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CCH Software User Documentation

CCH Corporation Tax IE: 2015.3 (Network Install)

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CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015.3

Installing the Software

About this Document

This document is a guide for installing CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015.3 on a Microsoft server environment. To install the product on a standalone PC refer to the CCH Corporation Tax IE Install Guide. This document is intended for tax professionals who have some experience with computer technology and have the time available to read it thoroughly and understand the content before proceeding with the upgrade. It is also suitable for IT and support staff tasked with installing the upgrade.

About CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015.3

CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015.3 is a complete rewrite of the previous version of the product. The rewrite uses current Microsoft technology, including Microsoft SQL Server for the database, thereby ensuring compatibility with current and new versions of Microsoft platforms for the foreseeable future. This is the same technology used for the recently release CCH Personal Tax IE.

On a Microsoft server network the CCH Corporation Tax 2015.3 installation must first be run on the Server that is to host Microsoft SQL Server and the database, and then on each connected workstation that is to run the product. This guide reflects that architecture and has sections on both the server and workstation installation.

Because CCH Corporation Tax 2015.3 is a complete rewrite the routine to upgrade existing data is not automatic. If a previous version of Corporation Tax is present the clients / tax returns must be selected and elected for upgrade.

Supported Platforms

Before proceeding with this install ensure your PC(s) meet the minimum hardware and software specifications. Full details can be found in our System Requirements Specification article.

Note: Windows XP and Home editions of Windows are NOT supported platforms.

Versions

Before upgrading to Corporation Tax IE 2015.3, check and confirm that your existing installation of Corporation Tax IE meets the pre-requisite version of 2014.3.

  • Start Corporation Tax IE (Compad) as normal.
  • From the top tool bar select Help   >  About CCH Corporation Tax IE.
  • The About CCH Corporation Tax IE window will appear as shown in the image below.

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The pre-requisite version is 2014.3 as shown above (circled).

Installing the Update

Downloading the Upgrade

  1. Visit the CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015-3 Setup page
  2. Note: you will need to have previously registered for access to our Software Releases, to do this click here

  3. Click the Download button, note down the account details for System Administrator (these will be needed to complete this installation) and click OK.
  4. Now proceed with the download and save the CCH_Corporation_Tax_IE_2015-3.exe file to a convenient location.
Server - Installation

Carry out this part of the installation on the server or computer that is to hold your CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015.3 SQL database.

  • Locate the downloaded CCH_Corporation_Tax_2015-3_Setup.exe  file and right-click.

The Open menu will appear.

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  • Click Run as Administrator.

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  • Click Unzip.

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  • Click OK.
  • Close the WinZip Self-Extractor window.
  • Browse to the newly created C:\CCH_Corporation_Tax_IE_2015-3\Install folder.

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  • Locate the CT_Setup file and right-click.
  • Click Run as Administrator.

The CCH Corporation Tax IE Installation window will appear.

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  • Ensure the box against Install CCH Corporation Tax IE is ticked.
  • If you DO NOT already have CCH Personal Tax IE installed on this computer, place a tick in the box against Install SQL Server 2008 R2 Express.
  • Place a tick in the box against Install Blank Database.
  • Click Install

The CCH Corporation Tax Installation window will appear. The installation will begin.

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The installation time will vary depending upon whether Microsoft SQL Server Express 2008 r2 is being installed. With SQL Server 2008 r2 the installation time will typically be 15-30 minutes, without this component the installation time will be 2-3 minutes. During this time the CCH Corporation Tax IE Installation navigation window may show Not Responding in the top left hand corner of the screen, as shown below.

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This is perfectly normal, and is merely indicative of your computer being busy installing Microsoft SQL Server.

Warning: During this time DO NOT reboot your Server. This will cause an incomplete installation of Microsoft SQL Server from which recovery may be very difficult.

Installation is complete when the Close button becomes available and the CCH Corporation Tax IE installer window displays a status of Installation Complete. Click Close.
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Server - Attaching to the Database and Licensing

Carry out this part of the installation on the server or computer that is to hold your CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015.3 SQL database.

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  • Locate the CCH Corporation Tax IE icon on the desktop of your server and double-click to start the product. The Change Database window will appear.

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  • In the Server Name box enter .\CCH.
  • In the Database Name box enter CCH_CTAX_data
  • Leave Authentication and Network Protocol at their default settings of Windows Authentication and Named Pipes.
  • Click Test Connection.

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  • Click OK.

