How forward-thinking firms are winning tax season early: insights from TaxDome’s two-part workshop series

For top firms, tax season doesn’t begin in January — it begins now.

Across two live sessions, we explored how firms poised to outperform the market in 2026 will combine smarter pricing strategies with connected tax prep that takes their team and clients from first proposal to final payment on a single automated platform.

In part one, Ryan Lazanis, CPA (Future Firm), and Petar Iliev (TaxDome) showed how packaging services into clear, tiered options turns scope creep into upsells and helps clients say ‘yes’ to premium pricing. In part two, Ilya Radzinsky (TaxDome), David Haase (Juno), and firm leaders Zach Amatore (Amatore & Co.) and Joel Yaeger (CMPD Wealth Advisory & Tax) revealed how an AI-powered intake and delivery system makes tax season easier for professionals while uniting the entire client experience under one roof.

Part 1 – From scope creep to upsells: Smart packaging that drives premiums

Why packaging matters now

If there’s one issue firm owners can agree on, it’s this: scope creep isn’t going away on its own. According to a 2025 industry survey, 64% of firms cite scope creep as one of their top operational challenges.

As Ryan explained, the problem isn’t just inconsistent pricing — it’s positioning. When every proposal is built from scratch, your offer becomes negotiable, and your value gets lost in the back-and-forth. The firms that consistently command premium prices are the ones that package their services clearly and confidently from the start.

A strong package tells clients exactly what to expect, where the boundaries are, and why your firm’s way of doing things delivers better results. The clearer that offer is, the easier it is for clients to say ‘yes.’

The power of tiered proposals

Not every client wants the same level of service. But too many firms price their services as if they do and it limits their bottom line. That’s where tiered proposals come to the rescue.

By offering three clear service levels (like Bronze, Silver, and Gold), firms give clients an easy way to choose what fits their needs and their budget — without forcing the firm to discount or over-customize.

As Ryan put it during the session, tiered pricing isn’t about pushing clients to spend more; it’s about helping them buy with confidence. When clients see what “good, better, and best” look like side by side, they understand the value behind higher prices — and most end up choosing the middle or top option.

This helps you move your average pricing higher and shed clients who expect too much for too low of a price.

Executing smart packaging in TaxDome

With Packages in Proposals, firms can build up to three customizable service tiers directly within their TaxDome proposals. Each package can include pricing, deliverables, and service descriptions, so every team member presents the same polished offer to every client.

Once a client chooses their package and signs, the real advantage kicks in: automation. Each accepted proposal can trigger the next steps automatically — launching onboarding tasks, sending reminders, or assigning internal workflows without anyone on your team lifting a finger.

This keeps pricing consistent across the firm, ensures every client starts off on the right path, and frees your staff from rebuilding proposals from scratch. It’s the difference between wasting time managing one proposal after another, and running a repeatable, scalable sales funnel.

Q&A key insights

1. Can proposals and packages be customized or automated?
Yes — you can fully personalize templates or use ready-made ones from the Marketplace. You can create a proposal template with packages and use it as an automation in your pipelines. See how it works.

Within the next few weeks, we’re also adding more automation, whereby account tags can be applied based on the chosen package, triggering different automations – emails, chats, assignments, and more.

2. Can firms include add-ons and complexity pricing?
At the moment, packages don’t support configuring optional services (Add-ons) or complex pricing that varies from client to client. This is already in our backlog, and we plan to enhance this functionality in the future.

3. How do you handle clients asking for discounts or extra work?
Frame the conversation around value, not price. Packages help set clear boundaries — extra work can be billed as hourly or add-on services while keeping communication professional and transparent.

4. Can I create separate packages for different services (tax, bookkeeping, consulting)?
Yes — there’s no limit. You can build package sets for any service line and use up to three tiers per proposal. See how it works.

5. Can clients upgrade or add services later?
Yes — you can automate follow-up proposals or use tags in organizers to trigger upgrade offers (e.g., “Premium Tax Care” after organizer submission).

6. Will deposits, monthly billing, and integrations work with packages?
Yes — you can set up an invoice inside a package, which can also serve as a deposit. The invoice can be either one-time or recurring. See how it works.

7. Where can I find proposal templates with packages?
Visit Templates → Marketplace → Proposals & ELs inside TaxDome to browse and install available templates. Ryan’s template is available there, as well.

Part 2 – End-to-end tax prep: Intake & delivery with TaxDome and Juno

Why tax season still feels chaotic

Every year, tax season leaves too many accountants feeling overwhelmed and wondering how they’ll make it through the next year. In fact, 73% of firms report rising workloads year over year, and 60% say they’re already at or beyond capacity before busy season even starts.

Clearly, the challenge isn’t a lack of work. The challenge lies in how the work is managed, from beginning to end. Disconnection in tech stacks and endless manual work make taking on more clients seem insurmountable.

Most firms are operating with patchwork systems: one tool for proposals, another for document collection, another for delivery. Each one adds friction, confusion, and extra work for both clients and staff.

