How to Choose the Best Tax Practice Management Software for Your Firm

Key takeaways Tax practice management software combines technology, processes, and client communications to help tax advisors manage and grow their practice more effectively. Common features of tax practice management software include engagement management, document management and e-signatures, billing and invoices, and client portals. Some tax practice management software providers are creating additional value for advisors by offering introductions to new clients and integrated client success teams. Four modern practice management software providers for breakaway tax advisors and small firms are Harness, Karbon, Canopy, and TaxDome. Tax practices should consider software providers that offer new client acquisition services, client onboarding and renewal support, time-saving technology, and access to professional development opportunities.

Table of Contents:

1. What is Tax Practice Management Software?
2. Comparing the Best Tax Practice Management Software
3. How to Select Tax Practice Management Software
4. Setting a New Standard for Practice Management
5. Practice Management Software FAQs

What is Tax Practice Management Software?

Tax practice management software brings together technology, processes, client communications, and automated task reminders to help tax professionals manage and grow their practice more effectively.

Comparing the Best Tax Practice Management Software

How to Select Tax Practice Management Software

As you aim to grow your tax practice, selecting a practice management software that meets your firm’s needs—from acquiring to retaining clients—creates a solid foundation for your future. 

The best tax practice management platforms deliver on the following four goals to support your firm’s success:

1. Acquiring and onboarding new clients
2. Coordinate client management and experience
3. Streamline operations with technology and software integrations
4. Leverage a community of advisors for support

In the next sections, we’ll break down what to look for in each of the four areas as you shop for practice management software.

1. Acquiring and onboarding clients

Not all tax practice management platform helps firms with acquisition and client onboarding. In fact, it is rare, especially for client acquisition solutions. Most software on the market focuses only on creating efficiencies by managing an advisor’s client relationships and operational workflows rather than solutions to grow a practice’s revenue. However, some tax practice management platforms offer solutions for both improving operations and increasing revenue.

When looking for solutions that offer business acquisition and new client onboarding processes, you may find yourself with two options:

1. You could hire a lead generation firm outside of your practice management relationship to attract new clients, which can vary in cost and outcome, but those firms will not assist with tax client onboarding. 
2. You could leverage a marketplace for client introductions from a tax management platform like Harness, which combines the operational benefits of practice management software with a marketplace for client leads and a streamlined client onboarding process.

2. Coordinate client management and experience

All your clients deserve first-class service. To provide that, you need the right system in place that offers a client experience aligned with your firm’s standards. 

When searching for practice management software that meets your needs around client interactions, consider the following tips:

• Look for a user-friendly client portal that makes it easy for clients to communicate with you, receive automated reminders, sign documents, provide tax information, e-file returns, and work on ad-hoc tax planning with your firm.
• Understand the software’s client intake and management capabilities, including whether it includes client onboarding questionnaires, client engagement letters, retainer management, client billing, and client status updates.
• Seek a solution that provides support managing client relationships, not simply technology without end-user customer support. As clients engage with your client portal, having dedicated customer service staff who are experts in your practice management software provides immense value to your practice as you allocate less time troubleshooting client tech questions and more time providing tax services. 

3. Streamline operations with technology and software integrations

Effective tax practice management technology and software integrations help your firm go beyond the project management of basic tasks to the strategic management of your firm’s overall operations. The right technology integrations can help eliminate manual tasks, speed up client service, and create profitable processes for your business.

As you compare practice management software, evaluate the following technology areas:

• The provider’s tax software or third-party integrations, which are used to manage your tax process, from data collection to e-filing.
• The platform’s business process technologies, which are used to streamline operations, including document management and scanning, e-signature capabilities, bulk task management, automated client status updates, and client task reminders.

4. Leverage a community of advisors for support

Most tax practice management software platforms don’t provide breakaway tax advisors or small firms with access to a community of tax and other professional advisors. Both Harness and Karbon offer tax advisor communities in various forms, bringing together platform users for professional development and continuing education.

If you’re looking for a professional tax advisor community, consider which aspects may be valuable to your firm:

• Referral network of tax, legal, and financial advisors to ensure you have a team of experts to support your clients for all of their tax needs.
• Peer support and educational opportunities with tax advisors in areas of expertise outside of your focus, including community events, roundtable discussions, and industry newsletters. 
• A practice coach to serve as a sounding board to help guide your firm’s operations.

