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  • Product: Practice CS

Set up projects for a client

Use the
Project
 window to add and update project and task information for a client.
Use the
Project
 window to add and update project and task information for a client.
note
The
Project
 window is available only if you are licensed for the Project Management module.

Add a project for a client

Before you can add a project for a client, you must first create one or more project templates.

Main tab

You can open the
Project
 window in several ways:
  • In the
    Clients
     screen, choose
    Setup
    Clients
    , select the client for which you want to add project information, and select
    Edit
    . On the
    Projects
     tab, select
    Add
     or
    Edit
    .
  • In the
    Manage Projects
     screen, choose
    Actions
    Manage Projects
    , right-click the project list, and choose
    Add Project
     or
    Edit Selected Projects
    .
  • Right-click any
    Project
     field, such as in
    Time & Expense Entry
    , and choose
    Add Project
     or
    Edit Project
    .
  • Select
    Add
     on the main toolbar and choose
    Project
     from the dropdown list.

Identification

  • Number
    : When you save the project, the application assigns the next available number by default. If necessary, you can enter a different number.
  • Client
    : Displays the name of the selected client.
  • Project
    : Select a project template ID from the dropdown list. If you have security permissions, you can right-click in this field to add or edit a project template.
  • Description
    : Displays the project template description.
  • Invoice description
    : Displays the project description as it appears on invoices.
The
Description
 and
Invoice description
 values come from the project template, but you can change them for the current project if necessary.

Project information

  • Engagement
    : Defaults to the engagement set up on the project template. You can select a different engagement if necessary.
  • Priority
    : Select
    Low
    ,
    Medium
    , or
    High
    .
  • Tracking
    : Select a tracking description for the project. If you have security permissions, you can right-click to add or edit tracking descriptions in the dropdown list.

Budget information

  • Base on Tasks
    : Marks budget information as based on the information set up on the project tasks. When this checkbox is selected, the
    Hours
    ,
    Amount
    , and
    % Complete
     fields are read-only.
  • When
    Base on Tasks
     is selected, the
    Hours
     field shows the sum of the hours of all tasks entered on the
    Tasks
     tab.
  • When
    Base on Tasks
     is selected, the
    Amount
     field shows the sum of the amount of all tasks entered on the
    Tasks
     tab.
  • When
    Base on Tasks
     is selected, the
    % Complete
     field shows a calculated percentage of the budgeted hours for all completed tasks relative to the total budgeted hours for the project.
  • A task is completed when the
    Tracking
     field is set to
    Completed
    .
  • When
    Base on Tasks
     is not selected, budget information is not calculated automatically, and you can manually enter a percentage in the
    % Complete
     field.
  • Calculate amount automatically
    : Marks budget information is calculated based on staff rates. The project must be assigned to a staff member, and staff rates must be set up for that staff member and engagement.
  • Budgeted
    : Displays budgeted amounts calculated from tasks or staff rates. If neither calculation method is selected, you can enter budget information manually.
  • Actual
    : Displays amounts entered in
    Time & Expense Entry
     that are associated with the tasks, if
    Base on Tasks
     is selected, or with the project, if it is not.
  • Est. Remaining
    : Lets you manually adjust the estimated remaining hours needed to complete the project. Enter a value directly or select the
    More
     button to open the
    Estimated Remaining Hours
     window and enter the new balance and comments. This field is not available when
    Base on Tasks
     is selected.
  • % Complete
    : When
    Base on Tasks
     is selected, this field is read-only and shows the calculated percentage of budgeted hours for completed tasks relative to total budgeted hours. When it is not selected, you can manually enter a percentage. Overridden percentages appear in red.

Target dates

For a new project, the
Start
 and
Complete
 dates are set to the date calculated from the selected project template and client. You can edit these dates if necessary.

Actual dates

  • Received
    : The project template can base project and task target dates on the date entered in this field. If the assigned project template uses this option, the application calculates and populates the target dates for the project and its tasks when you enter a date here.
  • Start
     The date must be on or after the received date. When you enter a date here, the
    Tracking
     field changes to
    Started
    .
  • Complete
    : The date must be on or after the start date. When you enter a date here, the application sets the project and task
    Tracking
     fields to
    Completed
     and populates the task completed dates with the same date.

