# How to build your accounting firm's software stack

Source: https://bestsoftwareforaccountingfirms.pages.dev/buyers-guide/

> Firmary publishes this site and makes Firmary, one of the products below. It's labeled "Ours" wherever it appears.

This guide sets the order to choose tools in, shows where they overlap so you don't pay twice, prices a sample stack at list, and lists the price changes already announced.

## Choose in this order: ledger and tax first

Your ledger and tax software hold the data everything else refers to, and they're the hardest to change in the middle of a year. Choose them first, then pick a practice tool that connects to both.

1. **Ledger.** Follow your clients' books. If most are on QuickBooks Online, Intuit Accountant Suite is the firm workspace; if most are on Xero, Xero Partner Hub is.[^1][^2]
2. **Tax.** Count last season's returns by type, then price per return or per license. Drake and ProConnect publish prices, Lacerte publishes its entry license, and UltraTax CS and CCH Axcess Tax quote.[^3][^4][^5][^6][^7]
3. **Practice management.** Shortlist only tools that link to the ledger and the tax program you just chose, using the criteria below.
4. **Everything else.** Add a document, proposal or payment tool only for a job your practice tool doesn't do.

## What integration means on each vendor's page

The word integration covers very different links, so ask which kind you're getting:

- Canopy saves files from UltraTax, Drake Tax, Lacerte and ProSeries.[^8]
- TaxDome reads last year's return to build the document checklist.[^9]
- Karbon turns ProConnect returns into work items and syncs return statuses, and lists no other tax program.[^10]
- Financial Cents reaches tax software files through Google Drive, on its Scale plan.[^11]

Ledger links vary just as much. Karbon syncs contacts both ways with QuickBooks Online Accountant but sends invoices one way, while its Xero link syncs payments in both directions.[^12][^13] TaxDome sends its payments and invoices to QuickBooks Online.[^14]

E-signing is a common overlap. ProConnect and Lacerte include KBA e-signatures, and so does TaxDome, so a TaxDome firm on ProConnect has KBA in two places.[^15][^16][^17] Drake charges per signing event and needs a Drake Portals subscription.[^18] Decide which tool sends your 8879s and stop paying for the other.

For AI, read the status label: live, beta, early access or coming soon. The AI section on the home page sorts them as of 10 Nov 2026.

## A sample stack priced at list

Say a 6-person firm has 400 active clients, two staff who prepare 200 individual returns on ProConnect, clients' books in QuickBooks Online, and a signed proposal for every client. Annual list prices as of 10 Nov 2026:

| Job | Option A | Option B |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger workspace | Intuit Accountant Suite Core, $0[^19] | Same, $0 |
| Tax prep | ProConnect Plus, 2 users and 200 returns, $5,868[^20] | Same, $5,868 |
| Practice management | Karbon Team, 6 users at $59 a month, $4,248[^21] | TaxDome, 400 active clients, $4,125[^22] |
| Proposals | Ignition Pro, $229 a month plus 50 clients over its 350 at $3, $4,548[^23] | Included in TaxDome[^24] |
| Total | $14,664 | $9,993 |

Karbon includes engagements and branded engagement letters on every plan, so Option A may not need Ignition at all.[^25] Without it, Option A comes to $10,116. Check your own practice tool for the same overlap before you add a proposal tool.

Per-user and per-client pricing land close together for this firm. Add two staff and Karbon rises by $1,416 a year while TaxDome doesn't move, because 20 seats are included.[^26] Two of these prices carry dates: ProConnect's bundles are labeled current pricing ending 1 March, and Intuit Accountant Suite's Accelerate plan starts charging on 20 January 2027.[^20][^27]

## Price and product dates to put in your calendar

| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| 30 Nov 2026 | Drake's discount ends. From 1 December, Drake Tax Pro multi-user goes from $3,145 to $3,295 and Drake Tax 1040 from $2,325 to $2,445.[^28][^29] |
| 31 Dec 2026 | QuickBooks Online Accountant goes away; Intuit moves firms to Intuit Accountant Suite.[^1] |
| From 1 Jan 2027 | Existing TaxDome firms move from per-seat to per-client pricing at their first renewal.[^30] |
| 20 Jan 2027 | Intuit Accountant Suite Accelerate becomes $149 a month.[^27] |
| 1 March | ProConnect's listed current pricing ends.[^20] |

Already done: Xero said in July 2026 that Xero Partner Hub is live for all US partners.[^2][^31]

## Switching cost and getting your data out

- **Tax software.** Drake includes data conversion from most competitor tax software.[^32] ProConnect sells data migration and onboarding as professional services.[^33] New Lacerte customers have five business days to ask for a refund.[^34]
- **Ledger.** Intuit says the move from QuickBooks Online Accountant to Intuit Accountant Suite needs no data migration.[^1]
- **Practice management.** TaxDome says most firms take 6 to 8 weeks to implement.[^35] Karbon's guided implementation is a paid one-time fee, and it lists data export as Standard on Team and Business.[^36][^37] Canopy's self-guided setup is $199, refunded if you hit six milestones within 60 days.[^38] Firmary imports clients, tasks and time entries from CSV, but documents, messages, engagements and billing history aren't imported.[^39] A Firmary owner can export the whole firm as a ZIP of CSV files and documents.[^40]
- **Contracts.** Financial Cents plans are 12-month agreements, and Drake's practice bundles can't be canceled mid-term.[^41][^42]

Schedule any practice-management move outside tax season. Before you sign, export one client's full record from each tool you're leaving and check what's missing.

