Best software for accounting firms, from tax prep to payments
The shortlist, by what your firm needs
Firmary publishes this site and makes Firmary, one of the products below. It’s labeled “Ours” wherever it appears.
Drake Tax
Best for tax practices that want published, per-year tax pricing
Financial Cents
Best for a solo bookkeeper on QuickBooks Online
Firmary Ours
Best for firms that want proposals, requests and invoices on one client record
Ours. A firm sends a proposal and keeps the accepted agreement with the engagement it starts, and invoice and payment status stay with the client record.8,9 Clients can answer a single request from an emailed link with a one-time code.10 Firmary is waitlist-only and doesn’t integrate with QuickBooks, Xero or tax software.11,12
Ignition
Best for firms that want a signed proposal to start the billing
Karbon
Best for teams that work from shared email and keep books in Xero or QuickBooks
QuickBooks Online Accountant
Best for firms whose clients keep their books in QuickBooks Online
TaxDome
Best for firms with many clients and few seats
TaxDome charges per active client and includes 20 seats, so adding staff up to that number doesn’t change the bill; inactive contacts cost nothing.20
Xero
Best for Xero partners at Silver level and above
Which practice management software runs the firm?
Practice management software holds your clients, jobs, deadlines and time. Choose it after your tax and ledger software, because it has to connect to both. For picks by firm type, see this shortlist of practice management software by firm type.
- Canopy charges per user, from $74 a month on annual billing, and sells a Tax Resolution add-on that pulls IRS transcripts and tracks notices.23,24
- Financial Cents starts at $19 a month for one user and syncs client records, invoices and payments with QuickBooks Online on every plan.5,7
- Firmary (ours) covers client requests and documents, forms, tasks, secure messaging, automations, proposals, e-signing, invoices and payments, and time tracking.25 It has no QuickBooks, Xero or tax-software links, and it’s waitlist-only with unpublished pricing.11,12,26
- Karbon is built around shared team email and syncs invoices to both QuickBooks Online Accountant and Xero, from $59 per user per month on annual billing.16,17,27,28
- TaxDome charges per active client, from $1,500 a year for 150 active clients and 20 seats, and reads prior-year returns from Drake, Lacerte, UltraTax, CCH Axcess and others.29,30
- Xero Partner Hub includes practice management (jobs, time and billing) free for Silver, Gold and Platinum Xero partners.21,31
Which tax software, and what does it cost?
Tax software is sold per tax year, and two of the five programs here don’t publish prices. All prices are as of 10 Nov 2026.
- CCH Axcess Tax (Wolters Kluwer). Prices aren’t published; packages are quoted. Its Essentials package is for firms with four or fewer users and covers up to 5 states.32,33
- Drake Tax. Drake Tax Pro, multi-user, is $3,145 per tax year at a discount that runs through 30 November, and $3,295 from 1 December.4 Pay-Per-Return is $379.99 a tax year including 10 individual returns.34
- Lacerte (Intuit). Pay-per-return starts with a $599 annual single-user license, with returns bought on top; bundle and unlimited prices aren’t published.35 Intuit Sign e-signatures with KBA come with every plan.36
- ProConnect Tax (Intuit). Bundles start at $2,478 a year for 1 user and 50 individual returns, at what Intuit labels current pricing that ends 1 March.37
- UltraTax CS (Thomson Reuters). Prices aren’t published; Thomson Reuters prices it by users, returns and states.38
Firmary isn’t in this layer. It doesn’t integrate with tax software, so returns stay in your tax program.12,39 Canopy, SmartVault and TaxDome each list links to several tax programs, and each link does a different job.30,40,41
What changed for firms on QuickBooks and Xero in 2026?
Your ledger usually follows your clients, because you work in the books they already keep.
