Guides
Guides for accounting firms: software pricing explained
How to read software pricing, with dated examples from accounting and practice software.
StackWatch records the list prices of accounting and practice software and the history of how they change. These guides explain how to read that information: what a pricing page is really saying, how billing periods and units change the number, and what price increases cost a firm. Examples are dated observations from vendors’ own pages, and figures come from those pages or from a cited source.
Guides
How to read a software pricing page
Nine ways a pricing page can mislead you, each with a dated example from accounting software.
Read the guidePrice increase or promotion?
How to tell them apart, with a log of the promotions we saw on vendor pages in 2026.
Read the guideAnnual vs monthly billing
What the annual discount is worth on SmartVault, Karbon and Dext, how TaxDome’s longer commitments compare, and the break-even in months.
Read the guideSoftware pricing units explained
Per user, per company, per seat, per return, and what ten units cost under each model.
Read the guideTax software pricing models
How Lacerte, ProSeries, Drake and CCH Axcess price their licences, and what stays behind a quote.
Read the guideWhat price increases cost a firm
The documented increases worked out per year for 10 to 100 units, an example firm and the cumulative cost since 2021.
Read the guidePrice increases by year
Documented list-price changes since 2016 with a before and after price, a summary table and the ten largest increases.
Read the guideTelling clients about an increase
Two free notices to copy, one if your firm absorbs the increase and one if it goes on the client’s invoice, with the latest figures.
Read the guideTools and data
Price-increase cost calculator
Enter your companies, users or accounts and see what the documented increases cost per year.
OpenPrice changes timeline
Documented changes with before-and-after prices, newest first, each with its source.
OpenPrice history
Dated price history for 13 of the 14 vendors, with charts where the data supports them.
OpenDownload the data
The price history and current prices as CSV and JSON, with the source on every row.
OpenPricing and price history by vendor
| Category | Vendor | Current prices | History |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting software | QuickBooks Online | Current prices | Price history |
| Accounting software | Xero (US) | Current prices | Price history |
| Practice management | Karbon | Current prices | Price history |
| Practice management | TaxDome | Current prices | Price history |
| Documents and client collection | Dext | Current prices | Price history |
| Documents and client collection | SmartVault | Current prices | Price history |
| Bills and payments | BILL | Current prices | Price history |
| Reporting | Fathom | Current prices | Price history |
| Payroll | Gusto | Current prices | Price history |
| Payroll | OnPay | Current prices | Price history |
| Tax preparation | Lacerte | Current prices | Price history |
| Tax preparation | ProSeries | Current prices | Price history |
| Tax preparation | Drake Tax | Current prices | Price history |
| Tax preparation | CCH Axcess | Current prices | Too few dated prices yet |
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What are the StackWatch guides?
Short explainers for accounting firms on reading software pricing: how to read a pricing page, how to tell a price increase from a promotion, annual versus monthly billing, pricing units, tax software pricing, what increases cost a firm, and a year-by-year record of increases.
Where do the figures in the guides come from?
From the vendors’ own pricing pages, read daily by StackWatch, and from dated sources cited on each price-history page. Examples in the guides say when the page was read.
Is this tax or financial advice?
No. The guides are information only. Check the vendor’s page before you quote or buy.