## Letting staff use their own AI assistant

If staff already paste client questions into Claude or ChatGPT, a sanctioned connection to firm data is safer than copy and paste. An MCP server isn't listed on Canopy's API, Coworker or pricing pages.[^43] Financial Cents' MCP server works with Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini on its Scale plan.[^44] Firmary connects to Claude as a custom connector, and its ChatGPT support is in testing. An administrator can limit what each connection can reach and do.[^45][^46][^47] HubSpot offers a remote MCP server for its CRM data.[^48] Karbon announced a public MCP server on 3 Jun 2026 without saying when it would be available.[^49] TaxDome's firm MCP server and API require its $200-a-month AI add-on.[^50]

## Questions to ask in a demo

1. Which tax programs do you integrate with, and what exactly moves between them?
2. Does the QuickBooks or Xero sync run one way or both ways, and for which records?
3. Show me a client signing Form 8879 with KBA. What does each signature cost us?
4. What counts as a user, a seat or an active client on your pricing?
5. Which of your prices have an end date, and what do they become afterwards?
6. Which features you showed us today are in beta or early access?
7. What does migration help cost, and how long do firms our size take?
8. Show me a full export of one client. What format is it, and what's left behind?
9. Can staff connect Claude or ChatGPT to our data, and on which plan?
10. How long is the contract, and can we cancel mid-term?

## A checklist to print

- [ ] Ledger workspace chosen to match most clients' books
- [ ] Last season's returns counted by type
- [ ] Practice tool links to our ledger and tax program, seen in a demo
- [ ] Each job assigned to one tool, overlaps crossed out
- [ ] Whole-stack cost at list price, per year
- [ ] Processing fees compared on last year's collections
- [ ] One tool chosen to send 8879s with KBA
- [ ] Dated prices listed with their end dates
- [ ] Beta and coming-soon features left out of the decision
- [ ] Contract length and cancellation terms in writing
- [ ] Test export from each current tool opened
- [ ] Migration scheduled outside tax season

