Karbon is practice management built around the firm's email. You triage the inbox as a team, comment on a message, and turn it into a task on a client and a job. Jobs come from templates, with a status, an assignee, and a due date. Clients get requests and a portal for documents. You record time on the work and create the invoice in Karbon. Contacts, invoices, and payments can sync with QuickBooks Online Accountant or with Xero. The client's books stay in that ledger. Karbon is not where you categorize their bank feed.

Double is the close workspace that writes back to QuickBooks Online or Xero and does not try to be the firm's inbox. TaxDome and Canopy are the tax-season practice systems, with organizers and e-sign aimed at return delivery. Botkeeper automates categorization on the client file. Karbon is the operating layer: who has the email, who has the job, and whether it has been billed.

Firms stay when email is where work goes to die. A shared thread, a comment, and a job status replace the side message that never got written down. Billing sits on the same job, so you can see time against the work without exporting a spreadsheet. You can collect in Karbon and let the ledger update from the sync, or keep invoicing where you already do it.

Share, assign, and comment on email inside Karbon so a message is tied to the client and the job. Integrated email is listed on Team, the entry plan. The pricing page does not name Gmail versus Outlook. Web, iOS, and Android apps are listed.

Triage the firm inbox on the client

Create work from a template, assign tasks, and watch status on a dashboard. The comparison table lists 35 workflow statuses, 40 work templates, and 30 work types on Team. Business raises those caps to 50, 75, and 45. Enterprise lists them as unlimited. Business adds task automation and automatic client reminders.

Run jobs from templates

Send a client request, share documents, and keep the thread on the job. The client portal is listed with tasks and document sharing. eSignature is sold as credit bundles, not included as unlimited signing. A request uses one credit. A request with knowledge-based authentication uses two. Proposals and engagement letters sent through Karbon Engagements do not use those credits.

Ask the client and file the reply

Team includes time tracking, budget reporting, billing, payments, and engagements. Record time where the job lives, then invoice from Karbon. Card payments on the pricing page are 2.6% plus $0.30, premium cards 3.6% plus $0.30, American Express 3.9% plus $0.30, and ACH 1% plus $0.30 capped at $5.

Time the work and send the invoice

QuickBooks Online Accountant: contacts sync both ways, invoices sync from Karbon to QuickBooks, and payments sync both ways. Xero: contacts sync both ways, Karbon invoices sync to Xero, service types can map to Xero accounts, and payments sync both ways, including partial payments. The Business plan is the one that lists industry integrations. The integration pages do not name a plan gate.

Sync invoices to QuickBooks Online or Xero

Karbon puts firm email, jobs, and billing in one place. Team is $59/user/mo annual. Monthly billing starts at 4 users. Quote for Enterprise.

Karbon Review: Practice Management Built Around Email

Karbon

Team

Business

Enterprise

eSignature credits

Client Hub is practice management for a US bookkeeping or CPA firm. Staff run jobs, deadlines, and messages in one workspace, and can turn Gmail or Microsoft 365 email into a task. Each client gets a portal, including the iOS and Android app, to upload files, answer requests, and sign. Uncategorized QuickBooks Online expenses and checks show up as tasks. When the client adds a category, a description, or a receipt, you can push that back to QuickBooks Online. Deposits are different: the client answers, then you open the transaction in QuickBooks to finish it. Xero Spend Money lines can become tasks too, and approved updates post back.

It does not replace QuickBooks Online or Xero. The books stay there. Double is the close workspace that lives on the connected file. TaxDome is the broader system when the firm also needs tax organizers and a full practice suite. Dext is receipt capture into the ledger. Client Hub is the chase: who owes a document, which transaction is still open, and which job is late. Books Review flags missing payees, missing receipts, large transactions, and odd changes on the profit and loss, then turns the fix into a client task.

Firms keep it when client questions used to die in a personal inbox. Recurring jobs and Autopilot reminders ask for documents before the work starts, and the whole team can see the reply. Clients with more than one company use one login. You still code, reconcile, and lock the period in QuickBooks Online or Xero.

Expense and Check transactions in QuickBooks Online become client tasks. The client picks context, adds a description that maps to the memo, and uploads a receipt. You review and close the task to push updates and the attachment back. Deposit tasks are one-way: after the client answers, you use Go to QuickBooks to finish the transaction yourself.

Client tasks from open ledger lines

Books Review looks back 12 months and flags expense inconsistencies, purchases without payees, postings to parent accounts, large transactions over a threshold you set, missing attachments, and new accounts, vendors, and customers. AI Analysis compares the balance sheet and profit and loss to the prior period. One click turns a missing receipt into a client task.

Books Review before month-end

1099 Manager pulls vendor, payment, and tax ID data from QuickBooks. You send a secure upload link for the W-9. When the vendor submits it, updated tax IDs sync back to QuickBooks. That covers W-9 collection and a tax ID sync, not 1099 e-file.

W-9 requests from QuickBooks vendors

Create jobs with an owner, a deadline, and a checklist, including recurring work. Connect Gmail or Microsoft 365 and turn an email into a job the team can see. Autopilot requests documents a set number of days before the work starts and reminds the client if they go quiet. Magic tools draft replies, client tasks, and a monthly books-review pass.

Jobs, inbox, and Autopilot reminders

Clients upload files, answer requests, and message from the browser or the Client Hub iOS and Android app. They create a login once and stay signed in if they have used it in the last 30 days. eSignature runs through SignWell at no extra fee. Internal firm folders stay off the client view. Role controls can limit a staffer to certain clients or jobs.