- QuickBooks Online Accountant goes away on 31 December 2026, and Intuit says firms should move to Intuit Accountant Suite, with no data migration or switching costs.19 The suite’s Core plan is $0 a month. Accelerate is free to try and costs $149 a month from 20 January 2027, except for ProPartner firms at Premier tier and above.18,42
- Xero is free for new partners, Xero Partner Hub included.43 Partner Hub brings together Xero’s older practice tools, Xero Practice Manager and Xero HQ among them, and Xero said in July 2026 that it is live for all US partners.44,45 Practice Management inside it costs US$149 a month for up to 10 users unless you’re a Silver partner or above.21
Firmary isn’t in this layer either; it doesn’t sync with QuickBooks or Xero.12 If invoices and payments must sync with the ledger, Canopy, Ignition and Karbon list links to both, while Financial Cents and TaxDome list QuickBooks Online and not Xero.17,27,46–49
Do you need a separate document tool?
Check what your practice software already does with client files before you pay for a separate document tool. This hub covers two dedicated ones:
- ShareFile starts at $16.50 per user per month on annual billing, with a 3-user minimum.50 Request lists and e-signing with KBA start on Premium at $26.51,52
- SmartVault starts at $65 per user per month on annual billing and lists a direct integration with Lacerte, ProConnect and ProSeries.41,53
In Firmary, clients review requests, upload documents and complete forms in PocketFirm, which carries the firm’s name and logo, and uploads are virus-scanned before anyone can download them.54,55 Retention schedules aren’t among Firmary’s published features, so use it for the client side of documents and keep your long-term archive where it is.25 For retention, search and vendor security reports, compare the options in this guide to document management software for accountants.
Do you need a CRM, or just proposals that start billing?
In our view, a small firm needs proposals that the client signs, and that start billing, well before it needs a sales CRM. Canopy, Financial Cents, Karbon and TaxDome all include proposals and engagement letters.1,6,56,57
- Firmary lets a firm define its services, send a proposal and keep the accepted agreement with the engagement it starts.8
- HubSpot offers its free CRM for up to 2 users if you want a general sales tool.58
- Ignition is built for this job: branded proposals with engagement letters and e-signature, and automated billing and payment collection.13,14 It imports clients from ProConnect, UltraTax CS and CCH Axcess for tax engagement letters, and its deals pipeline is a paid add-on below the Pro+ plan.59,60
Whether a firm needs a separate CRM at all is the question this comparison of CRM options for accounting firms works through.
What do card and ACH payments cost in each tool?
Payments usually come with your practice software or proposal tool. Published rates as of 10 Nov 2026:
| Tool | Standard card | ACH |
|---|---|---|
| Canopy | 3.30% + $0.2061 | 1%, capped at $10 |
| Ignition | 2.5% + $0.3062 | 1% + $0.30, capped at $5, plus 0.3% on the part above $3,000 |
| Karbon | 2.6% + $0.3063 | 1% + $0.30, max $5.00 |
| TaxDome | 2.9% + $0.3064 | 1%, max $10 |
Financial Cents doesn’t publish processing rates on its pricing or billing pages.65 In Firmary, invoice details and payment status stay with the client record, and clients pay through Stripe.9 Firmary’s pricing, fees included, isn’t published.26
Say your firm collects $200,000 a year by standard card. At list rates as of 10 Nov 2026, 2.5% comes to $5,000 in percentage fees and 3.30% to $6,600, before any per-transaction charge.
Which AI features are live today?
Check each AI feature’s label before you plan work around it.
