Importing conversion data

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Before you begin the conversion process, please read the Practice CS Conversion Information Kit for important information such as items transferred during conversion, items not converted, and required processing steps prior to conversion. To view or print the Conversion Information Kit using the Adobe Reader, click here. If you have difficulty opening this guide, you might need to download and install the latest version of the Adobe Reader from the Downloads page of the Adobe website.

Available conversion types

Practice CS has four types of conversions available:

  • Demographic — Includes only facts about clients, staff, offices, and contacts such as their names, addresses, phone numbers, as well as practice management system configuration settings such as engagements and activities. Does not include any portions of time and billing elements
  • WIP & A/R — Includes demographic data, plus some level of information (summary or detail) for unbilled time and expenses, unpaid invoices, and unapplied receipts and adjustments
  • Historical — Includes detail information of WIP, both unpaid and paid invoices with either detail or summary for billed time and expenses, and both unapplied and applied receipts and adjustments. Also includes demographic data, unbilled time & expenses in detail form, unpaid and paid invoices with either summary or detail of billed time and expenses, unapplied and applied receipts and adjustments in detail form
  • Custom conversions
Note: Historical data and custom conversions are done at our facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For information and pricing please call (800) 968-8900 and speak to a Sales team member.

Instructions for converting setup and open balance data

Practice CS has an Export/Import feature that allows you to convert your Creative Solutions Practice (CSP) Setup and Open Balance data in your office at your convenience. To convert Setup or Open Balance data from CSP into Practice CS, follow these steps.

Notes
  • If our Conversions team is converting your CSP data, you do not need to complete these procedures. We will convert the Setup and Open Balance data along with your Historical data.
  • The export portion must be done from a computer with either CSP installed or Microsoft Access 2000 or higher installed.

Exporting the data from CSP

  1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the \Wincsi\Practice CS\Conversion folder.

    Note: If you’re running Practice CS through Virtual Office CS or Software as a Service (SaaS), you can navigate to files on your local network.

  2. Double-click the CSPExport.MDE file. This MDE file is an export application that pulls data from your current CSP data structure. Later in the conversion process you will need to import this information into Practice CS.
  3. Select the information you would like to export from CSP. Your options are Setup information only (Demographic) or Setup information + open WIP and A/R data (WIP & AR). Select one of the options and click the Next button.
  4. Enter the path to your CSP database. The default path is to your current CSP data location. Then enter the path to a destination folder for your exported data, or use the default location (\WinCSI\PSData\Exported_Data\). Click the Next button.
  5. Select the Practice CS phone descriptions that should be used in place of your CSP phone descriptions. The export application will populate the Practice CS description with the closest match from CSP. If a match cannot be found, the field will be left blank. You can let the export find an available spot for it, or you can select an item from the list. Click the Next button.
  6. Click the Export button to begin the export process. When the export is finished, you will be able to view and print an Exception Report, a WIP Balance Report, and/or an A/R Balance Report.
    • The Exception Report lists any fields that were truncated, any phone number mapped to a different location, timesheet items that could not be converted, or any other criteria that violate the rules of Practice CS.
    • The WIP Balance Report displays any WIP differences during the export. This is merely an exception report if the balance from CSP differs from the balance in Practice CS. One cause for this type of adjustment is progress bill entries that have a negative remaining amount of WIP in CSP. This type of transaction is not permitted in Practice CS, so a WIP adjustment is made so that the remaining amount is not less than zero.
    • The AR Balance Report displays any A/R differences between the A/R that was actually exported and the A/R balance in CSP. The report lists the difference by client ID and attempts to give a brief explanation of the difference. One potential cause for the A/R to be different is if a payment exceeds an invoice amount. This is not allowed in Practice CS, so the credit balance cannot be converted.
  7. After previewing and printing any exception reports, click the Exit button to close the export application.

Importing the CSP data into Practice CS

  1. Start Practice CS.
  2. If you have not already done so, create a new firm.

    Note: The firm name must contain only letters and numbers, with no spaces.

  3. Open the new firm (File > Open Firm).
  4. Choose Actions > Change Period and change the period to match your current processing period in CSP.
  5. From the File menu, choose Import > Conversion Data.
  6. In the Import Conversion Data dialog, enter or navigate to the location of the exported CSP data. The default path is \WINCSI\PSDATA\Exported_Data\.

    Note: If you’re running Practice CS through Virtual Office CS or Software as a Service (SaaS), you can navigate to files on your local network.

  7. Click OK to import the data.
  8. When the import is complete, you will receive a message indicating that the import was successful on the Results tab of the Import Conversion Data dialog. In the bottom left corner you will see Total errors. If there were errors, you can see the details on the Error Details tab of the Import Conversion Data dialog.
  9. Verify that Practice CS is in the correct period. The Current Period is shown in the lower right corner of the application screen. If the period is not correct, choose Actions > Change Periods to change it.

To speak with a CS Support Representative for help on these errors, please call CS Support at 800.968.0600 and follow the prompts.

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