The goal isn’t to work harder or add more apps — it’s to connect every step, from intake to delivery, so the process feels seamless for everyone involved.

Redesigned intake — smarter collection, happier clients

If intake is where the client experience begins, then that’s your first opportunity to wow your clients with a modern, convenient, tech-savvy first impression.

That’s why the new intake system in TaxDome focuses on smarter intake. Firms can now generate customized checklists and personalized organizers that automatically adjust to each client’s needs. 

These checklists can be created manually or generated automatically with AI by uploading a prior-year tax return. They’re living, breathing checklists that can be updated dynamically — adding or removing items as needed. Missing a form? Clients can mark it as “not applicable” or note when it’ll be ready — which is a key part in knowing when an accountant can expect completed intake and begin work.

As Joel Yaeger (CMPD Wealth Advisory & Tax) shared during the session, “The major impact was documents on time… if we were to receive the client’s documents on time, that would be very impactful for us.” His comment reflected one of the biggest challenges firms face during tax season — clients who start uploading documents but forget to come back and finish once everything arrives. 

Responding to that, Ilya Radzinsky explained, “Your client will get an automated reminder… So instead of you having to remember to go back to the client, they’ll get an automated reminder to come back and upload the form when it’s ready.”

For clients, that means a smooth, consistent experience from day one. For firms, it means an intake process that helps them stay focused on returns without having to chase clients or pay extra for separate intake services like StanfordTax.

AI-powered tax prep with Juno

Once documents are collected, the next challenge begins — data entry and review. That’s where TaxDome’s integration with Juno’s AI technology comes in.

Juno Prepare extracts data from common forms (W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, 1098s, and more), and maps the fields directly into supported tax software. Juno then pushes that data directly into your tax software (Drake, ProConnect, Lacerte, and UltraTax — with CCH Axcess coming soon). 

As Joel Yaeger (CMPD Wealth Advisory & Tax) shared, “We’ve been gaining a lot of efficiency through the 10/15 deadline on the prepare aspect of it, of just getting data over into the tech software, and then taking it another step further… then for the client, our team has much more time to provide value-added services.”

He went on to add, “Through testing and working through the 10/15 deadline, we’re expecting a 50-60% increase in productivity, and then another 20 to 30, just because we’re not entering first-year information.”

Juno also highlights what needs your team’s confirmation while showing extracted fields side-by-side with the source document. The goal is to reduce manual typing while keeping control over edge cases (e.g., unusually long brokerage statements or complex, multi-state K-1s).

When the return is prepared, Juno Review compares the finished return to the source documents to flag mismatches or missing information. And, for documentation, Juno creates a consolidated, bookmarked work paper (binder) PDF that summarizes what was extracted and what was pushed into the tax software, with space for team notes and review items.

One portal for the entire journey

Once returns are prepared, everything that follows — review, delivery, signatures, and payments — happens in one place: TaxDome.

After Juno sends completed return data back into your workflow, your team can generate branded, easy-to-read summaries that highlight key details for clients, including amounts owed or refunded and upcoming estimated payment dates. These summaries keep communication simple and reduce client confusion around what’s next.

From there, clients can review, sign, and pay directly inside the same portal (or mobile app) they used for intake with no need for external links or separate e-sign platforms. 

E-signature tracking, payment collection, and reminders are all automatic, meaning firms spend less time chasing confirmations and payments.

Finally, TaxDome can send automated estimated payment reminders, ensuring clients know when to pay their federal, state, or local tax authorities. That follow-up is handled automatically, closing the loop between preparation and compliance while giving firms confidence that clients stay on schedule even after delivery.

The end result: one connected client journey — from proposal to payment — managed entirely inside a single, secure platform.

Q&A key insights

Intake & Document Checklist (TaxDome)

1. Do I need Juno to use TaxDome’s Document Checklist, Intake, or Delivery?
No. Intake (which includes the Document Checklist) and Tax Return Delivery are TaxDome features. Juno is a separate, optional tool you can use to automate data extraction and push data into your tax software. Juno has 4 different products all of which are included in the price, more on this below and you can see at juno.tax

2. When will the Document Checklist be available?
Currently in beta and rolling out in November to all firms

3. Is the checklist a “living” document and does it roll forward year to year?
Yes. Treat it as a living document inside the client’s account. You can modify it anytime as life changes—new job, sold a home, new accounts, dependents, etc. At launch it’s per‑year (year‑by‑year), so you refine it over time rather than recreating from scratch each season.

4. Can we maintain multiple checklists per client (e.g., sales tax, bookkeeping, annual tax)?
Yes—this is on the roadmap. Future releases will allow many checklists so you can keep separate lists for recurring work like sales tax and bookkeeping alongside annual income‑tax checklists. 

