen.

Adjust due date for non-banking days to use previous banking day. Mark this checkbox to move the due date for payroll tax liabilities to the previous banking day, if the due date falls on a weekend or holiday.

Note: This option does not apply to deposit schedules when the Adjust due date to next business day checkbox is marked in the Deposit Schedules dialog.

  • Default settings for filing instructions. Click the Ellipsis Ellipsis button button to open the Default Filing Instructions Options dialog, where you can specify (for both Paper and Non-paper filing methods) whether to print filing instructions by default with the filing copy, the client copy, all copies, or not at all. For more information, see Printing filing instructions for payroll tax forms.
  • Disable watermark on client copy forms. Mark this checkbox to suppress the application's default behavior of printing a watermark on all client copy payroll tax forms (forms for which the Client copy checkbox is marked in the Print dialog).
  • Duplex printing of IRS instructions for employee W-2s. Mark this checkbox to specify two-sided printing of W-2 instructions for recipients.
  • Separate internet/magnetic files by staff. Mark this checkbox to assign all future internet or magnetic files to the staff ID of the staff member who creates them. Each staff member will then have access only to the internet/magnetic files that they have processed. Clear this checkbox to remove the staff ID from existing files.

    Any existing internet and magnetic files are assigned to the staff ID of the staff member who marks this checkbox, making those existing files unavailable to all other staff.

  • Require electronic form transmission from file preview. When this checkbox is marked, the Transmit Forms button within the Process Electronic Forms screen is made inactive, and transmission becomes available only from the File Preview screen (which is opened from the Process Electronic Forms screen).
  • Require internet/magnetic file creation from file preview. When this checkbox is marked, the Create Files button within the Process Internet/Magnetic Files screen is made inactive, and file creation becomes available only from the File Preview screen (which is opened from the Process/Internet Magnetic Files screen).
  • Display all available clients for form processing. When this checkbox is marked, the application displays all active clients in the Actions > Process Payroll Tax Forms screen for 1099 processing (except for clients that have the Do Not File checkbox marked for the federal form 1099 Copy A/1096). When the Display all available clients for form processing checkbox is unmarked (its default state), only the clients that will receive a 1099 form will display in the processing screen.
  • Disallow removal of restricted clients from internet/magnetic files. When this checkbox is marked, the application does not allow staff members to remove restricted clients from files in the Actions > Process Internet/Magnetic Files screen if the staff member entering the screen is restricted from a particular client and that client is included in one of the files within the screen. See also: Forms missing from the Process Internet/Magnetic Files screen

Automatically export finalized invoices. To automatically export all invoices for which the Create fee as final checkbox is marked for the fees on the invoices or in the Billing tab of the Setup > Clients screen, mark this checkbox. See Exporting invoices to Practice CS for details.

  • Organize by category. Documents that are sent to FileCabinet CS (v.2012.1.0 or higher) are organized by category. For details, see Organizing FileCabinet CS documents by category.
  • Print Engagement binder folders structure. Mark this checkbox to create the folder structure and folder contents as separate elements. When this checkbox is cleared, a single PDF to of the engagement binder is created. (Note that printing individual workpapers to FileCabinet CS is not affected by this setting).
  • Disable NON-NEGOTIABLE watermark on checks. Mark this checkbox if your firm chooses to store PDF copies of negotiable checks in FileCabinet CS. By default, checks stored in FileCabinet CS display a NON-NEGOTIABLE watermark.
  • Append date to document name of. Mark this checkbox for any document types in which you want to include the date in the document name.
  • Group forms in FileCabinet CS by. Select one of the following grouping options when sending payroll tax forms to FileCabinet CS. For details, see Organizing payroll tax forms when printing to FileCabinet CS.
    • Form. Groups payroll tax forms based on the form name. (For example, if a Federal 941 and an Indiana reconciliation form are printed at the same time for the client, each form would appear under a separate form description - one for 941 and another for WH-1.)
      Mark the Include state ID checkbox to include the client's two-letter state abbreviation as a prefix to the document name. This prevents forms from different states that have the same names from overwriting each other when they are printed together.
    • Jurisdiction. Groups payroll tax forms based on state or federal jurisdiction.
      Mark the Exclude federal forms checkbox to keep federal forms separate, otherwise federal forms are grouped under "US."
    • Period End Date. Groups payroll tax forms based on the form's processing period end date.
  • Source Document Processing. Click the Ellipsis button button to open the Source Document sort options dialog and change the default order in which source documents are organized in the engagement binder. You can also specify which folder documents are organized when they are retrieved from Source Document Processing.
    • Group brokerage forms. Mark this checkbox to organize brokerage forms within a single file in the engagement binder after Source Document Processing is complete. When this checkbox is cleared, each page of the brokerage form is organized as a separate document after Source Document Processing is complete.

      Notes

      • When the Group brokerage forms checkbox is marked, some features of Source Document Processing are not available. For example, documents are not automatically returned to the engagement binder.
      • This option is not available in the application if you are working in Virtual Office CS or Software as a Service (SaaS).
    • Group K-1s. Mark this checkbox to organize Schedule K-1 (1065) forms and additional pages in the tax engagement within a single file in the engagement binder after Source Document Processing is complete. When this checkbox is cleared, Schedule K-1 forms in the tax engagement that are organized after Source Document Processing is complete are created and organized based on the form type of each page.
    • Automatically sort Tax Organizer. Mark this checkbox to create single-page PDFs during Source Document Processing and to automatically organize the PDFs into folders based on what is mapped in the grid. Leave the checkbox cleared (default) to create a single PDF that contains all of the items from the tax organizer in the binder's folder location that is mapped in the grid. Items in the grid cannot be modified when the checkbox is cleared.
  • Open PDF workpapers in native PDF application. Mark this checkbox to open PDF workpapers in a native PDF application (for example, Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat) rather than in this application's own PDF editor.

    Note: This option is unavailable in the Virtual Office CS and Software as a Service (SaaS) environments.

  • Automatically protect workpaper upon signoff. Mark this checkbox and select a signoff type to apply the status of protected when the same signoff type is applied to workpapers in the engagement binder.

    Notes

    • The status of Protected is applied only to those workpapers that are assigned the signoff type after a selection is made. The status of workpapers with the same signoff type that were applied prior to the selection remains unchanged.
    • If the signoff type preference is changed, the status of Protected is retained for workpapers that were assigned the prior signoff type.

Click the Ellipsis button to open the SwipeClock Partner Login Credentials dialog. This enables SwipeClock integration for your firm.

Click the Ellipsis button to open the WorkforceHUB Login Credentials dialog. This enables WorkforceHUB integration for your firm.

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