Manage Firm Profile Help Page

This page provides details about the “Need an Accountant” website, and how Firms can create a personalized profile on this site for the general public to view.

 

FAQs

  1. What is the “Need an Accountant” website designed to do?
  2. Developing the Firm’s profile


    1. How do I opt in to the “Need an Accountant” online listing service?
    2. How do I become the Firm Administrator?
    3. What is the Basic Firm Information and how can I update it?
    4. What do the “Edit,” “Draft,” “Submitted,” and “Published” labels mean?
    5. How long will it take to publish changes to the Firm’s profile on the “Need an Accountant” website?
    6. How can I change or fix where the Firm is plotted on the map?
    7. How do I develop the Firm’s profile to take advantage of the Prestige online listing service?

  3. How can I get additional help or support?

 

What is the “Need an Accountant” website designed to do?

“Need an Accountant” is an online directory that is being offered by CGA-Canada at no charge to all Canadian PPM Online Firm subscribers that opt in. This website has been developed to provide Canadian CGA Firms with a means of increasing their web presence and promoting their services to the general public. Visitors to the site can search for Firms by Firm name, partners’ names and preferred areas of practice (such as services offered and industry sectors). It is therefore important that the Firm Administrator include this information in their Firm Profile, to increase the likelihood of the profile being found by the site visitors. The Firm Administrator may choose multiple services offered and industry sectors that are applicable to the Firm.

Designed to enhance the current CGA branding campaign and increase the CGA presence in the marketplace, there are two listing service options available on the site: Basic and Prestige.

The Basic online listing service, which is FREE to all subscribers that opt in, is a profile that contains the Firm’s name, contact information, services offered, industry sectors, and location (including driving directions). This Basic Firm profile is automatically generated using information received from CGA-Canada's PPM subscriber database. This information may also be updated by the Firm Administrator as necessary. Each year, when a Firm renews its PPM subscription, the Basic online listing service will be renewed automatically at no cost.

A sample of how a Firm’s profile would display using the Basic online listing service is shown below:

 

 

The Prestige online listing service allows the Firm to create a personalized profile that enhances their professional image and helps to build and maintain the Firm’s competitive advantage online and in the marketplace.

This service allows the Firm to:

  • Add personalized, detailed information about the Firm, including the Firm’s website address, as well as the location of all the Firm’s offices;
  • Display a logo at the top of the page, allowing for better branding recognition;
  • Include contact information of all the partners;
  • Create a picture slideshow to promote the Firm, its staff, and services; and
  • Link to the Firm’s social media marketing tools, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

 

A sample of how a Firm’s profile would display using the Prestige online listing service is shown below:

 

For the 2012-13 subscription year, all Canadian CGA Firm subscribers will receive the Basic online listing service absolutely FREE. Subscribers wishing to take full advantage of this popular promotion tool through an enhanced Prestige Firm Profile can do so for just $125.00 per year.

If you do not wish to subscribe to the Prestige online listing service, the Firm profile will continue to remain in the directory as a Basic listing at no charge.

Please note that when designing your unique Prestige Firm profile, you must ensure that it conforms to the CGA-Canada Code of Ethical Principles and Rules of Conduct.

For more information, see: “How do I develop the Firm’s profile to take advantage of the Prestige online listing service?”

 

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How do I opt in to the “Need an Accountant” online listing service?

A Firm must opt in to the “Need an Accountant” online listing service to be included in this directory. If the Firm opts out of the service, the Firm’s listing will not be visible to the general public. For convenience, all subscribing PPM Online Firms have been opted in to the service by default.

The Firm Administrator may change the Firm’s opt-in status by selecting the "Opt in" or "Opt out" option on the Manage Firm Profile page. Additionally, the purchaser may choose to opt in/out when paying for the Firm’s annual subscription using either the PPM e-Shop (the online payment site) or an invoice form.

