# How to choose client management software your clients will use

Source: https://clientmanagementsoftwareforaccountingfirms.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 the owner of a 2 to 20 person firm choosing software to run the clients it already has. It covers what to test, what each criterion means for client work, what a sample client list costs at list price, and what moving in and out involves. Firmary publishes it and is one of the tools covered, labeled Ours. Firmary doesn't integrate with QuickBooks, Xero or tax software, and it has no client text messaging.[^1][^2]

## Start with what a client has to do

Staff screens get the demo time, but your clients decide whether the software works. A request a client ignores still ends in a phone call.

Run the same test on every tool. Ask the vendor to send you a real document request as a client, then answer it on your phone and count what you had to do: install an app, create a password, find a code, or just tap a link. The pages we read show real differences. Financial Cents uses a magic link, with no password.[^3] Firmary's clients use PocketFirm in a browser, and can answer a single request from an emailed link with a one-time code.[^4] Karbon's and TaxDome's clients have iOS and Android apps.[^5][^6] A Liscio Smart Client Request opens from a secure link without an app or a password.[^7]

Then check whose name the client sees. Canopy puts its portal on your own domain.[^8] Financial Cents brands its portal on the Scale plan and above.[^9] Karbon's app shows your logo and colors inside, and the stores list it as Karbon for Clients.[^5] TaxDome will publish an app under your own name, on custom pricing.[^10]

## The criteria, and what to check for each

**Requests and reminders.** Reminders do most of the chasing, and they're often on a higher plan. Financial Cents lists auto follow-ups for client tasks among its Scale features.[^11] Karbon's automatic client reminders need Business or Enterprise.[^12] Check the reminder wording too: can you edit it, and does a client with five open requests get five emails?

**Messages.** Find out where a client's message lands and who else can read it. Canopy's secure client messaging is labeled Beta on its pricing page as of 10 Nov 2026.[^13] Financial Cents saves each portal chat with the client as an audit trail.[^14] Karbon works from shared email, where teams share, assign and comment on client emails from connected inboxes.[^15] Liscio puts every message on the client Timeline next to files and requests.[^16]

**E-signing and KBA.** If you sign Form 8879s, KBA is a per-signature cost on most tools. Canopy charges $1.25 per KBA credit,[^17] Financial Cents $1 to $2 by package size,[^18] and Liscio $2 per signer.[^19] Karbon sells e-signature credits in bundles, and a KBA request uses two.[^20] TaxDome's plan lists KBA alongside unlimited e-signatures.[^21] Say a firm has 300 joint returns and needs KBA for both spouses on each: that's 600 KBA checks a season. At list price as of 10 Nov 2026, that's $750 on Canopy if each check uses one credit,[^17] $600 to $1,200 on Financial Cents,[^18] and $1,200 on Liscio.[^19] TaxDome's pricing page lists no per-check charge.[^21]

**Invoices and payments.** Compare the published card rates on a typical invoice. On a $1,000 card payment at list rates as of 10 Nov 2026, Canopy's card fee is $33.20,[^22] Karbon's standard card fee is $26.30,[^23] and TaxDome Payments' is $29.30.[^24] Financial Cents doesn't list its processing rates on its pricing or billing pages.[^25] Liscio doesn't list invoicing on its pricing page.[^26] Firmary keeps invoices and payment status on the client record, and clients pay through Stripe.[^27]

**Texting and your ledger.** Both rule tools in or out, so decide them first. Financial Cents lists automated text reminders, and two-way texting isn't on its pricing page;[^28] TaxDome lists two-way texting.[^29] For the ledger, ask what syncs and in which direction: Karbon, for example, syncs contacts both ways with QuickBooks Online Accountant but sends invoices one way.[^30] Firmary has neither texting nor a ledger integration.[^2][^1]

**Security attestations.** Client records hold Social Security numbers and bank details, so ask to see the audit report itself. Canopy, Karbon and TaxDome state SOC 2 Type II (Karbon writes it as Type 2).[^31][^32][^33] Financial Cents states SOC II Type I.[^34] Liscio states SOC 2 without naming the type.[^35] Firmary has not completed a SOC 2 examination or a third-party audit; it scans uploads for viruses, separates each firm's data and requires multi-factor sign-in for owners and admins.[^36][^37]

**AI assistants.** Financial Cents' MCP server, for staff, is on Scale.[^38] Firmary staff can connect Claude as a custom connector, acting within their own permissions; ChatGPT support is in testing.[^39][^40] TaxDome released a client MCP in November 2026 that lets clients connect their own assistant to their TaxDome account.[^41]

