Opening a client's return

Show expandable text

New (tax) year, new help!

Fixed Assets and UltraTax CS 2023 help is now on Help and Support. We're still moving articles, but you can find most content for the 2023 tax year there. Continue using the Help & How-To Center for tax years 2022 and older.

Complete the following steps to open a client's return in UltraTax CS.

  1. Click the Open Client Open Client button button (or choose File > Open) to open the Open Client dialog.
  2. In the list, highlight the information for the return you want to open.

    Note: To quickly find a client, you can click the Client ID or Name title bar to enable a search box above the list. Then, you can enter the first few characters of the client's ID or name.

  3. Click the Open button to open the client's return information.

    Note: If an error message regarding "orphaned" input screens appears, UltraTax CS encountered an error when converting client data from another tax preparation application. See Resolving "orphaned" input screens for more information.

Depending on your configuration, input screens may not display when you click the Open button.

  • If you have more recent data for a client involved in data sharing, the Data Sharing Pending Updates dialog may appear.
  • If you configured the UltraTax CS status system to provide status warnings and the current client meets the criteria defined for those warnings, the Warning - Status System dialog will appear.
  • If the client's data is password-protected, the Password dialog will appear.
  • If you use the UltraTax/1040 Client Organizer and you set the option to start 1040 data entry in organizer input screens, the client's organizer screens will open.

Tips

  • Click the word Client ID, Name, Entity, Complex, or the status event clock icon in the title bar of the list to sort the client listing by that characteristic. Note that UltraTax CS displays the client's complexity rating in the Complex column as long as the Display the Client Complexity factor checkbox is marked on the Setup > User Preferences > Misc tab. 
  • Use the Focus group box to limit the clients who appear in the list by entity type, preparer/staff, fiscal year-end, and/or client status.
  • To quickly change which clients are listed, click the Restore user/default focus options button to toggle between the most recent custom Custom focus button focus selection and the default Default focus button selection.
  • To view additional information about the clients listed, click the Detail >> button.
  • You can quickly open a client whose data you've processed recently using commands on the File menu. The most recently processed client is listed at the bottom of the File menu, and up to eight other recently processed clients are listed under More Recently Used.
  • You can have up to three clients open for processing at the same time. To do so, simply open a new client for processing without closing the current client. The previous client's ID appears in a button in the far right side of the UltraTax CS toolbar. To switch back to the previous client, click the client's ID button.
  • To open any return, click the [Open] link in the Client Profiles section of the UltraTax CS Home Page.
  • You can open a client's tax return in a read-only view, which locks the data in input screen fields and prevents the application from recalculating the return.

Was this article helpful?

Thank you for the feedback!