We strongly recommend participation in the “Need an Accountant” online listing service. It provides your Firm with an excellent opportunity to expand your online presence and to reach out to potential new clients, and the online Basic online listing service is ABSOLUTELY free.

Including your Firm details within the listing has the added benefit of promoting the CGA brand across Canada, as it shows the general public just how many CGA Firms exist across the nation.

 

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How do I become the Firm Administrator?

Each Firm must appoint a Firm Administrator to maintain their Firm’s profile and to manage the Firm’s opt-in status. The Firm Administrator may be any of the Firm’s PPM Online licensed users. To become the Firm Administrator, click the checkbox next to “Register as a Firm Administrator” on the Manage Firm Profile page.

Only one individual may be designated to act as Firm Administrator at any given time. To assign a different individual to be the Firm Administrator, contact the CGA-Canada PPM Online Administrator at NeedanAccountant-Contact@cga-canada.org.

If the Firm Administrator has already been assigned and the Manage Firm Profile page is accessed by another licensed user, the name of the Firm Administrator will be displayed.

Please note that by assigning a Firm Administrator, the Firm agrees to the Terms of Service Agreement.

 

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What is the Basic Firm Information and how can I update it?

If the Firm has opted in to the “Need an Accountant” online listing service, the Firm Administrator can update the Firm’s name, contact information, services offered, and industry sectors in the Basic Firm Information section.

The Firm's name and contact information in this section is initially populated with data from the PPM subscriber database. At any time, the Firm Administrator can change this information, click “Save Draft” to save any changes, and then “Preview Draft” to preview the changes made. (For more details about making changes to the Firm’s profile, please refer to the section below: “Saving, Viewing and Publishing the Firm’s Profile.”)

Note that any updates made to the Basic Firm Information will not be reflected in the Affiliate’s records. The Firm Administrator should contact their Affiliate directly to let them know about any changes to the Firm contact information.

If the Firm Administrator changes their Basic Firm Information so that it no longer matches the information that CGA-Canada has on file within the PPM subscriber database, the following warning message will be displayed:

The Firm information no longer matches the information in CGA-Canada’s PPM subscriber database. Please contact your provincial and/or territorial Affiliate to update the Firm information so that these records may also be updated.

Once CGA-Canada and the provincial and/or territorial Affiliate information is synchronized, this message will no longer appear.

Please note that it is important to select the Firm’s preferred areas of practice from the Industry Sectors/Services Offered sections. These terms are searchable by the general public and can therefore help boost your Firm's profile. The Firm Administrator may choose multiple services offered and industry sectors that are applicable to the Firm.

 

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What do the “Edit,” “Draft,” “Submitted,” and “Published” labels mean?

A Firm’s Basic profile is generated automatically from information within the PPM subscriber database. Once a Firm has opted in to the “Need an Accountant” service, a Basic profile is automatically generated from information received from CGA Canada’s PPM subscriber database. This profile is visible to the general public.

To amend or enhance the Firm’s profile, the Firm Administrator can go to the Manage Firm Profile page, which looks like this:

 

The orange label at the top right of the screen indicates the status of the information being displayed on the page.

  • Edit — Once the Firm Administrator has started to add or update information on the Manage Firm Profile page, the “Edit” label will appear. Any changes will be saved only when the Firm Administrator clicks the “Save Draft” button at the bottom of the page.
  • Draft — This indicates that the information displayed is in draft form; it is viewable by licensed users of the Firm’s PPM Online account, but has not yet been sent to CGA-Canada for publication.

    The draft version is created when the Firm Administrator clicks the “Save Draft” button, located at the bottom of the Manage Firm Profile page. After a draft version has been saved, it can be previewed by the Firm Administrator and others to ensure that the profile is ready to send to CGA-Canada for publication.
  • Submitted — This label will appear when the updated profile has been sent to CGA-Canada for publication. Once the page has been published, this label will be changed to “Published.”
  • Published — The information displayed on the Manage Firm Profile page is exactly what the general public sees (as long as the Firm has opted in to the “Need an Accountant” online listing service).

