Accounting CS features

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Accounting CS enables you to meet your write-up needs and much more.

Accounting CS features & benefits

The following is a list of some of the significant features included in Accounting CS.

  • Use multi-factor authentication to provide the highest level of security for your firm and client data.
  • Take advantage of the firm-level security features by setting up security groups for staff working in specific areas of the application and that require a password to open the firm database.
  • Modify security privileges to secure access to sensitive information by entire data-entry screens or by specific tabbed pages. For more information, enter "Security" in the search field in the application toolbar.
  • Limit staff access to selected clients, including the Firm client.
  • Use event tracking for edits to employee and bank information, the voiding and deletion of payroll checks, and the deletion of client records.
  • Process a variety of standard reports and financial statements that enable you to provide value-added analysis for your clients. Reports can be printed for produced as a file, stored in FileCabinet CS, and more.
  • Enable the ability to append the date to the document name for reports, checks, and billing invoices that are printed to FileCabinet CS via Preferences tab of the Firm screen.
  • Select from a variety of global printing options on the Reports tab of the User Preferences dialog.
  • Optionally define the printer tray to use based on the type of output and automatically insert separator pages for printed output.
  • Print reports for multiple clients at one time. Create and save an unlimited number of custom report profiles to easily produce a collection of documents to send to clients.
  • Customize standard reports, financial statements, check layouts, and invoice layouts, or utilize one of the custom designers to create other formats to address specific reporting needs.
  • Set up custom formulas for printing calculated values.
  • Utilize conditional expressions to modify document appearance during final printing.
  • Import a variety of custom reports and financial statements from the Accounting CS Library.
  • Create custom charts and graphs within reports and financial statements.
  • Customize the organization of the report tree view, and create a custom collection of client-specific reports and financial statements.
  • Export the firm's billing invoices to Practice CS.

Processing features

  • Automatically determine applicable tax jurisdictions and payroll tax forms based on employee work location and resident address information.
  • View and utilize workers' compensation descriptions and codes for each state.
  • Record handwritten payroll checks.
  • Perform on-the-fly edits to hours or amounts for mid-processing updates.
  • Process direct deposit employee paychecks.
  • Maintain multiple fee schedules and automatically calculate fees on a per-tax-form basis.
  • Enter and report hours used for benefits like vacation, sick time, and personal time.
  • Take advantage of support for third-party sick pay.
  • Create payroll check templates for after-the-fact payroll checks in the Actions > Enter Transactions screen.
  • Use the Analyze Client Activity feature to drill-down and view an employee's current and prior year earnings or a client's payroll schedule details.
  • Make changes to multiple employees at once.

Automatic calculations

  • Calculate an unlimited number of pay, deduction, and employer contribution items.
  • Calculate payroll checks for employees working in multiple states and multiple localities, honoring applicable state rules and reciprocal agreements.
  • Calculate per-check workers' compensation premiums.
  • Add workers' compensation codes on the fly.
  • Calculate garnishments - Creditor, Child Support, Bankruptcy, Federal Levy, Student Loan, Other.
  • Optionally calculate overtime based on weighted-average rates.
  • Calculate amounts and generate checks for federal and state tax deposits.
  • Perform net-to-gross calculations.
  • Process cafeteria plan deductions, retirement plan deductions, and company matching amounts, including "safe harbor" employer contribution plans and employees' retirement plan catch-up contributions.
  • Track and carry forward tax and deduction shortfalls due to negative net pay checks.
  • Calculate commissions as a percentage of sales.
  • Set maximum limits on deductions for automatic turnoff.
  • Verify federal, state, and locality-specific minimum wage amounts for reported tip income.
  • Perform tip allocation calculations.
  • Edit employee information on the fly, including during batch processing.
  • Automatically convert hours and minutes to decimal amounts.

Payroll compliance

  • Quickly access information about state-specific information, including payroll tax forms, processing tips, due dates, filing methods, agency information, tax payment details, state ID formats,
    e-filing notes, new hire reporting requirements, and more
    .
  • Automatically determine applicable tax jurisdictions and payroll tax forms based on employee work location and resident address information.
  • Store up to four years of year-specific reconciliation type forms.
  • Create new hire files electronically for all states.
  • Create independent contractor new hire files electronically for California.
  • Create adjustment liability transactions for discrepancies between liability calculated for tax forms and liability created for payroll checks.
  • Automatically print corresponding payment forms when printing tax liability checks.
  • Handle reporting and tax payments for household employees (federal and California forms).
  • Process W-2, W-2C, 940, 941, 941-X, 943, 943-X, 944, 944-X, 945, 945-X, 1094-C, 1095-C, 1099, state payroll tax forms, and certain local payroll tax forms (AL, CO, KY, MI, MO, NJ, OH, PA, WV) using a streamlined batch payroll tax process (including electronic filing).
  • Process a Reporting Agent List report and Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization.
  • Monitor the progress made for processing payroll tax forms by using the Status filter to see what has been processed and which firms still need to be processed.
  • Enter notes that are specific to payroll tax form processing for each client for all form types.
  • Utilize the 2-D barcode that prints on Form W-2, Copies A and C (Employee Copy-2-Up/3-UP/4-Up/4-Up Pressure Seal) to transfer information seamlessly into UltraTax CS using that application's Bar Code Scan utility.
  • Print filing instructions with corresponding payroll tax forms.
  • Include a signature image on the 94x forms, per Revenue Procedure 2005-39 (alternate signature method).
  • View critical and informational diagnostic messages within the Edit Payroll Tax Forms screen or in a report for payroll tax forms.
  • Expedite EFTPS processing using comprehensive features to create federal enrollment files and federal tax payments.
  • Verify Social Security numbers and Taxpayer Identification numbers quickly and easily with the built-in verification feature.
  • Quickly access payroll form and filing information for federal, state, and local jurisdictions via the Payroll Form and Filing Information portlet on the Home dashboard.
  • Use the Analyze Client Activity feature to view a Payroll Tax Form activity view.
  • Use the MICR check-printing feature to avoid having to maintain supplies of preprinted check stock.
  • Provide maximum convenience to clients and your own firm with the comprehensive direct deposit features, including:
    • pre-noting
    • vendor and payroll agent payments
    • create state ACH payment files
    • child support payments
    • direct integration with Kotapay (Optional add-on feature) Kotapay handles processing of the direct deposit files created from Accounting CS Payroll. For more information, see Using Kotapay.