Portal, phone app, and e-sign

When a client accepts a proposal in Anchor, Client Hub can create the workspace, the folder structure, and the job templates mapped to the services on that proposal. Other apps connect through Zapier. The integrations page names Ignition and Google Sheets as examples for importing a client list.

Anchor proposals that open a job

Client Hub is practice management for bookkeeping and CPA firms. Per user, unlimited clients. QBO expenses write back. Deposits do not.

Client Hub Review: Firm Portal on QuickBooks Online and Xero

Client Hub

Solopreneur

Practice Manager

Practice Manager +

TaxDome puts CRM, pipelines, a client portal, e-signatures, secure chat, proposals, and invoicing in one system so a tax or bookkeeping firm is not bouncing between email, a file share, and a separate billing tool. Clients get a web portal and iOS/Android apps to upload documents, sign, and pay.

US and Canada pricing is per seat, billed upfront for 1, 2, or 3 years. Essentials is $800 per user per year on a 1-year term ($700 on 3 years) and is limited to one team member. Pro is $1,000 per user per year ($900 on 3 years) and adds workflow automation, team chat, AI reporting, a branded URL, IRS transcript download, and 120 general-ledger connections for bookkeeping clients. Business is $1,200 per user per year ($1,100 on 3 years) and adds Client Care (TaxDome answers client platform questions), a 365-day activity feed, unlimited ledger connections, and faster support (about 6-hour response). Pro can add $100/month seats. Business can add $500 seasonal seats for four months.

Choose TaxDome if you want one vendor for portal, workflow, and billing and you can pay annually. Essentials is the wrong plan the moment a second person needs a login. Implementation is a project; firms that skip training stall. This is for firms, not for an owner doing their own books.

Clients and contacts in one list, with pipelines for tax, bookkeeping, and accounting work.

Unlimited CRM

Clients upload, sign, message, and pay from the web or the TaxDome iOS and Android apps. Business plan can white-label the app at 25+ seats.

Client portal and mobile apps

Pro and Business include ready-made pipelines for tax and bookkeeping so organizers, signatures, and invoices trigger the next step.

Workflow automation

Unlimited storage and e-signatures on every plan, including knowledge-based authentication when you need extra identity checks.

Documents and e-signatures

Send an engagement letter, collect the signature, and take payment (including Stripe) in one thread instead of a separate proposal tool.

Proposals and payments

Pro includes 120 client general-ledger connections with no per-client fee. Business removes the cap. Categorize client transactions inside TaxDome.

Bookkeeping ledger connections

TaxDome

Essentials

Canopy is practice management for US CPA, tax, and bookkeeping firms. Client records, documents, e-signatures, organizers, tasks, time, invoices, and portal messages live on one engagement instead of across a file share, a task app, and a separate billing tool.

Standard is $74 per user per month billed annually and includes CRM, document management, eSign, the client portal, task workflows, invoicing, and payments. Plus is $109 and adds roles, capacity planning, and custom reporting. Premium is $149. Enterprise is a custom quote aimed at very large firms. Add-ons sit on top of those seats: tax workflow automation from $34 per client credit, close automation at $10 per connected client per month (first five connections included), and tax resolution at $50 per user per month. Card payments are 3.30% + $0.20; ACH is 1% capped at $10. Annual billing is 20% less than monthly.

Pick Canopy if IRS transcript pulls, notice workflows, and tax-season intake belong in the same system as billing. Skip it if you need a global, multi-currency practice OS or you only want a lightweight task board. This is a firm operating system. Plan for a real implementation, not a weekend swap.

One client record for contacts, requests, secure messages, and a branded portal. Clients upload and sign from the web or the mobile app.

Client CRM and portal

Store files on the client, run eSign (including KBA at $1.25 per credit), and use AI to rename uploads and place signature fields.

Recurring tasks, role-based assignments, timers, WIP, and (on Plus) capacity planning so busy-season work does not pile onto the same two people.

Workflows and time

Invoices, recurring billing, retainers, and online card or ACH collection. Group billing combines related entities on one invoice.

Invoicing and payments

Optional add-on: pull up to 20 years of IRS transcripts, track notices, and auto-fill 200+ federal and state forms from $50/user/month.

Tax resolution tools

Tax workflow automation (intake through delivery) from $34 per client credit. Close automation scans connected ledgers from $10 per client per month.

Tax and close add-ons

Canopy

Standard

Plus

Premium

Shoeboxed is a receipt scanning and expense management solution designed for small business owners, accountants, freelancers, and bookkeepers. It allows users to turn receipts into data with automatic data extraction for expense reporting and tax preparation. Users can send receipts via various methods, including mailing them in prepaid envelopes, using a mobile app, or emailing them directly to their Shoeboxed account. The service also provides a free mileage tracker and integrates with accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero.

Users can scan receipts using a mobile app or send them in via prepaid envelopes for data extraction.

Receipt Scanning

Create comprehensive expense reports that include images of all expenses.

Expense Reporting

Unlimited mileage tracking for business purposes.

Mileage Tracking

Receipt data is categorized into 15 tax categories for easy management.

Data Categorization

Digital images of receipts are accepted by the IRS and Canada Revenue Service.

Audit Proof Reports

Shoeboxed

Starter

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software designed for small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers. Founded in 2006, it has grown to serve over 4.9 million customers globally, particularly in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Xero automates many day-to-day tasks, helping users manage finances, control cash flow, and integrate with various applications.

Get answers to business questions and automate tasks with JAX, Xero's AI financial superagent.

Bookkeeping and accounting software

Karbon

Client Hub

TaxDome

Canopy

Shoeboxed

Xero