Note that when the orange label is “Edit,” “Draft,” or “Submitted,” the Firm’s published information on the “Need an Accountant” website will not be affected. The general public always sees the published version of the Firm profile.

 

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How long will it take to publish changes to the Firm’s profile on the “Need an Accountant” website?

Once the changed Firm profile has been submitted to CGA-Canada for publication, the Firm Administrator will receive a notification e-mail within three business days advising whether the profile has been published or not.

Once the Firm Administrator has received notification that the profile has been published, the changes will be reflected on the “Need an Accountant” website within 24 hours. To preview the Firm’s published profile as the general public would see it, click on the “View Published Profile” button.

Please note that the Firm’s profile will only display on the “Need an Accountant” website if the Firm has opted in to the online listing service.

 

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How can I change or fix where the Firm is plotted on the map?

The Firm Administrator can update the Firm’s address at any time in the Basic Firm Information section.

The accuracy of the Firm’s address is very important, as it is used to identify the Firm’s physical location on the “Need an Accountant” website map, and to generate driving directions to the Firm. If the address provided is not sufficient, the Firm’s profile may not be found by the general public using the “Need an Accountant” site.

When the Firm Administrator makes a change to the Firm’s address and clicks the “Save Draft” button, the system will use that address to regenerate a map plotting point.

If no map plotting point can be generated, the following message will appear:

The Firm location address information as entered cannot be plotted on the “Need an Accountant” website map, so the Firm’s profile will not be able to be found by the general public. Please review and update your address information.

Important: In this case, the Firm Administrator should update the Firm’s address; otherwise, the Firm will not be searchable in the “Need an Accountant” website because the system cannot identify the Firm’s physical location, even if the Firm HAS opted in to the Basic or Prestige online listing service.

If a map plotting point can be generated, but is potentially inaccurate, the following message will appear:

The Firm location address information as entered may not result in an accurate representation of the Firm’s location on the “Need an Accountant” website map. Please review and update your address information.

Important: The system will display this message when the address entered contains unrecognized information. Most likely it is when the street information contains a PO Box or Suite number. In this case, please verify the map plotting point of the Firm’s physical location by using the “Preview Draft” feature. You may ignore this warning if the Firm’s physical location identified on the map is accurate; otherwise, please update the Firm’s address.

In both cases, the system will still allow the draft to be saved.

See also “What is the Basic Firm Information and how can I update it?” for more information on changing the Firm’s contact information.

 

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How do I develop the Firm’s profile to take advantage of the Prestige online listing service?

If the Firm has opted in to the “Need an Accountant” online listing service, the Firm Administrator can create a much richer Firm profile by filling in the fields in the Prestige Firm Information section. A sample of how a Firm’s profile would display as a Prestige listing is shown here.

Most of the fields in the Prestige Information Section are self-explanatory. Only those that may require additional instructions are listed below:

Partner Information
The first name, last name, phone number, extension and e-mail address for up to 30 Firm partners may be entered. The partner’s credentials may be added to the last name. The scroll bar on the right may be needed to access all 30 rows. To navigate back and forth between the cells on a row, use <Tab>, or <Ctrl + Tab> key, or your mouse.

 

Website Link
If the Firm already has a website, a link to it can be added on this page. The easiest way is to go to the Firm’s website, copy the address from the address bar in the browser, and paste it in the textbox.

 


The Firm Administrator may upload the Firm’s logo to the Firm profile. If no Firm logo is uploaded, then the CGA logo will be displayed as a default image.

The logo image size cannot exceed 10MB, and should be a jpeg, gif, or png. It will be displayed in its original size on the Firm’s profile, placed to the left of the Firm name. Firms with wider logos can select the option to “Display logo above the Firm name.”