- Live now. Financial Cents runs three AI agents on client uploads on every plan, and an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini on Scale.66,67 Firmary staff can connect Claude as a custom connector. Claude acts as that staff member, and every change it makes is recorded in the firm’s audit log. ChatGPT support is in testing, and an administrator can turn AI access off for the whole firm.68–70 Karbon AI drafts client emails and summaries at no extra cost.71 TaxDome’s AI add-on is $200 a month for the whole team and includes its firm MCP server.72 Thomson Reuters sells CoCounsel Tax, an AI assistant for tax research, as a separate product alongside UltraTax CS.73
- In beta. Canopy Coworker is in open beta.74 Drake’s SmartExtract is a limited beta for selected Drake Tax Online customers.75 Intuit Intelligence chat is in beta in Intuit Accountant Suite, and Xero’s JAX is in beta in Partner Hub.76,77
- Coming or early access. Karbon’s Kai is in limited early access with a waitlist, Intuit labels AI month-end close as coming soon, and TaxDome lists Atlas as coming soon.76,78,79
- Status not stated. Wolters Kluwer describes AI return preparation in CCH Axcess Tax without saying whether it’s generally available or priced separately.80
Join the Firmary waitlist
If you’re choosing the practice-management layer and want proposals, client requests and invoices on one client record, Firmary’s waitlist is open. Your general ledger and tax software stay where they are.39
Firms join the Firmary waitlist and are emailed when they can join.
Sources
Each product fact on this page links to a numbered source. Quotes are copied as the page’s text reads on the date shown, spacing included.
- 1
Karbon
Team includes core workflow, email, collaboration, time and budgets, billing, payments, and Engagements.
- 2
TaxDome
Automatic invoices for ongoing engagements. ... Reduce A/R with a paywall until paid.
- 3
Drake Tax
Practice Essentials and Practice Essentials Plus are annual subscriptions that begin on the date of purchase and automatically renew each year. Subscriptions cannot be canceled, modified, or refunded during the active term.
- 4
Drake Tax
Multi-User $3,295 * $3,145 / Tax year 2026
- 5
Financial Cents
Solo ($19/mo annual) – Best for single-user firms. Team ($49/mo annual, $69/mo monthly) ... Scale ($69/mo annual, $89/mo monthly)
- 6
Financial Cents
Proposals & engagement letters
- 7
Financial Cents
Our two-way QuickBooks Online sync keeps your accounting data up to date by ensuring that client records, invoice statuses, and payment details are automatically reflected in both systems.
- 8
Firmary Ours
Firms define their services, send a proposal, and keep the accepted agreement with the engagement it starts.
- 9
Firmary Ours
Invoice details and payment status stay with the client record, with outstanding balances across clients. Clients pay invoices through Stripe.
- 10
Firmary Ours
Clients use PocketFirm in a web browser on a computer or phone and can add it to the home screen; no app install. For a single request, a client can answer from an emailed link after entering a one-time code, without signing in.
- 11
Firmary Ours
Firmary is pre-launch: firms join a waitlist and are emailed when they can join. There is no self-serve sign-up.
- 12
Firmary Ours
Firmary doesn’t integrate with accounting software (such as QuickBooks or Xero) or tax software.
- 13
Ignition
Branded online proposals Unlimited E-signatures per proposal Single … Engagement letters Automated engagement letters or contract terms Industry standard engagement terms template Customized engagement terms
- 14
Ignition
Automated invoice creation via ledger integration Import unpaid invoices from accounting software Flexible billing options Manual or automated billing Bill for out of scope work Send one-off invoices
- 15
Ignition
$229/month(billed annually) Save % (billed annually) Save 18% [Start free trial](https://go.ignitionapp.com/sign-up) Clients Active clients with signed agreements 350 Cost per additional active client (over plan inclusion) +$3 Users User accounts 15
- 16
Karbon
Share, assign and comment on emails across your team.
- 17
Karbon
Karbon invoices will be synced to Xero, and payments collected from either system will be auto-synced with the other.
- 18
QuickBooks Online Accountant
Core Centralized firm operations, workflows, and service delivery. $0/mo
- 19
QuickBooks Online Accountant
QuickBooks Online Accountant is going away December 31, 2026. Get ahead and transition to Intuit Accountant Suite—no data migration, no switching costs, no starting over.
- 20
TaxDome
An active client is a client with any activity in the past 12 months, such as logging in, uploading documents, sending messages, or receiving an invoice. Contacts without activity cost nothing.
- 21
Xero
It’s included free for practices at Silver, Gold or Platinum level. If you’re new to Xero or at Bronze level, you can try it free for 14 days, then subscribe for USD $149 per month for up to 10 users.
