Practice Management Software for Tax Firms
Practice Management
for Tax Firms
Karbon delivers clarity, control, and automation across every area of your firm, setting you up for year-round success.
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Trusted by 30,000+ accounting professionals globally
Fast-track tax queues
Visualise, manage, and prioritise high-volume tax work with role-based templates and First-In First-Out tax queues. Assign tasks based on team members’ skills and historical patterns, so work keeps moving even as the season intensifies.
Easily reassign jobs or adjust deadlines across stages, whether you're in internal review or preparing for client review, without missing key details.
Automate client intake
Karbon tax organisers and binders powered by StanfordTax use AI to quickly generate personalised tax organisers for each client.
Real-time status updates sync directly into Karbon, automatically triggering follow-up tasks and delivering organised workpapers exactly where you need them. No manual transfers or document chasing required.
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Leverage tax-ready templates
Kickstart tax season with a ready-to-go library of prebuilt workflows for standard returns like 1040s and 1099s. Each workflow includes built-in tasks, roles, deadlines, automations, and sections, customisable to align with your firm's unique tax processes, ensuring everyone stays efficient and on-task.
Every step of your firm’s tax process, covered
Pre-Tax Season Planning
Get complete visibility into your firm before busy season hits. Karbon’s Progress Reports help you spot bottlenecks, track work by deadline, and filter by status or type, so nothing falls through the cracks.
Client Information Capture
Collect and organise client documents with built-in tax organisers and binders powered by StanfordTax. AI-generated, personalised client organisers easily collect, categorise, and track client information. Send organisers for review, see status updates, upload docs to a client binder, and link everything in one place.
Document Assembly & Annotation
Declutter your document storage by bringing it all together. With Karbon for Clients, StanfordTax, and your prep software, you can assemble and annotate documents in one easy workflow – reducing back-and-forth and improving accuracy.
Tax Preparation
First-In First-Out (FIFO) Queues in Karbon ensure tax preparation is handled in the right order. Work items added to queues can be shared, assigned, and tracked, making it easy to see progress and who’s responsible.
Internal Review
Prepare documents for internal approval and collect team sign-offs right from Karbon. Real-time status tracking shows who has reviewed, approved, and what is pending with a complete audit trail. Customisable reminders eliminate manual follow-ups with colleagues.
Client Review
Send documents, get approvals and request signatures all from Karbon. Set reminders, and track status with visibility into what’s been sent, seen, and signed.
Billing & Payments
Bill faster with less admin. Generate invoices directly from work items, so billing stays connected to the job and payment is pain-free, right from within Karbon.
Send & Sign Documents
Insert signature tasks into your workflow. Clients can securely sign off in Karbon for Clients, and you can monitor it all from one place. No more chasing signatures.
Tax Filing
Keep everything in sync automatically by integrating your Document Management System (DMS) with Karbon, ensuring files are properly stored and retrievable without manual uploads.
Archiving
Busy season may be over, but the work doesn’t stop. Keep your firm connected and in control year-round with Karbon’s automatic syncing.
Engage clients 24/7
Deliver a premium experience through Karbon for Clients, designed for critical client-facing stages such as document intake, organiser completion, annotation, and approvals.
Clients can upload files, complete organisers, approve documents, and eSign tax filing forms with Knowledge-based Authentication, all in one secure, branded portal.
Your tax systems, fully integrated
Build your ideal tax tech stack by connecting Karbon to your favorite tax software.
With deep integrations to Intuit ProConnect, StanfordTax, TaxNow, Truss, Soraban, TaxPlan IQ and more, Karbon's connected ecosystem helps you make the most of your existing tax tools better than every other practice management platform.
Flexible billing, faster payments
Manage billing with engagements that link directly to relevant tax work. Generate branded invoices, apply your preferred billing models, and collect payments without leaving Karbon, all while keeping billing tied tightly to task completion.
Documents done right
Organise your firm's files from initial client document capture to long-term archiving. Intelligent foldering and DMS syncs ensure your data stays clean, compliant, and accessible across every touchpoint in the tax process.
