CCH Taxprep T1, SMBKitchen Project, and Third Tier

Things have been moving along at a great pace!

With tax season upon us we had a crazy number of calls over corrupted Print Formats in CCH Taxprep T1 2012 v1. Somehow during the conversion process from the previous year’s Print Formats things got mangled and we were running our feet off trying to keep up.

We ended up needing to rebuild the Print Formats and get them hooked into the HP LaserJet printer setups that we have for them. Most of our accounting firm clients use multiple Print Format files with custom configurations depending on the forms being printed. Some get duplex printed to save paper while others are simplex printed such as the invoice and title page.

Once those and a few other small bugs in the accounting applications were settled down things have been relatively stable for us with ongoing systems, cluster, and end user needs.

Amy Babinchak of Third Tier extended an invitation to me to step into the Third Tier fold a little while back. Monique and I discussed my involvement with TT and the time commitments required along with an idea of what to expect in the way of trouble tickets and figured it would be a good fit.

Now, we do get support requests via the blog every once in a while, and via other forums I participate in but for the most part things are MPECS and contract client focused. Well, that’s not too challenging if you know what I mean! ;)

I’m very happy to report that the trouble tickets that I have been a part of over the last week or two have indeed been challenging, successful, and very rewarding. The folks we get to serve in TT have been second to none and the TT Team is phenomenal.

Joining Third Tier was indeed a great decision. :)

Now, the SMBKitchen Project content is soon to be updated with quite a few items. One is a just finished video walkthrough of setting up Hyper-V on a Windows 8 client machine, installing two VMs, one a Server 2012 DC and the other a Server 2008 R2 router, along with the requisite steps.

I have a number of documents in the works. One on sizing a Hyper-V solution tailored to a client’s specific needs and the other a two part document introducing a client and their needs in part 1 and a full-on RFP response proposal in part 2 that we presented to the prospect. This particular proposal is one of the best documents I’ve ever done so I look forward to sharing it.

With our regular client needs, now Third Tier’s needs, SMBKitchen work being done, and ultimately my taking a hardline on spending time with my family things are very brisk.

Posting to the blog over the next while may be a bit spotty due to demands on time here but we will do our best to keep the relevant posts flowing!

Thanks for reading and for your support over the years! :D

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Chef de partie in the SMBKitchen
Find out more at
www.thirdtier.net/enterprise-solutions-for-small-business/

Windows Live Writer

Legacy Taxprep T1, T2, and T3 Apps on Windows XP Mode

Now that many of our accounting firm clients are moving over to Windows 7 as the primary desktop operating system we have run into a roadblock of sorts with the legacy versions of Taxprep’s accounting applications.

That roadblock has to do with running any legacy version of Taxprep on a Windows 7 machine whether we install it locally or try and run it via a network install. The older the version of Taxprep the less likely we can shoehorn it into Windows 7 and it will fail to run.

So, to mitigate this we created a folder that we keep in the network install location:

In that folder is a set of shortcuts to the network versions of the Taxprep applications:

We drop a copy of that folder of shortcuts into the following location in the Windows XP Mode VM:

Once Windows 7 has picked up on the new folder we place a shortcut to it on the user’s Windows 7 desktop.

They can then run whatever Taxprep version they need to via XP Mode.

Another option may be Microsoft’s App-V though some of our accounting firm clients do not have the required licensing in place yet.

In the rare case where a partner wants to have access to those legacy programs while outside of the main office we will install the legacy versions directly into the Windows XP Mode VM and place the shortcuts into a folder on their desktop.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Using CCH Taxprep to Prepare T1s? CCH Scan Is the Tool For Your Accounting Firm

We just finished setting up a dedicated fairly high performance workstation for an accounting client that wanted to implement the CCH Scan product.

Initially we were a bit sceptical due to the specifications of the product that it would help them gain some efficiency. It turned out that the specifications sheet we were initially working with was way out of date.

An overview of all of the steps is to be found at the end of this post including the How-To for the firm’s CCH Scan users.

CCH Support

During the process of getting things up and running we were in touch with the CCH Canada support folks on a number of different occasions to troubleshoot some issues or gain some insight into the way the product worked that the documentation did not cover.

The support people we worked with were top notch and knew the product through and through.

CCH Scan’s Productivity Improvements

Now, how can CCH Scan help an accounting firm processing this year’s personal T1 returns?

Based on our experiences with the product once it was up and running, a firm will be able to scan and OCR (Optical Character Recognition) as many returns as the Kodak i1220 scanner (product page) can process pages.That is the first thing.

