The advantage that comes with being in finance and accounting is that one can see both the micro & macro aspects of things. We can adhere to the trend that with an increase in price, the value in return increases as well, but observed closely can reveal to us that it is not necessarily true all the time, & varies case-to-case.
More value can be subjective, many times a trick or trap, & sometimes be purely because of one not paying attention to what matters the most to them. Ofcourse, many times one gets a good deal, given they do a good due diligence. Same is true when it comes to practice management softwares, if you’re not careful, you might end up not choosing the most optimized solution for your accounting practice.
Canopy is an accounting practice management software for small & medium size accounting & tax firms. To fulfill a firm's basic needs starting from project management to advanced features like Tax resolution and everything in between. Few users can find it hard to wrap their mind around its pricing structure, hence this article will give you that information to navigate & provide the clarity.
Cone is an unified practice management software, combining all the features & tools one requires to smoothly run their accounting related firm. From pitching your proposals to clients, to eSign, client portal, document management, & much more. Offering a similar range of benefits like Canopy, Cone costs only $10, a fraction when compared to Canopy & other industry software.
Canopy Pricing Breakdown
Canopy broadly offers 2 plans–
One for large or growing firms & another for small firms. Further under each of them there are 2 separated plans to choose between.
Let explore first the growing firm's plan, it consists of a Standard & Pro pack to choose between. Canopy has adopted a module pricing structure, meaning one can custom create their list of features & tools. And pay only for the module(s) that you decide to include & add in your plan. Its free offering of Client engagement tools upon which everything is built can look attractive. However, buying every module separately can also quickly increase the total price of the plan, while stacking up the tool. This is mainly because all the individual modules are somewhat interconnected & fall under the prerequisite requirements of most if not all accounting & tax firms.
Therefore, picking only the entry level features in these modules, with everything bare minimum, can easily make your plan cost $100 per user, per month(when chosen to be billed annually). Including all the 3 modules– Document management, workflow, and time & billing, which are mostly bread-&-butter for every accounting firm to form its basic structure & function efficiently.
Here’s the basic breakdown:
Document management: $45 per user/month
Workflow: $35 per user/month
Time & billing: $25 per user/month
Please note, this does not include the implementation fee. And after crossing 250 clients or contacts, the client engagement cost will start to rise as well. With the Pro pack, including a few more features, limits, & insights the starting cost will be $120 per user, per month(if billed annually).
Under the plans for small firms(4 users or less in size), it has 2 different plans, one called Starter at $45 per user/month, & another called Essential priced at $66 per user/month. These prices apply only when billed annually.
Starter plan including only the Client engagement & Document management system, whereas the Essential pack is a complete practice management solution offering additional features like collecting payments, track time, dashboards, & more.
There are a bunch of Add-ons & Stand-alone features like Tax resolution & others for users to buy after purchasing the desired plan out of these 4, on top of them.
What Is Canopy Best For?
Canopy’s inception was as a tax related matter tool. Hence, features like tax resolution, transcripts & notices, & the like. However, it has evolved into a complete practice management solution & now with client engagement, CRM, eSignatures, integration with accounting software like QuickBooks, make it a popular option for firms dealing with heavy & niche tax work, and/or in general by full-service accounting & tax firms to perform their daily operations & communication.
What Is Canopy Worst For?
Overall project management, optimizing the user workflow, & automation is something that it still needs to make stronger in terms of features & capabilities offered inside them. Right now they can seem plain, at times lacking good-aha moments that other alternative software provides.
Cone - A Better Value For Money Solution
Cone is a modern all-in-one accounting practice management software, similar to Canopy in many aspects, it even exceeds it in a few, & leave it behind by miles in pricing. Constituting big chunks like project management, billing & invoices, proposals, CRM, & lot more, and includes small but equally important features like eSignatures, templates, & so on.
All of this in a single pack, at a single price, making it a unique software that unlocks all major features & tools at an unique price of only $10 per user/month. Yes, there’s no typo in that!
