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Integration with UltraTax CS
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This article applies to:

Activate UltraTax CS

Follow these steps to activate UltraTax CS for tax years 2024 and prior
Tax File Activation
lets your firm integrate SurePrep with your tax software. Activation lets SurePrep the ability to communicate information with your tax software. You can follow the instructions in this article to integrate UltraTax CS or UltraTax CS (Virtual Office CS or SaaS) for tax year 2024 and prior.
Tax Software
Description
UltraTax CS (Virtual Office CS or SaaS)
Authenticating the tax software lets you integrate SurePrep services with your tax software. After the integration is complete, you will be able to create binders in FileRoom, Create Custom DRLs (Document Request List) in TaxCaddy, and fetch deliverables in Reviewer Dashboard (for example, tax returns, tax payments, and e-file authorizations).
UltraTax CS (Local)
You'll need to set up SurePrep integration using a different method (that is, Tax File Activation window).
After integrating UltraTax CS with SurePrep, set up a web authentication token to fetch deliverables like tax returns, tax payments, and e-file authorizations in the Reviewer Dashboard. Follow the instructions in this article to complete the setup.

Activating UltraTax CS

Follow these steps to define the default location:
Go to
FileRoom
,
Admin
,
Account Setup
, then
Tax File Activation
.
Select Admin, ACCOUNT SETUP, then Tax File Activation.
Open the PBFX file once it completes downloading.
Open the downloaded file
note
- The download window might look different based on your browser.- In Chrome and Edge, you can select
Always open files of this type
 to open the PBFX file the next time you need to create a binder or update your
Tax File Activation
 settings.
When the
Tax File Activation
 window appears, select the
UltraTax CS
 tab.
Select UltraTax CS
There are three options to select UltraTax CS tax software:
  • UltraTax CS (Local/Desktop)
    : Select this option if you are only using a local copy of UltraTax installed on your desktop.
  • UltraTax CS (Virtual Office CS or SaaS)
    : Select this option if you are only using a virtual server copy of UltraTax CS. Follow the remaining steps in the linked article.
    • (Legacy for older tax years) Activate UltraTax Virtual Office CS
      for 2021 and earlier tax years
      .
  • Both
    : Select this option if you are using both the local and virtual install.
The selected option will reflect on the template displayed on the
Create New Binder
 window.
Select your UltraTax CS software
Select
Add New Path
 to set a new account. A blank row will appear.
Select Add New Path.
On the
UltraTax CS Data\Installation Folders
 field, go to the network or local path location where the UltraTax CS file is.
Select your document from the Browse For Folder window
UltraTax S:
View instructions on which UltraTax CS installation folder path needs to be selected.
Make your UltraTax CS Folder selection with the following steps:
  1. Open
    UltraTax CS
    .
  2. On the
    Setup
     menu, select
    User Preferences
    .
    Select User Preferences
  3. On the
    User preferences
     window, select the
    File Locations
     tab. Note down the path up to the
    WinCSI
     folder (for example, C:\\WinCSI\).
    Select the File Locations tab
  4. Go to
    FileRoom
    ,
    Admin
    ,
    Account Setup
    ,
    Tax File Activation
    , then
    UltraTax CS
     tab. Select the installation (WinCSI) folder path that appeared in the previous step.
    note
    In the
    Nickname
     column, you can provide a nickname/alias to help identify your location (for example, Chicago Office). This field is optional.
  5. Select the
    Save
     Save icon icon to save the details or select the
    Cancel
     Cancel icon icon to close without saving any changes.
    Select the Save or Cancel icon
The
Created By
,
Created On
,
Modified By
, and
Modified On
 fields auto-populate with the User Name and the system date and time.
Created By, Created On, Modified By, and Modified On fields
This newly added path appears with the title and path.
Newly added path
To edit the path after it is added, select the
Edit
 Edit icon icon. To delete the path, select the
Delete
 Delete icon icon to delete the path.
Select the Edit or Delete icon

Activating UltraTax CS (Virtual Office CS or SaaS)

