CS Professional Suite – Benefits, Features, and Cloud Hosting

With an expanding business landscape, every organization needs a technological solution to automate routine tasks, offer insights, improve accuracy, and enhance client satisfaction. 

Thomas Reuters’ CS Professional Suite is one such software that includes every function an accounting firm needs to run the business efficiently.

It offers a wide range of software products for accounting, tax, payroll, document management, and consulting. You can purchase these tools as standalone or opt for the entire suite. All the tools you buy integrate seamlessly with each other and third-party applications as well. 

However, hosting CS Professional Suite on the cloud gives it a more secure, flexible, and scalable IT platform. In this blog, we will discuss the features and benefits of CS Professional Suite and why businesses must choose cloud hosting services. 

Core Modules and Features of CS Professional Suite

CS Professional Suite is a modular, integrated software suite designed for accounting, tax, audit, payroll, document management, and firm workflow management.

Here are the key modules/features (and sub-features) of CS Professional Suite.

Module/Area	Key Features/Capabilities	How It Helps/Use Cases
Accounting & Auditing	Accounting CS: Write-up, trial balance, financial statements, client accounting, multi-entity support Engagement Manager: Audit/attestation workpaper management, working trial balance, audit engagements  Workpapers CS: Collaboration on workpapers, real-time document sharing, trial balance & workpaper integration	Enables firms to standardize their accounting/audit engagements, reduce manual handling of workpapers, maintain version control, and facilitate staff collaboration.
Tax & Asset Management	UltraTax CS: Tax return preparation, review workflow, integration with other CS modules GoSystem Tax RS: Cloud-based tax for larger firms  Fixed Assets CS: Asset tracking, depreciation, tax/book basis, synchronization with accounting data  Planner CS: Tax planning, projections, scenario modeling eSignature module: Collect electronic signatures for tax documents remotely	Helps firms manage the full tax lifecycle — from planning to preparation, review, and delivery — and seamlessly integrate fixed assets with accounting systems.
Payroll & Compensation	Integrated payroll processing via Accounting CS  Automation features for payroll run, tax withholdings, payroll reporting	Reduces duplication and errors by allowing accounting and payroll to share data, providing payroll as an extension of client service.
Firm & Workflow Management	Practice CS: Time & billing, project and staff management, dashboards, reporting  FirmFlow (workflow engine): Routing, real-time tracking of tasks, standardization of processes  – Task assignment, staff scheduling, alerts/notifications, workload balancing – Client management tracking (interaction history, status updates)	These modules let firms manage operations, monitor deadlines, track utilization & profitability, standardize how work moves through the firm, and reduce “who’s doing what” confusion.
Document & Content Management	GoFileRoom: Secure cloud document storage, versioning, scanning & indexing – Central document repository integrated with client files  – Search, tagging, permissions/access controls, audit trails	Allows firm staff to find, share, and manage documents in an organized and controlled manner; minimizes email/manual file sharing.
Client Portals & Web Interaction	NetClient CS: Secure portal for clients to access documents, exchange files, submit data, and view status  – Client access modules for Accounting CS (client collaboration)  – Support for communication, file requests, and status updates through the portal	Enhances client service experience, reduces back-and-forth communication, enables remote collaboration, and adds transparency.
Hosting / Cloud Options	Virtual Office CS: Hosted deployment of CS Professional Suite in the cloud for remote access  – Option to host in secure, managed infrastructure (cloud service providers)  – 24×7 access, scalability, and maintenance handled externally.	Frees firms from on-premises IT burdens, enables distributed teams, and improves continuity and disaster recovery capabilities.
Advisory / Professional Services	Practice Forward: Subscription consulting, business modeling, strategic resources  – Implementation & workflow consulting, automation services as add-ons	Helps firms maximize use of the suite, optimize operations, and grow their practice beyond technical compliance.

Benefits Offered by CS Professional Suite

CS Professional Suite enables an efficient accounting process for your business. Here’s how:

1. All-in-one Solution  

CS Professional Suite relieves accounting firms of all the integration challenges caused by a fragmented tech stack. It offers a comprehensive package with all the necessary tools, facilitating real-time data exchange and providing data-driven insights. 

2. Compliance Support

By opting for CS Professional Suite, accounting firms can ensure compliance with audit-ready reports. It also enhances document management, so you get all the files in order during the tax season.   

3. Enhanced Client Collaboration

With online platforms like GoFileRoom and NetClient CS, accountants can collaborate remotely with their clients. All the documents can be uploaded to a centralized location, where clients can review and sign them. 

4. Increased Efficiency 

CS Professional Suite optimizes operational workflows by integrating all business functions into a unified platform. It also ensures process automation by minimizing menial tasks. Moreover, with information flowing seamlessly across modules, the chances of data entry errors drop significantly.  

5. Detailed Reporting

All products of CS Professional Suite provide comprehensive reporting for detailed analysis. For instance, Accounting CS offers a list of reports, including the Chart of Accounts, Financial Statement Worksheet, Engagement Binder Statement, and more.   

6. Document Management

CS Professional Suite tools, such as FileCabinet CS and GoFileRoom, ensure that all necessary documents, including tax forms and financial statements, are stored and organized digitally. It not only eliminates the perils of paper-based storage but also ensures swift retrieval.    

7. Improved Accuracy 

CS Professional Suite reduces errors and improves accuracy with automated diagnostic features in tools like UltraTax CS.

Moreover, since it is an all-inclusive solution, the data entered in any module is automatically populated in all others, eliminating synchronization errors. It also offers real-time updates and automatic reconciliation to enhance accuracy. 

8. Cost Efficiency

With the CS Professional Suite, firms can eliminate the licensing, integration, and upgrade costs associated with multi-vendor tools.

