5 best Canopy alternatives for accounting practice management

In the fast-growing practice management software category, Canopy stands out as a popular choice among accounting professionals worldwide. But while Canopy has a lot of great features, it’s not the complete package.

In this article, we’ll look at some of Canopy’s limitations and drawbacks, and explore five of the best alternatives that can help you optimize your accounting practice. 

Why consider alternatives to Canopy?

With an average G2 rating of 4.6 out of 5, it’s clear that Canopy is getting a lot right. That said, there are several reasons why accountants might want to seek an alternative. In this section, we’ll look at some key factors to consider: 

Cost concerns

Canopy’s pricing is complex, to say the least. Its pricing structure works on a modular basis, where you get the Client Engagement package as standard, but all additional packages are added on at extra cost. These include:

• Document Management
• Workflow
• Time & Billing

To make matters more complicated, the Client Engagement package is priced on a sliding scale depending on the number of clients you have, while each additional package is priced individually on a per-user basis. 

Canopy also offers several “add-ons” on top of the additional packages, all of which have separate pricing structures based on users or usage. These include: 

• Tax Resolution
• Collection Cases
• KBA e-signatures
• Transcripts & Notices. 

But that’s not all. There are two overarching plans: Standard and PRO. The latter unlocks extra reporting capabilities across all the different Canopy packages. 

So, what does all this mean? First, it’s tricky to understand how much you’ll pay, because there are so many different variables and add-ons, many of which are charged on a usage basis. It’s also difficult to know what you need, especially if your firm is rapidly scaling. As a result, the costs can soon ramp up. Alternatively, you may be left with usage limits that stunt your growth.

Feature limitations

While Canopy offers a more comprehensive feature set than most accounting practice management software platforms, there are some important omissions. For example, while Canopy comes with a client portal and mobile app, there are no custom-branding options or a custom URL. And while it might not be a standard feature for practice management platforms, there’s no website builder — unlike TaxDome.

At the same time, there are usage limits on core features such as KBA e-signatures and CRM contacts. The more you use, the more you pay, meaning the cost of Canopy soars as you scale. What’s more, SMS communication seems to be limited to the mobile app, and some customers complain about a lack of customization options to suit their firm’s needs, including limited options for:

• Exporting reports 
• Customizing invoices
• Formatting emails
• Adding balances to accounts
• Billing reports

User experience

Canopy is generally considered a user-friendly platform with an intuitive user interface, but a quick look through the reviews on G2 shows some technical and UX-related issues that are holding firms back. These include:

• Occasional system lag
• System timing out before reports have been generated
• Inability to delete client profiles
• Difficulty getting to grips with some of the more complex features
• Inability to edit client names without contacting support

Customer support

What’s more, some customers complain that Canopy’s support can be slow to react and that issues aren’t always fully resolved. 

At the same time, several users complain that the available training isn’t sufficient to get to grips with the complexity of the platform.

Scalability

Canopy’s issues with scalability stem from the usage limits and pricing structure, which means the more you use certain features, the more you pay. So the platform can scale as your business grows, but it’ll cost you!

The 5 best Canopy alternatives

If Canopy isn’t meeting all your requirements, where should you turn? In this section, we’ll look at some of the best Canopy alternatives and what makes them stand out. 

• TaxDome
• Karbon
• Financial Cents
• Jetpack Workflow
• QuickBooks Online Accountant

1. TaxDome

TaxDome is award-winning practice management software and perhaps the most comprehensive system on the market. It provides all the tools you need to manage clients, teams, projects, documents and workflows — on one single, easy-to-use platform.

Key features

TaxDome offers everything you’d expect from a practice management platform, plus some additional capabilities that you simply can’t find anywhere else. Let’s take a look at TaxDome’s key features:

• Advanced workflow automation
• Custom-branded client portal and top-rated client mobile app
• AI-powered reporting and analytics
• Customizable proposals and engagement letters
• Powerful CRM designed with accountants in mind
• Synced email, secure chats, and two-way SMS communication
• Unlimited file storage, e-signatures, and contacts

Unlike Canopy, TaxDome also provides a web-builder tool, where accounting firms can quickly build highly professional websites and promote their services. Then there’s TaxDome Marketplace — a complete template library compiled by industry experts from across the world, enabling you to implement best practices faster. 

Features aside, TaxDome offers industry-leading implementation and support, ensuring that accounting firms get up and running fast. Then there’s our outstanding education materials, with users able to access TaxDome Academy courses, regular webinars, bootcamp events, and our ever-growing library of Help articles. 

This commitment to technological excellence and an incredible customer experience have seen TaxDome win a slew of awards in recent years.  

Pricing

TaxDome offers clear and transparent pricing, with a single plan — Pro at $50 per user per month — for all users. Pro includes all TaxDome features plus unlimited file storage, clients, e-signatures, and support. 

You also get cheaper rates when committing to a multi-year subscription. There are no add-ons, additional packages, or hidden fees.

Pros and cons

User reviews

At 4.7/5, TaxDome has a better G2 rating than Canopy from a larger number of reviews. Clients love TaxDome’s workflow automation, which saves firms up to 40 hours per employee per month. 