Follow these steps to complete a one-time setup of the UltraTax CS integration with SurePrep:
1. Get API credentials from UltraTax CS
2. Enter API credentials into SurePrep
note
For UltraTax CS (Virtual Office or SaaS), these steps are necessary to create binders, custom DRL, and fetch deliverables. However, for UltraTax CS local install, complete these steps if you need to fetch deliverables from the tax software.
Get API credentials from UltraTax CS (Virtual Office CS or SaaS)
  1. Log in to your UltraTax CS (Virtual Office CS).
  2. Go to
    Setup
    ,
    System Configuration
    , then
    CS Connect
     tab.
    Select the CS Connect tab.
  3. Select the
    Enable CS Connect Background Services
     checkbox if it is not already enabled. Next, select
    Any computer on this network
    .
    Select the "Enable CS Connect Background Services" checkbox.
  4. Select the
    SurePrep API
     tab, select the
    Enable SurePrep Integration
     checkbox if it is not already enabled, then select
    Generate API Key
    .
    Select SurePrep API, then Enabled SurePrep Integration, then Generate API Key.
  5. Select
    Add
     to create a new API key for your firm. Once the API key is created, select
    Copy
     to copy the API key to your clipboard. You will need to paste this API key into SurePrep's
    Account Admin
    .
    Select Add, then Copy.
2. Enter API credentials into SurePrep
  1. Log into SurePrep FileRoom, then go to
    Admin > ACCOUNT SETUP > Tax File Activation Web
    .
    Select Admin, ACCOUNT SETUP, then Tax File Activation Web.
  2. Select
    UltraTax CS
    , then select
    API Authentication
     to expand the section.
    Select UltraTax CS, then API Authentication.
  3. Enter your UltraTax Firm ID in the
    UltraTax CS Firm ID
     field.
    note
    Locate your UltraTax CS Firm ID in
    Help > About UltraTax CS
    . Your Firm ID is located on the upper left corner (without the parentheses).Firm ID.
  4. Enter the
    API Key
     you copied earlier from UltraTax CS (press
    Ctrl + V
    ), then select
    Generate
    .
    Provide Firm ID and Key, then select Generate.
  5. Scroll down and select
    Alias Configuration
     to expand the section if it is not already expanded. You will now see your <default>
    ALIAS
     path appear automatically.
    Select Alias Configuration to see your ALIAS.
  6. If your firm has multiple
    ALIAS
     paths in UltraTax CS (Virtual Office or SaaS) then you can add additional paths if needed. In UltraTax CS, go to
    Setup > System Configurations > Data Locations
     (tab), and note down all the aliases for different office locations.
    List of Aliases in Data Locations.
    Select
    Add New Path
    , then enter the
    ALIAS
     names for each
    Data Location
     paths associated with the Firm ID.
    Select Add New Path then enter the ALIAS.
    note
    Data Location aliases are in UltraTax Virtual Office CS (
    Setup
    ,
    System Configuration
    , then
    Data Locations
     tab). Note that the
    Alias
    for the paths that you want to use with SurePrep integration.
    note
    The
    ALIAS
     (for paths) is case-sensitive, make sure to match the letters as you see them in UltraTax CS.
  7. Your one-time setup is now complete. Use the
    SurePrep Integration
    feature in UltraTax CS (VO/SaaS) to select clients to create binders and add clients in TaxCaddy. UltraTax CS local and VO/SaaS users can fetch tax returns, tax payments, and e-file authorizations directly from the tax software.
note
Some new firm (first year) or firms switching over to UltraTax CS (Virtual Office CS or SaaS) for the first time may not see UltraTax CS (VO/SaaS) appears as an option when selecting their tax software in TaxCaddy or the
Create New Binder
 window. If the previous scenario happens, go to
FileRoom
, 
Admin
, 
Account Setup
, 
Tax File Activation
, then
UltraTax CS
 (tab), then add a random placeholder path (for example, Z:/). After a placeholder path is saved, you will be able to see
UltraTax (Virtual Office or SaaS)
 as an option. Note that the placeholder path won’t be used to import any clients.
Select Add New Path.

Create clients' tax files in tax software- only UltraTax (Virtual Office or SaaS)

Before you create binders or Custom DRLs, you must first create
SurePrep Integration
 tax files for all clients in UltraTax CS (VO or SaaS). 
Your clients'
SurePrep Integration
 tax files in UltraTax (VO or SaaS) let SurePrep use the data to create binders and Custom DRLs. Client's information is shared with SurePrep without requiring you to upload any tax files.
Diagram for exporting clients.
You will need to repeat this (SurePrep Integration) action every time:
Add a new client to UltraTax CS (Virtual Office CS or SaaS).
note
You only need to create
SurePrep Integration
tax files for new clients.
Before adding additional documents to binders created without
Leadsheets
.
You only need to redo SurePrep integration for clients (in UltraTax Virtual Office CS) if you want to add additional documents to the client's (without
Leadsheet
) binder in FileRoom. Repeating
SurePrep Integration
 ensures that the most current information is used to process additional documents.
note
For without
Leadsheet
 binders, you only need to do
SurePrep Integration
for clients whose binders you will be adding additional documents to.
Follow these steps to create clients' SurePrep Integration tax files in UltraTax CS (Virtual Office CS or SaaS):
  1. Open UltraTax CS (Virtual Office CS or SaaS).
  2. Go to
    Utilities
    , then
    SurePrep
    , then
    Integration
    .
    Select Utilities, SurePrep, then Integration.
  3. Select the clients on the left panel, then select
    Select
     to select the highlighted clients. You can also select
    Select All
     to bulk select all available clients. Select the checkbox for
    Send client data to SurePrep Binder and Document Request List
    . Next, select
    Continue
     to begin creating
    SurePrep Integration
     tax files.
    SurePrep Integration window.
    note
    You can also use
    SurePrep Integration
     to create TaxCaddy clients directly from UltraTax (Local and VO/SaaS).
    note
    Clients in Red
    : Clients that are missing the required information will be highlighted in red (for example, Name, SSN). To create tax files for these clients, open the client’s tax return and update any missing information.
    Clients in red.
    • Clients not appearing
      : Clients that are currently locked in UltraTax CS Virtual Office won’t appear in the
      SurePrep Integration
      window. To unlock your client go to
      Lock > Repair > File Locks
       (tab)      .
Additional Notes
  • For binders without
    Leadsheets
    ,
    SurePrep Integration
     has to be repeated each time (in UltraTax VO/SaaS) before adding additional documents to SPbinder. On the
    SurePrep Integration
     window, you only need to select clients whose binder you want to add additional documents to. Repeating
    SurePrep Integration
     ensures that the most current information is used to process additional documents.
  • On the
    SurePrep Integration
     window, you only need to select new clients. 
  • The system generates a new token automatically before the current one expires.

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