The second thing was once the CCH Scan plug-in was installed and activated in CCH Taxprep T1 2009, it would automatically bring up the client’s scanned content when the firm user opened the client’s actual T1 file.

They could then automatically import the scanned content and maintain the original scanned documents _in the T1 file_. No manual entry required for much of the return documentation.

How much of a time savings is that? When it comes to processing a large number of returns in a given tax season, the time savings alone would be very substantial.

Productivity for the firm users processing the actual returns would be significantly improved, while the firm would be able to save on the reduction of data entry clerk positions.

CCH Scan Install And Configuration

CCH had recommended the Kodak scanner. Now that we have worked with it, we can see why. It is a single pass full duplex scanner capable of over 30 duplex (two sided) pages per minute. It is _fast_!

The CCH Scan product needs to be installed on a dedicated workstation. There are quite a few services that get installed into that Windows XP Professional OS:

Once the scanning is complete, the OCR processing can max the CPU so a Core 2 Duo would be the minimum requirement. Keep in mind that the faster the CPU, the faster the OCR process is accomplished. So, spend the extra couple of hundred on the faster CPU as it will pay for itself in the long run.

CCH Scan Administrator

Once CCH Scan is installed, a folder structure, either on the local machine (set up by default by CCH Scan) or on a network server, needs to be in place so that everyone’s CCH Scan plug-in enabled Taxprep T1 2009 software can access the scanned data.

This is the CCH Scan Administrator setup we put in place with the scan output and OCR processing being done on a network server:

Note that the Import folder will be the destination for all TIFF files scanned by the Kodak i1220 scanner.

CCH Scan Dedicated Domain User Account

We set up the Kodak with a profile to simplex (single sided) scan at 300dpi into a single TIFF file with absolutely no prompts. We also set up a profile for the same settings but with the duplex setting. The Kodak has the ability to have up to 9 different scan profile types.

For ease of use, we created a restricted domain user account that the firm will use to sign into the CCH Scan workstation. Once into that profile, CCH Scan and the Kodak are configured to work together so that the user need only drop the stack of documents into the scanner and press a button.

Prior to dropping the documents in though, they need to create a Cover Page and if necessary some Target Sheets. This is done in the CCH Workstation component that can be installed on as many seats licensed.

CCH Scan Workstation

If the scanner icon is not in the system tray, the first time the user clicks on the CCH Scan Workstation icon to start the program all that will happen is the starting of the service and the tray icon appearing.

Double click on the system tray scanner icon and we get:

Click on the Print menu item and then Cover Pages/Target Sheets option:

We then get:

The cover page is used to set the client’s information in place. It is placed at the beginning of the client’s to be scanned tax documents.

Since we want the user’s name and social insurance number in the PDF file created by the OCR process, we do the following:

• Input the name and SIN and click Add.
• Repeat for each client document set.
• Print out the cover pages.

This is the resulting cover page:

During the CCH Scan OCR process, that cover page tells CCH Scan that all scanned content behind it belongs to the indicated client name and SIN.

Target Pages are generic in that they can be reused once a batch of client documents are scanned. They are used to segment the content within the client’s documentation.

Place a Target Sheet in front of a group of documents of the same type so that Taxprep T1 2009 will know where to put them.

For example:

• Medical Expenses Content

There are a lot of different categories for the Target Sheets. They essentially make it easy for the T1 import process as the scanned and OCRd documentation then appears under the appropriate tax form in Taxprep T1 2009.

The person working with the client’s T1 file can then input the needed numbers and references quickly into their tax file.

Ultimately the process is quite simple for the user.

CCH Scan Process Overview

Installation Needs:

• Adobe Acrobat Standard or Premium
• CCH Scan
• CCH Taxprep T1 2009
• Kodak i1220 or equivalent high performance document scanner
• Dedicated Core 2 Duo workstation with Windows XP Professional
• Intel X25-M SSDs in RAID 0 for ultra high volume OCR needs.
• Intel i7 9xx Series CPU with 4GB RAM for high volume OCR needs.

Installation Process

1. Dedicated Workstation
1. Install Acrobat and update.
2. Install PDFFlyer.
3. Install CCH Scan.
4. Configure CCH Scan Administrator.
2. Firm Workstations
1. Install CCH Scan Plug-in into Taxprep T1 2009.
2. Activate the plug-in using the CCH code within Taxprep T1 2009.
3. Install CCH Workstation from the share location.
4. Add shortcut to All Users’ Startup folder to auto start it when the user logs on.

