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Portlets overview

The dashboards in Accounting CS can be populated with a variety of portlets, which provide a snapshot of various pertinent information about your firm, staff, and clients. You can decide which portlets should appear on your dashboards and arrange the layout of the portlets you choose to display. To add portlets to a dashboard, use the Select Portlets dialog.
Portlets may display summaries of data in Accounting CS, including reports, time entry information, client information, your email and calendar, staff availability, FileCabinet CS documents, and more. Some of these portlets also serve as links to data, reports, or other information.
Available portlets
The following table lists the portlets that are available for selection in the Home, Firm, Staff, and Client dashboards.
There are a number of portlets that are available in the Workpapers Dashboard. (You must be licensed for Workpapers CS and have the appropriate security privileges set up to activate this service.)
There are a number of portlets that are available in the Bank Feeds Dashboard.
Portlets
Home Dashboard
Firm Dashboard
Staff Dashboard
Client Dashboard
Account Analysis:
 Displays the same information that you can create in the Account Analysis - Two Year Comparison report in the Report Designer. To view data in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to access the Actions then View Account Activity dialog.
No
No
No
Yes
Account Balances:
Displays account balances for the selected client. To view data in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to access the Actions then View Account Activity dialog.
No
No
No
Yes
Idea Incubator
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Accounting CS Library:
 Provides a number of custom reports, financial statements, and letters that you can preview and print or import directly into the Report Designer and Print Reports screen.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Aged Payables:
 Enables you to view the status of current and overdue payables in the form of a pie chart.
No
No
No
Yes
Aged Receivables:
 Enables you to view the status of current and overdue customer receivables in the form of a pie chart.
No
No
No
Yes
Bank Account Information:
 Displays bank account descriptions and balances.
To view information in this portlet, you must have the appropriate security privileges to view checks, deposits, payroll checks, and payments in the Actions then Enter Transactions screen.
No
No
No
Yes
Checkpoint:
 Opens the Checkpoint login page. If you choose to have Checkpoint remember your username and password, you will be logged in automatically.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Client Access Processing Notifications:
Displays the following notifications of actions completed by client staff in Accounting CS Client Access.
  • The posting period has been changed.
  • A payroll batch has been entered via the Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen.
  • A note has been added to a transaction.
  • A bank account reconciliation has been finalized.
You can assign a staff member to review the event and set the status from Not reviewed to In review or Dismissed.
No
Yes
No
No
Client Information:
Displays client information such as business address, phone numbers, email and website information, processors, and reviewers.
If you have the appropriate security privileges, you can select the portlet title to open the Main tab of the Setup then Clients screen.
No
No
No
Yes
Complete Payroll Output Monitor:
 Displays the status of payroll processes including the time started, staff name, number of clients, and the following status conditions.
  • Printing selected checks.
     Displays this status until payroll checks and any manually selected items from the Vendors tab or Payroll Liabilities tab have finished printing successfully.
  • Printing liabilities, invoices, and reports.
     Displays this status until liabilities, invoices, and any reports selected in the report profile have finished printing successfully.
  • Completed - Date and Time.
     Displays this status when all print cycles listed above have printed successfully.
  • Failed.
     Displays this status when a process has failed before printing is complete.
    You can select the Ellipsis button next to the Failed status to open an error log and view details about the error. If assistance is needed, you can send the error log to Thomson Reuters for analysis.
No
Yes
Yes
No
CS Home Page:
 Opens the home page of our website.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Employees:
 Displays employees for the selected client. To view the information in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to access the Setup then Employees screen.
No
No
No
Yes
Engagement Binder Portlet:
 Enables you to roll forward multiple Tax Return binders at the same time. (Only binders with a Tax Return type are listed.) This is helpful for firms that process high volumes of tax returns for their clients. This portlet displays the client ID and name, current status, and period end date of the binders for all clients.
To roll forward binders, mark the checkbox next to the engagement binders to roll forward, update the Binder name and Period end dates, and then select the Roll Forward button.
No
Yes
No
No
Engagement Binder Status:
Displays the Engagement Binder name, type of engagement, status, period end date, report release date, completion date, and days remaining. This is same information that you can create in the Engagement Binder Status report in the Report Designer.
No
Yes
No
Yes
FileCabinet CS Documents:
 If you are a licensed user of FileCabinet CS, this portlet displays a drawer of your choosing. To change the default drawer, right-click within the portlet and choose Options.
To display a specific document within the selected drawer, navigate to that document and double-click it. (Select the Back button to return to the dashboard.)
To open the FileCabinet CS browser, click the title bar of the portlet.
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Help & How-To:
 Opens the
Browse subjects
 page for Accounting CS in the Help & How-To Center, offering quick access to information you need while using the application.
To launch this portlet page in your browser window, select its title bar.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Income Statement - Actual vs. Budget:
 Displays the same information that you can create in the Income Statement - Current Year - Budget - Variance financial statement in the Report Designer.
To view the information in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to view the information in the Actions then View Net Income/Loss dialog.
No
No
No
Yes
