CBS client - switching accountants - Scenario B

Show expandable text

Warning

Product support for the Creative Solutions Accounting platform ended on September 30, 2020.

Help & How-To Center content for the Creative Solutions Accounting platform may be outdated and is used at your own risk.

Before you begin, you must either transfer the client's CBS license from the former accountant to your own firm or obtain a new license for the client under your own firm's name. (For help with either option, contact CS Customer Service.)

After retrieving the client's CBS license via CS Connect, you will need to provide your client with a transfer disk that contains the new license information.

If you are setting up a new client who currently uses CBS but the client is not able to obtain the former accountant's CSA client backup or CSA system backup with global data, you will need to set up the new client as described below.

Ask the client to provide you with all of the following:

  • The Accountant's Company ID (as listed in the CBS File > Company Properties dialog)
  • The GL account number for the client's primary checkbook (as listed in the CBS Checkbook > Setup window)
  • The client's latest backup of CBS company data files. If the client uses CBS version 99.x or lower, you should also ask the client to provide CBS system files. (It is recommended that you save the client's backup disk in case you need to refer to the historical data.)
  • The client's latest export files.

Procedure

  1. In CSA, choose File > New Client.
  2. In the Add > Remove Module(s) dialog, mark the checkboxes for both the General Ledger module and the Payroll Compliance module. (The Payroll Compliance module must have a current / active license.)
  3. In the Client ID field of the New Client dialog, enter the existing CSA ID that was provided to you by your client.

    Notes

    • If the client ID is currently assigned to an existing client in your CSA client listing and unprocessed export data already exists under that ID for the new client, you will need to temporarily rename the existing client (using the File > Rename command in CSA) prior to retrieving that first set of export data.
    • If there is no unprocessed CBS export information that you must process for the client, you may provide the client with a new (unique) client ID and also instruct the client to specify that new ID in the Accountant Co. ID field (CBS File > Company Properties > General tab) before exporting data to you.
  4. Complete the Reference information (in the File > Client Properties dialog) and complete the other fields in that dialog as appropriate for the client.
  5. Mark the CBS client checkbox in the General Information tab of the File > Client Properties dialog.
  6. Choose Setup > Chart of Accounts and define a basic Chart of Accounts with only two accounts:
    • a checkbook account (using the client's information from the Checkbook > Setup window); and
    • an account for Undistributed amounts (CSA automatically assigns this to account 999)
  7. In Accountant's Assistant, retrieve the data from the client's latest export files.

    If the client has been using CBS PayCheck: The application may display a message prompt informing you that the client has added payroll items and so forth. It is recommended that you print the PayCheck Item Diagnostic Report and then add the missing payroll items. In any case, you should verify whether or not the client is using payroll items in the same way that you have defined them for use with your other CSA clients. (That is, the new client may have one or more payroll items that use names already defined in CSA but it that do not have matching properties.)
  8. Complete the current-period processing for the client.

Note: After completing the client's current period processing, you may choose to change the client's Chart of Accounts setup for future processing in CSA.

  1. Review and verify or change the setup for the client as desired. You will need to verify that the correct GL account numbers are being used in each of several areas in CSA, Accountant's Assistant, and CBS. Click here for more details.

    Note that if you change the Chart of Accounts, the client will be able to create new transactions using the new Chart of Accounts. However, the changes will not affect existing or historical transactions. Any open transactions in the client's application will continue to use the accounts specified when the transaction was saved.
  2. In Accountant's Assistant, generate an Accountant's Transfer Disk for the client to import into CBS and choose all options for each module for which the client is licensed.

Return to: Setting up a CBS client that is switching from another accountant

Top of page

Was this article helpful?

Thank you for the feedback!