App integrations save time, reduce manual uploads and downloads, and minimise costly mistakes for your firm.
Key features for tax firms
Ensure every client is served in the order they came, with less stress for your team.
Every extension tracked, filed, and followed up, without spreadsheets or manual steps.
Easily send tax organisers with StanfordTax and get automatic IRS transcript alerts with TaxNow, all in Karbon.
Real-time visibility into work progression. Know exactly where to focus and what’s falling behind.
Set recurring work to repeat on automatic schedules.
Create task lists for clients to collect information and important files.
Set up reminders to auto-chase clients until requests are completed.
Collaborate with clients in one streamlined workflow with tasks, document sharing, and eSignatures.
Store your client contacts and key information in a centralised database.
Files and documents automatically organised against clients and jobs.
Every email between your client and anyone on your team, in one single place.
Leverage the latest advancements in AI, built into your practice management.
Estimate and track time to understand profitability and allocate resources.
Automate billing and payment collection to reduce AR and improve cash flow.
Plug-and-play dashboard that gives you real-time insights into key metrics.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get Karbon running for our tax firm?
Most firms can be up and running in just a few weeks. Getting started depends on the size of your team, the amount of data you want to bring in, and how quickly you want to adopt Karbon’s tax workflows. Many firms begin seeing value quickly by rolling out core features like email, work, and client tasks, then expanding into advanced automations and reporting over time.
Can we import our existing client data and files?
Yes. Karbon supports importing your client records, contact details, and historical data so you don ’t have to start from scratch. You can also migrate work templates, processes, and files to ensure a smooth transition. Our team provides resources and guidance to help with data import so your firm’s history and relationships stay intact.
Do you provide implementation support?
Absolutely. Karbon offers new customers tiered onboarding support options, allowing them to choose the level of service that best matches their firm’s needs. This can include setup guidance, workflow configuration, best practice training, and ongoing access to our support team. Larger firms may also benefit from customised rollout plans.
What's the first step to set up Karbon for tax season?
The first step is to import your contacts and create your work templates in Karbon. This ensures your team has a repeatable process with built-in tasks, automation, and client requests. From there, you can match your clients with the repeatable processes you provide them to keep your tax season on track. Many firms choose an Implementation Service for dedicated support from a Karbon Specialist.
Can clients upload tax documents and eSignature forms directly in Karbon?
Yes. Clients can securely upload tax documents and electronically sign forms via the Karbon for Clients client portal. This eliminates back-and-forth emails and gives your firm one centralised place to manage all client-facing communication and file collection.
Can my clients see the status of their returns or know when something is ready for them to follow up on?
Yes. Through the Karbon for Clients portal, you can automatically share updates, task requests, and return statuses. Clients receive notifications when something is ready for their review or approval, helping them stay engaged and responsive throughout tax season.
What types of IRS transcripts can I access within Karbon?
You can access 1040, 1120, 1120S, and 1065 account transcripts through the Karbon and TaxNow integration. You can access a more expansive set of transcripts, including payroll, nonprofit, and more in the TaxNow web app directly.
Can I customise client-facing templates, task checklists, and deadline reminders by client type or return type?
Yes. Karbon gives you full control over customising templates and workflows by return type, client segment, or service line. This means your communication, deadlines, and checklists can be tailored to the needs of personal tax clients, business returns, trusts, and more.
Can I build my own tax workflows in Karbon, or do I have to use prebuilt templates?
Yes. You can create your own workflows from scratch to match your firm’s exact process, or you can start with Karbon’s prebuilt tax templates based on industry best practices to get started quickly.
Can I set up recurring workflows in Karbon for things like quarterly estimated tax filings and monthly bookkeeping reviews?
Yes. Karbon supports fully customisable recurring workflows, allowing you to automate any repeating tax or accounting process on your chosen schedule.
Can Karbon auto-assign tasks based on roles and deadlines?
Yes. With Karbon templates and automators, you can auto-assign tasks based on roles. When you create a work item from a template, you simply assign each role (like Preparer or Reviewer) to a team member.
