As former accounting firm owners and now founders of a leading cloud practice management solution, we’ve worked with thousands of accounting firms over the past 25+ years.

Through this experience, we've gained a deep understanding of what firms look for when adopting a practice management solution—what works well and what may fall short.

To help firm owners make an informed decision, we’ve developed a framework called the 4 Cs, which highlights the key factors to consider when evaluating practice management systems.

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The 4 Factors (4 Cs) of Evaluating Practice Management Systems

If you’ve shortlisted a few practice management systems, how do you compare them effectively? Use the 4Cs (OK, not those 4 Cs, those for your engagement rings – these are our 4 Cs for accounting firm owners): 

• Capabilities 
• Client Experience 
• Clarity 
• Community

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Factor 1: Capabilities

Choosing a system isn’t just about finding the one with the most features — it’s about identifying the right “Product-Firm Fit.”

Consider the type of firm you are (or aspire to be):

• Are you a smaller firm that wants to keep things simple or a larger one with more complex needs?
• Are you tax-centric or focused on client accounting?

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And with that in mind, let’s take a look at how you can evaluate various platforms in terms of what your firm needs -

Key Dimensions of Capabilities

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1. Practice Management Capabilities: The foundational features you expect, such as project and workflow tracking, document management, collaboration tools, and time tracking.
   
2. AI-based Capabilities: Modern solutions in 2025 should leverage AI to save time and improve efficiency. Look for tools that use generative AI to summarize information, retrieve data quickly, or draft your content, such as replies to emails.
   
3. Workflow Capabilities: Innovative systems now incorporate workflow automation. For example, bookkeeping workflows might automatically send uncategorized transactions to clients, while tax workflows might integrate directly with tax software for seamless file management.

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Factor 2: Client Experience

Your firm’s client experience is key to attracting and retaining desirable clients.

Many systems treat client experience as an afterthought, resulting in clunky portals. In contrast, superior platforms make client experience a core focus, offering features like:

• Native Mobile Apps: Allow clients to respond on the go, scan and upload documents instantly, and more.
• Streamlined Communication: Enhance collaboration through intuitive, user-friendly interfaces.

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Factor 3: Clarity

A powerful platform isn’t useful if it’s overly complex. Look for solutions that balance capabilities with clarity—easy to learn and use, even for new team members.

Platforms with strong clarity enable:

• Faster onboarding for new employees
• Streamlined workflows
• Improved overall firm performance

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Factor 4: Community

The platform’s ecosystem and support network play a big role in your success. Consider these aspects:

• Engagement with the accounting industry (social channels, conferences, etc.)
• Quality of tech support
• Compatibility with other tools in the accounting tech stack
• Peer community—how easily you can connect with other users and learn from their experiences

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Now, let’s start to evaluate each of the Top 6 Practice Management solutions against this 4 Cs framework to find the best fit for your firm. Here is our short list of Top 6 Practice Management Solutions to consider, based on what we see from many leading small accounting and bookkeeping firms: 

1. Client Hub
2. Karbon 
3. Financial Cents
4. Canopy 
5. Keeper.app 

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Let’s review each one for you:

Client Hub

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• ‍Capabilities:

• ‍Practice Management Capabilities: Client Hub offers robust traditional features like project and workflow management, time tracking, and document management. Its standout strengths include:
  • Intuitive workflows with easy-to-follow checklists
  • Comprehensive dashboards for tracking deadlines and tasks
  • Seamless email integration to manage all client emails
  • Integrated client portal (including a client mobile app) that makes your firm stand out

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• ‍AI-based Capabilities: Client Hub leads the way with the most complete AI innovation for accounting firms:
  • Magic Search - Search across everything - work, documents – even within documents – at a whole new level – just describe what you are looking for and Client Hub brings it right up 
  • Magic Email Replies - How many hours do you spend in email?  Client Hub’s powerful email auto-compose responses creates a first draft for email responses and can also help you refine it for your tone
  • Magic Workflow automation - Client Hub can generate workflow

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• Workflow Capabilities: Client Hub leads the way with innovation focused on key bookkeeping / client accounting workflows:
  • Books Review: Save hours each month with our powerful tools that inspect QuickBooks client data and help you quickly get their books closed
  • Uncategorized Transactions: Automatically send any expense (or deposit) to your clients 
  • (Coming soon) Magic Financial Analysis - Take your month-end deliverables to the next level with AI. This capability will let you configure AI agents that will automatically suggest areas to review with your client after you close their books

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• Client Experience: Client Hub delivers a modern client experience, making collaboration with clients smooth and efficient. 

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• Clarity: Loved for its ease of use, Client Hub simplifies onboarding and daily operations.
• Community: Active engagement with industry events and user communities makes Client Hub a favorite among firms.
  

Bottom Line: Client Hub is our #1 recommended Accounting Practice Management solution for 2025.  It is best for firms that focus on bookkeeping and client-accounting services (or a mix of these services and tax services).  It stands out for ease of use, client experience, and advanced AI and workflow capabilities.

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Karbon

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• Capabilities: Provides comprehensive features tailored for larger firms. It has a standout feature around email triage and provides deep functionality in all standard practice management areas.  Karbon AI is also innovative, but there is no investment in specific accounting workflow or tax workflow capabilities.

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• Client Experience: Offers a client portal designed for task completion and document sharing, though it may not be as intuitive as some competitors. The portal supports essential client interactions but might lack advanced engagement features.

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• ‍Clarity: While feature-rich, Karbon's extensive capabilities can introduce complexity, potentially leading to a steeper learning curve for new users. Firms may require additional training to fully leverage its functionalities.

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• Community: Maintains a respected presence in the accounting industry, with active participation in events and forums. Users generally appreciate its support and engagement with the professional community.
  

Bottom Line: Ideal for larger firms ($3M+ revenue) seeking extensive features and willing to manage complexity.

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Financial Cents

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• Capabilities: An all-in-one platform offering practice management, client portal, and mobile apps. Includes features like e-signatures, document management, and workflow automation.  Also offers a bookkeeping workflow tool (resolving uncategorized expenses, but this is for an additional monthly fee, priced for each client) 

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• Client Experience: Provides a comprehensive client portal. Clients can sign documents, answer questions and upload files via a user-friendly interface.

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• Clarity: Offers a balance between functionality and ease of use, with a relatively straightforward setup process. Users find the interface intuitive, facilitating efficient navigation and task management.

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• Community: Engages well with the accounting community through events and online forums. The platform continues to evolve based on user feedback.

Bottom Line: Popular for small firms with diverse projects, balancing features and community engagement.

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Canopy

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• Capabilities: Specializes in tax-focused workflows, offering tools for financial review, IRS integration, and client communication. Its document management and task tracking features are particularly strong for tax professionals.

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• Client Experience: Provides a client portal for document sharing and task tracking, but the interface can feel less polished compared to some competitors.

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• Clarity: Designed with tax firms in mind, Canopy's robust features can be complex to navigate for firms new to such software. The learning curve can be steep without proper training.

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• Community: Active engagement with tax professionals through events and forums. Users report good integration with accounting tools but note that some workflows might require additional customization.

Bottom Line: Best for larger, tax-focused firms that need robust features and can handle complexity.

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Keeper.app

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• Capabilities: Specializes in month-end close processes, offering tools for financial review and client communication. Focuses on bookkeeping workflows with features like transaction categorization and report generation. However, it lacks the broader practice management features of other platforms.

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• Client Experience: Provides a basic client portal for sharing documents and communicating with clients.

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• Clarity: Designed for simplicity and efficiency, Keeper’s user-friendly interface makes it an excellent choice for bookkeeping tasks. However, it’s limited in scope compared to comprehensive practice management systems.
  

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• Community: Strong engagement with the bookkeeping community, offering tailored support and resources. Users value its responsiveness and commitment to improving workflows.

Bottom Line: Suited for larger bookkeeping-focused firms needing standardized month-end close workflows.

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Summary: Top 5 Accounting Practice Management solutions for 2025

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Here we've rounded off all of the practice management software in our list, rated according to how they did against our 4Cs principle. This will help you make a better decision on which accounting practice management solutions you should go with.