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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.
- Take advantage of the Home, Firm, Staff, and Client dashboard views to customize the workspace.
- View important update information via the Notices portlet on the Home dashboard, including update alerts for the application when they become available.
- View and monitor actions performed by client staff in Accounting CS Client Access via the Client Access Processing Notifications portlet.
- Add or remove Accounting CS services that your firm provides for selected clients and enable Accounting CS Client Access for your clients who use Accounting CS in their own businesses.
- Take advantage of the multi-user capabilities to enable multiple staff in your firm to make changes to client data and see those updates in real time.
- Use templates to quickly set up client and employee information.
- Use the Transfer Client Information utility to quickly transfer setup information between clients.
- Add basic client setup information in batch format directly from UltraTax CS.
- Store an unlimited number of years of accounting and payroll data.
- Backup and restore client data, as well as transfer data for individual clients between different firm databases, from the Client Data Management Utility screen.
- Set up and use custom fields to track a variety of supporting information that is not tracked in the application's default configuration.
- Filter data in screens to save time and reduce the size of data lists.
- Maintain electronic notes for client processing.
- Use one of the 30+ predefined tickmarks or create custom text or image tickmarks.
- Choose when to make setup items in various screens "inactive" (for example, clients, general ledger accounts, vendors, employees, and so forth).
- Close the year by account segment and optionally distribute the net income amount per (primary) segment code during the year-end close process.
- Set up vendor records for 1099 and trade vendors that a client pays for services rendered (for example, lawn care, supplies, accounting services, and so forth). By default, the tax agents are listed automatically for a client's federal and state tax liabilities.
- Use up to 20 completely customizable account segments in any order to build a robust Chart of Accounts mask that can handle up to 60 alphanumeric characters.
- Apply optional color codes to separate account segments in the Chart of Accounts mask for easy identification during data entry.
- Create up to five types of budget balances per client.
- Define balances by using any combination of adjusting journal entries and determine if the balance should be rounded.
- Set up an unlimited number of account groupings and related codes and subcodes to group accounts for reports and financial statements.
- Customize tax codes to control how balances flow and how subschedule detail is displayed in your tax application.
- Edit general information, assign codes (account classification codes and subcodes, M-3 tax codes, tax codes, and units), renumber, segmentize, and merge multiple accounts at the same time.
- Set up default account groupings and tax code assignments for accounts.
- Use the spreadsheet wizard to import Chart of Accounts data, transactions, or employee information (including earnings) from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. This process enables you to map the spreadsheet data to the selected client's data in Accounting CS.
- Use the spreadsheet wizard to import account balances from a spreadsheet created in QuickBooks.
- Use the spreadsheet wizard to import account balances from a spreadsheet created in Xero.
- Enable accountants to import transactions from a client's financial account into the application. This includes checking accounts, savings accounts, other bank accounts, and credit card accounts.
- Use the Bank Feeds Dashboard to view information about financial account activity for your clients who have linked their accounts to Accounting CS.
- Use the spreadsheet wizard to import vendors and customers.
- Use the spreadsheet wizard to import accounts payable and accounts receivable transactions.
- Use the spreadsheet wizard to import accounts receivable invoice items.
- Quickly and efficiently process both accounts payable and accounts receivable on a cash or accrual basis.
- Enable the application to track early-payment discounts via the Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable tabs of the Clients screen.
- Select the method by which the application automatically applies accounts payable and accounts receivable transactions.
- Set the number of decimal places to use for quantity and/or pricing via the Accounts Receivable tab of the Clients screen.
- Quickly apply multiple payments and invoices for multiple customers via the Apply Customer Payments screen.
- Set up invoice templates to automatically create transactions on a specified schedule or on an as-needed basis.
- Import multiple amortization schedules from ToolBox CS and from TValue to easily create payments according to individual schedules.
- Import journal entries from Fixed Assets CS and from Practice CS.
- Create customized views of client trial balance information to provide easy access to pertinent client data.
- Filter the trial balance view by segment for core accounts and/or one or more segment code combination.
- Make adjusting journal entries directly in the Enter Trial Balance screen and see their effects on the Trial Balance in real time.
- Consolidate balances for selected clients into a single master client, by account number or account grouping.
- Enter checks, payroll checks, deposits, payments, and journal entries within a single data-entry screen.
- View data within the Actions > Enter Transactions screen in either a General Ledger view (journal based) or a checkbook register view (bank account based).
- Create template transactions, including recurring and automatic transactions, for more efficient data entry.
- Void, delete, or reverse multiple transactions at once.
- Create Adjusting, Tax, Reclassifying, Potential, and Other adjusting entries.
- Enable the application to automatically increment journal entry, deposit, and/or payment reference numbers by a specified value.
- Display various hash totals in the status bar of the Actions > Enter transactions screen.
- Import client data from QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online.