## What it costs for a firm with 400 clients

Example: a firm with 400 clients, every one of whom logs in, uploads or receives an invoice at least once a year. We priced the plan that includes the client-side features in this guide, at list price, billed annually, as of 10 Nov 2026.

| Tool | Plan priced | 6 staff | 10 staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canopy | Standard, $74 per user per month[^42] | $5,328 | $8,880 |
| Financial Cents | Scale, $69 per user per month, for the branded portal and auto follow-ups[^43][^9] | $4,968 | $8,280 |
| Firmary | Not published[^44] | | |
| Karbon | Business, $89 per user per month, for automatic client reminders[^45][^46] | $6,408 | $10,680 |
| Liscio | Liscio Platform, $49 per user per month, before organizers[^47] | $3,528 | $5,880 |
| TaxDome | One plan, 400 active clients, 20 seats included[^48] | $4,125 | $4,125 |

On the lower plans, the 6-person figures are $3,528 a year on Financial Cents Team and $4,248 on Karbon Team.[^43][^45] Karbon's Team plan also caps contacts at 1,000, so count contacts, not just clients, if each client has several.[^49]

Per-user prices follow your headcount, and Karbon says client count doesn't change its price.[^50] TaxDome's price follows your active clients, and a client counts as active after any login, upload, message or invoice in the past 12 months.[^51] So the more of your clients you move onto the app, the more TaxDome counts. Its own example is $9,000 a year at 1,000 active clients.[^48] If you plan to put every client on the app, price TaxDome at your full client count.

Two more things change the totals. Canopy's per-client charges apply to add-ons, such as Tax Workflow Automation from $34 per client credit, billed annually.[^52] Liscio charges organizers and tax deliveries per item, $4 to $7 each.[^53] TaxDome moved new firms from per-seat to per-client pricing on 2 Nov 2026; existing customers keep per-seat pricing until their first renewal on or after 1 Jan 2027.[^54]

## What moving in and moving out involve

Moving in, as each vendor describes it:

- **Canopy:** self-guided implementation costs $199, refunded if you finish six setup milestones within 60 days; guided implementation is quoted by firm size.[^55]
- **Financial Cents:** premium onboarding and a dedicated customer success manager are listed only on Enterprise.[^56]
- **Firmary:** clients, tasks and time entries import from CSV, and you review the rows before anything is created. Importing clients doesn't invite them, and documents, messages, engagements and billing history stay behind.[^57]
- **Karbon:** free group onboarding, with paid guided implementation as an option.[^58] Karbon's data import runs self-service on Team, with help on Business.[^59]
- **Liscio:** onboarding is included in Liscio Platform. A flat-fee FileCabinet CS migration starts at $2,000, and Liscio says most take 1 to 2 weeks.[^60]
- **TaxDome:** most firms finish implementation in 6 to 8 weeks, TaxDome says, with client import help in the plan and implementation help paid.[^61]

Moving out, as the vendors' help and pricing pages describe it:

- **Canopy:** a client-list export to CSV, for roles with the export permission.[^62]
- **Financial Cents:** projects, clients and time tracking data, per a help article from 2021.[^63]
- **Firmary:** staff with permission export clients, contacts, tasks, time entries, aged receivables and the audit log as CSV and documents as a ZIP, and an owner can export the whole firm.[^64]
- **Karbon:** data export listed as standard on Team and Business.[^59]
- **TaxDome:** accounts, contacts, jobs, invoices, payments and time as zipped CSV files; documents are copied out of TaxDome Drive.[^65]

Liscio's export options weren't among the facts we checked. For every tool, ask for a sample export of one client, with messages and signed documents, before you sign.

Expect some clients to keep emailing attachments for a season. Every one of them has to learn a new link or app.

## Moving clients over without losing them

What we'd do, as an opinion rather than a vendor fact: move one group of clients first. Say your firm has 60 business clients on monthly bookkeeping and 340 individuals who file once a year. Start the 60 in November, when the work is steady and you can fix the rough edges, and invite the 340 when organizers go out in January. Send each group one kind of request first, such as bank statements, so the first thing they do in the new tool is small and obvious.

Keep the invitation separate from the move. Firmary, for example, treats inviting clients as a separate step from importing them,[^57] which lets you load everyone and invite in batches. Ask other vendors whether an import sends invitations automatically.

If you're also changing how you win new clients, that's a different purchase: our guide to [CRMs for accounting firms](https://bestcrmforaccountingfirms.pages.dev/) covers prospects, proposals and engagement letters.

