The 5 best Jetpack Workflow alternatives for accounting workflow management | Karbon Magazine
The 5 best Jetpack Workflow alternatives for accounting workflow management
Compare Jetpack Workflow with the features and capabilities of the other leading accounting workflow management platforms.
Summary
Jetpack Workflow is a cloud-based workflow management platform for accounting and bookkeeping firms. It offers a set of commonly requested accounting workflow features in a simple package:
Jobs Dashboard that gives you a bird’s-eye view of all job statuses and due dates
Customizable client job and task lists
Accounting-specific workflow templates
Workflow automation features like automatic repeat scheduler and task dependencies
Jobs and progress report
Time tracking and budgeted time/cost
Unlimited client contacts and documents
QuickBooks Online and Zapier integrations
Dashboard view in Jetpack Workflow
As you can see, Jetpack Workflow is built for one purpose only—to help firms manage their jobs and workflows. As a result, it’s a good option for small firms looking for a straightforward workflow tool.
But for teams looking to grow, Jetpack Workflow is limited. Here’s why.
Why you should consider Jetpack Workflow alternatives
1. Jetpack Workflow lacks essential client collaboration features
Accounting firms revolve around clients. Features like client portals, automated client tasks and reminders, and integrated emails help enhance the client experience, cut down the client chase, and free up time for higher-value work.
With Jetpack Workflow, you have access to these features, but in a reduced capacity.
For example, the platform lets you set up client tasks and assign due dates, but it can’t automatically notify your clients of these tasks or send reminders. Every client task request or reminder has to be
. Can you imagine following this process for hundreds of clients with monthly recurring work?
Client task request in Jetpack Workflow
On top of that, Jetpack Workflow doesn’t have a client portal. As a result, clients receive a task request as an email with a list of to-dos. They cannot upload documents or ask questions directly in a secure portal, which means more manual steps and fragmented information.
Even worse, there’s no other way your clients can advise you they have completed their tasks than replying to your email request with ‘Done’.
Client request email from Jetpack Workflow
Perhaps Ryan Lazanis from Future Firm said it best: Jetpack Workflow’s collaboration capabilities are underwhelming given the collaborative nature of accounting firms.
2. Jetpack Workflow lags behind on product innovation
3. Jetpack Workflow isn’t built for scale and growth
If you scroll through online user reviews of Jetpack Workflow, you’ll quickly find the common theme: it’s simply not robust enough for growing firms, many of which end up switching after their firm matures.
As one user mentioned, “This product is limited to a specific wheelhouse. We quickly outgrew the product and needed more features. We sought more of a CRM that could help us manage emails as a team, and we needed a mobile app to work on the go.”
Another user shared a similar sentiment, “I'm hoping Jetpack Workflow will continue to grow and mature and add more features, but they aren't doing it as fast as I'd like. We went with them because of cost, but are looking again at Insightly and Karbon to see if they have better email tracking and integration with Xero.
If you want a workflow management or practice management solution that will grow with your firm, Jetpack Workflow may disappoint you.
5 best Jetpack Workflow alternatives for workflow management at accounting, tax, and bookkeeping firms
Similar to Jetpack Workflow, Karbon started out with a primary focus on workflow management to help accounting professionals stay on top of their jobs. But that’s where the similarities end.
Unlike Jetpack Workflow, Karbon has evolved into a full-fledged, collaborative practice management system that helps accountants gain total visibility and control over their firms, communication, clients, and workflows.
Karbon’s capacity management dashboard
Karbon's top features
Integrated email (Gmail, Office 365 and Microsoft Exchange)
Document management (native storage and integration with DropBox and OneDrive)
Email comments and @mentions
Time tracking and budgets
Analytics and reporting
Billing and payments (in beta)
GPT-powered AI (in beta)
Integrations with industry apps including QuickBooks Online, Xero Practice Manager, Ignition, GoProposal, Zapier, and more
Mobile app
Open API so you can build your own custom solutions
Karbon pros and cons
Pros
Karbon is the only accounting practice management solution that allows you to @mention colleagues and comment on emails, turn emails into tasks, and assign emails to colleagues, client and project timelines
The difference between Karbon and Jetpack Workflow is significant. While both offer workflow management features, they serve accounting firms differently.
Jetpack Workflow is a simple workflow tool with a single purpose: managing your jobs and tasks. It doesn’t offer more, and it doesn’t look like it plans to offer more any time soon. And its lower price (starting at $36/month, per user on an annual basis) reflects the overall product strategy. For some firms, that may be enough. But for others, it’s insufficient.
