Silver Sea AI & Automation
Practice CS

Practice CS does the job. It just doesn't talk to your other apps.

We connect it: time-entry monitoring, client onboarding, QuickBooks Online sync, and Power BI reporting, built by a CPA who used to run the same reports by hand.

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Practice CSQuickBooks OnlineIntake formsExcelPower BITime-entry alertsClient onboardingInvoice sync to QBOScheduled reportsKPI dashboardsSilver Seaon Practice CS
Does any of this happen at your firm?

Four places firms usually start

01

Invoices re-keyed into QuickBooks?

Every bill from Practice CS gets typed again in QBO, and any name that doesn't match exactly becomes a duplicate.

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02

Time entries late or missing?

When time comes in a week late, WIP is wrong for a week and billing slips with it. Practice CS won't tell you.

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03

Onboarding typed into four systems?

The same new-client details go into Practice CS, the CRM, the portal, and the tax software.

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04

Reports nobody opens?

The canned reports answer one question each. The follow-up question means another export.

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01 · Invoices re-keyed into QuickBooks

Clients and invoices synced to QuickBooks Online

Clients and invoice lines move from Practice CS to QBO automatically, scoped to your setup, not a template.

  • Email-based matching that catches the near-duplicate names.
  • Configurable tax handling and active-client filtering.
  • Invoice descriptions cleaned out of Practice CS's rich-text formatting before they reach QuickBooks.

Case studies from this stage

  • Practice CS to QuickBooks Online syncRoughly 1,700 clients synced in testing, then production. Manual re-entry gone.
    Problem
    Invoices and client records were re-keyed into QuickBooks Online by hand and broke whenever names didn't match exactly. Invoice descriptions were stored as old rich-text formatting, so a $2.22 line arrived wrapped in font and colour codes.
    Built
    An automated client and invoice sync with configurable tax handling, active-client filtering, and email-based matching. A parser strips the rich-text formatting cleanly, and the sync detects whether an invoice is a detailed or a summary layout and adapts.
    Result
    Roughly 1,700 clients synced in testing, then production. Manual re-entry gone.
02 · Time entries late or missing

Time in on time, so WIP is right

Practice CS can't tell you an entry is missing or below threshold. The monitor can, the same day.

Monitoring

  • Entries below threshold and submissions past deadline are flagged automatically.
  • The staff member gets the reminder directly; repeat patterns escalate to their manager.

Import

  • External time batches imported into the practice system by bot.
  • The source system is told when an import succeeded, so nothing is imported twice.

Case studies from this stage

  • Time-entry monitoring and importRemoved the SQL database and the manual spreadsheet, and closed the loop so the source system knows an import succeeded.
    Problem
    Time batches from an external system were keyed into CCH Axcess by hand; an earlier automation depended on a fragile SQL database and a manual spreadsheet.
    Built
    A Power Automate Desktop pipeline: JSON batches arrive over Azure Service Bus, become Excel via Office Scripts, and a bot completes the import, then reports back.
    Result
    Removed the SQL database and the manual spreadsheet, and closed the loop so the source system knows an import succeeded.
  • Utilization from three time sources in one viewThree siloed spreadsheets replaced by one view for reconciling time entries by employee and date.
    Problem
    Time-tracking data lived in three disconnected spreadsheets, so discrepancies per employee were hard to see or discuss.
    Built
    First a consolidated pivot view, then an automated Power BI time-entry dashboard with the firm's own realization calculation and plain-English Q&A.
    Result
    Three siloed spreadsheets replaced by one view for reconciling time entries by employee and date.
What makes Practice CS different

Three things a developer learns the hard way

01

It's a desktop system on a SQL database

There is no modern API. The way in is the SQL Server database behind it, which has to be read with care.

02

Invoice text is stored as rich-text formatting

A $2.22 line arrives wrapped in font and colour codes, and has to be cleaned before it is a number again.

03

One firm, several invoice layouts

Detailed and summary invoices are structured differently, so the sync detects the layout instead of assuming one.

03 · Onboarding typed into four systems

One intake form, every system updated

One form writes the new client to Practice CS, your CRM, and the client portal at once. Under 2 minutes per client instead of 30–45.

Case studies from this stage

  • Client onboarding in one formThe API now covers 90% of data points. Record creation takes 7–10 minutes instead of 30.
    Problem
    New clients were keyed separately into Smartsheet, CCH Axcess, CCH Workflow, and HubSpot, with no way to tell whether a lead already existed.
    Built
    A matching algorithm across all four systems, an API connection from Smartsheet into Axcess, and an RPA layer for the gaps.
    Result
    The API now covers 90% of data points. Record creation takes 7–10 minutes instead of 30.
04 · Reports nobody opens

Static Practice CS reports, turned into something partners open

A Power BI layer on the same data answers the follow-up too: which client, which staff member, which entry.

Power BI on Practice CS data

  • Profitability, realization, aging invoices, and billing targets in interactive views.
  • Drill from a firm-level number to the client, project, or entry behind it.
  • Alerts through Power Automate when a metric crosses a line you set.

Also built on Practice CS

  • Scheduled report runs exported to Excel, ready before the meeting.
  • Bulk client updates from Excel instead of one record at a time.
  • Workstream projects created in bulk from an Excel list by RPA bot.

Case studies from this stage

  • Cash-cycle and capacity dashboards on Practice CSThe firm saw its cash cycle for the first time: 58 days from time entry to invoice, plus 44 days to collect.
    Problem
    Practice CS data wasn't surfaced anywhere staff could act on it: no view of WIP aging, realization, capacity, or budget vs. actual hours.
    Built
    A Power BI suite for client KPIs, AR and unbilled WIP, staff budgets and billable hours, and a project view for capacity and deadlines.
    Result
    The firm saw its cash cycle for the first time: 58 days from time entry to invoice, plus 44 days to collect.
  • Tax-return workload by staff memberReady tasks, overdue items, and staff-level realization in one place instead of pieced together by hand.
    Problem
    No view of tax-return workload by staff member, and no way to compare completion pace with the prior year.
    Built
    A Power BI dashboard of ready tasks by staff, with executive and detail views, budget-hours monitoring, and prior-year comparison, on a fixed budget.
    Result
    Ready tasks, overdue items, and staff-level realization in one place instead of pieced together by hand.
Book a dashboard demoPower BI solutionsRunning UltraTax CS too?
FAQ

Common questions

All questions and answers
Does Practice CS have an API?

No modern one. Practice CS is a desktop system on a SQL Server database, and the database is the way in. Invoice descriptions are stored as rich-text formatting, so they have to be cleaned before they are usable numbers and text again.

Can Practice CS sync clients and invoices to QuickBooks Online?

Yes. Clients and invoice lines move automatically, with configurable tax handling and email-based matching that catches near-duplicate names. On one engagement roughly 1,700 clients were synced in testing and then in production, which ended manual re-entry.

Can Practice CS alert us when time entries are late?

Not on its own. We add a monitor that flags entries below threshold or past deadline, reminds the staff member directly, and escalates repeat patterns to their manager. WIP is then right on the day, not a week later.

From the articles

On time entry and automation

All articles →
Steven Duc Tran, CPA, CIA

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