Accounting CS provides a method to convert client data from Write-Up CS, Trial Balance CS, and Payroll CS and to convert financial statement files from the Financial Reporter module of Write-Up CS or Trial Balance CS. This enables you to convert general client information, Chart of Accounts data, employee and earnings data, payroll items, vendors, and more.

Accounting firms that use Accounting CS in the Virtual Office CS or the Software as a Service (SaaS) environment can offer clients customized, controlled, 24/7 access to Accounting CS from secure, password-protected NetClient CS portals on your website.

With Accounting CS Client Access, authorized staff of a client company can record their day-to-day accounting and payroll information in the same database you use to process their data.

  • Collaborate in real time with a client using the same, shared database and the same user interface.
  • Enable both your own firm and your client's company to benefit from real-time and anytime/anywhere access to the shared data.
  • Customize the services that will be available to your client - such as check writing and payroll.
  • Use the robust Client Security Groups to control the types of data that a client can access and manipulate.
  • Continue after-the-fact processing for your client while they process in real time.
  • Take advantage of the multi-user functionality that allows staff to work concurrently to process data for the same client.

Accounting CS Payroll, for live payroll processing

If you choose to process live payroll for clients, you can purchase a license for Accounting CS Payroll, which includes the following features in addition to the payroll compliance features noted above.

  • Process multiple payroll schedules per client.
  • Expedite basic payroll entry using the spreadsheet-style Rapid tab within the Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen for quick payroll check entry.
  • Perform net-to-gross calculations.
  • Import data from ASCII, TXT, or XML files for automatic check creation from supported time clock applications.
  • Import data from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for automatic check creation.
  • Maximize cash flow using the comprehensive impound features.
    • Fund liabilities from client accounts electronically.
    • Utilize the detailed client balance reporting.
    • Easily reconcile impound bank accounts.
      • Import bank statement files (including OFX, QFX, QIF, and BAI2 files).
      • Export adjustment entries in XML file format.
      • Make adjustment entries to offset the unreconciled amount when appropriate.
  • Export payroll checks, vendor payments, and impound liabilities as payroll journal entries to QuickBooks Online.
  • Calculate accruals for benefits like vacation, sick time, and personal time.
  • Automatically calculate fees, including applicable sales taxes, on a per-check, per-direct deposit, per-payroll, or per-tax-form basis.
  • Create Citizens Bank Positive Pay files for impound bank accounts.
  • Set up notifications and alerts that can be sent to the firm and/or clients when specific payroll-activities take place.

Save time by using the applications's payroll automation features.

  • When you have at least one payroll check selected on the File > Print Checks screen, click the Complete Payroll Output button to do the following.
    • Print selected checks, or send them to NetClient CS for remote check printing, and automatically select and pay any unfunded liabilities they generate.
    • Print selected vendor checks or send them to NetClient CS for remote check printing.
    • Print the invoice if the Create fees as final checkbox is not marked on the Billing tab of the Setup > Clients screen.
    • Print the reports that are included in the report profile specified on the Payroll Automation tab of the Setup > Firm Information > Firm screen or send them to FileCabinet CS, if appropriate.
  • Automatically queue and print corresponding payment forms when tax liability checks are printed.
  • Use the Complete Payroll Output Monitor portlet in the Firm and Staff dashboards to view the current status of payroll output processing.
  • Use the MICR check-printing feature to avoid maintaining supplies of preprinted check stock.
  • Provide maximum convenience to clients and your own firm with the comprehensive direct deposit features, including:
    • pre-noting
    • employee payments (including partial allocations)

Thomson Reuters has developed a preferred-partnership with the following vendors.

  • The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., to accommodate your need for pay-as-you-go workers' compensation insurance. Data is transmitted from Accounting CS through The Hartford's XactPAY service.
  • InsurePay Insurance, to accommodate your need for pay-as-you-go workers' compensation insurance. Data is transmitted from Accounting CS through the InsurePay service.
  • Time Rack, to accommodate your need to offer an integrated time and attendance solution for your clients and to ensure that employee information is up to date.

The payroll administrator at the client's office can use the features for remote time entry with automatic import as well as remote check printing of both payroll and vendor checks.

Employee Self-Service features available to individual employees at the client's office, via secure web-based portals, include the ability to do the following.

  • Handle time-entry tasks for payroll checks.
  • Edit W-4 information.
  • View and print payroll check stubs.
  • View and print W-2s.
  • Hide sensitive information.
  • Provide email notifications to your clients when payroll are complete.

See also: NetClient CS mobile app (in the NetFirm CS administration help)

Accounting CS Workpapers

By adding the optional license for Workpapers CS, you can store and manage workpapers electronically within Accounting CS. This additional license enables you do to all of the following in Accounting CS.

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