The 7 Best Financial Cents Alternatives to Manage Workflows

Financial Cents is an accounting practice management software designed to scale your firm with ease.

It does this by tracking work, collaborating with your team remotely, automating client data, and storing everything in one place. This software is for accountants, bookkeepers, and CPAs looking for a centralized platform to collaborate and manage projects and staff.

All of this is accomplished with its ease of use and features. Some features include workflow management that maps out services and processes, client management, and invoicing and time tracking that integrates billing.

While the features and ease of use are some of the software’s strengths, accounting professionals may be frustrated with the lack of integrations and report generation capabilities.

So, if you’re looking for more robust accounting firm management tools or a tool to replace Financial Cents, here are some of the best alternative recommendations to consider.

Shortcomings of Financial Cents

According to some users, there are issues with integrations and specific features. Here are some of those issues:

• The lack of integrations is an issue with many users. It only integrates with Quickbooks. There are no other integrations, not even with Zapier.
• The report options are limited.
• Planning future work is limited, in particular the capacity views and schedule views.
• It can be hard to balance the workload. It’s difficult to quickly reassign work or move due dates.

The Top 7 Financial Cents Alternatives

With Financial Cents’ shortcomings, let’s take a look at some other options. At a glance, many accounting practice management solutions seem similar, but taking a closer look at product reviews shows the meaningful details software buyers should know.

Jetpack Workflow

• What is it: Jetpack Workflow is a cloud-based workflow management software option designed for accounting firms, but useful for small businesses in a variety of industries.
• Top features: Jetpack Workflow includes pre-made templates, capacity planning tools, automated deadlines, and detailed reporting, helping both clients and firms have a great experience.
• Who it’s for: Jetpack Workflow is for the financial sector and other small to mid-sized businesses looking for workflow management software to keep track of projects and streamline repetitive processes in client work. The capacity management feature is also critical for firms in the midst of growth and taking on new clients.
• Pricing: There are two unlimited plans. Both have the same features, except the Scale Plan comes with new capacity management and scheduling features. The Organize Plan runs $36 per user a month billed annually. The Scale Plan runs $39 per user a month billed annually.
• Final word: When evaluated based on ease of set up, ease of use, features, customer service, price, and integrations, Jetpack Workflow excels on all counts. Users report its flexibility along with the ability to customize a major advantage and a big time saver, and rate it as an excellent product. Onboarding is easy with helpful instructions.

Karbon

• What is it: Karbon is a work management software that streamlines the transfer of information by providing visibility across local and remote teams.
• Top features: With Karbon, you can automate client data, generate recurring tasks, and store reports, spreadsheets, and documents in the same place as your workflow processes.
• Who it’s for: This cloud-based workflow collaboration tool presents itself as a hub for medium and large businesses and is ideal for teams who need to collaborate from different departments and locations.
• Pricing: There are three pricing options. The Team Plan runs $59 a month per user if paid annually or $75 a month per user if paid monthly. The Business Plan runs $79 a month per user if paid annually or $99 a month per user if paid monthly. The Enterprise Plan is custom pricing.
• Final word: While the features and amount of integrations are some of the software’s strengths, firms may be frustrated with the interface, complicated setup fees, and other hidden costs.

Canopy

• What is it: Canopy is a cloud-based practice management solution for accounting firms. It is built to streamline processes and help financial professionals focus on creating connections with clients.
• Top features: Some of their top features include workflow, document management, time and billing, payments, and CRM with a client portal.
• Who it’s for: Canopy is for medium-sized accounting firms looking for a comprehensive practice management solution.
• Pricing: Canopy offers five plans based on modular pricing. There’s a Client Management Plan with a $199 implementation fee plus $2.50/client per year with a minimum of 200 clients. The Time & Billing Module runs $24/user per month while the next plan up, The Workflow Module, runs $30/user per month. The Tax Resolution Module runs $33/user per month, and the Document Management Module runs $40/user per month.
• Final word: Canopy’s strength is in the time and billing feature and the client communication tool and client dashboard that bridges the gap between the company and the client. According to users, the weakness is the software can get pricey and is not ideal for project management.

Aero Workflow

• What is it: Aero Workflow combines processes, procedures, and tasks to be all in one place. That way, you can quickly assess what is on the roadmap for your team.
• Top features: Aero’s top features include step-by-step checklists, time and project tracking, and one-time as well as recurring task scheduling.
• Who it’s for: Aero Workflow is for small to mid-sized accounting professionals looking to consolidate processes and procedures in one platform.
• Pricing: Aero offers three different plans. The Sole Proprietor Plan runs $39 a month at an annual plan rate or $47 paid monthly. The Small Firm Plan runs $79 a month if paid annually or $95 if paid monthly. The Large Firm Plan runs $149 a month is paid annually or $170 if paid monthly. The number of users increases with each plan, but all integrations and unlimited clients are included in every plan.
• Final word: Aero Workflow is a to-do list for your firm but lacks some of the more robust features offered by some of the other alternatives.

CS Professional Suite

• What is it: CS Professional Suite is cloud-based and manages workflow processes in accounting firms.
• Top features: The software is known for having a time and billing tool, project management capabilities, and dashboards to give a wider view of the workload.
• Who it’s for: CS Professional Suite is built for firms and related businesses of many stages of growth with a need for an operations, payroll, documentation, and project management solution.
• Pricing: Contact Thomson Reuters for pricing.
• Final word: CS Professional Suite is a valuable tool for accounting project management. According to users, its strength lies in the billing and time tool feature but has an outdated design.

ClickUp

• What is it: ClickUp is a project management tool designed to plan, organize, and collaborate but isn’t built just for accounting firms.
• Top features: The tool has a decent amount of features, including assignment management, multiple project management methodologies, and a workload chart.
• Who it’s for: ClickUp is for all industries who are looking for a project management tool to keep all projects under a single app.
• Pricing: ClickUp has a Free Forever Plan for free personal use, an Unlimited Plan for small teams for $5 per member a month, a Business Plan for mid-sized teams for $9 per member a month, a Business Plus Plan for multiple teams for $19 per member a month, and an Enterprise Plan that you will have to contact the company for monthly plan pricing.
• Final word: ClickUp requires a little more effort to implement for an accounting or bookkeeping firm, and the setup is a little more complicated. Its strength is found in its broader range of features, such as the marketing tools, while the interface is acceptable, and the company has limited contact methods.

Monday.com

• What is it: Monday.com is a project management tool designed to help teams do their best work, on time.
• Top features: Its top features include HR features, customization, built-in analytics, task management, and marketing.
• Who it’s for: Monday.com is for various industries looking for an open platform so that managers can build custom solutions for their teams’ needs. It solves one of the top key pain points, the lack of customization ability, that you may find in other tools.
• Pricing: Monday.com has five pricing plans. These include an Individual Plan that is free, a Basic Plan that is $8 per team member a month, a Standard Plan that is $10 per seat a month, a Pro Plan that is $16 per seat a month, and an Enterprise Plan that you will have to contact the company for pricing.
• Final word: Monday is a tool that can be used as a workflow hub for various industries. It ranks high when it comes to integrations but lacks an essential feature: the client profile.