Practice Management Pre-migration Checklist

Review the following checklist and complete all items before beginning migration.

Research

Review Best Practices. See Using Best Practices for more information.

Verify Version. You should be using version 2006.60.01 or higher and SQL 2008 or higher. You can verify this when logged into the Administration module of CCH ProSystem fx Practice Management (existing foundation suite) by selecting the Help menu and then selecting About CCH ProSystem fx Practice Management.

Verify SQL Server^® and Database Name. To verify the SQL Server^® and Database name used by Practice Management, select Help > About CCH ProSystem fx Practice Management from any Practice Management module. Click Additional Info and locate the Host Server and Host Database info lines. This information, along with the SA password, will be used when running the migration.

Verify SA Password.

• MSDE. The SA password was defined during the install. If you are unsure of your password, please contact support for instructions on changing the SA password.
• SQL Express. For PracticeMGT Instance (PracticeUser1 is default for SQL Express instances created using the 2006.60.01 version and after).
• Full SQL. The SA password is defined during the install. If you are unsure of your password, please contact your system administrator who installed SQL.

Data Preparation

Standardize Entity Types. Entity is required information in CCH Axcess. Review all client entity assignments in the existing foundation suite. No Selection is not a valid entity type for CCH Axcess. Any client currently selected without an entity type will need to have a valid type selected. See Importing Client Types for more information.
Entity types are now referred to as client types in CCH Axcess. All clients in CCH Axcess must be assigned to a client type. You can assign the client to one of the standard client types, or create a new client type during migration.
What are the standard client types?

• Individual
• Fiduciary
• Partnership
• Corporation
• Sole Proprietor
• Employee Plan
• Non-Profit

Important: Because the client type can control the tax returns available for the client, it is important to verify that client types are assigned appropriately. For more information regarding the migration of entity type to client type, see Knowledge Base article SW28438.

Note: If your firm has customized entity types and there are clients assigned to types not in the standard list, please utilize the Client Type spreadsheet to define the client types for clients in CCH Axcess and retain your non-standard entity types as client groups. For more information regarding the Client Type spreadsheet, see Importing Client Types.

Assign Email addresses. Email address is a required field for all staff in CCH Axcess. Verify that all active and inactive employees in the existing foundation suite possess a valid and unique internal email address prior to migration. See Using the Save Staff Data Spreadsheet for more information.

Client Engagements. Decide if your firm will use engagements, which are called sub-ID A sub-ID may be included as a part of the client ID. If you have a large corporation as a client, each subsidiary could have a client sub-ID. If an entire family has the same client ID, each family member could have a sub-ID. s in CCH Axcess.
Engagement numbers are required in Practice Management but default to 0 if no number is specified during client creation. Explain the differences.

• Engagements. Verify that the CCH Axcess client ID and client sub-ID is selected by navigating to Dashboard > Application Links > Firm > Settings and defaults > Setup Defaults. Activate the client ID and client sub-ID option and fill in the default sub-ID of your choice or with the default engagement from your existing foundation suite.
• No engagements. If the CCH Axcess preferences are set not to use engagement numbers and they were used in Practice Management, the engagement number will be combined with the main client ID during the migration to make a unique client ID number. For example, client number 123 with engagement number 1 (123.1) in the existing foundation suite will become client number 1231 in CCH Axcess. All history for the engagements will be migrated to the CCH Axcess client ID.
• Verify that the CCH Axcess client ID and client sub-ID option is cleared by going to Dashboard > Application Links > Firm > Settings and defaults > Setup Defaults tab.

Standardize individual client names. Individual clients' first and last names are entered in separate fields in CCH Axcess. The transformation of individual client names to a First and Last Name format will occur during the migration process. You will be given options to transform the names. What are my options?

• Use the last word as the last name and use the first words as the first name. (Example: John & Mary Smith becomes FirstName: John & Mary LastName: Smith)
• Use the words before a comma as the last name. If there is no comma, the first word is the first name. (Example: Smith, John & Mary becomes FirstName: John & Mary LastName: Smith AND John & Mary Smith becomes FirstName: John LastName: & Mary Smith)

Important: Because Individual client types are split into separate fields for first and last name during the migration, it is important that all clients in the existing foundation suite be named using a consistent format, either First Name Last Name or Last Name, First Name. The naming convention must be consistent for all individual clients prior to migration. Additionally, prefixes and suffixes are considered as part of the name field when entered and, as such, will be utilized depending on the choice made. For example, Dr. John Smith, D.D.S. could become First Name: Dr. John Smith Last Name: D.D.S.

Release Time. Time for all employees needs to be released prior to updating. How do I see a list of all employees’ unreleased time?

1. Log into Administration.
2. Select Batch Time Entry.
3. Click Print to bring up the Time Entry Edit List report options. This report will show unreleased time within a specific date range for a selected range of employees.
   Any unreleased time in this report will either need to be released or deleted by the employee or through Batch Time Entry.

Update.

• Accounts Receivable Payments. AR transactions must be updated. The migration will not continue until all transactions have been posted.

  • How do I post any unposted AR transactions?
  1. Log into the Accounts Receivable module and select Update A/R.
  2. Select an Accounting Period date.
  3. Select the All Employees radial. A list of unposted transactions will appear in the grid and can be printed by clicking Register.
  4. Select any transactions that you would like to post.
  5. Click Post to post the transactions.

     Note: Inactive users will not display on the Update window.

• Time. All Released Time must be posted for all users. The migration will not continue until all time has been posted.

