How do I create a new search package in DataScan Plus for CCH ProSystem fx Tax?
The following video shows how to create a new search package using DataScan Plus.
Creating a search package in DataScan Plus has three main steps.
- Defining the search criteria. (What do you want to search for?)
- Defining the output data. (What data do you want in your report or output file?)
- Running your Scan and showing the output.
Defining the Search Criteria
- Select File > New Search Package or click the New button. The "Define Search Criteria" and "Search Results List" dialogs display. The new search package is "Untitled" until the search is saved and named.
- Select a search term category. Depending on the category that you select, you may also select a client type, tax year, tax product, or entity (FD or State).
- Profile - Pulls data from the client profile. You must be licensed for Client Manager or Practice for this category to be available. If you are licensed for Practice, the program must be linked to Tax.
- Keywords - A keyword is a specific field in a tax return. Keywords are both pre-defined and customized. Custom keywords are created from interview forms, worksheets, or government forms.
- See our article for instructions on creating custom keywords.
- History - Data that is stored in the client history log. History log information can be viewed using the Manage > View History option in Tax Preparation or Client Manager.
- Maintaining return history must be enabled in Office Manager for this data to exist. See our article for instructions on how to enable/disable maintaining return history.
- Tracking - Data that is stored in Engagement Plus.
- Gov't - A list of the government forms in a return that is used to search for the presence or absence of a government form.
- Interview - A list of the interview forms in a return that is used to search for the presence or absence of an interview form.
- After you select the category, the search terms appear in the "Search Terms" box. Select a search term in the "Search terms" list and drag the term to the first line of the search criteria section in the lower section of the dialog.
- The "Criteria" section defines what you are searching for.
- Search term/form no. - box - Shows the search term you added in step 3.
- You can drag multiple terms to the Criteria section.
- You can also drag search terms from different categories to the Criteria section.
- "(" and ")" columns - Group lines together. For example, searching for (A and B) or (C and D).
- Match - If your search term is for a repeater field, such as Interest Income, Dividend Income, or Dependents, you can use match qualifiers.
- Any - Results are included if any occurrence of the repeater field in the return meets the search criteria.
- All - Results are only included if all the repeater occurrences meet the search criteria.
- Blank - If your search term is not for a repeater field or if "Any" would also work, you can leave this field blank.
- Op - The operator is used to compare the search term with the value.
- < Less Than
- <= Less Than/Equal To
- <> Not Equal To
- = Equal to
- > Greater Than
- >= Greater Than/Equal To
- NP Not Present
- P Present
- Value - The numeric or text value of the search term you are searching for.
- You can use an asterisk * as a wildcard. The asterisk must be entered at the end of the string.
- When using the wildcard in a date field, the date must be in MM/DD/YYYY format with the two forward slashes as field separators and at least one field filled.
- Do not use a comma or dollar sign when entering an amount. These special characters may result in inaccurate search results.
- Certain search terms have predetermined values. If applicable, the Lookup Value button is active when the focus is on the "Value" field. To select a value, click Lookup Value, select the desired value, and click OK.
- You can use an asterisk * as a wildcard. The asterisk must be entered at the end of the string.
- And/Or - In the last column that does not have a column heading, select And/Or to connect two lines. If you have multiple lines of search criteria, they must be connected by an And/Or statement.
- Search term/form no. - box - Shows the search term you added in step 3.
- To insert a line, position the cursor below where you want the line inserted and click Insert Line.
- To delete a line, position the cursor where you want the line deleted and click Delete Line.
- If you are searching for repeating field data that could be associated with different entities, click Attach to and specify whether to search only a particular entity or all possible entities.
- Repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 to add multiple search terms.
Defining the Output Data
After you have defined your search criteria using the instructions above, you are ready to select the data fields to include in your output (report, labels, or data file).
As you added search terms to the Criteria section, those terms were also added to the "Data fields in results list" window.
- Drag additional terms from the Search Terms window to the "Data fields in results list" window, if needed in your output.
- You can use the Search Terms/Categories menu to add additional terms that you are not searching for to the "Data fields in results lists" window, such as client ID or name.
- Click OK.
- Name your search package.
- You can select Marketing or Management as a "Search type." This is strictly informational. It will not affect how your scan runs.
- Select Personal search if you do not want this search to be seen by others.
- Click OK.
Running Your Scan
You are now ready to run your scan.
- Select your search package and click Search > Run Search.
- Select the scope of your search.
- Search entire client database - Searches your entire client database for returns/clients that meet the search criteria.
- Search the previous results list - Restricts the search to just those returns/clients that matched the search criteria when you last ran the search.
- After the search completes an Microsoft Excel file (.xlsx) file will open showing your search results. There will be tabs of your results at the bottom of the Microsoft Excel file with the titles of "General Information," "Results," and "Bypassed Returns."
- This file will be automatically saved to your documents folder in a folder called "DataScan Reports."
Notes:
Click here to view a Knowledge Base article on how to use DataScan Plus.
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