This makes CS Professional Suite a smart long-term investment for accounting firms seeking operational efficiency without increasing overhead.  

Why CS Professional Suite Hosting With a Managed Cloud Hosting Provider is a Good Idea

1. Helps you Save Big

Installing CS Professional Suite on a local system leads to capital costs related to hardware procurement, setup, and management. You also need a physical space to host servers for backup and operations. In addition, you must allocate funds for in-house IT experts, cooling equipment, and electricity consumption.

With cloud hosting, you can eliminate all the above-mentioned costs. Since the software products and all the data are hosted on the provider’s servers, there is no need for you to invest in high-end servers and IT infrastructure. You only pay the provider the subscription fee for the services you have availed.   

2. Allows Unlimited Access

A major limitation of any desktop software is that it can only be accessed from the device on which it is installed. It is a challenge for accounting firms that are keen on promoting remote work policies to enhance employee satisfaction. Moreover, accountants also do not want to work in a firm that can’t provide them with a work-life balance. 

By hosting CS Professional Suite on the cloud, accountants and tax preparers get access to the software products and data on personal devices. They can view, edit, and share forms and documents from any location at any time, even on vacation. All they need to do is pick up any device, like a tablet, smartphone, or laptop, and access the CS Professional Suite through a web browser.   

3. Scales as Per Demand

Contrary to the traditional IT setup, you can scale the accounting process on the cloud without any restrictions. Hence, as your accounting process grows, the IT resources are allotted automatically by the cloud service provider to accommodate the new business requirements. Businesses are charged only for the resources used.    

4. Keeps the Data Secure

989,000 phishing attacks were reported globally in the 4th quarter of 2024. CS Professional Suite hosting providers offer advanced security features at multiple levels.

Features like 256-bit data encryption, multi-factor authentication, traffic filtering, and anti-malware ensure protection against major cyber threats, such as ransomware, phishing, DDoS, and insider threats. This relieves accounting firms from the complexities of maintaining an advanced in-house security infrastructure.   

5. Ensures Swift Troubleshooting

The cloud hosting providers offer 24/7/365 customer support to resolve any issues related to access, performance, or user management. You can reach out to their cloud experts via call, chat, or email. 

Opting for the hosted CS Professional Suite minimizes the cost of deploying an extensive in-house IT team.  

6. Keeps you Ahead of Competitors

Hosting CS Professional Suite on the cloud gives you access to expert IT professionals and advanced IT infrastructure. Competent tax software hosting providers like Ace Cloud Hosting host applications and data on high-performance computing servers on a low-latency network.  

It is unrealistic for small accounting firms to have such an infrastructure on premises. The benefits offered by the cloud platform enable even small accounting firms to compete with enterprises.    

7. Facilitates Business Continuity

Cloud hosting providers guarantee an uptime of 99.99% by deploying infrastructural redundancy and disaster recovery.

They replicate your applications and data across multiple servers and locations to ensure continuous operations, even during major security events, such as earthquakes or ransomware attacks.    

How To Choose the Right Hosting Provider for Your CS Professional Suite?

1. Analyzing the Current IT Setup

The first step to shortlisting cloud hosting providers is to audit the in-house IT setup. Doing this helps identify operational bottlenecks and the exact IT resources needed. Moreover, you can also estimate the future resource requirements. 

Only when you understand your current IT setup well can you choose a provider that efficiently addresses your pain points within the allotted budget.

2. Checking Provider’s Reliability and Reputation

Before purchasing any product online, you check its reviews; why not do the same with cloud hosting services? Opting for cloud hosting services enters you into a long-term partnership with the provider.

Therefore, it is wise to check if the provider is reliable by visiting the online community forums for customer reviews and comments. Moreover, you must also check the provider’s ratings on reputable sites like G2.  

3. Enquiring About the Pricing Plans

In most cases, the budget becomes the ultimate decider in shortlisting a CS Professional Suite hosting provider. Hence, first and foremost, you must check the provider’s pricing plans to see if they suit your budget.

You must also ask the provider for any additional charges they may incur beyond the usage fee. Prefer a provider that offers customized pricing as per your business requirements to optimize costs.    

4. Asking about the Security Features

All accounting firms prioritize the security of their client data. Therefore, ask the provider about the protocols they implement to prevent unauthorized access, ransomware attacks, insider threats, man-in-the-middle attacks, etc. Additionally, verify the tools and technologies deployed to secure critical accounting data. 

5. Evaluating the SLA

You must read the clauses in the SLA thoroughly for parameters like guaranteed uptime and level of support. Moreover, you must also analyze the exit clauses to ensure an easy cancellation of services. Prefer a CS Professional Suite hosting provider that offers a minimum of 99.99% uptime and 24x7x365 customer support.    

6. Analyzing the Provider’s Expertise

You must shortlist the providers that have expertise in offering accounting-specific hosting services. Such providers know the security challenges and bottlenecks of an accounting-specific IT setup. Moreover, they have extensive documentation on troubleshooting niche issues. Opting for an industry expert will ensure easy cloud migration and swift resolution.   

Conclusion

When you adopt the CS Professional Suite for your accounting firm, you don’t need any other external applications. All the products integrate seamlessly to offer real-time sync for error-free operations. However, hosting it on the cloud enhances your accounting process even more. Therefore, it is imperative to choose the right cloud hosting services to reap all these benefits. 

Want to try CS Professional Suite on the cloud? Connect with our Solutions Consultant or start your 7-day free trial to experience seamless performance and data security. Host all your Thomson Reuters applications, including CS Professional Suite and UltraTax, with Ace Cloud Hosting today!