To upload the Firm logo, please refer to the section below: “Uploading Images”

 

Social Media Links
If the Firm has existing Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or LinkedIn accounts, links to these sites may be added to the Firm’s profile. Enter the website address of each of the Firm’s social media sites next to the appropriate icon and click “Test” to test the connection.

The chosen social media icons will be displayed on the Firm’s profile, which will link visitors to the Firm’s social media sites.

 

Create Titles for Firm Details — Upper and Firm Details — Lower
If you are entering text in either or both of the Firm Details — Upper or Firm Details — Lower sections, you can provide a title for each of these sections, up to 60 characters.

 

Create Firm Details — Upper and Firm Details — Lower
There are two areas available to enter text information: Firm Details — Upper and Firm Details — Lower. The Firm Administrator may use these two sections to enter detailed information of the Firm’s history, services offered, or partner bios only. To keep the Firm’s profile at a reasonable length, the combined total of characters in these two areas must not exceed 4,000.

The Firm Administrator may choose to enter information in either, both, or neither of these areas. The information that a Firm enters in Firm Details — Upper will be displayed at the top of the Firm’s profile (above the slideshow, if it exists), and any information entered in the Firm Details — Lower will be displayed lower in the profile (under the Services Offered/Industry Sectors section, if it exists). Having multiple areas provides flexibility to the Firm Administrator when creating the layout of the Firm’s profile.

Important: All information in these two areas must conform to the CGA-Canada, as well as the Firm’s provincial or territorial Affiliate, Code of Ethical Principles and Rules of Conduct and may consist only of the Firm’s history, services offered, or partner bios in order to be published.

Follow the instructions below to create the content in these areas:

  1. Click on the content area (the white space).
  2. Enter content as if you were working in a Microsoft Word Document.
    • Cut/Copy and Paste — If you are pasting content from a Microsoft Word Document, you must paste using the Paste icon on the toolbar; right clicking will not paste your text in the content area.
    • Apply Styling and Formatting — To maintain a consistent look and feel throughout the website, only the styling and formatting features available on the editing toolbar, as marked below, are provided.

      These features on the toolbar allow you to apply the following styling and formatting to the content text (listed from left to right as of the location of the icons):

          a. You may apply bold, italics, and underline to the content text.
          b. You may align the content text as per your choice (left, center, or right).
          c. You may create numbered or bulleted lists.
          d. You may decrease or increase the indentation of the content text.
          e. You may enter your text from left to right, or from right to left.

      Note: All external styling and formatting from the pasted text will be stripped when you paste your text into the box.
    • Insert Hyperlink — You may create a link to an external site if desired.

          a. Highlight the text that you would like to insert a hyperlink for.
          b. Click the Insert hyperlink icon .
          c. After the dialog box displays, enter the hyperlink.
          d. Click “OK.”
          e. The highlighted text in Step a. will be underlined.

    • Delete content — If you would like to remove the content after it is added to the content area, highlight the text that you would like to remove and hit the “Delete” button on the keyboard.
  3. Maximum length allowed — There is a 4,000 character combined limit for both content areas. A character counter, as shown below, is displayed at the top of the Firm Details — Upper or the Firm Details — Lower content area.

    This character counter displays the existing number of characters that you have entered into the content area out of the maximum number allowed. If the content exceeds the 4,000 character limit, you must edit the information to bring it below the 4,000 character threshold; otherwise the information will not be saved.
  4. Click “Save Draft” to save the updates of the content entered.
  5. Click “Preview Draft” to preview the display of content created if desired.

