# Choosing tax practice management software before the season

Source: https://besttaxpracticemanagementsoftware.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 is for owners of small tax and CPA practices choosing software before the next filing season. It covers the five jobs the season tests, what each tool's tax software link does, what a seasonal practice pays under each pricing model, and how to switch in time. Firmary publishes it and makes one of the tools in it; Firmary doesn't integrate with tax software[^1] and organizers aren't among its published features,[^2] which the guide notes where it matters.

## Five jobs every tax season tests

**Organizers out.** The useful organizer starts from last year's return, so each client sees only the documents they sent last time. TaxDome builds an intake checklist from the prior-year return on every plan.[^3] Liscio reads the prior-year Form 1040, for individual returns only this season.[^4] Drake Portals builds checklists from prior-year data,[^5] and Karbon gets personalized organizers through StanfordTax.[^6] Canopy's AI-generated intake uses per-client credits.[^7]

**Documents in.** Look for a checklist that knows what's still missing and reminders that stop on their own when the client uploads. Test it on a phone. If collection is the part of your season that breaks, a separate comparison of [document collection tools for accountants](https://bestdocumentmanagementsoftwareforaccountants.pages.dev/) goes deeper than this guide.

**8879s signed with KBA.** Count the signers, not the returns: a joint return has two. KBA is included in TaxDome's plan.[^8] Elsewhere it's charged per use: Canopy at $1.25 per credit,[^9] Karbon at two credits per request,[^10] Liscio at $2 per signer[^11] and Drake at $2.50 down to $1.75 per signing.[^12] Soraban's Deliver page doesn't mention KBA.[^13]

**Return status.** On April 1 you want one list showing every return's stage without asking anyone. Drake Workflow updates statuses from activity across Drake tools,[^14] Karbon syncs ProConnect return statuses,[^15] and Soraban shows delivered returns as sent, opened, signed or paid.[^16]

**The tax software hand-off.** Read the next section before you take "integrates with" at face value.

## What each tax software link does

From each vendor's own pages, as of 10 Nov 2026, in alphabetical order.

| Tool | What the link does | Tax software named |
|---|---|---|
| Canopy | Saves files from the tax software; return-status links coming soon[^17] | UltraTax CS, Drake Tax, Lacerte, ProSeries; CCH Axcess and ProConnect Tax coming soon |
| Drake Tax | Connects Drake's own products[^18] | Drake Tax, Drake Tax Online |
| Firmary (ours) | None[^1] | None |
| Karbon | Turns returns into work items and syncs statuses[^15] | ProConnect Tax |
| Liscio | Reads the return PDF; no integration[^19] | Any that produces a computer-generated return PDF |
| Soraban | Posts extracted document data into the return[^20] | UltraTax CS, Lacerte, Drake Tax, CCH Axcess; ProConnect Tax coming soon |
| TaxDome | Reads the prior-year return; takes back finished returns[^21] | Drake Tax, ProSeries, UltraTax CS, ATX, CCH Axcess, Lacerte; any that can print |

These are four different kinds of help: reading last year's return saves organizer setup, posting extracted data saves keying, syncing status saves asking around, and saving files saves filing them by hand. In our view, decide which of the four costs your team the most hours in March, and weigh the link that saves those hours above the rest of the feature list.

## Per active client or per user, for a seasonal practice

Say a practice with an owner, two preparers and an admin files 400 individual returns a year, and adds two seasonal preparers from January to April. Each of the 400 clients counts as active. Here is the yearly cost at list price, as of 10 Nov 2026, using annual billing. These figures are examples, and the arithmetic is ours.

| Tool and plan | How it's charged | 4 seats | 6 seats, seasonal staff included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canopy Standard | $74 per user per month[^22] | $3,552 | $5,328 |
| Karbon Team | $59 per user per month[^23] | $2,832 | $4,248 |
| Karbon Business, with automatic client reminders | $89 per user per month[^23][^24] | $4,272 | $6,408 |
| Liscio Platform with 400 organizers and 400 deliveries | $49 per user per month, plus 800 items at $4.50[^25][^26] | $5,952 | $7,128 |
| TaxDome | Per active client; TaxDome's own example puts 400 at $4,125 a year[^27] | $4,125 | $4,125 |

Then add KBA for 400 signers:

- TaxDome: included.[^8]
- Canopy: $1.25 per credit; ask how many credits one signing uses.[^9]
- Karbon: 800 credits at two per request, assuming one request per signer, or $800 if bought as eight 100-credit bundles.[^10]
- Liscio: $800 at $2 per signer.[^11]

Drake prices differently. A Drake Tax practice pays $599 a year for Practice Essentials, which includes 50 KBA signatures;[^28] the other 350 KBA signings cost $787.50 at the $2.25 rate for 100 to 499 events.[^12] Soraban publishes no price to compare.[^29]

What the numbers say, in our view:

- Per-active-client pricing ignores seats. TaxDome costs the same whether the two seasonal preparers get logins or not, because 20 seats are included.[^30]
- Per-user pricing costs less when the team is small for its client list. At 4 seats, Karbon Team and Canopy Standard cost less than TaxDome before KBA.[^23][^22][^27]
- Annual per-user billing charges for seasonal seats all year. Karbon credits unused license time when you archive a user but has no seasonal rate.[^31]
- Count active clients honestly. TaxDome counts each client account separately, so a client with a personal and a partnership return counts twice.[^32]

## Switching before season, and getting your data out

In our view, a practice tool adopted in February runs that season badly. Work back from the week your organizers go out.

**What the vendors say about setup, as of 10 Nov 2026:**

- Canopy's self-guided implementation costs $199, refunded if six setup milestones are done within 60 days.[^33]
- Drake Tax includes data conversion from most other tax software.[^34]
- Karbon offers free group onboarding sessions; guided implementation is a paid one-time fee.[^35]
- Liscio says most FileCabinet CS migrations take 1 to 2 weeks, for a flat fee from $2,000.[^36]
- TaxDome puts most firms' implementation at 6 to 8 weeks.[^37]

At TaxDome's stated pace, a firm that wants organizers out in early January should start by early November.

**What comes out if you leave:**

- Canopy's help center describes exporting the client list as CSV; a full-firm or document export isn't described in that article.[^38]
- Firmary exports clients, contacts, tasks, time entries, aged receivables and the audit log as CSV, documents as a ZIP, and the whole firm for an owner.[^39]
- Karbon's Team and Business plans list a standard data export.[^40]
- TaxDome exports accounts, contacts, jobs, organizers, invoices and time entries as zipped CSV files, with documents copied out folder by folder.[^41]

We didn't find export descriptions for Drake Portals, Liscio or Soraban on the pages we checked, so ask each for one in writing. Signed 8879s have their own retention rules, so confirm that signed forms and their audit trails come out with the documents.

## Questions to ask in a demo

1. Build an organizer for one of our returning clients from last year's return while we watch.
2. Which tax software do you read from or write to, and what moves: prior-year data, return PDFs, statuses or extracted figures?
3. Walk through an 8879 with KBA for a married couple filing jointly. How many KBA charges is that?
4. What does a client see on a phone when three documents are still missing, and when do reminders stop?
5. Show us every return's status on one screen. Which statuses change without someone updating them?
6. We add two preparers from January to April. What do we pay for them, and for how many months?
7. How do you count an active client? Does a client who only received an invoice count?
8. How are finished returns delivered, and can the client sign and pay from the same link?
9. If we sign today, what has to be done before our organizers go out, and who does it?
10. What does an export contain, including organizers, signed 8879s, audit trails and documents?
11. Is the subscription cancelable during its term, and is it billed monthly or annually?

## A checklist to print

- [ ] Tax software named, and the type of link written down
- [ ] Organizer built from one real prior-year return
- [ ] Missing-document reminders tested on a phone
- [ ] Test 8879 signed with KBA, and its cost noted
- [ ] Signers counted, joint returns as two
- [ ] Status view checked with 20 test returns
- [ ] Seasonal seats priced for the months you need them
- [ ] Active clients counted, entities separately
- [ ] Yearly cost at list price written down
- [ ] Export tested, including signed forms and documents
- [ ] Live date set before organizers go out
- [ ] Contract term and cancellation terms confirmed

