The complete Canadian accounting firm tech stack.
Four tools that run the whole firm: the ledger your clients keep their books in, the engine you file T1, T2, and T3 returns with, the workflow hub that keeps the team on track, and the tool that turns proposals into paid invoices. This is the stack we run at LedgerLogic, and the one we set up for the firms we advise.
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What software does a Canadian accounting firm need?
A modern Canadian firm runs on four layers that connect end to end: a cloud ledger (Xero) that your clients keep their books in, a professional tax engine (TaxCycle) for T1, T2, and T3 returns, a practice-management hub (Karbon) for workflow, deadlines, and the team inbox, and a proposal-and-billing tool (Ignition) that scopes, signs, and invoices engagements automatically. Xero is the centre: TaxCycle pulls GIFI balances from it into the T2, and Ignition posts accepted proposals back as invoices. Set all four up from the start and the firm scales without a rebuild.
Ledger, tax, workflow, billing, one connected pipeline
Each layer feeds the next. Set them up together and the data flows end to end, no re-keying, no exports.
The cloud ledger your clients keep their books in.
90% off for 6 months
T1, T2, and T3 preparation and EFILE for Canadian firms.
Free Xero partner account
Practice management: work, clients, and the team inbox in one place.
$1,000 implementation credit
Proposals, engagement letters, and automated billing.
50% off Pro/Pro+ for 3 months 90% off for 6 monthsXero, the ledger
Xero is the ledger every other tool reports into. For a Canadian firm it is the cleanest way to keep client books in the cloud, with proper GST/HST and PST handling, bank feeds from every major Canadian bank, and a collaboration model that lets you and the client work in the same file instead of emailing backups. Through the partner program your firm also gets Xero HQ and workpapers on top. It connects to the rest of the stack directly: TaxCycle pulls GIFI balances straight from Xero into the T2, and Ignition posts accepted proposals back as invoices.
Free Xero partner accountTaxCycle, the tax engine
TaxCycle is the tax engine, T1, T2, T3, and every Canadian slip, built for professional preparers and now owned by Xero. It EFILEs to the CRA and Revenu Quebec, carries client files forward from ProFile, Taxprep, Cantax, and DT Max, and imports GIFI balances straight from Xero so you are not re-keying year-end numbers. Because Xero owns TaxCycle, your TaxCycle discount is tied to your Xero partner status, so the more you grow your Xero client base, the cheaper TaxCycle gets. That is exactly how a stack built on this foundation compounds as you scale. Our partner link also includes a free Xero partner account to start. It is Windows desktop software, so plan your hardware, but for a Canadian firm it is the modern, transparently priced choice.
$1,000 implementation creditKarbon, the workflow hub
Karbon is the practice-management layer: a shared team inbox, task and workflow management, deadlines, and capacity in one connected place. It is the top-ranked practice-management platform on G2, and it is what keeps client work out of people's heads and personal inboxes. Set it up from day one and every recurring job, tax returns, year-ends, bookkeeping, runs on a template with owners and due dates. New firms that start Karbon through our link get a $1,000 credit toward implementation, which offsets most of the onboarding cost that usually holds firms back from switching.
50% off Pro/Pro+ for 3 monthsIgnition, the billing engine
Ignition closes the loop on revenue: proposals, engagement letters, and automated billing. You scope the work once, the client signs, and Ignition bills on your schedule and syncs to Xero and QuickBooks, so you stop chasing invoices and doing unpaid scope. It is complementary to Karbon, not a competitor: Karbon runs the work, Ignition runs the money, and they overlap only on engagement letters, which most firms let Ignition own. New Pro or Pro+ customers get 50% off for their first three months through our link.
Set it up in one order, ledger first
Set up Xero as the books. It is the hub everything else reports into, so it goes first, with GST/HST and the Canadian bank feeds configured.
Install TaxCycle and connect the free Xero partner account. GIFI balances flow from Xero into the T2, and client files carry forward from your old software.
Stand up Karbon with templates for your recurring jobs. Deadlines, owners, and the team inbox live here from client one, not in a spreadsheet.
Connect Ignition so every engagement is scoped, signed, and billed automatically, with invoices posting back to Xero. No more unpaid scope creep.
Illustrative first-year value from the four stacked offers. Real amounts vary by plan and firm size; each offer is applied through our partner links, no inflated totals.
- $1,000 Karbon implementation credit
- About $300 off Ignition Pro (first 3 months)
- About $135 off Xero (first 6 months)
- Free Xero partner account with TaxCycle
Build the foundation once, so you never rebuild mid-growth
The firms that scale smoothly set the foundation up properly at the start. The stack is the same at every stage; what changes is how deep you configure it, not which tools you run. Get it right now and you grow into it, instead of ripping out a spreadsheet and migrating clients mid-tax-season. That is how we set our own firm up, and it let us grow seamlessly.
Set up all four from the start. Even solo, Karbon keeps client work, deadlines, and email out of your head and in one place, and Ignition scopes, signs, and bills every engagement from client one. The setup cost is small now and large later; this is the foundation you grow on, not something to bolt on once you are already underwater.
Where the full stack pays for itself fastest: Karbon's shared inbox and capacity view keep the team in sync, and Ignition's auto-billing ends the month-end scramble. If you set the foundation up as a solo, this stage is adding seats, not rebuilding.
Same stack, deeper configuration: Karbon capacity planning and approvals, Ignition multi-partner approval flows, and standardized Xero templates across the client base. Because the tools have been in place since the start, scaling is a settings change, not a migration.
Comparing workflow tools first? See our practice management comparison.
7 questions firms ask about the stack
Everything reports into Xero. Set that up first.
Open the ledger, then layer tax, workflow, and billing on top. Do it as a foundation now and the whole firm scales without a rebuild.
Firm stack
Start with Xero, 90% off