CPA practice management pricing: one plan, priced per seat
Every seat gets every feature. You pay for the people on your staff, and your clients log in free. Add a seat when you hire and remove it when someone leaves.
Month-to-month by default · Annual billing saves about two months · Unlimited free client logins
One plan
CPA Relay
Solo practitioners buy one seat. Firms buy one per staff member. There's no seat minimum and no cap.
- Unlimited client portal logins ($0)
- Tax-year projects & 1-click roll-forward
- What's Outstanding triage sheet
- Multi-preparer assignments & Project Leads
- Permission controls
- Shared client directories & entity groups
- 53 engagement & 7216 templates
- Form 8878/8879 e-signatures (SHA-256)
- Spousal signing on shared emails
- Price Book & 6-/15-min time billing
- Staged proposal-to-invoice billing
- Monthly client statement summaries
- ACH, card & Cash App payments into your firm's own Stripe account
- 5,000-row CSV client import
- 50 GB storage per seat, pooled across the firm
- Concierge onboarding for every firm
Everything included
Every tool is in the box
We don't gate time tracking, the 53 templates, or Form 8879 e-signatures behind a higher plan or a $50/mo module. There is one plan, and every seat gets all of it.
Seasonal seats
Pay for busy season only
Bringing on two preparers from January through April? Add two seats at $55 a month and remove them in May. That's $440 for the season, not a year of seats nobody uses.
No lock-in
Month-to-month by default
Monthly billing has no contract and a 14-day refund guarantee. Annual billing costs $540 per seat, which saves about two months against paying monthly.
Storage is shared by the whole firm, so a solo practitioner gets 50 GB and a 6-seat firm gets 300 GB. Need more? Talk to us or read the FAQ.
Cost & Seat Economics
How much does CPA practice management software cost across firm sizes?
Traditional CPA practice management software costs between $1,500 and $4,500 annually per staff member when accounting for mandatory multi-year contracts, modular add-on fees, and per-envelope e-signature charges. CPA Relay provides one transparent tier at $55 per seat monthly ($45 billed annually) with every workflow, template, client portal, and e-signature feature included.
| Firm Size & Staff Profile | CPA Relay Monthly | CPA Relay Annual | Typical Competitor Stack | Annual Practice Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Seat (Solo CPA Practitioner) | $55/month $660/year total | $45/month $540/year billed annually | $1,200–$1,800/year: TaxDome Pro annual lock-in ($1,000–$1,200) + DocuSign & KBA credits ($300–$600) | $660 to $1,260/yr (50% to 70% saved) |
| 3 Seats (Partner + 2 Staff Preparers) | $165/month $1,980/year total | $135/month $1,620/year billed annually | $3,600–$5,400/year: Canopy Tax with modular Document, Workflow, and Time & Billing add-ons | $1,980 to $3,780/yr (55% to 70% saved) |
| 5 Seats (Growing Practice: 2 Partners + 3 Staff) | $275/month $3,300/year total | $225/month $2,700/year billed annually | $6,000–$9,500/year: Karbon or TaxDome with multi-seat commitments and mandatory onboarding fees | $3,300 to $6,800/yr (55% to 72% saved) |
| 10 Seats (Established CPA Firm + Seasonal Staff) | $550/month $6,600/year total | $450/month $5,400/year billed annually | $12,000–$18,000/year: Enterprise suites with annual user locks, paid client portal tiers & e-sign surcharges | $6,600 to $12,600/yr (55% to 70% saved) |
* Note: Competitor estimates reflect published multi-user pricing from TaxDome, Canopy Tax, and Karbon as of October 2026, combined with third-party e-signature charges ($2.00 to $5.00 per KBA-verified Form 8879 envelope) and payment portal processing surcharges. CPA Relay payments flow directly into your firm's own Stripe account with 0% platform transaction markups.
Practitioner Pricing Analysis
How does CPA Relay pricing compare to TaxDome pricing?
