Canopy vs. Wolters Kluwer ATX

If you want to have an all in one solution for managing you clients (from sales lead to loyal client) this is the answer. We rarely have to use other systems to take a client from a lead to completing their taxes or representation case. It's also given us the freedom to switch our business model to focus on value added pricing and shift to be an advisory focused firm. If you want to pump out hundreds of returns and don't care about managing your clients on a long term basis because you're a quantity over quality shop, you may not find value in the software.

Incentivized

I have been using ATX for at least 15 years. It is competitively priced for a part-time tax preparation firm like mine versus some of its competitors. The software is straightforward to use with very little training needed, and it includes the "paint by numbers" i.e. "interview" tax prep approach if desired (I virtually never use that as not needed, but it is a nice alternative for the more inexperienced preparer perhaps). I have found it to be pretty intuitive to use, and the file capability is very straightforward. I will continue to use it going forward, as while there are a couple of competitors that are slightly cheaper, certainly not enough difference to warrant changing software and again I'm overall pleased with the product despite the couple of areas that I commented are a bit clunky. Not a big deal. Overall good product.

Incentivized

• As TheCPATaxProblemSolver, Canopy is a great timesaver in helping me complete IRS Offer In Compromises. An Offer in Compromise (OIC) is an IRS program that allows taxpayers to settle their liabilities for less than the full amount owed.
• I use analytics contained in the state-of-the-art Canopy tax resolution software to calculate smart recommendations based on each unique case to arrive at the best solution and prepare successful cases.
• Canopy tax has an all in one practice management software. It features Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Document Management, Workflow Management, as well as Billing and Invoicing

Incentivized

• Calculation/preparation of personal tax return for individuals.
• Calculation/preparation of small business tax returns, i.e., Schedule C for individual bus owners.
• Electronic transmission of completed tax return to IRS and applicable states.
• Preparation of summary letter and billing to tax clientele.
• Modeling of pro forma tax results for succeeding years and prep of estimated tax payments needed.

Incentivized

• Connectivity with Outlook for email tracking - the connection is sometimes lost and there is no notification. You just look for your email trail and there is nothing.
• Electronic signatures for multiple contacts on one document with some fields being optional would be a great help.
• Being able to see contact transcripts in the client record view versus just the transcript screen would be more efficient.

Incentivized

• The preparation of the summary letter of the tax return module is a bit clunky but usable.
• The preparation of the next year's quarterly estimates module, while automatic, is a bit clunky to override with more specific info versus what is automatically populated from the current year's return.
• The print feature can be a little cumbersome getting to work on a local printer, resulting in some printing issues.

Incentivized

We had to contact the company many times because of the problems we were encountering. They were not helpful in any way

Incentivized

Just let it do the standard install. No issues whatsoever.

Incentivized

Canopy works efficiently for all the companies, more so the CPA firms and other programs have no such advancement. The existence of an individualized client portal from Canopy is a remarkable step. Canopy records the due dates for a project and checks them when they are near or notifies the user.

Incentivized

Turbotax is the most popular but not applicable if you are a tax preparer as it won't let you sign a tax preparer. Their tax prep version, Pro Series, is a bit more expensive, and I have found it not significantly different enough nor provide any applicable benefit to me changing. I also evaluated Drake tax prep software, but again, while it has some nice features, it could not justify the change effort compared to any incremental features I might use. ATX continues to offer the right product features for what I need at one of the cheapest costs.

Incentivized

• We have eliminated our admin position as our tasks are more streamlined.
• We can support a year-round client demand breaking the season-to-season cash cycle.
• We're looking to become 100% remote/virtual helping clients all over the country/world within the next 12 months due to this cloud solution.

Incentivized