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Installation

Installation and setup guide

You can use this step-by-step guide to install and customize Practice CS.

Required

You'll need to do the following setup steps to use Practice CS. We recommend following these steps in order.

Step 1: Install Practice CS and configure your environment

If you've completed the steps to get started by creating your web account and converting your data, you're ready to install Practice CS.
Microsoft Outlook integrates heavily with Practice CS.
  • If you use Outlook, configure it according to the Microsoft Office Guidelines for the CS Professional Suite.
  • If you don't use Outlook, you'll get an Outlook error message when you open Practice CS and you'll need to turn it off.

Step 2: Open Practice CS and choose a firm database

Use these steps to open the application for the 1st time and get ready to set up your data.
  1. When you open Practice CS, you'll need to choose a database to open. If you'd like, you can require a Staff ID and password to open your firm's database. The 1st time you open Practice CS, you'll need to open the sample database using ADMIN as the Staff ID. The sample database comes with data and templates as an example for you to interact with. You can't use the sample database or import/export items from the sample database.
  2. If you didn't convert data, we recommend starting with the setup database. The setup database comes with common activities, engagements, projects, that you can use to get started with your firm.

Step 3: Configure your setup in Practice CS

  1. Use the following sections to set up Practice CS.

Set up your work

You'll need to add templates and categories to track your work in Practice CS.
  1. Add engagement templates.
  2. Add activities.
  3. If you're licensed for Project Management, add project templates.

Set up your clients

You'll need to add your clients and assign templates to them.
  1. Add clients to Practice CS. You can add clients in the following ways.
    • Manually: Setting up clients.
    • If you're licensed for UltraTax CS and have UltraTax clients: Populating Client Information from UltraTax CS to Practice CS.
    • If you need another option, contact your Sales Representative.
  2. Add engagements to your clients, if you haven't already: Setting up engagements for a client.

Best practices

The following items are recommended, but they aren't required.
  • Enable firm security: This lets you grant or deny access for staff to certain areas of Practice CS and secures Practice CS behind a Staff ID and password. To turn this on, go to
    Setup
    ,
    Firm
     then the
    Preferences
     tab.
  • Enter beginning balances.

This article applies to:

  • Product: Practice CS
  • Subject: Install

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