 

Create a Slideshow 
The slideshow feature allows the Firm’s profile to display a series of up to 12 images, three at a time. To create an effective slideshow, the Firm Administrator should note the following:

  • The size of each uploaded image cannot exceed 10MB, and should be a jpeg, gif, or png.
  • The slideshow displays the uploaded images in groups of three, in the same order as they are positioned on the Manage Firm Profile page. Please upload the images in a consecutive manner from left to right, and from top to bottom. Do not leave any blanks between images.
  • Aspect ratio is important when choosing images to upload. The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. For example, an image 8 inches wide and 5 inches high has the aspect ratio 8:5. This aspect ratio is actually the same as for an image 16 inches wide and 10 inches high (16:10), even though the image sizes are different.
  • Each uploaded image may be resized by the system, retaining its aspect ratio, and will be displayed in the slideshow in the maximum dimension of 215px X 215px. This is why the aspect ratio is important; images with the same aspect ratio will display the same, even if they are different sizes to begin with. For optimum display, each group of three images that will be shown at the same time should have the same aspect ratio.

If one of the images, once resized, does not display satisfactorily, it may be due to the quality of the image, and it may need to be replaced. The Firm Administrator should preview the display of the uploaded images before publishing them to make sure that they are satisfactory.

To upload the images for the slideshow, please refer to the section: “Uploading Images”

 

Upload Static Image to Industry Sectors/Services Offered Section
An image may be uploaded to be displayed in the Industry Sectors/Services Offered section. The size of each uploaded image cannot exceed 10MB, and should be a jpeg, gif, or png.

The image will be resized, retaining its aspect ratio, and will be displayed in the maximum dimension of 315px by 315px in the Industry Sectors/Services Offered section. If the resized image does not display satisfactorily, it may be due to the quality of the image, and another image should be considered in its place.

To upload the image, please refer to the section: “Uploading Images”

 

Uploading Images
Follow the instructions below to upload an image:

  1. Click “Browse.” A “Choose File to Upload” dialog box will be displayed.
  2. Select the image from the dialog box, and click “Open.” The textbox by the “Browse” button will be populated with text. If not, repeat Steps 1. and 2.
  3. Click “Upload.” The image will be displayed in the selected space.
  4. For the slideshow images, the Firm Administrator can enter a label in the textbox below if desired.
  5. Click “Save Draft” to save the uploaded images.
  6. Click “Preview Draft” to preview the display of the images if desired.
  7. If necessary, you may discard the uploaded image using the “Delete” button.

 

Enter Firm’s Other Locations
The Firm Administrator may enter the address information for up to 30 other locations for the Firm. These Firm locations will be displayed on the Firm’s profile, but will not be searchable on the “Need an Accountant” website.

 

Saving, Viewing and Publishing the Firm’s Profile
When the Firm Administrator changes any Firm information, the changes should be saved using the “Save Draft” button.

The first time the “Save Draft” feature is used, a draft version of the Firm’s profile is created. Each subsequent time this button is clicked, the draft version will be updated with all new changes made. The Firm Administrator should save changes often, so as not to lose any work.

Once the Firm Administrator has saved all changes, any PPM Online account licensed user of the Firm can view the draft version of the profile by clicking the “Preview Draft” button.

The Firm Administrator can make changes and save them using the “Save Draft” button, then instruct another PPM Online user within the Firm to log in to the PPM Online site, access the Manage Firm Profile page, and use the “Preview Draft” button to view the changes. This is particularly useful if the Firm Administrator is not the person who will be approving the Firm profile changes.

The Firm Administrator can use the “Delete Draft” button to delete the draft version and repopulate the form with data from the previously published version of the Firm profile.

Once the Firm Administrator is satisfied with the changes made, the “Submit” button can be used to request that the Firm’s profile be published with the new content. Once the Firm’s profile has been submitted for publication, the Firm Administrator will no longer be able to make any further changes pending publication. A notification e-mail will be sent within three business days advising whether the profile has been published; at that time the Firm Administrator will be provided access to the Manage Firm Profile page.

The Firm profile will be published and reflected on the “Need an Accountant” website within 24 hours of receiving the email confirmation from CGA-Canada. The Firm Administrator can use the “View Published Profile” button to view the published version.

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How can I get additional help or support?
CGA-Canada may be contacted for support at NeedanAccountant-Contact@cga-canada.org.

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