In contrast, Karbon is a robust practice management platform with some of the strongest project management for accountants, workflow automation, collaboration, analytics, and artificial intelligence capabilities on the market. It’s the central operating system of your accounting firm. You and your team’s work day begins and ends in Karbon. If your firm has 3 or more full-time employees, or you need a system that will grow with you, Karbon is a better choice.
Financial Cents is a no-frills practice management tool for accounting firms. It provides email integration, workflow management, client management, time tracking and a few native reports that help firms run different areas of a practice.
Quick to implement (however this might be a drawback for some firms looking for a more powerful solution)
Responsive support
Cons
Basic workflow features (tasks and projects are only available in a list view or a calendar view, not as Kanban boards or customizable work dashboards)
No built-in invoicing and payment functionality
Very limited integrations (only QuickBooks Online, Gmail and Outlook)
Who is Financial Cents best suited for?
Financial Cents is suited for smaller accounting or bookkeeping firms that are looking for a simple practice management solution to stay on top of tasks, projects, and clients.
Reviews
Here’s how Jetpack Workflow and Financial Cents stack up against each other on popular software review sites:
Financial Cents offers three separate pricing plans. The following prices are based on a monthly billing structure:
Solo: $19 USD/month, per user
Team: $49 USD/month, per user
Scale: $69 USD/month, per user
All three plans are available as 14-day free trials.
Financial Cents or Jetpack Workflow?
Financial Cents is a good alternative to Jetpack Workflow for smaller CPA firms. It offers comparable workflow management capabilities, but has more practice management features like client portal, automated client requests and reminders, and invoicing. And its annual price is the same as Jetpack Workflow.
3. Aero Workflow
Aero Workflow is a basic accounting workflow management tool that prides itself on being ‘built for accountants, by accountants’. It’s a direct alternative to Jetpack Workflow as it offers almost identical workflow features.
Team capacity view in Aero Workflow
Aero Workflow’s top features
Checklist templates
Recurring work scheduler
Secure vault for client passwords
Capacity viewer
Time tracking
Basic reporting
Resource storage for standard operating procedures
Aero Workflow pros and cons
Pros
Affordable solution with basic functionality for a solo accountant
Built-in ability to create, store and update standard operating procedures
Automatic timer that begins when you open a task (although that might be a downside if you’re opening a task before you’re ready to actually begin work)
Cons
Limited direct integrations with accounting apps
Clunky and unstable user experience
Counterintuitive user experience
Who is Aero Workflow best suited for?
Aero Workflow is best suited for solo accountants looking for an accounting-specific workflow tool.
Reviews
Here’s how Aero Workflow and Jetpack Workflow stack up against each other on popular software review sites:
Sole proprietor: One user at $39 USD per month (billed annually)*
Small firm: 2-5 users at $79 USD per month (billed annually)*
Large firm: 6-25 users at $149 USD per month (billed annually)**
Enterprise: 25+ users with custom pricing
* Upgrade to premium subscription required to access their premium library content for $40 USD/month per user
** Upgrade to premium subscription required to access their premium library content for $80 USD/month per user
Aero Workflow or Jetpack Workflow?
Aero Workflow and Jetpack Workflow both have similar workflow features. The ultimate decision may come down to price.
They both cost the same for a sole accountant on an annual subscription. But if you’re adding 3 or more users to the platform, Aero Workflow becomes the cheaper option (excluding the premium subscription upgrade).
For a 3-user firm on an annual subscription, Jetpack Workflow would cost $117 USD per month, whereas Aero Workflow would only cost $79 USD per month.
4. TaxDome
TaxDome is a practice management solution for accounting and tax professionals. It offers a wide range of features—from a client app to a native website builder.
To-do view in TaxDome
TaxDome’s top features
Client portal and mobile app
CRM
Unlimited clients, documents, and projects
Project and task management
Workflow automation
Customizable organizers
eSignatures and KBA (Knowledge-based Authentication)
Notification center
Time tracking
Invoicing and payments
Integrations with popular accounting software
Website builder
TaxDome pros and cons
Pros
Wide range of features give you access to more functionality than other practice management solutions
Highly customizable client portal
Offers a PDF editor with unlimited document storage
Affordable pricing (however, the primary user is required to sign up for an annual subscription on its lower-tier plan)
Cons
TaxDome offers many features, making it difficult for them to build and maintain all of them well—this means many features generally feel underdeveloped
No high-level visibility across your entire firm’s work (limited to each ‘pipeline’)
No native reporting or analytics capabilities
No free trial
Who is TaxDome best suited for?
