Accountant's Assistant Handbook

transactions for CBS AR. 
Custom help from accountant 
If you have specific information that your clients need to know (such as 
how to distribute certain kinds of checks or common deposits, how to 
transmit the export file, which reports you want the client to send to you 
along with the export file, and so forth) you can provide a custom help 
file to supplement the comprehensive help that is already available in 
CBS. The client can access the custom help file in CBS by choosing  
Help / Help from Your Accountant. 
Creating a custom help file 
You can save the file in any format (such as HTML, RTF, DOC, TXT, 
etc.) that can be easily read by the client. You must name the file 
AcctHelp.*, where * represents the file extension applicable to the file 
format. Follow these steps to include a custom help file. 
1.  Use any word processing program to create a file that includes the 
information you want to share with your clients. This file is client-
specific, so you can set it up individually for each client. If you want, 
you can also copy generic information from client to client. 
2.  Copy the help file onto a form of removable media or to a different 
folder from the accountant’s transfer file on your hard drive. If you 
are using a disk, make sure it is formatted, and date it and label it 
with the client’s ID if the information is client-specific.  

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Client Setup in CSA 
 
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Accountant’s Assistant Handbook 
3.  Take or send the setup file to your client’s office when you install 
CBS on your client’s computer. During the installation process, mark 
the Install your accountant’s setup files for Help (optional) 
checkbox in the Installation Type dialog that opens when the 
installation first starts. 
If you send the client a custom help file after they have installed 
CBS, you can have the client save the help file in the Help subfolder 
of the folder in which their CBS program is installed. (The default 
location is c:\Program Files\Client Bookkeeping Solution\Help.) 
CBS will look for the custom help file when it starts. 
Custom bitmap 
Because you are the software provider for your CBS clients, the program 
allows you to provide your own bitmap file to replace the normal CBS 
image that appears when the clients open CBS. 
1.  Create a bitmap image using a graphics program such as Microsoft 
Paint. Note, however, that Thomson Tax & Accounting cannot 
support this or any other graphics program you may be using. Please 
refer to the documentation that came with your graphics program for 
information on how to create a bitmap image. 
The optimal size for your customized bitmap image is 300 x 217 
pixels. However, CBS will stretch or shrink it to size as needed. The 
appearance of your bitmap image may differ depending on the screen 
resolution. You may want to try the customized bitmap on a variety 
of computers or change resolution on one computer to determine the 
best configuration. 
2.  Save your customized bitmap and then copy it to a form of 
removable media. (Do not copy your bitmap image onto the same 
disk or folder used for the accountant’s transfer file.) 
3.  Take or send the setup file to your client’s office when you install 
CBS on your client’s computer. During the installation process, mark 
the Install your accountant’s setup files for Splash display 
(optional) checkbox in the Installation Type dialog. 
 

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Accountant’s Assistant Handbook 
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