  • How do I view and post any unposted time transactions?
  1. Log into the Administration module and select Update Time.
  2. Choose a date range and select the employees for whom you would like to view the time transactions.
  3. Click Print Register to view or print a report of unposted time transactions.
  4. Review the Register, and then click Post to post the time transactions for the selected employees.

     Note: Inactive users will not display on the Update window.

• Invoices. All invoices that have been final printed must be posted before migration. The migration will not continue until all invoices have been posted.

  • How do I post invoices that are in a Final Print status?
  1. Log into Administration.
  2. Select Update Invoices.
  3. Select an Accounting Period for Posting and a Bill Post Method.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Select the line items to post.
  6. Click Print Register to view or print a report of unposted invoices.
  7. Review the Register.
  8. Click Post to post the selected invoices.

  Clients that currently have a bill in edit mode or have WIP selected for Billing must be canceled or final printed and posted.

  • How do I view clients that have had billing decisions made or an invoice in a status other than Final Print?
  1. Log into the Billing module.
  2. Click New Bill Manager to open the Select Bill List Criteria window, if it does not automatically appear.
  3. Select All Clients and then select All Bill Managers to open a list of all clients in the main billing window.
  4. In the main billing window, click the Status column header to sort the clients by their billing status.
  5. Scroll to the top or bottom to see any clients that have a billing decision in process or an invoice in a status other than Final Print.
  • How do I cancel a billing decision?
  1. Select a client with billing decisions currently in process.
  2. Click Bill. The Billing Detail window displays.
  3. Click Cancel Billing and then Close to cancel all billing decisions made and undo any non-final invoices.
  • How do I final print and post the invoice?
    1. Click Print Invoices from the main billing window.
    2. Select any clients whose invoices you would like to final print.
    3. Click Print Final, enter a date to print on the final invoice.
    4. Click OK.
    5. Post the invoices in Administration. See How do I post invoices that are in a Final Print status? above for instructions.

  Any client checked out for Remote Billing must be checked in and updated or have their check-outs canceled.

  Note: The migration tool will prompt if unposted transactions remain.

Leads. Are Leads used in Practice Management?

• Leads in the existing foundation suite are used to track marketing opportunities with prospective clients.
• Leads are not used in CCH Axcess. However, existing leads in the existing foundation suite can be migrated as prospects. When migrating leads you will be prompted to assign a starting client ID that will increment by one for each lead migrated from the existing foundation suite.

Projects. Do you use Projects in Practice Management?

• Projects are now part of the Workstream application in CCH Axcess. All undeleted projects in the existing foundation suite can be migrated to Workstream. Migration of project information is optional. You can select to skip all client projects during migration.
• Projects with a completed status in Workstream will not show in Time Capture in CCH Axcess. To simplify the transition to Workstream, you should mark all projects with a completed status prior to beginning the migration.

SSN and FEIN. Are SSN/FEIN numbers entered in Practice Management currently?

• Though it is not a required field in Practice Management or CCH Axcess, all Practice Management clients and staff should have a SSN/FEIN for migration. This will make migrating clients and staff from multiple existing foundation suite products less complicated by having a single field that will easily identify common client and staff entities. This is especially useful where client and staff IDs are not common across all existing foundation suite products used by the firm.

Client Groups. Do you use client groups in Practice Management?

• Client groups are a required field in Practice Management that default to the first seven (7) characters of the client’s name during client creation. This information can be modified and multiple unrelated clients can be assigned to the same client group for reporting purposes.
• Client groups are not required in CCH Axcess and can be ignored during migration. The client group field in CCH Axcess has increased to 45 characters, increasing the usability of this field for group reporting.

NAIC Codes. NAIC codes are optional in Practice Management and can be assigned to all client types for client reporting. Custom NAIC codes and descriptions can be added in Practice Management.

• NAIC codes in CCH Axcess are standardized and cannot be edited. Clients with an Individual and Fiduciary client type cannot be assigned a NAIC code. During migration, Individual and Fiduciary clients can save assigned NAIC codes from the existing foundation suite as custom fields, or the NAIC code can be ignored.
• Any code that was customized in Practice Management can be assigned a matching code in CCH Axcess during migration. Custom NAIC codes from the existing foundation suite have the option of being migrated as custom fields, client groups, or not at all.

Run Reports. To verify clients/employee information, client activity, balances, and list items from the existing foundation suite, you should run your standard month end reports in the existing foundation suite.

Migration Preparation

Backup. Make a backup of your database prior to running the migration utilities and beginning the migration.

Use available utilities to assist in preparing your database for migration.

• Run the Data Integrity Report. Prior to beginning any migration steps, run the Data Integrity Report from the Reports module of the existing foundation suite and correct any errors that may appear.

Note: Migrating Practice Management to CCH Axcess with items on Data Integrity will potentially cause irreparable damage to client balances and historical data.

• Review your database. Review Knowledge Base article SW28166 to learn which fields of comparison will also be available during data migration. Make any necessary changes to your primary database before beginning the migration.

• Choose a primary database. Choose a primary database.

• Run Diagnostics. On the Data Migration Utility Welcome window, select Migration diagnostics to run the diagnostic report on each of your databases. This will check for questionable data and allow you to address possible issues before you begin the migration.

Save migration reports. At several points during the migration you will have the opportunity to save reports of migrated data. Please save these reports to a location where they can be easily accessed later, if necessary.

Print and review the post-migration/startup checklist. Available here.