Comparison Of Key Features: Canopy Vs. Cone
Proposal Creation: Canopy has a simple interface. Cone also makes it easy but it feels more modern.
Workflows: Canopy and Cone both have workflows but Cone's feel more intuitive. People find it easier to track progress. In Canopy workflows sometimes feel more rigid.
Time Tracking: Time tracking is straightforward in both. Cone's system syncs seamlessly. Canopy’s time tracking is reliable but needs more clicks.
Integrated E-mail: Both offer integrated email. Cone's system feels smoother. Emails sent from Cone reach clients without glitches. Canopy's email works well but sometimes feels slower.
Billing and Invoicing: For billing and invoicing Cone offers a clear system. It is user-friendly and fast. Canopy's billing is effective but takes more steps.
Client Portal: Client portals help in both tools. Clients find Cone's portal easy to use. Canopy's portal works well but sometimes clients get confused.
Pricing: Pricing differs. Cone has a competitive price for its features. Canopy is slightly more expensive.
Free Trial: Both offer free trials. You can try Cone for a limited time. Canopy also offers a trial but it is shorter.
Bottom Line
At the end, drawing the parallel between Canopy & Cone, we can observe that Cone displays a similar capability like Canopy, and stands out as a modern tool as it fills the gap that most practice management software lacks.
Being tough competitors, apart from the several advantages of using Cone over Canopy, mentioned in the blog, the price of Cone is an added benefit, & hard to ignore.
Unlike Canopy, Cone is suitable for all businesses of all sizes from small to large, & everything in between.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How Much Does Canopy Management Cost?
For the enterprise plan(mid or big level firms), with bare minimum features, the starting cost is an easy $100-120 per user/month, when chosen to be billed annually.
And for small firms with 4 or less employees, with entry level features, the cost goes to $45-66 per user/month, if billed annually.
What Are Canopy's Limitations Or Weak Points?
Canopy’s automation & workflow functionalities can be felt limited and a scope of improvement is present.
Next, its reporting & analytics are again overall restrictive, as users cannot create a completely flexible & customized dashboard & more according to their own needs.
Why Choose Canopy Over Its Competitors?
Cone is an equal level competitor for Canopy, & in few places has better to offer than Canopy, while still maintaining a disruptive pricing of only $10 per user/month.
Apart from saving money, contemporary tools & features like templates, AI powered,workflow automations, & the like.
How Does Canopy's Pricing Model Adapt To Different Business Sizes?
Canopy’s enterprise plan for mid-&-large firms demands a purchase of every single module separately, considering for a full-service accounting firm, the stack can quickly be costly, starting from $100-120 per user/month.
For small firms, its starter pack only consists of client engagement & document management, costing $45 per user/month. A complete practice management solution is in the essential pack priced at $66 per user/month.
If you’re a specialized tax firm, add-ons & standalone features like tax resolution, & the like need to be brought individually, adding extra cost to the plan.
What Should You Consider When Evaluating Canopy's Pricing?
To get a good idea of the money you'll be spending in Canopy, try to estimate the growth & requirements of your firm for the next 6 months or 1 year. Once you’ve a rough idea, list the features & tools that your firm will be required for its operation as it expands.
Then you can get a tentative number in your head, that you could beforehand. This way after using the software, when you’ll need to upgrade services, you won’t be caught by surprise. This is important, because if you sign up on the platform, thinking it's in your budget, when the upgradion will be required, you’ll have to accept it, as you’ve already invested your data & time with the platform. As otherwise the cost or energy to migrate & switch to another tool will seem quite a task.
If you can project that right now you only require one or two tools only, but further down the line you’ll want a full-service practice management tool, & calculate that Canopy’s pricing is at a premium, then you can save your time & energy by committing to an alternative software in the first place.
Cone is the best alternative, as it comes with the similar capabilities, plus with extra aha moments features to handle end-to-end projects. And all of it, at a fraction of Canopy’s price or any other tool of the market. Only at $10 per user/month, unlocking all features & tools.