Note: If the Test Connection fails with a long error indicating that a network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL server, check carefully that you have entered correctly the Server Name details. If the connection still fails refer to Appendix for further advice.

The Change Database window returns.

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  • Click OK.

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  • Click OK

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  • Click Update

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  • Enter the default System Administrator account details noted at the time of download.
  • Click OK.  The licencing window will appear.

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  • Note the Serial Number and submit this to CCH (see note below).

Note: A unique Activation Key is required to complete the installation.  We recommend that you cut and paste a screenshot of the above window into an email (ensuring that the Serial Number is clearly shown).  Please send the image to cchsoftwarepinrequest@wolterskluwer.co.uk.  Take note to include your company name in the Subject line.  Your Activation Key will be returned in due course.

  • Close the licencing window and await an email from CCH containing your licence details. When you receive the email containing your licence details, start CCH Corporation Tax IE, login as System Administrator and proceed as directed below.

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  • Select the Number of Clients, Number of Users(s) and Licence Renewal Date.
  • Enter the activation key that you have been sent into the Activation Key box.
  • Tick Show Warning.

Note: Be sure to enter the activation key exactly as supplied, including the hyphens separating the key into 4 digit blocks. Failure to do this will result in an Invalid Activation key message.

  • Click Register.

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  • Click OK.

The server installation is complete, now move on to the workstation installation as described in the Workstation Installation section below. 

Workstation – Installation

Carry out this part of the installation on each PC that is to run CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015

  • Locate the downloaded CT_Setup.exe  file and right-click.
  • Click Run as Administrator

The CCH Corporation Tax IE Installation window will appear.

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  • Ensure that Install CCH Corporation Tax IE is ticked.
  • Click Install.   The Windows Installer window will appear and the installation will begin.

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The installation will typically 1-3 minutes. Installation is complete when the Close button becomes available and the CCH Corporation Tax IE installer window displays a status of Installation Complete.

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  • Click Close.

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  • Locate the CCH Corporation Tax icon on the desktop of your server and double-click to start the product. The Change Database window will appear.

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Note: that the Server Name and the Database Name boxes are both blank, these must now be completed as described and shown below.

 

 

Note: Pay careful attention to this step, failure to provide the correct details will prevent the workstation from connecting to the server database.

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  • In the Server Name box enter the name of your server on which you installed Microsoft SQL Server and the Corporation Tax IE database in section B.2 above followed by \CCH.

Note: In the image above the Server name is represented by the generic text <Your_Server_Name>. Replace this generic text with the name of your server followed by \CCH

  • In the Database Name box enter CCH_CTAX_data
  • Click Test Connection.
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  • Click OK.

Note: If the Test Connection fails with a long error indicating that a network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL server, check carefully that you have entered correctly the Server Name details. If the connection still fails refer to Appendix for further advice.

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  • Click OK.

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  • Click OK. Your workstation installation of Corporation Tax IE is now complete. Repeat this workstation installation on any other PCs that need to run the product.
Importing Company Names & Client Codes

Information! Only carry out this section if you have a previous version of CCH Corporation Tax installed and wish to convert the data.

Because CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015.3 is a new product there is a routine to import the Company Names and Client Codes from the old Compad product.

Note: Company Names and Client Codes may only be imported from the final release version of Compad 2014.3.

  • Login to Corporation Tax 2015.3 with a system administrator account.  The product Desktop will open.

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  • From the top menu bar select Compad Import.

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  • Click the Ellipsis against the CCH Corporation Tax IE Database Path. The Open window will appear.

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  • Browse to the Corporation Tax IE 2014.3 database.

Note: The location of this path can vary, but the default location is C:\CCH ProSystem\taxpack. The default name for the database is Taxpack.mdb, but similar to the location this can also vary.

  • Click Open.

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The list of clients available for import will appear.

  • You may either select the Client you wish to import or place a tick in the Import All Client Information box to import all Company Names and Client Codes.
  • Click Import.
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Backups

CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015 now uses a Microsoft SQL database. SQL databases differ in their backup requirement from previous versions of CCH Corporation Tax IE (which used a Microsoft Access database). To setup a backup plan for CCH Corporation Tax IE 2015 you have two particular choices. You may use either Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio or our own Backup and Restore program.

  • Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio – this product is installed at the same time as Microsoft SQL Server with either CCH Corporation Tax IE or CCH Personal Tax IE . This product will allow you to take an ad hoc backup of the CCH database, but it will not allow you to schedule a backup because it is the Express edition.
  • CCH Backup and Restore Utility v6.1Click here to download this Free product.  The CCH Backup and Restore Installation guide, User guide and Release Notes are also available.

