Software Second Look: Canopy

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Canopy is a comprehensive platform for accounting professionals that seamlessly connects Tax Preparation, Tax Resolution and Practice Management software all in one - a substantial step forward for the accounting industry. In my earlier review, I looked at the 'general availability launch' of their tax preparation module (product) and so, while I will also be covering many of those features in this 'second look,' I will also be highlighting many of the key features found in their practice management and tax resolution modules. Now let me clarify... Canopy refers to these 3 modules (as I call them) as products because you can secure them alone, but they are designed to so closely work together in an integrated fashion that I think of them as being 'modular' and so it is "I" that adopted the term module ... (yes, another Murphism) as part of this 'second look'.

As you can see in the above figure, you have everything at your fingertips once you log in, and the same applies even if you are on-the-go, but we will come back to that. Now you might think I would begin with 'Tax Prep' because that is likely to be the most sought after "piece of the pie," so to speak, by many accountants, but actually I am going to start with Practice Management.

Practice Management

When you think about it, there should be a central hub, that one place that stores your key information and makes it available to everyone who needs to know. In Canopy, the Practice Management module serves as that hub providing centralized Client Management, Document Management, Project Management and Time & Billing features. Now every module (product) in Canopy comes equipped with customer relationship management tools and software integrations that allow you to accomplish the work you must perform, but Practice Management expands and extends those features across the entire suite of products.

With Client Management you will see every file, email, note, and activity related to your client on one profile. Even better, every team member can see the latest client activity at any time, so you can get up to speed in just a few seconds. Client Management provides a 360-degree view of every client, their spouse and dependents along with all their related information.

You will easily onboard clients with a customized portal where they’ll have access to everything relevant to their case including checklists, deadlines, and files. Then send and receive files through the client portal with drag-and-drop simplicity, as well as grant and revoke client access to files with one click.

Canopy's Document Management incorporates intuitive file management that automatically organizes client-uploaded files to their specific folders and notifies you the moment your client uploads a file you’ve been waiting for. This IFM intelligence creates folder templates for consistent organization thus allowing you to create new folders in bulk for every client to fit the schema you design. When you couple all of this with smart cloud storage, drag-n-drop simplicity, and sophisticated indexing that streamlines searching, you will understand why the document management feature of the practice management module is such a key feature of Canopy's overall design. 

Project Management incorporates the workflow features I wrote about in my article of July 17th (2019) in which I told you that you the new functionality gives you the ability to manage projects through a dedicated workspace that includes tasks, files, and tools in one place and supports advanced workflows with multiple services, hand-offs, and teammates. Now I am even going to use the same graphic because it's just too pretty to not do so...

With a dashboard like this how could you not see every moving piece of the puzzle going on with any/every project under your control in your firm? You are like the 'Master of Your Universe' with all the players out accomplishing their assigned duties and tasks. But if that were not enough, Canopy has incorporated Google or Outlook calendar integration into the functionality so events are automatically synced no matter which calendar you use.

Never miss a deadline because everything shows up in its proper place for both yourself, and your entire team if you choose to display the team-wide view.

There was an old song that went something like this, "Money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around..." Now I know there are a lot of Gurus out there that teach something other than 'time and billing,' but the reality is that a majority of accounting firms still track time, and use that time for billing purposes. Fortunately, Canopy's Practice Management module offers Time & Billing so you can track time, auto-populate invoices, and get paid through client portals which allows you to keep a strict accounting of every dollar flowing in and out of your firm.

I mentioned near the start of this article that you could tack-on Canopy Payments, and this is the place that it really fits into the overall scheme of things. It's an internalized payment system with low flat rates and automatic recurring payment options, that makes the process of managing payment of Canopy transactions transparent and easy. And, these payments are easily exported as part of the transaction history to the accounting software when it has been fully integrated with Canopy.

And with that, we have finished our look at Practice Management, now we will turn our attention to how Canopy can help you earn the money... with their Tax Prep and Tax Resolution modules.

Tax Preparation

Tax Prep was designed to respond to the precise needs of accounting firms across the country to help organize, prepare, review, share and e-file state and federal tax returns. It is a cloud-based, secure application, enabling professionals to access client data anytime, anywhere and currently available to file individual tax returns in 24 states. For the 2019 tax year, Canopy will introduce forms 1065, 1120, 1120S, and 1041, fully supporting individual and business returns in 8 states.

Tax Prep is one of the easiest tools to use with an intuitive design contextually linking federal and state questions. In addition, the solution saves professionals time with shortcut keys, superior page loading speeds, logical layout and infinite scroll for tax forms (no more printing to PDF to review)!

Once completed, tax professionals can easily review the returns in tax form layout with the ability to switch between each section, search for specific forms, or scroll through the entire return before running diagnostics to catch errors prior to filing.

Finally, tax professionals can share the compiled returns through a secure client portal, where they can gather electronic signatures, automate financial transactions for secure payments and refunds, and ultimately e-file state and federal returns and extensions with convenience and ease.

And, that takes us to the other aspect of tax practice, Tax Resolution.

Tax Resolution

When tax problems are keeping someone up at night and they turn to you, are you ready with the tools you need to bring them peace of mind despite their IRS problems? Well, Canopy's  Tax Resolution module is designed to provide support for any issue the IRS may throw at a client with features geared toward the specific needs of tax resolution specialists. 

You will streamline every collection case with instant calculations and form auto-population centered around a comprehensive examination of your client’s personal, financial, and tax standing with simple tools to streamline and automate data collection. Then compare those results with IRS standards and easily make any appropriate changes based on your client’s situation. Next, identify and compare the best outcome for your client's case including scenarios like Offer in Compromise, Installment Agreement, or Currently Not Collectible.

Finalize the client's case using guided templates and auto-populated IRS and state forms. Canopy even provides step-by-step call discussion guides to assist you in making complex calls to the IRS when requesting approval for the selected outcome. 

Along the way you will know exactly how to handle and interpret every received notice and to be confident in the path to take appropriate for each notice. Canopy supports more than 350 federal and state notices with a details including step-by-step instructions developed by former IRS personnel and tax professionals. Just follow the steps to stay ahead of the schedule and meet every critical deadline for compliance.

Canopy's Tax Resolution module also find the ideal solution for your client when they are faced with liens, levies, Penalty Abatement, Innocent Spouse, or trust fund recovery cases. By answering a series of questions around your client's specific situation you will receive specific recommendations that provide optimal outcomes for your client's case. Then you will be provided with guided templates designed to prepare you to negotiate an outcome with the IRS.

Canopy has created a fully integrated experience for both you and your clients covering your practice, tax preparation and tax resolution. When you tack on all the extras with their plug-n-play features and the capabilities of working from anywhere with their mobile solution, along with integrations made possible via Zapier you have a truly modern solution made for today's tax practitioner.

If you 'do tax,' even if you don't provide all the services that are associated with the various Canopy modules, you should still give Canopy a thorough review on your own, you can either go out to their website and schedule a demonstration, or better yet sign-up for a free-trial. I think you will be very impressed by what Canopy has to offer.