[^1]: 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." https://quickbooks.intuit.com/accountants/intuit-accountant-suite/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^2]: 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." https://blog.xero.com/us/product-updates/xero-partner-hub-rolls-out-more-regions/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^3]: Drake Tax, "Additional returns can be purchased individually: $49.99 per individual return and $74.99 per business return." https://www.drakesoftware.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^4]: ProConnect Tax, "Individual returns $109.95 $93.46 each Business returns $129.95 $110.46 each … + $210 per User Access license ($2,100 flat for 10+ users)" https://accountants.intuit.com/tax-software/tax-online/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^5]: 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." https://accountants.intuit.com/tax-software/lacerte/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^6]: UltraTax CS, "Custom pricing for UltraTax CS is available based on the number of users, tax returns, and states and jurisdictions of operations." https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/ultratax-cs (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^7]: 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." https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/cch-axcess/tax/packages (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^8]: Canopy, "CCH Axcess (Coming Soon) ... Intuit Proconnect (Coming Soon) ... Save files from Drake Tax to Canopy." https://www.getcanopy.com/integrations/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^9]: TaxDome, "Works with Drake, ProSeries, UltraTax, ATX, CCH Axcess, and Lacerte." https://taxdome.com/taxdome-ai (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^10]: Karbon, "tax returns in ProConnect become repeating work items in Karbon, and tax return statuses become filterable work statuses" https://karbonhq.com/integrations/intuit-proconnect/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^11]: Financial Cents, "Tax Integrations: Drake, UltraTax, ProConnect, ProSeries, CCH Axcess" https://financial-cents.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^12]: Karbon, "Two-way contact sync ... Automatic one-way invoice sync" https://karbonhq.com/integrations/intuit-quickbooks-online-accountant/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^13]: Karbon, "Karbon invoices will be synced to Xero, and payments collected from either system will be auto-synced with the other." https://karbonhq.com/integrations/xero/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^14]: TaxDome, "Automatically sync all payments and invoices created in TaxDome with your QuickBooks Online account." https://taxdome.com/quickbooks (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^15]: ProConnect Tax, "Unlimited digital signatures and authentication included, no additional purchase." https://accountants.intuit.com/tax-software/tax-online/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^16]: Lacerte, "Digital signatures and KBAs for all tax clients" https://accountants.intuit.com/tax-software/lacerte/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^17]: TaxDome, "Unlimited e-signatures ... IRS-compliant signature requests with KBA." https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^18]: Drake Tax, "KBA E-Signatures Identity-verified signing Events Cost Per Event 0-99 $2.50 100-499 $2.25 SAVE 10% 500+ $1.75 SAVE 30% Minimum purchase: 5 E-Sign events" https://www.drakesoftware.com/products/drake-e-sign/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^19]: QuickBooks Online Accountant, "Core Centralized firm operations, workflows, and service delivery. $0/mo" https://quickbooks.intuit.com/accountants/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^20]: 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" https://accountants.intuit.com/tax-software/tax-online/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^21]: 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" https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^22]: TaxDome, "Clients beyond 150 are priced in volume bands, from $15 each on their own down to $5 each in the largest band. ... 400 active clients: $4,125 per year ($0.86 per client a month)" https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^23]: 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" https://www.ignitionapp.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^24]: TaxDome, "Proposals and engagement letters ... Up to 3 tiers for clients to pick from." https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^25]: Karbon, "Team includes core workflow, email, collaboration, time and budgets, billing, payments, and Engagements." https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^26]: 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." https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^27]: QuickBooks Online Accountant, "*$149/mo starting on January 20, 2027. Remains free for ProPartner Accountants at the Premier tier and above." https://quickbooks.intuit.com/accountants/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^28]: Drake Tax, "Multi-User $3,295 * $3,145 / Tax year 2026" https://www.drakesoftware.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^29]: Drake Tax, "Multi-User $2,445 * $2,325 / Tax year 2026" https://www.drakesoftware.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^30]: TaxDome, "Firms that signed up before Nov. 2, 2026 can still pay per seat, based on plan tier, and their plan and price stay the same until the first renewal on or after Jan. 1, 2027." https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/taxdome-switches-from-per-seat-to-per-client-pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^31]: 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." https://blog.xero.com/product-updates/xero-partner-hub/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^32]: Drake Tax, "Data conversion from most competitor software" https://www.drakesoftware.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^33]: ProConnect Tax, "Data migration and personalized onboarding guide you through transferring prior-year data seamlessly." https://accountants.intuit.com/tax-software/tax-online/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^34]: Lacerte, "you may request a refund within five (5) business days of the software release date for the tax year purchased or your payment date, whichever is later. No other refund requests shall be honored." https://accountants.intuit.com/tax-software/lacerte/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^35]: TaxDome, "Most firms complete TaxDome implementation in 6–8 weeks." https://taxdome.com/migration-guidance (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^36]: Karbon, "guided implementation is an optional paid service led by a specialist. Its one-time fee depends on your firm's size and scope" https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^37]: Karbon, "Data Import Self-Service Assisted Fully Managed Data Export Standard Standard Custom" https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^38]: Canopy, "Self-guided implementation costs $199 dollars. You receive a full refund when you complete six setup milestones within 60 days." https://www.getcanopy.com/implementation/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^39]: Firmary, "You can import clients, tasks, and time entries from CSV files. ... Importing clients doesn't invite them. Documents, messages, engagements, and billing history aren't imported." https://firmary.app/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^40]: Firmary, "Staff with the matching permission can export clients, client contacts, tasks, time entries, aged receivables, and the audit log as CSV files, and download documents as a ZIP file. A firm owner can export the whole firm as a ZIP file of CSV files and documents." https://firmary.app/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^41]: Financial Cents, "All plans are a 12-month agreement. ... Minimum 5 users required for monthly billing." https://financial-cents.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^42]: 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." https://www.drakesoftware.com/bundles/practice-essentials/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^43]: Canopy, "Access Canopy’s API to sync data and build custom integrations tailored to your firm." https://www.getcanopy.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^44]: Financial Cents, "Available on the Financial Cents Scale plan." https://financial-cents.com/mcp/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^45]: Firmary, "In Claude, open Customize → Connectors and choose Add custom connector (Firmary isn’t in Claude’s directory yet) ... Claude only ever acts as you. ... Claude asks you to confirm before it runs, unless you’ve set that tool to always allow. ... Every change made through Claude is recorded in your firm’s audit log." https://firmary.app/claude/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^46]: Firmary, "Claude connects today as a custom connector; ChatGPT support is in testing." https://firmary.app/llms.txt (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^47]: Firmary, "No. Your team can do all of its work directly in Firmary. An administrator can turn off AI assistant access for the whole firm, allow only certain apps, or limit what each connection can reach and do." https://firmary.app/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^48]: HubSpot, "The **HubSpot MCP server** enables you to give any MCP-compatible AI tool or agent secure read and write access to your HubSpot CRM data — contacts, deals, engagements, and more." https://developers.hubspot.com/ai-tools/mcp (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^49]: Karbon, "Public MCP server: Connects Karbon to external AI tools via an open standard" https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/06/03/karbon-introduces-ai-coworker-kai/184484/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^50]: TaxDome, "Yes, with the TaxDome AI add-on. The open Model Context Protocol (MCP) connector lets your AI tool read and act on TaxDome data directly." https://taxdome.com/taxdome-ai (checked 10 Nov 2026)