Please consult your local IT support to help you decide which of these options is best suited to the needs of you practice.

Warning: Keeping adequate database is essential to ensure that your client data is adequately protected in case of systems failures, such as hard disk crashes or system corruption. DO NOT neglect this aspect of the installation!

Appendices

SQL Server Firewall Settings

Windows firewall settings can inhibit communication with Microsoft SQL Server across a network. A typical error message is shown below:

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If this error occurs it is likely to be due to the settings in place on your server firewall. In this circumstance, the steps described below may provide a solution.

Note: Wolters Kluwer do not provide network support and have no responsibility for the safety and maintenance of your network. Before applying these steps please refer to your local IT support to ensure that this is the best solution for your network.

  • Logon with an administrative account to the server that hosts your CCH Personal Tax IE SQL Server instance and database.
  • Click the Start button in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

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  • Type in the Search programs and file box the word Firewall.
  • From the results that appear click Windows Firewall.
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  • Click Advanced Settings.
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  • Right-click Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, then from the menu click   Properties.

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  • Locate the Inbound connections setting on the Domain Profile tab. If this is set to Block (default) it will prevent communication to the instance of Microsoft SQL Server and your Personal Tax IE database.

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  • Click the black down facing arrow against the Inbound Connection box and select Allow.
  • Click Apply.

The Inbound connections on the Domain Profile tab should now be set to Allow as shown in the image below.

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  • Click OK.
  • Close the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security window.
  • Close the Windows Firewall window.

Note: Wolters Kluwer do not provide network support and have no responsibility for the safety and maintenance of your network. Before applying these steps please refer to your local IT support to ensure that this is the best solution for your network and does not have any adverse effects on other products installed on the server and on your server roles.

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Before you start installing this upgrade:
  • Ensure all users are logged out of CCH Corporation Tax IE.
  • Either make a backup copy of your Corporation Tax IE database(s) or confirm that you have a backup to which you are able to revert in the unlikely event it is necessary.
  • Ensure that your PC(s) meets the minimum hardware and software specifications. Full details can be found in our System Requirements Specification
Prerequisite Version 

CCH Corporation Tax IE version 2020.2.0 is an upgrade to version 2019.1. Before proceeding to install this update, ensure that CCH Corporation Tax 2019.1 is already installed and working correctly.

Downloading the Installer

  1. Visit our 'Non CCH Central Software Releases' page
  2. Click on 'CCH Corporation Tax IE'.
  3. Logon to the site using your own account details (If required).
  4. Note: you will need to have previously registered on our Support Portal.

  5. Click the Download button, note down the account details for System Administrator (these will be needed to complete this installation) and click OK.
  6. Now proceed with the download and save the CCH_Corporation_Tax_IE_2020_2_installer.exe file to a convenient location.

Program Installation

Locate the downloaded CCH_Corporation_Tax_IE_2020_2_installer.exe file and right-click.

  1. The Open menu will appear.
  2. Click 'Run as Administrator'.
  3. The WinRAR self-extracting archive window will appear.

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Click Install

The installation will begin. The installation (extraction) will take less than 30 seconds and when complete the WinRAR self-extracting archive window will close. If you have a network installation, proceed to the next PC and run the Program Installation again, repeat this until all PCs have been updated.

Note: it is imperative that all computers running CCH Corporation Tax IE are updated to the new version of the product. Failure to do this will result in a warning message on any computers that have not been updated. 

Database Upgrade

A database upgrade is required as a part of the 2019.1 to 2020.2.0 update, proceed as follows to carry out the upgrade.

  • Select one PC and start CCH Corporation Tax IE 2020.2

The CCH Corporation Tax IE window will appear, requiring a database upgrade.
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Click Update

When the database upgrade is complete the CCH Corporation Tax IE window will appear with the User ID and Password boxes.

Note: for network installations with a shared database, the upgrade is only carried out once, by the first PC to login to the product.

Completion

Your CCH Corporation Tax IE update is now complete. It is worth spending a few moments to check your work.
To do this, proceed as follows:

  1. Start CCH Corporation Tax IE as normal.
  2. From the top tool bar select Help > About CCH Corporation Tax IE to arrive at the About CCH Corporation Tax IE window shown below.
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  3. Confirm that the Version number matches that shown in the image above.
  4. Finally, it is a good idea to take a post-upgrade backup of your database and store this safely.

 

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