TaxDome is best suited for sole tax practitioners or startup CPA firms that are looking for functionality across a wide range of features, but don’t require depth to these features.
Reviews
Here’s how TaxDome and Jetpack Workflow stack up against each other on popular software review sites:
The monthly price depends on how many years you sign up for with payment required upfront:
3 years: $58 USD/month per user
2 years: $63 USD/month per user
1 year: $66 USD/month per user
For a 5-user firm on a 1-year TaxDome Pro plan, the total cost would be $330 USD/month.
TaxDome or Jetpack Workflow?
Jetpack Workflow and TaxDome are both built for the accounting industry, but they are intended for different use cases, as reflected by their key features and prices.
If you’re simply looking for a workflow management tool, Jetpack Workflow may be the answer. But if you need other features like email management, client portal, or invoicing and payments, you might want to consider a full practice management solution like TaxDome or Karbon.
5. Asana
Asana is a popular project management tool designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work. It’s known for its modern, user-friendly design, and highly customizable drag and drop interface.
Unlike the other alternatives mentioned above, Asana is a general project and workflow management tool for all types of small businesses and use cases. It’s not built specifically for the accounting industry, and there are nuances to running your practice on it.
Asana’s top features
Project and task management
Custom fields that give users total flexibility and control over how they manage tasks and projects
Intuitive, modern, and user-friendly product interface
Easy to get started
Massive amount of helpful resources and how-to tutorials
A large and growing library of project management templates
Frequent product updates and innovations
Cons:
No accounting-specific features. Asana isn’t built for accounting firms, and therefore lacks many critical workflow and practice management features like automated client reminders, direct email integration, accountings-specific templates, client portal, and CRM.
Lack of Role-Based Access Control
Limited direct integration with accounting software
Can be time-consuming to set up
Customer support isn’t specific to accounting and bookkeeping firms’ priorities and nuances
It can’t act as a single source of truth for your accounting firm
Who is Asana best suited for?
Asana is ideal for sole accountants or an accountant working in a small business who is looking to transition away from manual, Excel-based project management and into an intuitive and customizable workflow platform.
Reviews
Here’s how Asana and Jetpack Workflow stack up against each other on popular software review sites:
Premium: $10.99 USD/month per user, billed annually ($13.49 USD/month per user, billed monthly)
Business: $24.99 USD/mont, per user, billed annually ($30.49 USD/month per user, billed monthly)
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Most accounting firms and teams will likely need to be on Asana’s Premium or Business plan.
Asana or Jetpack Workflow?
Asana and Jetpack Workflow can both work well for small teams just getting started with project management.
Asana is modern and flexible, but it’s a general-purpose project management tool that you need to build from the ground up.
Jetpack Workflow is less intuitive, but it has many accounting-specific workflow features and templates that meet the needs of accounting professionals.
If you’re passionate about DIY and tinkering with technology, Asana might be a better choice for you. But if you prefer a system that’s built for your workflows (though less flexible), Jetpack Workflow may be your final pick.
Try Karbon for free
Now that you have an overview of the top alternatives to Jetpack Workflow, you should have a better idea about which options best suit your practice.
To see how professional services firms save an average of 19.9 hours per employee each week, you can explore the Karbon Effect. Or you can use the Karbon ROI calculator to see what your return on investment could be.
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For sole accountants looking for a workflow management solution only, Jetpack Workflow is an option.
For firms that need more than just workflow management, consider a comprehensive accounting practice management system like Karbon, Financial Cents, or TaxDome.
For firms that want a direct replacement of Jetpack Workflow, Aero Workflow is an option.
For teams that want a general but highly customizable project management tool, Asana is a great alternative.
Find the best solution for your tax or accounting firm by comparing Canopy with the features and capabilities of the other leading practice management platforms.
If you’re serious about running a scalable and profitable accounting firm (and not lose your mind in the process), you need to ditch spreadsheets as a tool for workflow management.
Learn about the pros and cons of Asana for accounting firms, determine if it's right for your needs, and explore other solutions that might be a better fit.
Karbon has solved the 'silo' problem in my business. Complete visibility of communications between team members and customers is now a reality. The Karbon development team and support team are amazing and really care about me and my business.
G2.com
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