Due dates

The dropdown list contains the descriptions of any extensions that have been set up for the project. If you choose an extension, the application-calculated extended due date appears in the
Current
 field.
If the project template doesn’t have any extensions set up, no extensions are available from this dropdown list. However, you can add an extension by right-clicking the list and choosing
Add Entry
 from the shortcut menu.
Extensions added later to a project template are not added to existing projects. To add an extension to an existing project, right-click the dropdown list and choose
Add Entry
.

Recurrence

Select
Recurrence
 to open the
Recurrence
 window, where you can specify project frequency, dates, and generation options for future projects.

Groupings

Groupings let you categorize projects for filtering project lists and creating reports. You can group projects by department and by responsible staff member.
  • Responsible
    : The staff member responsible for the client or engagement.
  • Department
    : The department of the responsible staff member.

Assigned

Select the
More
 button to assign staff members to the project.
If you are licensed for the Staff Management module, you can also do the following:
  • Manually assign staff to the project based on their qualifications. Select a filter from the dropdown list, or select the
    More
     button next to the
    Staff qualifications
     field and create a filter to specify the qualifications the assigned staff must possess.
  • Automatically assign staff to the project based on a work queue. When you select the
    Work queue
     option, the project is placed in a queue that appears in the Work Queue portlet of the Staff Dashboard for staff who meet the qualifications.

Solution

  • Select solution
    : Select the solution you will use to complete the project from the dropdown list. If the solution is not available from the list, select the
    More
     button next to the
    Solution path
     field to go to it.
When you select a solution for a project or task, the application can open the associated client, document, or application when you open the solution.
  • If the client exists in the selected solution, the client opens automatically.
  • If you have entered a file path for Microsoft Word or Excel, the document in that path opens automatically.
  • If the
    Start Timer for Projects
     checkbox is selected in
    Setup
    User Preferences
    Time & Expense Entry
    , the application automatically starts a timer. When you close the client, document, or application, the timer stops. Then post the recorded time to
    Time & Expense Entry
    .
  • Completion event
     — Available when you select
    UltraTax CS
     in the
    Select solution
     field. Select the status event that marks the task's completion.
If you are licensed for UltraTax CS and want a task or project updated automatically when the corresponding status event is logged in UltraTax CS, use the
Completion Event
 field to select the UltraTax CS status event that marks the task's completion.
Logging the event and closing the client in UltraTax CS stops the timer, if it is running, and updates the
Tracking
 field to
Completed
. Then post the recorded time to
Time & Expense Entry
.
  • Extension event
    : Available when you select
    UltraTax CS
     in the
    Select solution
     field. Select the status event that will extend the project. You must have at least one extension set up on a project to extend the project through a status event from UltraTax CS.
  • GoFileRoom Workflow
    : If you are licensed for GoFileRoom, select the
    More
     button to open GoFileRoom and select a workflow to associate with the project.
  • Notes
    : Enter additional information about the project. Text entered here appears on the Routing Sheet report.
Select
Scheduling
 to open the
Scheduling
 window, where you can schedule the project for one or more staff members. If you have specified staff qualifications for the project, only staff members who meet those qualifications appear in the
Scheduling
 window.

Tasks tab

Select the
Tasks
 tab to view any tasks set up on the project template. You can update task information there and add new tasks if necessary.
The
Links
 tab lets you add links to items that you want to associate with the project. You can link to files, websites, or documents outside the application, including documents stored in FileCabinet CS or GoFileRoom. You can also link to interaction items within the application.
The links you add to a client project apply only to that project. You can also add links to project templates, which then apply to all new projects generated from that template.

Custom Fields tab

The
Custom Fields
 tab provides fields for entering additional information for the project.
The application lets you create custom fields and field names for offices, staff, activities, clients, engagements, projects, tasks, and time and expense entry. Custom fields help you track additional information in the application.
To create custom fields, choose
Setup
Custom Fields
, and then choose
Offices
,
Staff
,
Activities
,
Clients
,
Engagements
,
Projects
,
Tasks
, or
Time & Expense Entry
, depending on where you want the fields to appear.
Custom fields can be checkboxes, date fields, lists, numeric fields, staff lists, or text-entry fields. Date custom fields include a dropdown calendar, and numeric custom fields include a dropdown calculator.

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