## Questions to ask in a demo

1. Send me a request the way a client gets it. Can I answer it on my phone without creating a password?
2. Which plan includes automatic reminders to clients, and can I edit the wording?
3. If a client has five open requests, do they get five emails or one?
4. Where does a client's message land, and can a colleague see it when I'm out?
5. What does KBA cost per signer, and do e-signature credits expire?
6. What are your card and ACH fees, and can I pass card fees to the client?
7. Does the app carry our name in the app stores, or only our logo inside it?
8. What exactly syncs with QuickBooks Online or Xero, and in which direction?
9. Can clients text us, and do replies land on the client record?
10. How do you count a client for billing, and what happens to our price if every client logs in?
11. What can I export if I leave, including messages and signed documents?
12. What does implementation cost, and how long until our first client gets a request?

## A checklist to print

- [ ] Answered a real request as a client, on a phone
- [ ] Know which plan has automatic client reminders
- [ ] Know where client messages are stored and who can read them
- [ ] KBA price per signer written down
- [ ] Card and ACH fees written down
- [ ] Texting: two-way, reminders only, or none
- [ ] QuickBooks Online or Xero: what syncs, and which way
- [ ] Priced at our full client count and our staff count
- [ ] Security attestation named, with its type
- [ ] Sample export seen: client list, messages, signed documents
- [ ] Implementation time and fee in writing
- [ ] Plan for inviting clients in batches

