r/taxpros

Hi everyone! My team and I are currently evaluating both TaxDome and Canopy for our firm and would love some honest feedback from firms that have actually used one or both.

From our research, both seem like strong products and fit a lot of what we’re looking for, but I’m having a hard time deciding between them.

A few things I’m specifically curious about: • Workflow/task management • Client portal experience • Ease of onboarding staff and clients • Email communication/inbox features • Automation capabilities • Document management • E-signatures & engagement letters • How customizable are they? • Reporting/time tracking/billing • Customer support responsiveness • Pricing transparency / unexpected costs • Overall reliability and speed

For those who switched from one to the other: • What made you leave? • Any major frustrations or deal-breakers?

Would especially love to hear from firms with over 20 employees ( we’re a team of 25), but all experiences are welcome.

Thanks in advance. We are trying to make the right long-term decision before committing to implementation as clients hate change.

This season really pushed me to the breaking point. I was sitting there post season meetings looking at the billings going out on my clients vs what I make. Shaking my head thinking this is stupid. Then being told your utilization could be higher and why were there so many updates not filled out on the workflow in CCH yadda yadda yadda. Too many years at this to listen anymore. Manager with big 4 experience...1040's, 1041's, 706, 709, some small 1120's and 1065's. Also litigation support work (mainly financial tracing divorces). Where does one start. I've been remote fot 15 years and live in PDX. I wouldn't mind moving away from tax into more litigation support but mt bread and butter has been tax.

So recently, I onboarded a new client. Originally I was only going to file delinquent California LLC filings. Anyway, he uploaded copies of his 1040s and fraudulent deductions were taken resulting in a significant understatement - a paid "preparer" filed this return. I brought it to the attention of the taxpayer, he was shocked and wants to voluntarily fix it.

I told him for now, do not confront him. I was helping him fill out the preparer misconduct affidavit and asked him where he heard about this preparer, he told me through a trusted co-worker who referred him.

Anyway, my concern is, the co-worker and potentially other people in the taxpayers personal circle are being preyed on by this person and it's only a matter of time until the IRS or FTB catches on. If they are also victims, they should know so they can take action. However, I have a what-if bothering me, what-if the co-worker is working or tips off the preparer.

What is the best way to handle the situation with the co-worker? Would it be unwise for him to inform his co-worker?

Based off my understanding of circular 230, my obligation is to my client. Still, there is nothing stopping him personally from bringing it up to his co-worker.

Hi all,

I am looking for some advice on how some of you have structured a firm acquisition.

My current approach is going to be asking for 100% seller financing, paid over 4 years. In return, the purchase price will be slightly higher and more appealing for the seller. With that being said, it would also depend on client retention. Seller is okay with staying on board for a couple years, albeit with a reduced work schedule to ensure proper continuity of client service.

I tried the SBA/Conventional loan approach but to no avail.

Some information:

Target Firm:

• Purchase offer: up to $475K
• 450K Revenue (2025)
• 300K SDE
• 800 clients - consisting of 1040s, entities, and fiduciary returns.

I do worry that 800 clients will be too much for me to handle, and would require some help. However, I am fine with bringing on seasonal help, or full time staff members.

Few questions:

• What were the unexpected costs that you had once you acquired the firm?
• Would you structure this any different way?
• Is there anything that I am missing or should be more aware of?

Any recommendations/inputs are appreciated. Thank you all!

It's now software renewal season. We are looking around at different providers and would love some thoughts.

Here is or current workflow tax stack:

Document Gathering - CCH Client Collaboration

Document Extraction/Workpaper Documentation - Sureprep

Tax Software - CCH Access

We are trying/hoping to combine Document Gathering and Extracation/Workpaper Documentation into one tool.

We sat through the Soroban weekly webinar and are curious and will at least do a separate firm demo.

Has anyone used it that might have also used Sureprep previously and have some insight?

We are running a small hybrid tax compliance firm, and we use Azure virtual desktop (AVD) services both in the office and remote in order to secure access to all firm data. When it all works, it works great, but over the last two years we have had a number of issues with AVD dropping users and generally just not being stable when it really counted.

Some of these issues admittedly may also be more to do with our MSP who managed the AVD deployments.

That said, I am wondering if anyone can recommend an alternative to AVD that has been very stable during the business seasons? We are entirely cloud based in terms of our apps, data storage and portal, and primary apps we use are MS Office, CCH Axcess, QBO, and CaseWare. Thank you.

My small firm has been using SafeSend for delivery and obtaining KBA signatures. It is a polished delivery with a good client experience.

Considering implementing TaxDome and am curious how well it handles delivery and signatures. Anyone have experience with both of these that can offer a comparison.

When can we expect to see the Wages and Income transcript be fully populated in TDS? I know W2s are already in, but none of the bank and brokerage information seems to be there. I seem to recall that last year, I was getting this information at the beginning of May?

It is unbelievable how impossible it is to get through to them. I have had success at night around 630-7, but I really dont want to be dealing with this stuff at night. When will they get their act together.

I got several calls and emails from clients who are waiting for the IRS to send them balance due letters in the mail and see the balance due posted at their IRS Online account.

Even I am waiting for the IRS tax due letter for what I owe on my 2025 tax return.

Wonder if you tax preps also in the same boat, waiting for the IRS to send letters of balance dues to your clients?

I can not find the official IRS announcement that they are delaying or will send out the 2025 tax balance dues by letter and/or post the balance dues at the IRS account so the clients can set up payment plan.

I have no idea what is fair in this situation, so I come to Reddit.

