Working with the trial balance in a multi-staff environment

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

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The multi-staff feature in Engagement CS allows multiple staff to work in the Master Client Data (MCD) for the same engagement at one time. You can assign the trial balance to your own staff ID (if it is not already assigned to another staff ID), enabling you to take full advantage of the trial balance functionality from within the engagement workspace.

To enable multi-staff functionality for your Engagement CS client, you must mark the Enable multi-staff functionality in Engagement CS checkbox on the Trial Balance tab of the File > Client Properties dialog in CSA.

Use these steps to assign and release the trial balance when multi-staff functionality is enabled in the application.

  1. In Engagement CS, choose Tasks > Assign Trial Balance.
  2. In the Assign Trial Balance dialog select the appropriate staff member from the drop-down list and click OK. The application displays a message indicating that the trial balance will not be available until the assigned staff selects Tasks > Access Trial Balance or closes > re-opens the client.
  3. Click OK to dismiss the message and choose Tasks > Access Trial Balance to take control of the trial balance. (Note that this option is available only when multiple staff are using the Master Client Data at the same time.)
  4. To open the trial balance in the engagement workspace, choose Tasks > Trial Balance then complete any of the trial balance-related tasks as listed in the Notes section below.
  5. To close the current client's database and unlock the trial balance during the current session, choose Tasks > Release Trial Balance. This allows other staff members currently working on the engagement to gain access to the trial balance.
Notes
  • You can complete the following tasks from within Engagement CS when the trial balance is assigned to you in a multi-staff environment.
    • Open the Trial Balance grid to add, edit or delete accounts.
    • Add, edit or delete journal entries from the Journal Entries window.
    • Edit and maintain grouping schedules.
    • Set up and edit tickmarks.
    • Edit balance definitions.
    • Set up and edit additional amounts for workpapers and financial statements in CSA.
  • The status bar at the bottom of the Engagement CS workspace indicates that Multi-staff functionality is enabled and the staff member to which trial balance is currently assigned.
  • The trial balance may only be assigned to one staff member working in the current client.
  • The Assign Trial Balance privilege must be marked for the current staff on the Engagements tab of the Groups Privileges dialog in CSA. For details, see Administration > Groups tab > Group Privileges.

See also: Multi-staff functionality in Engagement CS, overview

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