[^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, "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)
[^3]: Financial Cents, "With our secure magic link technology your clients will be able to access the portal without ever having to create a username or password" https://financial-cents.com/accounting-client-portal/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^4]: Firmary, "Clients use PocketFirm in a web browser on a computer or phone, and can add it to their phone's home screen. ... For a single request, a client can also respond from an emailed link after entering a one-time code, without signing in to PocketFirm." https://firmary.app/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^5]: Karbon, "Clients can download the Karbon for Clients app from the Google Play Store or App Store for mobile access. ... You can add your firm's logo and colors to the client portal" https://karbonhq.com/feature/client-portal/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^6]: TaxDome, "Award-winning client app for web and mobile ... Top-100 App Store ranking, iOS and Android. ... Mobile app branded to your firm." https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^7]: Liscio, "Create professional client requests with your own questions, sections, and conditional logic." https://liscio.me/features/smart-client-requests (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^8]: Canopy, "Secure portal customized with your firm’s branding. ... Use your own domain for the client portal." https://www.getcanopy.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^9]: Financial Cents, "Open API Branded client portal Shared email Inbox" https://financial-cents.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^10]: TaxDome, "A fully branded iOS and Android app with your firm’s name in the App Store and Google Play. TaxDome builds, publishes, and maintains it." https://taxdome.com/add-ons (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^11]: Financial Cents, "Financial Cents will send automated text and email reminders until your client completes the request." https://financial-cents.com/client-tasks/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^12]: Karbon, "Business adds automatic client reminders, task automation, and industry integrations." https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^13]: Canopy, "Client portal and secure messaging ... Secure Client Messaging Beta Message clients directly in the client portal, with encryption for added security." https://www.getcanopy.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^14]: Financial Cents, "You can chat with clients securely in the portal, and every conversation is saved with the client, so your team has an audit trail of who spoke to the client, when, and about what." https://financial-cents.com/accounting-client-portal/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^15]: Karbon, "Share, assign and comment on emails across your team." https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^16]: Liscio, "you and your client message each other inside Liscio, and every message lands on the client Timeline. ... Clients can access Secure Messages through the Liscio mobile app or web portal." https://liscio.me/features/secure-messages (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^17]: Canopy, "$1.25 per KBA credit" https://www.getcanopy.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^18]: Financial Cents, "$1–$2 per KBA, depending on package size." https://financial-cents.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^19]: Liscio, "Organizers and document collection eSignature Custom branding ... KBA $2 per signer" https://liscio.me/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^20]: Karbon, "Each eSignature request with knowledge-based authentication uses two credits." https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^21]: TaxDome, "Unlimited e-signatures ... IRS-compliant signature requests with KBA." https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^22]: Canopy, "Standard Cards 3.30% + $0.20 ... ACH Payments 1% (cap $10)" https://www.getcanopy.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^23]: Karbon, "Standard Cards Most standard Visa/Mastercard credit and debit cards 2.6% + $0.30 ... ACH Direct Debit 1% + $0.30 (max $5.00)" https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^24]: TaxDome, "Cards & wallets: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction ... ACH debit: 1% per transaction (maximum $10)" https://help.taxdome.com/article/1781-taxdome-payments (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^25]: Financial Cents, "clients can pay however they prefer, thanks to our flexible payment options, including card and ACH payments." https://financial-cents.com/billing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^26]: Liscio, "Two plans, plus organizers and deliveries when you need them." https://liscio.me/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^27]: Firmary, "Keep invoice details and payment status with the client record, and review outstanding balances across your clients. ... Clients pay invoices through Stripe." https://firmary.app/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^28]: Financial Cents, "Use automated requests and text / email reminders to get documents faster." https://financial-cents.com/client-tasks/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^29]: TaxDome, "Send and receive texts from your TaxDome account." https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^30]: Karbon, "Two-way contact sync ... Automatic one-way invoice sync" https://karbonhq.com/integrations/intuit-quickbooks-online-accountant/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^31]: Canopy, "SOC 2 type II compliant" https://www.getcanopy.com/security/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^32]: Karbon, "Karbon’s web application product is SOC 2 Type 2 certified." https://karbonhq.com/security/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^33]: TaxDome, "TaxDome completes the PCI DSS Questionnaire A (SAQ A) and holds a SOC 2 Type II attestation." https://taxdome.com/security (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^34]: Financial Cents, "Financial Cents is SOC II Type I certified by AICPA" https://financial-cents.com/security/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^35]: Liscio, "Liscio is SOC 2 certified." https://liscio.me/features/secure-messages (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^36]: Firmary, "Firmary has not yet completed a third-party security audit or a SOC 2 examination." https://firmary.app/security/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^37]: Firmary, "Every upload is scanned for viruses before anyone can open it, and infected files are quarantined. Each firm’s data is kept separate, access follows staff roles and client assignments, and sensitive actions are recorded in an audit log. Owners and admins must use multi-factor sign-in." https://firmary.app/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^38]: Financial Cents, "Available on the Financial Cents Scale plan." https://financial-cents.com/mcp/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^39]: Firmary, "In Claude, open Customize → Connectors and choose Add custom connector (Firmary isn’t in Claude’s directory yet) ... Claude only ever acts as you. ... Claude asks you to confirm before it runs, unless you’ve set that tool to always allow. ... Every change made through Claude is recorded in your firm’s audit log." https://firmary.app/claude/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^40]: Firmary, "Claude connects today as a custom connector; ChatGPT support is in testing." https://firmary.app/llms.txt (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^41]: TaxDome, "The AI client experience is included with the TaxDome platform, independent of the firm’s AI add-on." https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/?p=193347 (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^42]: Canopy, "Standard $74 user/month ... Plus $109 user/month" https://www.getcanopy.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^43]: Financial Cents, "Solo ($19/mo annual) – Best for single-user firms. Team ($49/mo annual, $69/mo monthly) ... Scale ($69/mo annual, $89/mo monthly)" https://financial-cents.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^44]: Firmary, "Pricing isn't published." https://firmary.app/llms.txt (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^45]: 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)
[^46]: Karbon, "Includes everything in Team, plus: Automatic Client Reminders Task Automation Industry Integrations" https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^47]: 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)
[^48]: 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)
[^49]: Karbon, "Work Templates 40 75 Unlimited" https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^50]: 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)
[^51]: TaxDome, "An active client is a client with any activity in the past 12 months, such as logging in, uploading documents, sending messages, or receiving an invoice. Contacts without activity cost nothing." https://taxdome.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^52]: Canopy, "Starting at $34 credit/client annual billing; volume discounts available ... $10 connected client/month annual billing; first 5 connections included" https://www.getcanopy.com/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^53]: Liscio, "You can send organizers and deliveries any time without a bundle. Each one is $7." https://liscio.me/pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^54]: TaxDome, "Firms that signed up before Nov. 2, 2026 can still pay per seat, based on plan tier, and their plan and price stay the same until the first renewal on or after Jan. 1, 2027." https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/taxdome-switches-from-per-seat-to-per-client-pricing (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^55]: 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)
[^56]: Financial Cents, "Premium training & onboarding Dedicated customer success manager" https://financial-cents.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^57]: Firmary, "You can import clients, tasks, and time entries from CSV files. ... Importing clients doesn't invite them. Documents, messages, engagements, and billing history aren't imported." https://firmary.app/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^58]: 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)
[^59]: Karbon, "Data Import Self-Service Assisted Fully Managed Data Export Standard Standard Custom" https://karbonhq.com/pricing/ (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^60]: 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)
[^61]: TaxDome, "Most firms complete TaxDome implementation in 6–8 weeks." https://taxdome.com/migration-guidance (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^62]: 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)
[^63]: Financial Cents, "You can easily export the following data from Financial Cents. ... All your client work/ projects ... All your clients and their information ... Time tracking data" https://help.financial-cents.com/en/articles/4914145-can-i-export-my-data-from-financial-cents (checked 10 Nov 2026)
[^64]: 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)
[^65]: 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)