Inquiry Regarding Data Path Access Restriction for Outsourcing Purposes

[Akshat Jain]

We are an outsourced accounting/tax services firm working with one of your licensed Lacerte clients. We are reaching out to seek general guidance on a technical matter regarding data access management.

Issue: Our client would like to provide us access to only the tax returns that our firm is assigned to work on, without exposing their entire client list or tax database in Lacerte.

They are not in favor of manually password-protecting each return to manage access. Instead, we are exploring whether it's possible to set up a separate data path or folder in Lacerte, place only the assigned client files in that folder, and grant us access to that specific location.

We would appreciate it if you could confirm:

1. Whether creating a separate data path/folder is a supported and secure method for segregating client files.

2. Whether using such a method is common or recommended for managing limited access among internal teams or external collaborators.

3. Any best practices or potential concerns we should be aware of when implementing this setup.

Please note that we are not requesting any client-specific account information or support actions — only general confirmation on the technical feasibility of this approach within the Lacerte environment.

[PhoebeRoberts]

We're essentially all Lacerte users here - you probably want to call tech support.  Separate data paths work fine - that's how the DEMO files are handled.

[sjrcpa]

I have used separate data paths before.

Agree with Phoebe about contacting Tech Support for the rest of your questions. Persist until you find someone who understands what you are talking about.

[qbteachmt]

It isn't clear if they are self-hosting, cloud hosting, or networking.

I found a couple of articles that, if nothing else, will be helpful for terminology for your own search and for the help system. They look pretty current to me. I work with Lacerte SDK.

https://accountants.intuit.com/support/en-us/help-article/access-permissions/manage-users-lacerte/L5...

https://accountants.intuit.com/support/en-us/help-article/access-permissions/setting-trustee-rights-...