I joined a very small firm a few months back, 1 cpa and 5 employees. We went through busy season and it was rough. Very rough. I expressed my concerns with how things were conducted, offered to improve the overall practice from both an internal and client standpoint.

To be clear, he is simply overrun with too many tasks and responsibilities.

Biggest items I've helped move into a positive direction: Billing - firm has 75+ clients on rates that are several years old. Some of the clients need 60%-300% rate increases.

Training staff - staff with 2-5 years experience, all need training. Their excel skills are very poor; and given the current practice and how a lot of clients submit information, they are spending hours on data that took me around 30-45 minutes to complete this year. The staff are eager to learn, just haven't been shown the way or taught.

Accounts receivable clean-up - for various reasons, firm has several clients that owe for several years. No reason the clients shouldn't pay, they just haven't been billed, which haven't been billed.

Prep and review returns - he was solo last year.

In addition to my base salary, owner is offering me a % of the total revenues and/or increases.

What % of total revenues and/or the % of increases are fair to pay for this role?

FWIW, what's fair given the following client fact pattern. Client was paying 200/mo for professional services agreement, since 2020. Not only did I negotiate a new fee of 1,200/mo going forward, but I was able to collect 17,500 for unbilled tax work done in previous years.

All in, additional 29,500 in revenue from one client that would have likely gone unnoticed.

MCOL. Me - 19 years preparing returns of all sizes, CPA for 13.

Interested to hear others thoughts.

Weird that I rarely seen him mentioned on this sub, when this sub is full of small firm owners.

I’ll say most of his videos and posts are common sense to me, but every once in a while he will talk about a software or process that I would have never thought of.

I’ve recently gone out on my own and was wondering what vendor is recommend for e-fax. Until the IRS gets enters the 21st century and phases out the fax machine, it’s a bit of a necessary evil. Any help is appreciated!

For those of you who are UltraTax users and have moved from an on-site server to Verito, Rightworks, or another cloud hosting company, how much of a drop off did you see in speed when previewing a tax return. We're doing a demo right now of Verito and it's going well (their service has been outstanding so far), but when we preview a tax return it takes about 6-7 times longer to calculate and display the forms. For example a moderately complex partnership return takes about 12 seconds to calculate and display the preview forms on our on-site server but about 1:20 in the cloud. I'm just wondering if that's normal for moving to the cloud.

I just finished my first year fully on my own. Stanford Tax was recommended here and I loved it for client intake. Going into Year 2 I’d like to continue using it.

Those using Stanford Tax, what is your tech stack for EL, signatures, CRM, file storage and delivery?

For those of you that only do 1040 returns (including some Schedule C stuff):

What are you doing for marketing in the off-season?

I’m doing the same stuff, just lower volume (Facebook group posts, IG & TikTok videos).

Anyone else have cool ideas for off-season marketing?

We are a firm of only 5 employees (2 reviewers and 3 preparers) with about 850 mostly complex tax returns with multiple K-1s.

We currently have CCH Axcess and use Document and Portal. Which tools have you added that you found the most useful? I see a lot of people talk about TaxDome but it seems like it’s more work than it’s worth to set up since most of our clients already hate using the portal to begin with.

I also use Claude a decent amount to do one off tasks

Picked up a new client. She formed an LLC in 2024 with intent to be taxed as an S Corp. Client has respected the S election and has run payroll, etc. Prior accountant supposedly handled the formation and election and filing (she has a completed copy of the return).

Client is on extension for 2025 across the board. When I pulled her 2024 transcripts to review, only the personal 1040 showed up — no entity return filed. She also couldn't link her EIN in the IRS Business Portal.

Called the IRS. Agent told me:

• EIN is on file as a C Corp for 2024 and 2025, therefore no valid return on file for 2024 given the prior accountant filed an 1120-S
• Form 2553 (S election) was accepted on May 7, 2026, effective for the 2026 tax year.
• IRS sent multiple requests for additional information over the past year. Client never received them and never signed anything for the prior accountant.

A few questions:

• Has anyone seen the IRS kick an S election forward to the next eligible year like this? My read is the prior preparer submitted an incomplete 2553 (likely unsigned), IRS requested the signed form, no response, and the election ultimately got accepted with a 2026 effective date rather than retroactively denied but with no action by the client?
• If the entity is a C Corp for 2024 and 2025 per the IRS, can I file an 1120-S with Late Election Relief request, or are they stuck having to file as C Corp for 24 & 25?
• Has anyone had success filing 1120-S with Late Election Relief via Intuit ProConnect or is the wiser move to paper file these returns with Late Election Relief on the cover?

I have a new client who came to me in early 2025 for TY24 tax prep. It’s a couple in their 70s, the wife has a Sch C for therapy practice. She had a retirement plan for herself which I asked about and was told it was a solo 401k. So I asked if they’d ever filed 5500-EZ forms and she had no idea. Their former CPA had died but the ML advisor indicated they never did. So I said we should do the voluntary compliance program and catch all ~20 years up which was done at the end of 2025. The client received the letter acknowledging all years were accepted about 6 weeks ago.

Over the weekend they received a letter examining the 2024 plan year. The documentation that ML had is awful. Given that and the lack of TPA, I recommended the client terminate the plan in 2025 and move to a SEP-IRA since she probably will only work for another 1-2 years. However this lack of good info concerns me for the audit.

Anyway I’m curious if anyone has ever dealt with an audit of an owner only retirement plan. Thanks!

Are you filing protective claims for clients who their 2020-2022 impacted returns are mailed but have not yet been processed therefore no penalties and interest assessed yet? By estimating said penalties and interest?