There’s also a lot of love for TaxDome’s client portal and mobile app, which allows firms to provide a truly stellar client experience while improving transparency and efficiency. 

Generally, users are keen to point out how comprehensive TaxDome is, providing all the tools and processes they need to run a highly efficient and profitable accounting practice.

2. Karbon

Karbon is another popular practice management platform that provides a central hub for all your staff, clients, work, and data. 

Key features

Karbon is well known for its task management capabilities and offers most of the features you’d expect from a practice management platform, including team collaboration, document management, project management, and client management, including a client portal. You also get workflow automation and a range of templates.

In addition to the more standard features, Karbon offers a couple of interesting capabilities:

• Practice Intelligence — firm analytics for smarter decision-making
• Karbon AI — a ChatGPT-style tool that drafts emails and summarizes client conversations

Pricing

Karbon offers three pricing tiers: Team at $59 per user per month, Business at $89 per user per month, and Enterprise, for which you’ll need to contact the Karbon team for a quote. Each tier offers different usage limits and features.

Pros and cons

User reviews

Karbon has an average G2 rating of 4.8/5. Users are particularly positive about the platform’s task management and internal collaboration capabilities. 

That said, users also point out several limitations with Karbon’s features, from contact management and bulk communications to mobile apps and reporting. 

3. Financial Cents

Financial Cents is a practice management platform designed for small and medium-sized accounting firms. It’s well known for being easy to use. 

Key features

Financial Cents has solid task management capabilities, providing complete visibility into client jobs, deadlines, and who’s working on what. There’s also a handy capacity management feature to help you allocate work more effectively.

On the client management front, you get an accounting CRM and a custom-branded client portal. Then there are some basic workflow automation tools, time tracking and invoicing, and email integration.

Pricing

Financial Cents has two pricing plans: Team at $39 per user per month and Scale at $59 per user per month, both billed annually. The Scale plan unlocks key features, including automated follow-ups, a branded client portal, and Zapier integration.

Pros and cons

User reviews

Financial Cents has an average G2 rating of 4.8/5, although this is from only 92 reviews. Users are keen to point out the platform’s simplicity and fair pricing, which make it a solid choice for small firms and solopreneurs.

There are some concerns about limited functionality, however, such as the inability to perform bulk actions when managing documents and folders. 

4. Jetpack Workflow

Jetpack Workflow is a practice management system that enables accounting firms to standardize and automate key processes, boost efficiency, and save time. 

Key features

Jetpack Workflow provides a central hub where you can track all your client work, understand which jobs people are working on, and collaborate as a team. Unlike some of the software options on this list, you get unlimited clients and contacts to work with, which is great news for fast-scaling businesses.

There’s also a template library and template builder, enabling you to standardize and streamline your accounting workflows. Jetpack Workflow also offers automation for recurring tasks, but it’s relatively basic compared to some of the competition. 

Pricing

There are two pricing tiers for Jetpack Workflow users: Starter Yearly, which costs $30 per user per month (billed annually), and Starter Monthly, which costs $45 per user per month (billed monthly). 

Pros and cons

User reviews

Jetpack Workflow has an average G2 rating of 4.1, making it one of the lowest-ranked platforms on this list. Based on user reviews, task management is the platform’s strongest suit, making it easier for firms to assign and prioritize work.

While Jetpack Workflow is great at what it does, some clients found its limited features and focus to be an issue as they scaled, prompting them to look elsewhere for a more complete solution.

5. QuickBooks Online Accountant

QuickBooks Online Accountant is a practice management platform developed by Intuit, the software giant behind the market-leading accounting software QuickBooks Online. 

Key features

QuickBooks Online Accountant provides a single platform for secure client communication, document exchange, and task management. You can create, assign, and track client jobs from start to finish, and set up projects rapidly with pre-filled templates.

As the practice management arm of Intuit’s software suite, it offers seamless integration with QuickBooks Online, making it a sensible choice for accounting teams already using that platform

Pricing

QuickBooks Online Accountant’s pricing structure is a little hard to understand, which isn’t helped by the lack of information on the Intuit website. 

Pros and cons

User reviews

QuickBooks Online Accountant has an average G2 rating of 4.4 out of 5 but from only 80 reviews. Several reviews comment on how easy to use the platform is. 

Most of the reviewers seem to be QuickBooks Online users, so it’s unclear how well the platform works outside of the Intuit ecosystem. There are also some concerns over the level of customer support.

To sum up

Canopy is a highly regarded practice management solution, but there are key areas where it falls short — including overly complex pricing and a lack of customization options. It’s also one of the most expensive, depending on the features and usage your firm requires. 

As we’ve shown in this article, there are plenty of alternative options out there. But while some excel in certain areas but not others, only one offers a comprehensive feature set, including advanced workflow automation, a custom-branded client portal, and firm and client mobile apps — TaxDome. 

When you throw TaxDom’s clear and transparent pricing, as well as its industry-leading implementation, support, and education into the mix, it’s clear why it’s the go-to practice management platform for more than 10,000 firms worldwide. 

Want to see for yourself? Request a demo today!