Request custom report formatting for Accounting CS from Technical Services
Custom report or layouts
Technical Services can create several types of reports and layouts for your firm using the Report Designer and Layout Designer within the Accounting CS and Workpapers CS programs. This service is helpful to your firm when you're still learning the program interface to customize existing reports or layouts and would like an expert to do the work for you.
Technical Services can customize most reports within the default set provided with the program or create new reports if you have a special need or layout. Examples of reports that are commonly updated or customized for your firm or for your clients are:
- Additional fields or periods for a Trial balance or General Ledger.
- Modifying the layout to a payroll journal, payroll check stubs, invoices, or payment/payable lists.
- Creating a custom report that is designed to export to Microsoft Excel for 401K or Retirement plan reporting.
Keep in mind that Technical Services can't add functions within the program such as new fields or filters within reports and can't create reports directly from the SQL database. Some requests can also be deemed not feasible. These custom formatting services utilize the existing program options to create your layout. Technical Services will suggest any alternative options for your firm in these cases.
For these types of services, your firm will participate in a process to identify the intended layout and function of the report or layout. If you are interested in these services, you should expect to:
- Get and submit sample reports or layouts if samples already exist from a prior system.
- Provide information on modifications to existing reports or layouts. Make a list of the changes in a document or provide a PDF copy with markings to show where your firm would like specific changes.
- Indicate if there are any special filters, functions, or conditions you would need.
- Specify what periods or timeframe you would prefer to have within the options.
Once you have gathered the information, you’ll begin the process with our team. The following are the phases that your firm will experience during the custom report project.
- Submit your request. Your written request for a custom report can be sent through your Account Representative or from the link provided for custom formatting services within the Accounting CS Report Library. Be sure to include all the details defined previous.
- Scoping and research for your report request. Technical Services will contact your firm within three business days to confirm the information submitted and get any additional details for the custom report format. At that time, the consultant will determine if additional investigation is needed for the request. In these situations, Technical Services will set a date for follow-up.After a feasible design is found and the details are agreed upon with your firm, Technical Services will have a contract prepared, sent to your Account Representative, and presented to you for approval. This contract will include the timeline for delivery.
- Custom report is built, tested, and delivered. Once the signed contract is submitted, Technical Services will begin building and testing your custom reports. Technical Services could also request data if that is necessary to test the custom reports. The turnaround time from receiving the signed contract is typically 1 – 2 weeks but is dependent on the size of the project and the number of current projects in our schedule.
Upon delivery of the reports or layouts, your firm will have a 14-day window to test the reports and contact Technical Services with any questions or issues within the scope of the contract.
Custom financial statements
Technical Services provides services to your firm when you need to create financial statements for a client that could be more complex or when you may want to begin your work in the program with a template set of statements. This service lets you let an expert within the program’s Report Designer set up the financial statements while you are still learning how to use this tool.
Technical Services can customize financial statements that are specific to a client but more are often designed with the intent to be able to use the statements with many clients. In either case, your firm will need to understand and discuss how your clients use Account Groupings within the system. This list of codes and subcodes are crucial to the statement design. Be sure to be familiar with the Account Groupings function.
Your firm will participate in a process to identify the types of statements to be created and any special functions or behavior that should be included. You should expect to:
- Define any complex setup such as the chart of accounts layout (or mask). If the client uses Segments or has an account numbering system that will impact the statement function, it is crucial to define those details for Technical Services. Consolidation clients would be one example where your firm must understand how consolidation works in the software prior to engaging with our team for financial statement design.
- Get and submit sample financial statements if samples already exist from a prior system.
- Provide information on modifications to the existing statements. Make a list of the changes in a document or provide a PDF copy with markings to show where your firm would like specific changes. This could include conditions for information to print or not based on specific criteria such as the Long-Term Liabilities section of a Balance Sheet being suppressed when they are all zero amounts.
- If there are multiple versions of the same statement for comparison of reporting periods, specify what periods or timeframe that you need such as comparing current period to current year-to-date in one statement and current year-to-date to prior year-to-date in another statement.
Keep in mind that Technical Services can't add functions within the program and only utilize the existing program features to create your financial statements. Technical Services will suggest any alternative options for your firm in cases where the financial statement is not possible to create.
If you are utilizing Workpapers CS, you should note that there are capabilities for creating financial statements using Word and Excel integration. Technical Services doesn’t currently offer services to create financial statements using Excel and Word integration.
A financial statement project with Technical Services follows a similar process to requesting a report.
- Submit your request. Your written request for custom financial statements can be sent through your Account Representative or from the link provided for custom formatting services within the Accounting CS Report Library. Be sure to include all the details defined previous.
- Scoping and research for your report request. Technical Services will contact your firm within three business days to confirm the information submitted and get any additional details for the custom financial statement formats. At that time, the consultant will determine if additional investigation is needed for the request. In these situations, Technical Services will set a date for follow-up.After a feasible design is found and the details are agreed upon with your firm, Technical Services will have a contract prepared, sent to your Account Representative, and presented to you for approval. This contract will include the timeline for delivery.
- Custom statements are built, tested, and delivered. Once the signed contract is submitted, Technical Services will begin building and testing your custom financial statements. Technical Services could also request data if that is necessary to test the statements. The turnaround time from receiving the signed contract is typically 1 – 2 weeks but is dependent on the size of the project and the number of current projects in our schedule.
Upon delivery of the reports or layouts, your firm will have a 14-day window to test the reports and contact Technical Services with any questions or issues within the scope of the contract.
Frequently asked questions
How do I contact Technical Services?
You can contact Technical Services by discussing your custom needs with your Account Representative. Additionally, while working with Technical Support, you may be formally referred to Technical Services if you and the Representative determine a more custom solution outside the scope of Support is required. The Support Representative will provide the details of your request, along with your contact information, to the team for follow-up once it's been reviewed.
Alternatively, you can contact Technical Services directly by emailing UserServices.Operations@thomsonreuters.com. Include your name, firm ID, the product for which you're requesting services, and a brief description of the services needed. Feel free to attach any sample documents to your email that will provide us with more detail of your request.
Not all requests will been deemed feasible.
How do I find out how much the fee will be for the services I need?
Costs are determined by the complexity and time needed to complete a request. If the project request is considered feasible, we’ll prepare a formal quote for those services, including all the details of the services to be provided, the price, and the dates of delivery to your firm.
Are there any circumstances where I would be charged more than the amount agreed upon in the Technical Services quote?
Yes, additional fees may apply when changes are requested that were not part of the original terms of the signed quote. The Technical Services Consultant will discuss any additional work to be performed including additional fees involved and obtain your firm's approval before the new work is completed. In some cases, a new contract may be needed.
How long will it take to complete my custom project?
The complexity of the project determines how much time a project will take to complete. Some requests can be completed within a week of receiving a signed contract, however, some more complex projects (such as a large document migration) could take weeks of collaboration between the Technical Services team and your firm. Be sure to let us know about your timeline. The project will be completed based on a combination of complexity, the available openings in the Technical Services schedule, and any delivery dates included in the formal quote for services provided to you.
What happens after the project or services are delivered?
In the case of report or statement layouts, these formats are delivered to you for testing in your own environment. You have a 14-day window to verify that they layouts are working to the specifications provided in the quote.
For more complex projects, like custom utilities or data manipulations, any steps to be taken after the project is delivered will be outlined by your Client Project Manager or Technical Services Consultant or included in the terms of the formal quote.