Firm User CCH Scan Process

1. On the user’s workstation:
1. Start CCH Scan Workstation.
2. Open the Cover Pages/Target Sheets dialogue window.
3. Create all of the needed client Cover Pages and print.
• Cover Pages can be reused for the following year’s return.
4. Create all of the needed Target Pages and print.
• Keep an accordion file folder for the printed Target Sheets to be reused with the next batch of scans.
5. Sort the Cover Pages and Target Sheets into the client documentation.
• This was a step that would be done whether manually inputting the data or not.
2. On the Dedicated CCH Scan Workstation
1. Log on using the generic CCH Scan user ID.
2. Place documents to be scanned face down in the scanner.
3. Make sure the number displayed on the scanner is 1.
4. Press the scanner’s scan button.
• OCR processing can take a few minutes depending on the number of clients and their documents scanned.
• Scanner creates one multi-paged TIFF file, but the OCR process will create the PDF using the name and SIN indicated in the Cover Sheet.
• The created PDF file will reside in the Export folder indicated in CCH Administrator. Do not touch this file as it is needed by Taxprep T1 2009.
5. Pull scanned documents and prepare them for the client or shredding.
• Accounting Firm policy needed here.
3. On the firm user’s workstation:
1. Open Taxprep T1 2009
2. Open the client’s T1 file.
3. CCH Scan will prompt to import the scanned content into the client’s return.
1. Assisted = step through process or each page imported.
2. Automatic = pull all content in automatically.
4. Once the content is important, make sure to verify each scanned document and its Taxprep T1 2009 equivalent page.
5. Taxprep T1 2009 with the CCH Scan plug-in will automatically move the client PDF file into the Archive folder.

Data Security Implications

As with any client data that displays or contains a person’s or company’s private identifying information, considerations need to be made on the how and where that data gets stored.

As we move our accounting clients over to Windows 7, we are implementing Software Assurance for all new OEM Windows Desktop OSs that we install to gain access to Windows 7 Enterprise.

We can then run through and BitLocker all laptops with Windows 7 on them. Our clients can then be reasonably assured that any client data contained on those machines is secured.

From there, BitLocker To Go would be used to encrypt any external devices used to move client data about the firm or while at their client’s site.

On the server side of things:

• All servers should be in locked rooms or a locked cabinet.
• An appropriate password structure should be in place for users.
• Data encryption should be used if possible.
• Strict guidelines on company computer use are a good place to start when looking to secure that data.

Conclusion

Now that we have worked with the product, the CCH Support Team, and our client, we see a significant benefit to our accounting firm clients that utilize the CCH line of personal tax prep products.

Disclaimer: There is no need for one. Other than our contact with CCH for support purposes, this review and instruction set comes as a direct result of working with the product.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

CCH Scan – XP Pro Only

We are installing the CCH Scan (|Product Info Site) product on a workstation we have just installed at one of our local accounting clients.

An important consideration for installing the product is the fact that it cannot be installed on Windows Vista or Windows 7.

The product install routine configures a number of services to run constantly in the background.

Now, when a scanner, in this case the recommended Kodak i1220 Plus, deposits a bunch of scanned documents as TIF files into the Import folder, the CCH Scan services automatically start picking them up and running through an OCR routine on each TIF file.

Given the CPU intense operations required for the OCR portion of the process, there is no real way to drop CCH Scan into a Windows XP Mode VM.

So, we have an Intel based Core 2 Duo E8500 series CPU on an Intel DQ45EK motherboard with 4GB of RAM. Once CCH Scan is installed and configured, we will be good to go . . . though we are nowhere near that yet.

We are currently on hold waiting for the CCH tech to pick up so that we can run through the setup we have put in place following the documentation. We are calling tech support because the service does not seem to want to automatically OCR any TIF files deposited in the Import folder.

Later . . . much later.

So far, the general implication is that since the CCH Scan services run as a local service, the workstation itself needs FULL rights on the share and at the NTFS level. But, that does not seem to fix the access problem . . . at least not initially.

After uninstalling and reinstalling the entire product group we finally managed to get everything working. But, we needed to delete all Folder Groups and recreate them then restart the CCH Scan services on the workstation.

We could then successfully process any TIF files deposited by the scanner into the Import folder on the network.

