UltraTax CS: Preparer association and default settings for multiple offices / firms

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UltraTax CS may be used for multiple branches/office locations, or for multiple firms sharing the same installation of UltraTax CS. For an overview of Branch and Office Share licensing, refer to Office share and branch licensing.

Each preparer must be assigned to a firm, and a default preparer must be selected for all new clients in the Setup > User Preferences > My Settings tab for each user. If a default preparer is not established, certain functions such as retrieving Per Return Pricing (PRP) codes, sending client tax organizers/returns to portals, and/or reviewing licensed products under Help > About UltraTax CS will be performed for the incorrect office.

Associating preparers with firms

If your installation of UltraTax CS is shared by multiple firms or multiple branches of the same firm using a Branch (Multi-Office) or Office Share licensing arrangement, each preparer can be associated with a given firm in order to print the proper firm information on tax returns.

To associate a preparer with a specific firm, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Setup > Office Configuration > Preparers tab.
  2. Highlight a preparer and click Edit.
  3. In the Associate of firm field, select the firm with which the preparer should be associated.
  4. Click OK to save your changes.

Associating preparers with specific offices

If your installation of UltraTax CS is shared by multiple firms or multiple branches of the same firm, you can create multiple offices and associate preparers, reviewers and staff with each office.

Add a new preparer to a specific office

Follow these steps to associate a preparer with a specific office:

  1. Choose Setup > Office Configuration > Preparers tab.
  2. In the Office currently being configured drop-down, select the office with which the preparer should be associated.
  3. Add the preparer using the steps in the Associating preparers with firms section above to associate the preparer with the correct firm information.

Move or copy a preparer to a different office

If you need to move a preparer from one office to another or associate a single preparer with multiple offices, follow these steps:

  1. Chose Setup > Office Configuration.
  2. Click the Office Setup button in the top-right corner.
  3. Click the Reassign Preparers/Reviewers/Staff button.
  4. Select the preparer(s) to copy or move from the left to the right.
  5. Under Action, mark the appropriate option to copy or move the preparer(s).
  6. Click Reassign or Copy.

Setting a default preparer / office for new clients

If your installation of UltraTax CS is shared by multiple firms or multiple branches of the same firm, you can select the default office, preparer, reviewer and staff to be used for new clients for each user.

To set the default office, preparer, reviewer or staff, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Setup > User Preferences > My Settings tab.
  2. Select the default office for this user using the Office drop-down.
  3. Select the applicable data location you wish to use to access clients and client documents using the Data location drop-down.
  4. Select the default preparer, reviewer and/or staff from the Preparer, Reviewer and Staff drop-down menus.

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