"For decades, we've worked alongside accounting firms through our Boomer Circles communities and consulting engagements, helping them make smarter technology decisions," said Boomer Consulting CEO Jim Boomer in a statement. "One challenge has remained constant: Firms spend too much time trying to understand what's available before they can evaluate what truly fits their needs. SoftwareClarity gives firm leaders a trusted starting point, making it easier to navigate the marketplace with confidence and focus on the solutions that best support their firm's strategy."
The site lists software among 16 different categories such as practice management, tax prep and compliance, document management and payroll. Each entry goes to a profile that explains the solution in more detail and provides a link to the vendor site. While any vendor can be listed for free, those who buy a premium profile can add information such as firm fit, pricing model, buyer persona, support channel, product launch year, starting price, key integrations, media mentions, client testimonials and FAQ. Users can browse profiles by category or search directly.
Jon Hubbard, shareholder and chief growth officer with Boomer, said Software Clarity grew out of a need the company heard repeatedly from firms: a single place to understand the software and technology solutions available specifically to the accounting profession. Firms frequently ask which solutions their peers are using, what Boomer Circle firms are using, and which products they should be considering across different technology categories.
"After hearing those questions for years, we kept coming back to the same conclusion: The accounting profession needs a dedicated software marketplace," Hubbard said. "There are plenty of general software review sites, but when you narrow them down to accounting, a lot of the solutions our profession uses simply aren't represented. That's why we describe Software Clarity as the accounting industry's software marketplace."
Hubbard said Software Clarity is more like a comprehensive catalog than a platform such as Amazon or Yelp. It does not include product reviews or "click to buy" functionality. Instead, it is designed to give accounting professionals a centralized place to discover the technology solutions available to them. While some vendors featured on the platform also sponsor Boomer events or participate in other Boomer programs, that is not a requirement. The platform is open to accounting-focused technology providers, regardless of their relationship with Boomer.
"We wanted this to be a resource for the entire accounting profession," Hubbard said. "It's powered by Boomer, but the goal is bigger than us. We want professionals to have one central place where they can explore the software available to them and better understand the technology landscape. It's free to use, there's no login required, and it's available to everyone."
The site features a chatbot that will help users with more specific queries such as: "I need practice management software for small firms that specialize in tax." Hubbard emphasized that the bot has been trained to give several different recommendations, not just one. He said Boomer Consulting considers itself a neutral firm, so the chatbot is designed to be a neutral chatbot. Instead of saying, "This is the best one thing for your needs," the chatbot will be more geared toward "based on your needs, here are some options you could look into."
Overall, said Hubbard, Software Clarity was developed because the profession lacked anything like it. The primary motivation was creating a resource for the profession as a whole.
"People know how to Google, and increasingly they know how to use AI tools to research technology, but the results can still be fragmented," Hubbard said. "We heard the same thing from our members. There was a real need for someone to organize this information in a way that's specific to accounting and make it publicly available. That's ultimately what we set out to do with Software Clarity."