Note that to get the XP Professional OS to install on the new hardware, AHCI either needs to be disabled in the BIOS, or a floppy with the AHCI driver on it will be required for an F6 OS setup.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Error – FormMaster CCH Instant Update Can’t Connect Behind ISA

One of our client’s proprietary applications called FormMaster has a built-in update feature.

Whenever they ran the update, it refused to connect to the CCH server, or go anywhere beyond the initial connection

In the ISA live query, the following would be seen from the XP Pro client in the log:

1. XP –> CCH IP –> Destination Port 80 –> HTTP –> Internal –> External
2. XP –> SBS IP –> Destination Port 1745 –> TCP Unknown –> Internal –> Local Host

Enabling SOCKS proxy settings in the application in any combination would not work.

A call into CCH support ended up getting us the setting we needed to make things work:

Make sure the correct customer number, postal code, and phone number are in place.

Check the Override Default Server Information and set the port number to 8093. Leave the Server Name field blank.

Click OK, then click the Next button to initiate the connection to the server and we will see:

Once the scan for files has finished, we will see:

Once the files are downloaded, the original CCH program will need to be closed before the updates can run or the following error will happen:

After closing the application and clicking OK, the updates ran as expected.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

CCH Taxprep Windows 7 Patch for Prior Non-Compatible Versions

CCH has released a patch that must be run on any version of Taxprep that is not supported on Windows 7 to enable that prior version to run on Windows 7.

• Taxprep Compatibility with the New Windows 7 Operating System - Update Available for Prior Versions of Taxprep

Up to now, we have been running all non-compatible versions in Windows XP Mode.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

CCH Practice 8.x - Advantage Dbs on Server 2008 no go for now

A heads up for those running CCH products that are driven by an Advantage database back end: Advantage will not install and run on either x86 or x64 versions of Server 2008.

This is especially critical to note for accounting clients running SBS 2003 back ends that are looking to upgrade to SBS 2008 Standard or Premium this fall.

A new set of products structured around .NET and MS SQL are in the works with a hopeful release time in the fall of 2009.

CCH plans to release all information around the new products and the technologies to run them at their CCH User Conference in California October 2008. The conference brochure can be found here: CCH User Conference 2008 (PDF). More information should follow from there.

A list of the currently supported network configuration for CCH Practice:

• File Server - 100% IBM-compatible Pentium PC (PIII or higher recommended); Memory per network operating system; 512Mb+ of RAM required. 32 bit compatible for servers.
• Network Software - NetWare version 5.1 or higher, Linux (kernal [sic] 2.4 or higher), Windows 2000 Server - *Service Pack 4, Windows 2003 Server - *Service Pack 1, Windows 2000 Professional - *Service Pack 4**, Windows XP Professional - *Service Pack 2**. (* always upgrade to latest Service Packs)
• **Note: When running in Peer-to-Peer environments, a dedicated server is required.
• Network Clients - Latest versions of Microsoft Client for NetWare or Novell NetWare recommended; Clients for Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional.
• Network Topology - 10 Mbps or greater (Ethernet); 16 Mbps or greater (Token Ring); For optimum performance 100Mbps, full duplex recommended throughput network including workstation and server network interface cards, switches and hubs.

Note the absence of Server 2008 at this time.

It is also important to note that only version 8.11 of CCH Practice will run properly on Windows Vista. While we do have clients that we have managed to coerce Practice 7.x to run on Vista, only the most advanced users would understand the implications and what needs to be done to keep things stable.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

CCH Folioviews Network Install Error -6001 Setup has experienced an error

We have one client that has a network access setup for CCH Folioviews which is a tax reference library with built in billing timers.

Lately, when we go to install the product on the local workstation for network access, we have been getting the following:

InstallShield Wizard

Setup has experienced an error.

Please do the following:

• Close any running programs
• Empty your temporary folder
• Check your Internet connection (Internet-based Setups)

Then try to run the Setup again.

Error code: -6001

When setting up a new client to run from the network, one starts Addfvusr.exe under X:\CCH\Network\Setup.

No matter what we did to try and clear things up, we ended up with the same error.

It took a support call into CCH Support to get a fix. They emailed us an updated version of the executable to copy over top of the existing file in the above mentioned directory.

Once the original file was replaced, the setup process ran trouble free.

Keep in mind that each time the network install is updated via the update CDs, which can be quite frequent, one will need to copy the replacement file back over top of the "updated" setup file. So keep a copy of the replacement executable in a handy spot that cannot be accessed by the Folioviews updates.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.