- 22
Xero
Record time by duration or start and stop, then convert it into progress or final invoices automatically.
- 23
Canopy
Standard $74 user/month ... Plus $109 user/month
- 24
Canopy
20 years of transcripts, quick and easy
- 25
Firmary Ours
Firmary covers client requests and documents, forms, tasks, secure messaging, automations, proposals, e-signing, invoices and payments, and time tracking, with PocketFirm as the client side.
- 26
Firmary Ours
Firmary’s pricing isn’t published.
- 27
Karbon
Two-way contact sync ... Automatic one-way invoice sync
- 28
Karbon
Team$59/month, per user, paid annually Or $79/month per user, paid monthly ... Business$89/month, per user, paid annually Or $99/month per user, paid monthly
- 29
TaxDome
Pricing starts at 150 active clients, which is $1,500 a year, or about $0.83 per client a month. That minimum applies even if you have fewer than 150 active clients.
- 30
TaxDome
Works with Drake, ProSeries, UltraTax, ATX, CCH Axcess, and Lacerte.
- 31
Xero
Practice Management includes job tracking, task assignment, staff scheduling, time entry and invoicing, work in progress reporting, and customizable job templates and workflows.
- 32
CCH Axcess Tax
Please note: CCH Axcess™Tax packages available on the eStore are intended for new customers only. These packages are not eligible for purchase by existing CCH Axcess or ProSystem fx® Tax customers.
- 33
CCH Axcess Tax
For firms with four or fewer users, CCH Axcess Essentials* offers comprehensive compliance for core tax workflows.
- 34
Drake Tax
Additional returns can be purchased individually: $49.99 per individual return and $74.99 per business return.
- 35
Lacerte
Pay-per-return pricing: An annual license fee (Fast Path) is required to purchase returns on a per-return basis. If purchasing a bundle, this fee is included.
- 36
Lacerte
Digital signatures and KBAs for all tax clients
- 37
ProConnect Tax
ProConnect Plus For growing firms managing individual and business returns that need more capacity and alignment. starting at $8,802 $5,868per year+ applicable taxes 2 users 200 individual returns, all states included
- 38
UltraTax CS
Custom pricing for UltraTax CS is available based on the number of users, tax returns, and states and jurisdictions of operations.
- 39
Firmary Ours
Firmary replaces the separate tools around client work (portal logins, emailed document requests, intake forms, task lists, message threads, proposals, e-signing and invoicing); the general ledger and tax software stay where they are.
- 40
Canopy
CCH Axcess (Coming Soon) ... Intuit Proconnect (Coming Soon) ... Save files from Drake Tax to Canopy.
- 41
SmartVault
Thomson Reuters UltraTax CS Configurable integration DrakeTax Configurable integration Wolters Kluwer CCH Configurable integration
- 42
QuickBooks Online Accountant
*$149/mo starting on January 20, 2027. Remains free for ProPartner Accountants at the Premier tier and above.
- 43
Xero
All new partners can use Xero and Xero Partner Hub for free, with more products added at higher status levels.
- 44
Xero
From November we will be offering partners using Xero Practice Manager the opportunity to opt in for early access to Xero Partner Hub. All other practices, including those only using Xero HQ, will make the move in early 2026.
- 45
Xero
Following rollout in the UK earlier in the year, Xero Partner Hub is now live for all partners in the US, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa and Canada ... if you use Xero Practice Management tools, then Jobs, Time and Billing are there too.
- 46
Canopy
Sync Canopy and QBO information, including classes, categories, locations, contacts, invoices, and service items. ... Send invoices and accept payments with Xero by syncing your Canopy contacts.
- 47
Ignition
Streamline your workflow with Ignition + QuickBooks: Turn invoices into proposals and automate invoicing and reconciliation.
- 48
Financial Cents
Import clients, link employees, and sync time logs effortlessly with QuickBooks Online.
