Top apps for accountants 2025

October 3, 2025 4:05 PM

The accounting profession now lives in a world awash in software solutions, ranging from your typical everything-but-the-kitchen-sink suites to the best of breed in handling one very specific process, and everything in-between.

With so many different applications to choose from, it's easy for accounting firm leaders to feel paralyzed by choice, especially when you go beyond the accounting-specific solutions and into more general business and finance software. This is a consequence of the profession's increasingly technology-driven nature, where even the smallest sole practitioner now has access to powerful computer tools to let it punch well above its weight.

With all this has come increased efficiency and productivity but, at the same time, it has also served to grow confusion and ambiguity as firm leaders must now sort through a veritable galaxy of competing applications.

This is why Accounting Today this year decided to consult with technology leaders at CPA firms both very big and very small. We reached out and asked, very simply, what some of their favorite apps were, whether for specialized accounting processes, general business and finance, or even things that help out in their day to day personal lives. We got a wide variety of responses that we're pleased to share with you.

Meet our panelists

Akshay Shrimanker — Founder and CEO, Shay CPA
Ryan Wolff — Senior AI & strategic innovation consultant, AAFCPAs
Matt Rowley - Partner in charge of intellectual property and product development, Wipfli
Stepanie Ringrose — Partner in charge of audit and IT, Navolio and Tallman
Hrishikesh Pippadipally — Chief information officer, Wiss
Chad Houchin — Tax technology manager, Armanino

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AI models

Love them or hate them, generative AI chatbots have become an inextricable feature of today's technology landscape. Multiple panelists named generative AI bots like ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot as invaluable to their work.

As many of these tools have more or less the same kinds of features, it is mostly a matter of personal preference, with a lot of the major chatbots are becoming Pepsi and Coke and perhaps RC Cola in certain cases. They can all generate images, draft code, and answer queries with reasonable-sounding responses (actual reasonableness varies greatly.) Most of them also integrate with other solutions, have enterprise modes, and deep research capacities.

Accountants, remember: DO NOT SHARE SENSITIVE INFORMATION WITH ANY OF THESE PUBLIC-FACING CHATBOTS.

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Office productivity tools

While not specific to accounting or even finance, tools like these are nonetheless essential for any well-functioning office. Whether you're in tax, audit, advisory or some other focus area, you're still going to need a way to collaborate and communicate with staff and clients, to store data, and — crucially — create and manage spreadsheets.

Solutions of this kind mentioned by panelists include:

MS 365 Suite (for spreadsheets, word processing and presentations);
Slack (for communication and collaboration);
To Doist (organizing your work);
OneNote (note-taking and storing data);
Keeper Security (password management); and,
Calendly (scheduling).

Zoho Books

This offers cloud bookkeeping and invoicing that ties natively into the broader Zoho business suite, making it a fit for teams already using Zoho apps. It can be used to send invoices, generate 1099 reports, simplify sales tax processes and manage expenses, projects, and inventory.

QuickBooks Online

QBO is Intuit's cloud general ledger, with bank feeds, payroll and a large third-party app marketplace, notable for its wide ecosystem and data portability between tiers.

"Our core accounting platform for early-stage tech clients, offering a solid ecosystem and efficient workflows." — Akshay Shrimanker

ZipBooks

Billed as a lightweight accounting solution that stresses accessibility and simplicity, ZipBooks has solutions for accounting, billing, reports and insights, and expenses.

Keeper

Keeper is a QuickBooks and Xero-integrated bookkeeping practice management tool featuring client portals, bank feeds, CRM and more.

"Another essential tool for us, particularly for month-end close. Keeper helps our team review their work, catch mislabeled transactions, and spot expense inconsistencies. It also streamlines client communication if we need more context on a transaction. Plus, it uses a secure 'magic link' so clients can respond easily without logging into a complex portal." — Akshay Shrimanker

Akaunting

Akaunting is a free, open-source, and online accounting software for small businesses and freelancers.

BrightBooks

BrightBooks offers invoice processing and inventory management, accessible 24/7 online. It also features business banking integration.

LedgerSMB

LedgerSMB is an open source ERP for small and midsized businesses, providing invoicing, order processing, quotations and more. LedgerSMB aims to provide a strong multicurrency accounting basis to build a business on — without vendor lock-in.

Wave

Wave is a small-business accounting solution that supports invoicing, payments, accounting, estimates and deposits, receipts, payroll and more.

Odoo

Odoo is an open source ERP and CRM system with over 40-plus community-developed apps. The company emphasizes that it has a single per-user price that is all-inclusive, versus usage-based pricing, feature upselling, long-term contracts, or hosting limits.

Xero

Xero is a cloud-based small-business accounting platform with a global focus and multicurrency support. It emphasizes integrations and partnerships, and has a broad app ecosystem.