5. How does TaxDome’s Intake compare to Stanford Tax?
Both TaxDome Intake and Stanford Tax focus on collecting information from clients. The speaker clarified that it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. Stanford Tax is a point tool focused mainly on document collection. TaxDome’s Intake (and the broader platform) delivers a unified client experience that ties together document requests, messaging, signing, invoicing, and delivery in one place.
Importantly, Stanford Tax is a per-client fee tool, so a firm with 1,000 clients would spend about $18,000 per year using Stanford Tax alone, yet would still need separate tools for e-sign, communication, billing, workflow – and overall practice management, which are the foundations of TaxDome. So it’s comparing a great point solution with a platform. With TaxDome, those functions are all included, producing higher ROI and a more seamless client journey .

6. What updates are there regarding client experience?
Beyond checklists, clients can mark Have / Don’t Have for each item, give a reason or ETA if they don’t, and set an automatic reminder. That turns “please upload a file” into a guided, accountable workflow and cuts touch points for your firm. 

7. Can the checklist be generated automatically from the prior‑year return?
In progress. This is in beta now to create checklists from prior‑year data. ProSeries is in beta now; Drake, Lacerte and more are coming soon as coverage expands. 

8. Can checklists be generated one by one or in bulk?
One by one for now and bulk creation is planned

Delivery (TaxDome)

9. What is Tax Return Delivery and why use it?
Delivery packages the tax return handoff in one client‑facing experience inside TaxDome. Instead of, “here’s a 100 page PDF” – clients get a clear introduction and summary with key information from the return, estimated‑payment/voucher guidance with due dates, direct IRS payment links, and automated reminders so clients don’t miss payments. It gives clients a cleaner way to review, reduces “where do I pay?” emails, and streamlines collections and follow‑ups. Delivery is a TaxDome feature (Juno isn’t required).

10. When is Delivery targeted for release?
Currently in beta and will be released to all firms soon.

Juno Integrations & Environment

11. Which tax software does Juno work with?
Juno currently works with Lacerte, ProConnect, UltraTax, and Drake. It’s also working to integrate with CCH Axcess (very soon), ProSeries (early 2026), and considering ATX — as requested by a few users. See more about Juno integrations and join the Juno community in TaxDome for updates

12. Does Juno support hosted/remote environments?
Yes—Remote Desktop and virtual servers are supported. UltraTax Virtual Office was not supported as of the session.

13. 1040 only, or business returns too?
1040 now; 1065/1120/1120S after tax season.

Juno Product Suite 

14. What are Juno’s four products and what do they do?
Preparer — Extracts data from client documents (PDFs, images incl. JPEG/HEIC, Excel/CSV) and enters it into your tax software via a desktop app. Handles W‑2/1099, K‑1s, Schedules C/E/F/A, and brokerage summaries; outputs include a pre‑bookmarked PDF and Excel. • Reviewer — A review workflow to validate and catch issues faster (e.g., complex K‑1/state items) so you ship with confidence. • Advisor — Turns return data into client‑ready insights and planning prompts to elevate service and fees. • Research — Tax‑law/knowledge capability that supports compliance and advisory questions as you work. All 4 modules are included.

15. What is available during the trial?
Reviewer, Advisor and Research are available during the trial.
Juno’s Preparer runs via a desktop app that is installed on the same machine as your tax software and does the in-place data entry (so you keep carryovers/proforma). Because it’s a local/desktop integration that must be installed and configured on your site, especially across many hosting environments this is set up during your onboarding call with our engineering team.

Performance & File Support (Juno)

16. How fast is Juno and where does it run?
Minutes, not hours for most jobs; large packets can take about 10 minutes. Importantly, Juno runs locally on the same computer as your tax software—it’s not outsourced and not a separate hosted copy—so you keep proforma/carry‑forwards intact, which matters when most clients are returning. Other companies lose proforma data because they work in separate environments, creating new tax return documents for you each time.

17. What file types and inputs are supported?
Excel, PDFs, images (including JPEG/HEIC), and CSV. You can upload one big PDF or multiple files; outputs include a pre‑bookmarked PDF workpaper and an Excel summary.

18. Does Juno handle complex data like K‑1s and states?
Yes—complex K‑1s, Schedule C/E/F/A, and brokerage summaries are supported. Some formats may require closer review, especially state footnotes and unusual statements. The more complex the document, the lower the quality – but we are working on improving this.

Pricing, Credits & Trial (Juno)

19. How is Juno priced?
Juno starts at $4,000 for up to 100 individual returns, integration with TaxDome, setup and support, and unlimited users for Preparer, Reviewer, and Advisor. You get Advisor and Reviewer bundled in your first year — after that, pricing is modular based on usage. There is a discount for buying additional returns in bulk. You can explore more about Juno pricing and set up a free trial through TaxDome by selecting documents and clicking ‘send to tax software’ within your workspace. 

20. Do unused returns roll over?
Typically, unused returns do not roll over to the next season. Confirm details with Juno for your agreement.

21. When is a credit consumed?
One credit is used when you export to tax software. Adding documents later or doing multiple exports for the same return doesn’t consume extra credits.

22. Is there a trial?
Yes—7‑day free trial with 5 free clients. During the trial you can use reviewer, advisor and research tools. The Preparer tool is not available during the trial.

33. Are Reviewer and Advisor included?
They’re typically included the first year in bundled offers; confirm current promotions with Juno.