TaxDome requires annual upfront payments of $1,000 to $1,200 per user on 1- to 3-year commitments, making seasonal staffing expensive. In contrast, CPA Relay offers flexible month-to-month billing at $55 per seat with no long-term lock-in, enabling firms to add seats for January through April and remove them immediately after tax season.
Contract Flexibility
Month-to-month freedom vs. multi-year lock-in
TaxDome enforces strict annual or multi-year contracts paid upfront. If your firm brings on a seasonal tax preparer or contractor for 4 months from January through April, TaxDome still requires you to buy a full 12-month license costing $1,000 or more.
With CPA Relay, you simply add an extra seat at $55/month for the 4 months you need it (total cost: $220) and deactivate it on April 16. That saves over $780 per seasonal employee every single year without losing access to historical workpapers or audit certificates.
Zero Modular Surcharges
Are there extra fees for Form 8879 KBA e-signatures, templates, or client portal accounts?
No. CPA Relay does not charge per-envelope e-signature fees, integration surcharges, or client login costs. Every firm seat includes all 53 CPA engagement letter and Section 7216 templates, IRS Publication 1345-compliant Form 8879 workflows with SHA-256 audit trails, and unlimited free client portal accounts with 50 GB pooled storage per seat.
Platforms like Canopy charge separate fees for Document Management, Workflow, and Time & Billing modules. Other systems charge $2.00 to $5.00 for every Form 8879 envelope sent with Knowledge-Based Authentication. In CPA Relay, all compliance tools are built directly into your $55/seat base plan per IRS Publication 1345 guidelines.
Pricing questions
Frequently asked questions about pricing
Everything you need to know about seat licensing, seasonal staff, client logins, and Stripe billing.
How much does CPA practice management software typically cost?
Traditional CPA practice management software costs between $1,500 and $4,500 annually per staff member when accounting for mandatory multi-year contracts, modular add-on fees, and per-envelope e-signature charges. CPA Relay provides one transparent tier at $55 per seat monthly ($45 billed annually) with every workflow, template, client portal, and e-signature feature included.
How does CPA Relay pricing compare to TaxDome pricing?
TaxDome requires annual upfront payments of $1,000 to $1,200 per user on 1- to 3-year commitments, making seasonal staffing expensive. In contrast, CPA Relay offers flexible month-to-month billing at $55 per seat with no long-term lock-in, enabling firms to add seats for January through April and remove them immediately after tax season.
Are there extra fees for Form 8879 KBA e-signatures, templates, or client portal accounts?
No. CPA Relay does not charge per-envelope e-signature fees, integration surcharges, or client login costs. Every firm seat includes all 53 CPA engagement letter and Section 7216 templates, IRS Publication 1345-compliant Form 8879 workflows with SHA-256 audit trails, and unlimited free client portal accounts with 50 GB pooled storage per seat.
Can our firm add temporary seats during tax season and remove them after April 15?
Yes. With CPA Relay monthly billing at $55 per seat, you can add seats for seasonal preparers or interns in January and deactivate them when tax season concludes. You only pay for active seats while preserving full firm historical records, client files, and audit trails indefinitely.
Do clients have to pay to access the CPA Relay client portal?
No. Client portal access is 100% free and unlimited. Clients can review PBC document checklists, upload tax forms, review and execute Form 8879s, and pay invoices via Stripe without ever paying user or portal fees.
Compare & explore features
How one all-inclusive plan compares to modular suites
Platform Capabilities
Explore all 8 core features
See everything every seat includes, from PBC checklists to Stripe billing.
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CPA Relay vs. TaxDome
Compare month-to-month seats you can add and remove against multi-year upfront contracts.
Compare vs. TaxDomeSoftware Comparison
CPA Relay vs. Canopy Tax
Compare one plan with every feature against add-on modules for workflow, time, and billing.
Compare vs. Canopy