Fieldguide

This audit and advisory engagement software provides an AI-driven, end-to-end audit workflow built specifically for CPA firms.

MS Power Automate

Microsoft Power Automate, previously known as Microsoft Flow, is a SaaS platform by Microsoft for optimizing and automating workflows and business processes. It is part of the Microsoft Power Platform line of products, which include Power Apps and Power BI.

"Learning how to use Power Automate and create flows that will automatically do tasks that used to take hours is life-changing. Being easy to integrate with other Microsoft products is a big key here, as it makes automations run smoothly vs other third-party tools." — Ryan Wolff

Basis

Basis equips accountants with a team of AI agents to take on workflows by integrating with existing systems. Basis works with the same ledgers, file systems, etc. that accountants and their clients use today.

"Basis is a cloud-based accounting automation platform that helps firms streamline workflows like bookkeeping, reconciliations, and client communication. It also helps build AI agents built for accountants." — Hrishikesh Pippadipally

Synder

Synder is AI-driven accounting infrastructure for retail, ecommerce and SaaS that features ready-made connectors for major sales channels, and works with any ledger or ERP.

ServiceNow

ServiceNow is a solution to build and manage multiple complex workflows with no-code playbooks; automate business processes as digital workflows across departments, apps, and systems; integrate legacy systems; and automate repetitive tasks with robotic process automation.

"ServiceNow is an indispensable asset for our accounting firm, offering comprehensive IT support management that ensures efficient handling of incidents and service requests. The platform's robust knowledge base and AI-powered support bot leverage data to provide users with timely and accurate assistance, significantly enhancing the overall support experience. Furthermore, ServiceNow's SLA management and user feedback mechanisms contribute to swift resolution times and continuous improvement, ensuring that our IT services remain reliable and responsive." — Chad Houchin

TinyTask

A minimalist PC automation app that can be used to record and repeat actions. It is only 36KB and does not require any scripting. Just press record, then play.

"TinyTask is a tool I use as a quick automation creator for small repetitive tasks." — Chad Houchin

Data Snipper

DataSnipper is an audit-focused automation platform within Excel allowing users to collect, extract, cross-reference and verify data within Excel. It also features a financial statement add-on.

"We use DataSnipper constantly in our audit and tax practices to help create efficiencies when both preparing and reviewing workpapers. Having a clear trail from source document to audit workpapers along with utilizing the automation features to increase efficiency has been a massive win for our firm since implementation. I would highly recommend DataSnipper." — Ryan Wolff

ChurnZero

This solution creates visibility into account-specific activities and trends that can impact the propensity of an account to churn.

"Cloud-based churn management application to help keep a constant pulse on your client base." — Matt Rowley

Intapp

Among other things, this solution helps firms streamline client acceptance by centralizing data intake and risk assessment.

"[Intapp is] critical for allowing new client work to be evaluated and approved for delivery." — Matt Rowley

Hubspot

HubSpot CRM is a cloud-based customer relationship management platform that helps businesses manage leads, contacts, sales pipelines, and client interactions. It automates marketing, sales, and customer service workflows while providing real-time dashboards and analytics.

"The result is better visibility into the customer journey, improved client engagement, and streamlined growth operations." — Hrishikesh Pippadipally

Earmark

A mobile app that lets accounting and tax professionals earn CPE by listening to podcast-style courses and then answering a short quiz to generate a certificate.

"I use Earmark to get CPE tuning in to relevant content that is communicated via podcasts, and video." — Akshay Shrimanker

LumiQ

A podcast-based learning platform where episodes (plus some video and instructor-led formats) count as verifiable CPD/CPE for CPAs in Canada and the U.S., delivered in a native mobile app.

"LumiQ facilitates the CPE learning process in an easy-to-use format with a variety of topics that keep it interesting and relevant to users." — Stephanie Ringrose

Workday

Workday is a cloud-based software vendor providing human capital management and financial management applications. The company offers applications for payroll, scheduling, onboarding, time tracking, learning, talent management, and performance evaluations.

"Workday serves as a comprehensive, cloud-based platform for practice management, encompassing client management, employee management, accounts payable/receivable, procurement, expenses, and time entry and more. This all-in-one solution streamlines our financial and human resource processes, enhancing operational efficiency and accuracy. Additionally, Workday's real-time reporting and analytics capabilities provide valuable insights, enabling us to make smarter business decisions." — Chad Houchin

Uku

An accounting practice management tool that provides automated workflows, time tracking, business reports, client agreement monitoring, automated billing and emails, CRM, and client portal.

TaxDome

A practice management tool specifically for tax practitioners, TaxDome provides a complete suite of productivity-boosting tools and automation for tasks such as organizing engagements, tracking time and expenses, preparing tax returns, collaborating with colleagues and clients, and generating reports

"It's a full practice management tool that handles client portals, engagement letters, and internal workflows, making life easier for our tax team." — Akshay Shrimanker

Monday

Monday is a cloud-based platform that allows users to create their own applications and project management software. Users can streamline workflows across projects, as well as access CRM, IT, and development tools to gain clear visibility to make strategic decisions with confidence.