- Import your client's QuickBooks data quickly and easily using a wizard.
- Export account segments to Quickbooks and map them to existing classes for the selected client.
- Use the Analyze Client Activity feature to drill-down and view transaction details and track source transactions in the Trial Balance, General Ledger, and Financial Statement Worksheet.
- Record and reconcile differences between Adjusted Net Income and Tax Net Income by creating tax adjustment entries directly to a tax code.
- Reconcile bank statements with the built-in bank reconciliation features, including a bank statement import, the ability to unfinalize reconciliations to make corrections, and the ability to set the reconciling frequency.
- Export invoices to Practice CS.
- Monitor and plan for future database expansion when, after opening the application, an alert message is displayed that indicates the Microsoft SQL Server Express database has reached 80 percent or more of the maximum capacity.
- Refer to the workflow topics in the Help & How-To Center that offer a a graphical view of the setup and processing steps necessary to accomplish various tasks across the application.
- 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.
Remote Data Entry and Remote Check Printing via NetClient CS
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 via NetClient CS
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.
- Take advantage of the Workpapers Dashboard views to customize the workspace.
- Create engagement binders from template clients, from another client's engagement binders, or binders that are based on the folder structure in UltraTax CS or GoSystem Tax RS.
- Store virtually any type of file within an engagement binder.
- Organize and file all currently active engagement documentation in a single location.
- Send documents to FileCabinet CS and organize them by category.
- Print the engagement binder folder structure to FileCabinet CS when the Print Engagement binder folders structure checkbox is marked in the FileCabinet CS Options section in the Preferences tab of the Firm screen.
- Use the Engagement Binders Tree portlet to view folders and workpapers in a tree-view layout. Alternatively, use the Workpapers List portlet within the Workpapers Dashboard to display a list of all workpapers for a specific engagement binder.
- Drag and drop documents (from Windows Explorer) and email messages (from Microsoft Outlook) into a selected binder or folder in the Engagement Binders Tree portlet.
- Drag and drop documents from the Onvio Documents portlet into a selected binder of folder in the Engagement Binders Tree portlet.
- Attach notes to workpapers, folders, and engagement binders, and view them in the Notes portlet or the Notes List portlet within the Workpapers Dashboard.
- Add a scanned workpaper or append scanned items to an existing workpaper via the Add Workpaper Wizard.
- Disconnect and return workpapers in the engagement binder via the Disconnect Workpapers wizard when network connectivity is unavailable for staff working in the field.
- Add workpapers directly from PPC Checkpoint Tools into the engagement binder.
- Link engagements directly from PPC's SMART Practice Aids in the PPC tab of the Setup > Engagement Binders screen.
- Right-click a workpaper in the Engagement Binders tree and choose Protect to change the workpaper's permissions to read-only and to lock all formulas that it may contain.
- Set up an unlimited number of signoff types, and sign off on workpapers either from the Engagement Binders Tree portlet or from the Workpapers List portlet.
- Create customized Microsoft Excel workpapers by using the step-by-step instructions in the Add Workpaper wizard.
- Insert one or more workpapers from an existing binder into the current binder via the Add Workpaper wizard.
- Insert documents into the engagement binder directly from NetStaff CS portals via the File Exchange Documents portlet.
- Enable filtering within the File Exchange Documents portlet by associating specific NetClient CS portals with client records.
- Transmit PDF source documents for 1040 engagements from the Source Document Processing folder in the Engagement Binders Tree portlet to the Thomson Reuters network of secure data centers for Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Retrieve the PDF documents back into the engagement to separate and organize them into folders based on the type of document.
Note: The Source Document Processing service of Accounting CS is not automatically included with Software as a Service (SaaS) access; the service includes either a per-client fee or an annual renewable fee for unlimited access. For pricing details, please contact your CS Sales representative.
- Transfer 1040 engagement client source document data to UltraTax CS via the UltraTax CS Source Data Entry utility.
- Group brokerage forms, K-1s, and automatically sort Tax Organizer documents prior to source document processing in the Workpapers section on the Preferences tab of the Firm screen.
- Use the functionality of the Workpapers CS add-in ribbon when you launch a Microsoft Excel and/or Microsoft Word workpaper from within the engagement binder.
- Use the built-in PDF editor to make annotations (including stamps, highlights, and comments) directly in PDF workpapers.
- Install and use the Workpapers CS printer to print selected documents to the engagement binder as a PDF workpaper.
- Finalize an engagement binder to lock down all workpapers, notes, and signoffs, and to restrict any further updates.
- Roll forward an engagement binder to start another engagement for the next year.
- Use the Fieldwork Utility to work on a client record in the field without a network connection to the client's database at the office.
- Take advantage of the built-in calculator in the Engagement Binders Tree portlet that enables you to perform calculations in Standard or TenKey mode. When in TenKey mode, you can copy the calculator tape directly into documents within the binder.
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