You can also use automators to control when task assignments happen within the workflow. Tasks can have due dates relative to the work start or due date, ensuring deadlines are always aligned to your overall timeline.
Can Karbon auto-generate extension tasks or workflows based on client return types and deadlines?
Automators in Karbon can be configured to activate or deactivate a section of tasks based on certain criteria or triggers. For example, if an extension is required, you can set ‘Extension Required or Filed’ as your trigger to kick off another workflow within your work item.
Are First-In, First-Out (FIFO) queues applied at the task level, client level, or job level?
Karbon’s FIFO queues help you manage high-volume tax work more efficiently at the job level. Work is added to a FIFO queue either manually or automatically using workflow automators. For example, when a specific section of the workflow is completed (like ‘Documents Received’), the job can be added to the appropriate queue.
This means FIFO prioritisation doesn’t start when a work item is created—it begins when it's ready to move forward, such as once client documents are received. Jobs in the queue are automatically ordered by the time they are entered, so the oldest jobs appear at the top and can be worked on first, ensuring a fair and organised process across your team.
Can I place high-priority returns at the top of FIFO queues?
Yes. You can manually move a high-priority return to the top of the list. You can also deprioritise a return that you know can be done later and move it to the bottom of the list.
How does Karbon handle high-volume tax season workloads?
Karbon is built to help tax firms scale their workflows, especially during the busiest times of year. With standardised job templates, automated task assignments, due date tracking, and integrated communication tools, your team can collaborate seamlessly and stay on top of every client and deadline.
Whether you're managing hundreds or thousands of returns, Karbon ensures your processes are efficient, consistent, and scalable so you can focus on delivering great service, even at peak capacity.
Does Karbon help track which tax jobs need attention or are delayed?
Yes. Karbon’s workflow tracking tools and progress reports give you insight into where work is stalled, what’s overdue, and which team members may need support, helping to resolve bottlenecks before they impact deadlines.
What built-in reports are available in Karbon for tracking team performance, turnaround time, and project completion rates?
Karbon gives you real-time visibility into how your team is performing and where work stands across your firm via work dashboards, progress reports, and Karbon Practice Intelligence dashboards.
With Karbon work dashboards you can easily customise views and segment data to monitor progress, optimise capacity, and spot issues before they impact deadlines by tracking:
- Turnaround time and cycle times
- Project completion and on-time delivery rates
- Workload distribution by team or individual
- Bottlenecks and overdue work
The progress report dashboard provides visual, real-time status reporting designed for high-volume, deadline-driven work like tax prep, payroll, or monthly bookkeeping. Instantly see how work is moving across your team, spot bottlenecks early, and reassign work as needed with filters for team member, job status, return type, and more.
Karbon Practice Intelligence dashboards include pre-built views to provide actionable insights on team performance, turnaround time, and project completion, including:
- Resource Planning: Review team capacity and optimise workloads
- Time: See how time is spent per client or task to identify inefficiencies
- Work Status: Spot bottlenecks as work moves through each stage
- Work Outstanding: Track current assignments and responsibilities
- WIP: Monitor active, billable, and completed jobs
- Repeating Work: Track trends and completion rates, and measure performance on recurring tasks over time
These dashboards are fully customisable by team, date range, service type, and more.
How does Karbon handle document storage and version control during tax prep?
Karbon has a native document storage solution that automatically saves any documents shared via a client task or emails to Karbon and tracks who uploaded which documents. You can also upload files to a client record or a work item to keep track of documents.
If you’d like extensive in-app document editing and version control capabilities, you can connect Karbon to Google Drive, SharePoint/OneDrive, or Dropbox and use the DMS integrations to access the more robust document management capabilities.
Can I link billing and payments directly to tax work in Karbon?
Yes. You can link billing to tax work in Karbon. With integrated billing and payment tracking, you can automate invoices, track payment status, and connect revenue to specific services or jobs.
Does Karbon integrate with e-file platforms or tax software to file extensions, or is it only for task tracking?
Karbon integrates with Intuit ProConnect at the contact and work level, which is the most in-depth integration between a practice management platform and Intuit ProConnect available in the market.
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