Internet Filing:
Includes links to relevant websites for information and electronic filing.
To add another link of your choosing to this portlet, select the portlet title bar and then navigate to the desired location.
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Net Income - Actual vs. Budget:
 With minor changes to the totals Income Statement - Current Year - Budget - Variance financial statement in the Report Designer, you can create a similar chart in the Report Designer.
To view the information in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to view the information in the Actions then View Net Income/Loss dialog.
No
No
No
Yes
Notices:
 Displays product alerts and important update release information. When the application is opened, the notification system will automatically notify staff members when an alert has been posted to the Notices portlet.
Included in a single Payroll section of the portal are Payroll and Payroll (After-the-Fact) alerts. (For example, alerts may be issued regarding future tax table updates or payroll tax form updates.)
  • The Notices portlet is activated on the Home Dashboard by default.
  • Alert notifications can be disabled for individual staff members by marking the
    Disable alert and update notifications
     checkbox in the Setup then User Preferences dialog.
  • In the updates section of the portlet, recent CS Connect updates are listed indicating that an update is available for download. You can select the available link to apply the download and read the advanced User Bulletin for the update. (This section does not apply to Virtual Office CS users as all updates are applied automatically and bulletins can be viewed at any time from the News portlet.)
  • Payroll alerts are available for all users that are licensed for Payroll Compliance.
  • Payroll and Accounting alerts can be filtered by Federal, State, or general. A drop-down filter list appears when more than one type of alert is available in the application. For example, if payroll alerts are posted for OH and MI, both of those states are listed in the drop-down filter list. But, if only a single payroll alert is posted, a drop-down filter list is not necessary.
  • The Accounting Updates section of the Notices portlet provides information about updates that are available for download or when updates are ready to be applied. (Your login account must have the appropriate privileges to download and apply updates. If you do not have the appropriate privileges, you can still view the update notifications as necessary.)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Payroll Form and Filing Information
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Payroll Tracking:
 Tracks the status of each payroll batch that needs to be run for the day and enables you to manually enter data related to the payroll.
No
Yes
Yes
No
PPC:
 Opens the PPC login page. If you choose to have PPC remember your login name and password, you will be logged in automatically.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Resources:
 Displays a list of links to important resources such as help topics, PDF guides, Forms CS catalogs, user bulletins, application download information, support tools, and other relevant links.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Revenues and Expenses:
 Displays the same information that you can create in the Revenues and Expenses financial statement in the Report Designer.
To view the information in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to view the information in the Actions then View Net Income/Loss dialog.
No
No
No
Yes
Solutions:
 This portlet enables you to add shortcuts to your dashboard.
Right-click within the portlet and choose
Add
 from the context menu. Then navigate to appropriate file, select it, and select Open to add a shortcut to the application within this portlet.
For Virtual Office CS users:
 Right-click within the portlet, choose Add from the context menu, and then navigate to the X:\PCSSolutionsPortlet folder. Here you will have shortcuts to any applications available to you from Virtual Office CS.
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Source Document Processing Status:
 Enables you to view the status of source documents or to transmit and retrieve source documents in the engagement binder for all clients without launching the Workpapers Dashboard.
This portlet is available only if you are licensed for Accounting CS Workpapers and have the service enabled for the client.
No
Yes
No
No
Staff Availability:
 Enables you to view the current status of firm staff (For example, in or out of the office, at lunch, in a meeting, and so forth).
To update your own status, select the Update Availability button.
No
Yes
No
No
Staff In/Out Availability:
 Enables you to indicate your current status (For example, in or out of the office, at lunch, in a meeting, and so forth).
Select the appropriate item from the Availability field and, if appropriate, indicate the time you will return and any additional comments.
No
No
Yes
No
System Information:
 Displays information about the workstation you are using, including specifications for the hardware, operating system, and various applications.
To send this information to CS Support, select the title bar of this portlet.
This portlet is not available in the Virtual Office CS or Software as a Service environment.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Tax & Accounting Blog:
 Opens the Tax & Accounting Blog page of our website.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Tax & Accounting Community:
 Opens the Tax & Accounting Community page of our website.
If you opt for the Tax & Accounting Community to remember your name and password, you will be logged in automatically.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Tax & Accounting Events:
 Opens the Events page of our website.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Tax & Accounting Newsletters:
 Opens the newsletters page of our website.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Tax & Accounting Press Releases:
 Opens the Press Releases page of our website.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Vendors:
 Displays vendors for the selected client. To view information in this portlet you must have the appropriate security privileges to access the Setup then Vendors screen.
No
No
No
Yes
Web Browser:
 Opens the default browser to your Home page within the dashboard, enabling you to browse the internet or your network.
This portlet is not available in the Virtual Office CS or Software as a Service environment.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

This article applies to:

  • Product: Accounting CS
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