How to install PTP Platform - incorporating PTP Tax, PTP Partnership, PTP Trust Return, and PTP CT Platform

Introduction

The PTP Platform installation installs all four of the PTP Platform products, it therefore installs programs that share information and databases with each other. Because of this, the installation differs depending on whether any PTP Platform programs are already installed on the computer (including previous years).

You must have administrative access rights to install the PTP Platform suite. If you do not have the necessary access rights you will need to seek assistance from your own IT support.

Having programs open during installation can cause problems so ensure that all PTP programs are closed on all workstations before you start.

As well as installing the current PTP Tax Platform - Tax, Partnership and Trust, the installation also includes a demonstration copy of the previous year programs.

Please ensure that the prerequisite software .NET Framework 4 has been installed before proceeding with the installation.

Click the links below to jump to a particular section:

All users

Existing PTP Platform users

New PTP Platform users

Installing on a network

Registration

Transferring data

 


 

All users

Quick guide

  1. Click the PTP Platform link on the Software Downloads webpage.

  2. Click the PTP Platform Installation link and follow the installation wizard.

  3. After the installation open the program(s) and enter your registration details.

  4. Existing users of PTP Tax, PTP Partnership or PTP Trust transfer forward your existing clients' return data.

 

Existing PTP Platform users (computers with any PTP Platform products installed)

During the installation you will not be asked to select the destination folder to install the program and databases. These will be installed into the same holding directory as the existing PTP Platform installation.

The default installation will install PTP Tax, PTP Partnership, PTP Trust Return and PTP CT Platform for the current years. The default installation will install a demonstration copy of the current year programs you have not purchased.

After installation, the first time you open the PTP Platform programs they will automatically recognise that new software has been loaded onto your system and install it. You will only need to install from the download on one workstation in a network, the new software will then automatically update each workstation as the user runs the PTP Platform programs. After installing, please register your software from one workstation.

Registration

Open the PTP Launcher on the desktop and select Tools then Licence details. Select check for update to licences. Accept the licence agreement check box and then the activate option on the right of the product you wish to activate. Click Yes when prompted.

Transferring earlier year’s return data

Once you have successfully installed and registered the program, you must transfer forward your existing client data.

To do this:

  1. Click Transfer Clients from a Previous Tax Year.

  2. A message box asking if you have taken a backup will be displayed. It is important to take a backup at this stage. Please ensure that you have done so before you continue.

  3. When you confirm you have taken a backup, a screen allowing you to select the programs that you used will be displayed. You can simply tick the program(s) and click Transfer.

  4. If you are a PTP Partnership Return user that does not use PTP Tax Return, you must transfer the PTP Tax Return data as well as the Partnership Return data as it is this that holds the individual partners’ details.

 

New PTP Platform users (computers that DO NOT have any PTP Platform products installed)

The Installation Wizard will ask you for the destination folder in which to install the program and then a database folder for the database files. We strongly recommend that you install to the default location. (C:\PTP)

If you are installing the network level software please see the notes below. The default installation will install PTP Tax, PTP Partnership, PTP Trust Return and PTP CT Platform for the current year. The default installation will install a demonstration copy of the current year programs you have not purchased.

 

Installing on a network - (computers that DO NOT have any PTP Platform products installed)

Quick guide

  1. The program needs to be installed on each workstation.

  2. The database files need to be installed to a shared area on the server.

  3. The program needs to be registered on one workstation.

Detailed guide

PTP Platform programs work on both Peer to Peer and dedicated file server networks. Whatever system is in use all users must have permanent READ and WRITE access to the folder that will contain the data files.

When running the Installation Wizard, you will be asked for the destination folder in which to install the program(s). We recommend that this be left as the default (C:\PTP) as the program(s) should be on the local drive of each workstation.

You will then be asked for the path to the database folder for the database files. Enter the path to the folder on the server where you wish the database files to be located. If you use any other PTP Platform products this should be the same location that they use for the data as it will add fields to the existing platform.mdb database. We would recommend F:\PTPData where F is the drive letter assigned to the server.

Peer to peer

If you are running a Peer to Peer network you will need to map a drive letter (F in our example) to \\Example\Share (assuming the database files have been installed to the default location on the acting server)*. Here, Example is the name of the computer on the network acting as a server. The path to the database folder from the client workstations would then be F:\PTPData.

The path to the database folder must always end in PTPData as the installation adds the necessary subfolder(s) to this, and it is here that the database files are installed. The program requires a particular directory structure. Once installed it is important that you do not change the default structure.

Network

You will need to install the program on each workstation within a network system, however you only need to register the software from one workstation. When the products have been successfully installed and registered you can perform a ‘transfer earlier year’s return data’ as appropriate. This need only be done from one computer (see notes above).

 

Microsoft Windows VISTA and Windows 7/8