"Monday.com helps manage projects, deadlines, and team responsibilities with visual boards and automations that keep teams organized." — Stephanie Ringrose

Azure Boards

Azure Boards is a Microsoft product, mainly a project manager.

"Azure Boards is a versatile solution for tracking work items such as stories, tasks, and system bugs, featuring an intuitive user interface that facilitates our team to visualize progress." — Chad Houchin

Deltek Vantagepoint ERP

Deltek Vantagepoint is an ERP and project management platform designed for professional services firms like consulting, engineering, and architecture. It integrates project planning, resource management, time & expense tracking, billing.

SurePrep

SurePrep is a 1040 workpaper automation solution that also includes SPBinder for reviews and TaxCaddy for collaboration. It is owned by Thomson Reuters.

"SurePrep allows our individual (1040) clients to easily upload their data, streamlining the tax preparation process. The software leverages AI to accurately extract and import return data directly into the return, ensuring efficiency and precision. SurePrep's user-friendly interface enhances client ease of use, making the entire experience seamless and hassle-free." — Chad Houchin

CCH Answer Connect

CCH Answer Connect is a tax research platform covering state, federal and international tax issues. Users can get expert-vetted AI generated answers to unique and complex tax and accounting questions.

"We rely on these for state and local tax research. It's crucial for navigating multistate complexities." — Akshay Shrimanker

BlueJ

A tax research platform that lets firms get verifiable answers to complex tax questions and draft high-quality client communications in seconds, enabling users to elevate their role as a strategic advisor. It is a CPA.com partner.

Call enQ

Call enQ is a software solution that will call the IRS, get in on hold, and then transfer that spot to one of their subscribers.

Vanilla

Made specifically for estate planning and management, Vanilla offers estate modeling with visual diagrams and flowcharts, and aids estate planners as well as clients in identifying gaps and opportunities in their current estate plan.

"The software's ability to interpret documents, summarize current net worth and anticipated estate tax liabilities, and support the development on new estate plans reduces manual review time and increases accuracy." — Stephanie Ringrose

Recurly

Recurly offers solutions for managing subscription services and recurring payments. It handles payments orchestration, churn, revenue recognition, subscriber management and more.

"A robust platform for managing subscription billing, invoicing. The platform helps optimize administrative functions that support annuity-based services, optimizing revenue growth and integrating with churn management applications." — Matt Rowley

Bill

Formerly BILL.com, Bill lets you create and pay bills, send invoices, manage expenses, control budgets, and access credit.

GoFileRoom

A cloud-based electronic document storage designed specifically for managing files to support the delivery of tax and accounting work products.

"[Go File Room is] essential for compliant collaboration and organization of assets received from clients and storing deliverables." — Matt Rowley

CCH Axcess Tax

CCH Axcess Tax is a scalable and fully integrated tax preparation, compliance and workflow solution that's been developed specifically for the cloud and is suitable for firms of all sizes.

"CCH Axcess Tax is a cloud-based tax preparation and compliance solution that ensures high up-time and availability, making it a reliable choice for our accounting firm. It offers robust layers of data and user security, safeguarding sensitive information while providing peace of mind. Additionally, the software features 'out of the box' integrations, a slick user interface, and advanced return diagnostics tools, enhancing both efficiency and user experience." –— Chad Houchin

Jirav

A forecasting, budgeting, reporting, and dashboarding solution for CPAs, it is a CPA.com partner.

Gusto

Gusto handles payroll, HR, benefits and it can even file taxes

CCH Axcess Workflow

CCH Axcess Workflow is a full-featured solution for project tracking and business deliverables, improving productivity with automated workflows and real-time assignments.

"CCH Axcess Workflow is an essential tool for our accounting firm as it streamlines the tracking and management of tax projects and client deliverables, ensuring that tax sub-workflows such as preparation, review, extensions, and e-filing are efficiently handled. Axcess allows us to stay on top of due dates and project statuses without manually aggregating information from multiple systems." — Chad Houchin

SmartSheet

Smartsheet is a cloud-based project management and collaborative work software utilizing a spreadsheet platform. Designed for business use, it provides file sharing, notes, and task management to help teams manage projects.

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Personal apps

Accountants have many interests outside of work, and our panel is no exception. In addition to accounting and business apps, we also asked about some of their favorites for general day-to-day use. Apps named include:

Spotify (music and podcasts).
YouTube (Like and subscribe! And be sure to smash that bell icon!)
Flighty (real-time updates to flight times down to the minute, including taxiing etc.)
NYT Cooking (a large store of cooking recipes).
Yahoo Finance (likely the first thing a lot of folks check out in the morning).