[^1]: Firmary, "What not to say: ... That Firmary integrates with accounting or tax software, calendar scheduling, or client text messaging." https://firmary.app/llms.txt (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^2]: Firmary, "PocketFirm, the client portal that carries the firm's branding (pocketfirm.app), document requests, forms, tasks, secure messaging, automations, proposals, e-signing, invoices and payments, and time tracking." https://firmary.app/llms.txt (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^3]: TaxDome, "AI intake is included in every plan, and Atlas is coming soon." https://taxdome.com/taxdome-ai (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^4]: Liscio, "Liscio reads each client's prior-year Form 1040 and builds the document request list" https://liscio.me/features/tax-organizers (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^5]: Drake Tax, "Client Checklists help you track which documents your clients have uploaded. Checklists are dynamic and based on the prior year's data entry." https://www.drakesoftware.com/products/drake-portals/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^6]: Karbon, "Connect StanfordTax directly to your tax software to instantly generate personalized, AI-powered client tax organizers." https://karbonhq.com/integrations/stanfordtax/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^7]: Canopy, "Questionnaires and checklists you build and send without AI never use a credit." https://www.getcanopy.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^8]: TaxDome, "Unlimited e-signatures ... IRS-compliant signature requests with KBA." https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^9]: Canopy, "$1.25 per KBA credit" https://www.getcanopy.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^10]: Karbon, "Each eSignature request with knowledge-based authentication uses two credits." https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^11]: Liscio, "Organizers and document collection eSignature Custom branding ... KBA $2 per signer" https://liscio.me/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^12]: 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)
[^13]: Soraban, "Clients can review and sign 8879s in a simpler, guided flow that makes it easier to complete the return." https://soraban.com/products/deliver (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^14]: Drake Tax, "A centralized dashboard gives you a high-level view of every tax return in your pipeline at a glance. ... Return statuses update automatically based on activity across Drake tools ... Returns that need your action are flagged automatically" https://www.drakesoftware.com/products/drake-workflow/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^15]: 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)
[^16]: Soraban, "See exactly where every return stands ... sent, opened, signed, paid. Deliver automatically follows up with clients who haven't completed their part" https://soraban.com/products/deliver (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^17]: 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)
[^18]: Drake Tax, "Drake Workflow integrates seamlessly with Drake Tax, Drake Tax Online, Drake Portals and E-signature." https://www.drakesoftware.com/products/drake-workflow/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^19]: Liscio, "The packages below are examples, not integrations." https://liscio.me/features/tax-organizers (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^20]: Soraban, "Connect puts validated data directly into UltraTax, Lacerte, Drake, and CCH Axcess." https://soraban.com/products/connect (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^21]: TaxDome, "Works with Drake, ProSeries, UltraTax, ATX, CCH Axcess, and Lacerte." https://taxdome.com/taxdome-ai (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^22]: Canopy, "Standard $74 user/month ... Plus $109 user/month" https://www.getcanopy.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^23]: 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)
[^24]: Karbon, "Includes everything in Team, plus: Automatic Client Reminders Task Automation Industry Integrations" https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^25]: Liscio, "$19 per user / month Billed annually per user ... $49 per user / month Billed annually per user" https://liscio.me/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^26]: Liscio, "You can send organizers and deliveries any time without a bundle. Each one is $7." https://liscio.me/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^27]: 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)
[^28]: 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)
[^29]: Soraban, "Log In Request a Demo" https://soraban.com/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^30]: 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." https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^31]: Karbon, "Karbon is priced per user. ... Your client count and document volume do not determine the subscription price." https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^32]: TaxDome, "Each client account counts on its own. If one person has a personal return and a partnership return, they count as two active clients." https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^33]: 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)
[^34]: Drake Tax, "Data conversion from most competitor software" https://www.drakesoftware.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^35]: 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)
[^36]: Liscio, "Most migrations take 1 to 2 weeks, depending on the size of your" https://liscio.me/filecabinet-cs-file-transfer (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^37]: TaxDome, "Most firms complete TaxDome implementation in 6–8 weeks." https://taxdome.com/migration-guidance (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^38]: Canopy, "Check if your role has the "Export client & contacts" permission enabled. ... Your clients will be downloaded to a .CSV file named" https://support.getcanopy.com/en/articles/9375770-export-client-lists-from-canopy (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^39]: 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)
[^40]: Karbon, "Data Import Self-Service Assisted Fully Managed Data Export Standard Standard Custom" https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^41]: TaxDome, "To export all the data from your active accounts to a CSV file ... You'll receive a zipped CSV file containing all your time-tracking data ... If you want your documents to be stored on your computer, copy their folders from ... then paste them to your local drive." https://help.taxdome.com/article/278-how-do-i-back-up-all-my-account-data (checked 10 Nov 2026)