How Harness Sets a New Standard for Practice Management

At Harness, we’re setting a new standard for efficient practice management that fuels revenue growth and increased profitability. Whether you’re trying to create additional capacity for your firm or starting your own practice after years in the industry, we’ve built a platform to optimize your tax practice. 

Curated Client Introductions

Harness pairs you and your firm with high-value tax clients whose needs align with your interests and areas of expertise. This maximizes your firm’s profits without compromising the level of service you provide.

• High-quality, high-value client leads. Harness provides advisors with warm introductions to clients with complex tax needs who are seeking personalized tax advice for themselves and their businesses. At Harness, tax advisory service fees range anywhere from $1,200 to $10,000 or more per year.
• Relevant partnerships that create mutual opportunities for growth. Harness works with premier financial service companies that serve clients who also need tax advice on complex matters, including equity compensation, corporate interests, crypto assets, and independent businesses.

Concierge Support

From client servicing to billing support, our Concierge team enables you and your clients to get more done faster.

• Time-saving customer support. Our concierge team answers frequently asked client questions that don’t require tax expertise—from troubleshooting to status updates—to help you stay focused.
• Client billing support. Lean on Harness Concierge for any additional support you may need in keeping your client billing up to date. If applicable, our team also handles the collection of retainer payments as well.
• Comprehensive client renewals. Our dedicated team works with advisors to re-engage with their clients to efficiently send out engagement letters for the upcoming tax season.

Time-Saving Tech

From a secure client portal to automated task updates, get everything you need to provide a modern, seamless tax advisory client experience, all in one place.

• A modernized tax practice. Transform the tax experience for you and your clients with client relationship management tools, automated task management, file sharing, billing and invoicing software, and more.
• Smart, proactive client communications. From document sharing to e-filing and more, Harness helps you free up capacity for more complex client needs and save valuable time with pre-set engagement templates, notifications, and reminders. 
• Seamless client onboarding and collaboration. The Client Portal offers simple and secure completion of tax questionnaires and uploading of client tax documents, making it easy for clients to share new files and forms as they come in, and easy for you to keep track of it all.
• Efficient engagement management. All of your tax engagements are organized in an easy-to-use, visual dashboard. Send tax engagements in bulk to save time and resources.

A Community of Tax Advisors

The Harness advisor community provides support from like-minded tax experts.

• Professional development. With continuing education, a practice coach, and a community of like-minded peers, the Harness tax community is here to fuel your firm’s growth. If you have questions, know that you have a team of experts ready to answer them.
• Client referrals. Gain access to a robust referral network where advisors leverage each other’s expertise to serve their clients best.

Here’s What Advisors Have to Say About Harness

“I don’t have to chase clients for information anymore. The Concierge and the tech tools take the administrative work off my plate, empowering me to operate more efficiently.”

– Sam Boehr, JD, LLM

View Boehr Team Profile

“Harness gave me the confidence to start my business from scratch. Less than 2 years later, I have a full book of interesting clients, and they’re still helping me grow.”

– Kelley Maddox

View Maddox Team Profile

 

Schedule an Intro With Harness Are you ready to optimize your tax practice? Set up an intro with our Business Development team to see the platform for yourself. Plus, we’ll connect you with other advisors on our platform so you can hear first-hand from tax practices leveraging Harness today. Set up an intro with Harness today.

 

Practice Management Software FAQs

As you select a practice management software solution, here are a few common questions we receive at Harness.

Is Harness an accounting practice management software?

Harness provides similar capabilities as accounting practice management software but is built specifically for the needs of tax advisors rather than accounting professionals. Harness does not offer tools such as bookkeeping that more general accounting firms or CPA firms may need from their software. If you operate an accounting firm specializing in financial statements, bookkeeping, payroll, budgeting, or internal auditing, then selecting an accounting practice management software solution will better fit your needs.

What type of software does a tax specialist need?

A tax specialist typically needs software to manage their workflow and ensure compliance with tax laws. Key software includes tax preparation software for filing returns, tax practice management software to streamline client and office management, and potentially accounting software for financial tracking and reporting. Additionally, document management and e-signature software help reduce paper documents and efficiently scan for data in PDFs. Tax professionals may also use tax research software to access up-to-date tax codes and regulations, ensuring compliance and effective tax planning.