Migrating from Thomson Reuters Virtual Office CS to the cloud hosting like OneUp Networks means moving your licensed CS Professional Suite applications — UltraTax CS, Practice CS, Accounting CS, FileCabinet CS, and more — off Thomson Reuters’ own hosting (or a local server) into a managed private cloud. With a structured plan and expert migration support, most firms move with minimal downtime and no data loss.
Quick summary
- Migrating is a structured project, not a rebuild — you keep your existing Thomson Reuters licenses and applications.
- A typical move runs through clear phases: discovery, planning, setup, data migration, go-live, and post-launch support.
- The biggest risk to manage is downtime during busy season, which is why migrations are planned around your filing calendar.
- OneUp Networks provides migration support at no extra cost, so cost and complexity don’t have to stand in the way.
Why firms migrate off Thomson Reuters hosting
Most firms don’t move because they dislike their tax software — they move because of how and where it’s hosted. Three pressures come up most often.
Reliability during the hours that matter most. Independent monitoring service StatusGator has tracked Thomson Reuters’ Virtual Office CS / SaaS environment since 2022 and logged hundreds of reported incidents and disruptions. Thomson Reuters has also publicly confirmed past service interruptions, including a multi-day Virtual Office CS outage during tax season, and firms have openly reported the environment becoming slow or hard to reach at peak filing times. When a return is due and the platform is sluggish, that’s lost billable hours and stressed clients.
Recent Thomson Reuters changes. Upcoming changes to Thomson Reuters’ managed Microsoft 365 setup are prompting some firms to rethink their hosting. If that applies to you, it’s one more reason to plan a move on your own timeline — we cover the details separately in our guide on [why accounting firms are leaving Virtual Office CS].
Performance and control. Standardized, shared environments aren’t easy to tailor to a firm’s mix of applications, add-ons, and workflows. Firms growing past that want private, dedicated infrastructure and a support team that knows their setup.
If those reasons sound familiar, the good news is that moving is more straightforward than most firm owners expect.
A quick note: OneUp Networks is an independent cloud hosting provider and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Thomson Reuters. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
What you can migrate
You keep your own licensed Thomson Reuters software — a hosting partner runs your firm-owned applications; it does not sell or replace the software. A typical migration moves:
- UltraTax CS and the rest of the CS Professional Suite (Practice CS, Accounting CS, FileCabinet CS, Fixed Assets CS, Workpapers CS)
- QuickBooks (Desktop or Enterprise) and other accounting tools
- Microsoft 365 / Office applications, set up and managed for you
- Add-ons and add-ins your team relies on, brought into one environment
Everything lives together in a single hosted environment configured around your users and workflows — so your team isn’t bouncing between disconnected systems.
The migration process, step by step
A good migration is predictable. OneUp Networks follows a defined path so you always know what’s happening and what comes next.
Phase 0 — Paperwork. NDA, agreement, and basic documentation so your data is protected from the start.
Phase 1 — Discovery. A capture sheet and review of your current environment: which applications you run, how many users, your workflows, peak-season patterns, and any integrations. This is where the plan is shaped around how your firm actually works.
Phase 2 — Preparation. Final architecture and a written migration plan — what moves, in what order, and when — built to avoid disruption.
Phase 3 — Setup. Your private cluster and applications are configured, and your data is migrated into the new environment.
Phase 4 — Go-Live. User accounts, onboarding, and a short training walkthrough so your team is comfortable on day one.
Phase 5 — Hypercare. Hands-on support immediately after launch to resolve any questions quickly and stabilize the environment.
The result is a clear path with a known timeline — not a rushed weekend cutover and hope-for-the-best.
How to migrate without losing time during busy season
Downtime is the number-one worry, so it’s the first thing a good plan solves:
- Schedule around your calendar. Migrations are timed to avoid peak filing windows, and the actual cutover is planned for a low-impact window.
- Migrate, then verify. Data is moved and validated before users switch over, so you’re not working in a half-finished environment.
- Keep a safety net. Backups and a rollback position mean your data is protected throughout the move.
The goal is simple: your team logs in to the new environment and keeps working, with the heavy lifting handled behind the scenes.
Free migration support from OneUp Networks
Cost and effort shouldn’t be the reason a firm stays on a platform that’s holding it back. Virtual Office CS to OneUp Networks provides migration support at no extra cost — guiding the discovery, planning, setup, and data move, and coordinating directly with vendor support (including Thomson Reuters and Microsoft) when needed to resolve issues faster and reduce the load on your internal team.
Once you’re live, you’re on infrastructure built for accounting work:
- Performance: private dedicated servers with local NVMe SSD storage, DDR5 RAM, 3 GHz+ processors, high IOPS, and low latency for demanding UltraTax CS hosting and SQL-based workloads.
- Backups and disaster recovery: three backup copies across one onsite and two offsite locations, 120-day rolling retention aligned with Veeam recommendations, a built-in DR plan, and recovery objectives of roughly 2–4 hours (RPO) and 3–4 hours (RTO).
- Security: private dedicated servers, physical and software firewalls, enterprise-grade endpoint detection and response, MFA, encryption in transit, IDS/IPS, DDoS mitigation, and role-based access — in AICPA-approved data centers that support SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001, following IRS cybersecurity guidelines.
- Support: a managed team that knows your environment, instead of a general queue.
Pre-migration checklist
Before you move, have these ready:
- [ ] A list of every application and add-on your firm uses
- [ ] User count and who needs access
- [ ] Confirmation that your Thomson Reuters (and other software) licenses are current
- [ ] Your data locations and approximate data size
- [ ] Any integrations or custom workflows to preserve
- [ ] Your busy-season calendar, so the move is scheduled around it
- [ ] A point of contact on your side to approve the plan and go-live
A migration partner can help you complete this during the discovery phase with reason on why accounting firms are moving from Thomson Reuters — you don’t need to have it all figured out before you reach out.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on your application mix, user count, and data size, which is exactly what the discovery phase measures. Many firms complete the move on a predictable timeline planned around their calendar, with the user-facing cutover kept short.
No. You keep your own Thomson Reuters licenses. A hosting partner runs your firm-owned, licensed applications — it does not provide or replace the software.
OneUp Networks provides migration support at no extra cost, including planning, setup, and the data move. You’ll get a clear scope before anything begins.
Migrations are planned around your filing calendar and the cutover is scheduled for a low-impact window. Data is migrated and verified before users switch over, so the goal is minimal disruption.
No. Your applications run in the hosted environment and your team connects remotely, so there’s no need to install UltraTax CS or the rest of the CS Professional Suite on each machine. Users sign in and pick up where they left off.
Data is backed up before and during the migration, with a rollback position maintained, so your information is protected throughout.
Ready to plan your move?
Migrating from Thomson Reuters to OneUp Networks doesn’t have to mean risk or downtime. With a structured plan and free migration support, you can move your UltraTax CS and CS Professional Suite environment onto infrastructure built for accounting work — and have it handled for you.
Read Also:
