Canopy

Game changer

Vorteile:

We luckily chose Canopy as our client portal system pre-pandemic. When the shut down occurred, we were ready to continue servicing our clients during this very termultuous time. AS we move forward from the pandemic, our clients have found they like having a single source to share documents virtually. We as a firm continue to develop our skills in Canopy and now use it for engagement letters, tax documents and any communications with our clients

Nachteile:

Wish there could be better isolation of reminder emails or emails when a client performs as action.

Canopy is Great for Small- and Mid-size Tax and Bookkeeping Firms

Vorteile:

The two features that my firm likes the most in Canopy is the Client Portal and Tax Resolution (IRS transcript delivery service). When purchasing the software, we knew we needed a Client Portal through which clients could exchange documents with us via their smartphone, and we've really liked that feature (being able to brand it as "ours" is a nice touch). What we didn't know - until we used it - was just how much time we save with pulling IRS transcripts through Canopy's Tax Resolution tool versus pulling transcripts through IRS e-services. Once your Form 2848 is on file with the IRS, you can pull every transcript for which you're authorized for a given client with the touch of a button. They download directly from the IRS in PDF format, and with one more button you can save every transcript to the client's file. The time savings is incredible, versus downloading individual transcripts one year and one form at a time.

Nachteile:

I personally feel that the e-signature process is a bit clunky, but that's probably just because I don't have much experience with IRS-approved e-signatures (which require knowledge-based authentication). But at least I know that Canopy is compliant with IRS regulations concerning e-signatures!

Showed some early promise but now payments are a disaster

Kommentare: From 2021 to now it's been satisfactory but I've been impatient with the limited API functions. From May 2023 its been horrible after the payment processor switch to Ayden. Stay away!

Vorteile:

The ease at which my clients were able to upload and send me documents

Nachteile:

Their payments used to be with Paysafe and it was okay but they recently moved to Ayden and it's been a nightmare. We can't add new payments, can't run old payments and we now don't see decline codes. There's no transparency any longer with CC or ACH ledgers and our business has become a nightmare collecting payments from our clients.

Best Tax Resolution Software Out There!

Kommentare: Love Canopy and can't imagine doing our jobs without it!! The support staff is outstanding both via chat and calling in. They have been open to new ideas, are positive and almost always help us to solve our problems.

Vorteile:

The software is intuitive and easy to use. I'm sure we under utilize it but it works great for our small office. The thing we like best is that it keeps us organized! There are so many great features though including allowing us to be paperless.

Nachteile:

I wish we could customize the text in the "Notes" section. We use Notes a lot. Would love to be able to use colored text - red for deadlines, green for amounts due, etc. Also wish we could search the contact list by phone numbers. We often receive incoming calls in which the name listed on the caller ID is not the name of the actual person. Currently, we have to enter the phone number into our cell phone to see if it is someone we have spoken with before or a current client.

Thomson Reuters File cab vs Tax Canopy

Kommentare: Within two weeks of starting my 30 day free trial, I had it set up (so I could evaluate the details and functionality) and decided to switch from Thomson Reuters File Cab. Another local CPA had also finished his vetting process so Tax Canopy already came highly recommended.

Vorteile:

Free support - chat in or ph call. Templates for global folder creation. Once this is figured out, you can populate new client files with all the needed folders in less than 30 seconds. Using "Tags" to identify clients to send email blasts inside Canopy - brilliant! Unlimited file storage. Thomson Reuters charges me which is odd in this day and age with super affordable data storage. Annotations to files (i.e. PDFs) without paying for an ADobe license. Client portals. I've used other portal software, including the Thompson Reuters VO portal, but Canopy has this down to simple science. The Desktop Assistant allows you to edit live Word and Excel files.

Nachteile:

File migration from File Cab. I wrote a how-to process sheet for my firm so this is doable just time-consuming. Don't let that deter you as it is part of the pain to switch from one software to another. We also are ditching Thomson Reuters Practice CS (i.e. their time and billing software) for the one inside Canopy. The invoicing and reporting are much weaker in Canopy compared to Practice CS so this is a problem but wasn't a deal-breaker. Canopy has assured me that better reports are forthcoming and I trust Canopy.