For CPA, tax and bookkeeping firms
Stop chasing the same clients for 1099s every January.
The organizers went out in December, and half the K-1s and bank statements still aren't in. We connect Karbon, TaxDome or Canopy to your portal and QuickBooks Online so reminders name exactly what's missing, uploads file themselves, and partners can see which returns are stuck. We usually build and test between seasons, so nothing new lands on your desk in March.
Example workflow · Sheet AC-01
Sound familiar?
Where a firm's season goes sideways.
Each of these eats staff hours in exactly the months when there are none to spare.
- Staff email the same clients for the same W-2s, 1099s and bank statements, one message at a time.
- A new client gets set up four times: proposal tool, practice management, portal and QuickBooks.
- The month-end close checklist is a spreadsheet copied per client that drifts a little every month.
- Partners open job after job to learn which returns are waiting on a client.
What we build
Season by season, job by job.
Automations collect, remind, file and report. Preparers and reviewers keep every judgment call, and every workflow alerts a named person on your staff if it fails.
| Job | Today | After |
|---|---|---|
| Document chase | Reminder emails typed client by client | Scheduled reminders list the exact items still missing and stop once they arrive |
| Onboarding | Client keyed into four systems after the proposal is signed | A signed Ignition proposal creates the client, portal invite, folders and recurring work |
| Monthly close | Checklist spreadsheet copied every month | Recurring close tasks per client in Karbon or Financial Cents, with uncategorized transactions sent to the client as questions |
| 8879s | Tracked in a spreadsheet and chased by phone | Sent for e-signature, and the job moves to ready to file when the client signs |
| Partner view | Every job opened to see what's stuck | One dashboard of returns by status, days waiting on the client and WIP by preparer |
| Client portal | A vendor portal clients can't find their way around | A custom upload and status portal built around your own checklist, where the off-the-shelf one falls short |
Typical prices for accounting firms
Know the number before we start.
These are our published ranges. The audit fee is credited toward the project.
We map onboarding, the document chase and close, then price each fix in writing. The fee is credited toward the build.
One job, such as missing-document reminders out of TaxDome. Live in one to two weeks.
Practice management, portal, proposal tool and QuickBooks Online or Xero sharing one client list.
Returns by status, days waiting on the client, WIP and realization.
Accounting & bookkeeping firms FAQ
What firm owners ask before tax season.
Will you change anything during busy season?
Not unless you ask. We plan builds and testing for your slower months and leave your systems alone while you're filing. Your current process keeps running until your team is comfortable with the new one.
If something we built breaks mid-season because a vendor changed their app, we fix it: small fixes are covered on a Care plan, and anything bigger gets a written quote.
Can you make our firm compliant with the FTC Safeguards Rule?
No, and be careful with anyone who says they can. The Safeguards program is your firm's, run by your qualified individual and written into your WISP, often with help from your MSP. IRS Publication 4557 is the usual guide. We don't write or certify a WISP.
What we do is build inside the plan you already have. We sign the service-provider terms your plan calls for, connect systems through their own APIs with the least access each step needs, keep no taxpayer files on our machines, and give your MSP a written description of every data flow for your records.
Where does our clients' tax data go?
It stays in the systems you already use. We sign an NDA and a master services agreement, we carry professional and cyber liability insurance with $1 million in coverage, and when the project ends we turn our access off. You decide whether any new vendor, including an AI tool, ever sees return information, and Section 7216 consent questions go to your own advisers, not to us.
Can Karbon or TaxDome integrate with QuickBooks Online?
Usually, yes. TaxDome has a built-in QuickBooks Online connection for billing, and Karbon has a public API we can build on. Canopy and Financial Cents each offer a different mix of built-in connectors, Zapier apps and API access. We check exactly what your plan allows during the audit, before you pay for a build, and if a ready-made connector already solves it we'll tell you.
How much does automation for an accounting firm cost?
Most firms start with one quick win at $750–$1,500. Connecting practice management, your portal and the ledger is $2,500–$7,500, and off-season upkeep on a Care plan is $1,000/month.
We also take on larger builds for firms that have outgrown their tools: a custom client portal at $5,000–$15,000, or a platform that replaces licensed software across several systems at $15,000–$40,000+. Those are delivered in gated stages, scheduled around your seasons.
A note from Dean
My ITIL 4 training comes down to something every tax partner already knows: don't change a system people depend on at its busiest hour. I've shipped production software since 2020, including a claims service that formats IRS e-file records ahead of tax season, with secure storage and an audit trail. I'd rather wire up the Karbon or TaxDome account you already pay for than sell you another platform. You'll talk to me, and I'll tell you before the season starts whether a fix is ready or should wait a year.
Dean Whitten
Start here
Tell us which document you chase every January.
You'll hear back within two business days with a useful next step, even if that step is a setting you haven't turned on yet. Rather call or text? (478) 954-7760