- 49
TaxDome
QuickBooks Online
- 50
ShareFile
Advanced Secure File Sharing for Teams $18.15 $16.50 $18.15 Per user/month Minimum of 3 users
- 51
ShareFile
Premium End-to-End Document Workflows for Teams and Clients $28.59 $26.00 $28.59 Per user/month Minimum of 3 users
- 52
ShareFile
Use included KBA on e-signature documents to verify the identity of clients.
- 53
SmartVault
Accounting Pro … $65 per user / month, billed annually 2 user minimum … $85 per user / month, billed monthly 2 user minimum
- 54
Firmary Ours
Clients review requests, upload documents, complete forms and message the firm in PocketFirm, which carries the firm’s name and logo.
- 55
Firmary Ours
Every upload is virus-scanned before anyone can open it and infected files are quarantined; each firm’s data is kept separate; access follows staff roles and client assignments; sensitive actions are recorded in an audit log; owners and admins must use multi-factor sign-in.
- 56
Canopy
Auto-generate tasks and invoices when engagements are signed or completed to reduce manual work.
- 57
TaxDome
Proposals and engagement letters ... Up to 3 tiers for clients to pick from.
- 58
HubSpot
Free for up to 2 users. No credit card required.
- 59
Ignition
Boost efficiency with Ignition + ProConnect: Import clients by return type, send bulk proposals, tailor tax engagements, and automate payments.
- 60
Ignition
Create and track leads, send proposals, and close deals - all in one place.
- 61
Canopy
Standard Cards 3.30% + $0.20 ... ACH Payments 1% (cap $10)
- 62
Ignition
ACH Payments An additional fee of 0.3% applies to payments above $3,000 … | 1% + $0.30 ($5.00 max) |
- 63
Karbon
Standard Cards Most standard Visa/Mastercard credit and debit cards 2.6% + $0.30 ... ACH Direct Debit 1% + $0.30 (max $5.00)
- 64
TaxDome (help)
Cards & wallets: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction ... ACH debit: 1% per transaction (maximum $10)
- 65
Financial Cents
clients can pay however they prefer, thanks to our flexible payment options, including card and ACH payments.
- 66
Financial Cents
The agents are available on every Financial Cents plan, and your firm decides whether each one acts automatically or waits for approval.
- 67
Financial Cents
Available on the Financial Cents Scale plan.
- 68
Firmary Ours
Staff can connect Claude to Firmary today as a custom connector. It acts as the staff member, within their permissions and the firm’s AI rules; Claude asks before running a change unless the staff member has set that tool to always allow, and every change made through Claude is recorded in the firm’s audit log.
- 69
Firmary Ours
ChatGPT support is in testing (not live).
- 70
Firmary Ours
AI is optional: the team can do all its work directly in Firmary, and an administrator can turn AI access off, allow only certain apps, or limit each connection.
- 71
Karbon
Karbon AI is currently available to all Karbon customers at no additional cost.
- 72
TaxDome
Available for $200 per month.
- 73
UltraTax CS
Transform your tax practice with CoCounsel Tax, an AI-powered assistant that combines trustworthy answers, automation, and firm knowledge into one seamless platform.
- 74
Canopy
AI coworker that plans, does, and checks work across Canopy. Monthly AI credits per user. Add more as your needs grow.
- 75
Drake Tax
Assistant — Drake Tax® and Drake Tax Online™ (diagnostics and suggested next steps) Document classification — Drake Portals®
- 76
QuickBooks Online Accountant
Agentic Books Close will be $0/client per month during beta. A paid add-on will be required post-beta to continue access.
- 77
Xero
JAX is Xero’s AI finance partner, available in beta in Xero Partner Hub.
- 78
Karbon
Kai is available to Karbon customers now in limited early access with the list of capabilities growing each week. You can join the waitlist
- 79
TaxDome
AI intake is included in every plan, and Atlas is coming soon.
- 80
CCH Axcess Tax
Agentic return preparation is an Expert AI capability within CCH Axcess Tax that helps firms prepare returns using client documents, prior-year information, and established workflows while keeping tax professionals in control of review and approval.