The 7 Best Karbon Alternatives to Manage Your Workflows

Karbon is a project management software that streamlines the transfer of information by providing visibility across local and remote teams. 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 together from different departments and locations.

All of this successfully plays out between the features and integrations. The features include automatic client data collection, a recurring task generation feature, and document storage that puts documents in the same place as the workflow process. There are ten direct integrations and a decent amount of Zaps in Zapier.

While the features and integrations are some of the software’s strengths, firms may be frustrated with the interface, setup fees, and other hidden costs.

So, if you’re looking for other options or to replace Karbon, read on and see some of the best alternatives with the same functionality.

Shortcomings of Karbon

According to some users, there are some issues with the interface and the fees. The following are some of those issues:

• User reviews complain of the software’s clunky interface.
• There are three implementation packages to choose from to get you up and running. While the one package with general onboarding training is free, the two others come with a hefty fee. Assisted Onboarding with personalized training to suit your firm runs around $2,000 and the Full Service Implementation with one-on-one training runs around $4,000.
• If you go beyond the client limit or want to change a project series, there are additional costs, and some users find they aren’t disclosed up front.
• You have to pay for customer support.

The Top 7 Karbon Alternatives

With Karbon’s shortcomings in mind, let’s look at the alternatives to see what they offer.

Jetpack Workflow

• What is it: Jetpack Workflow is a cloud-based workflow management solution for accounting firms but can be used in other small businesses as well.
• Top features: With Jetpack Workflow you can create work templates in seconds, automate critical deadlines, view all of your work in one place, stay on track, and keep tabs on your firm’s progress.
• Who it’s for: Jetpack Workflow is for accountants, CPA firms, bookkeepers, and even other small to mid-sized businesses looking for workflow management software to keep track of projects and repetitive processes.
• 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, which is a reasonable cost given its features and the competitors’ options.
• Final word: Jetpack Workflow’s strength is in standardizing, tracking, and automating processes so team members can complete more work in less time. The software comes fully customized to meet the unique needs of your company. Jetpack Workflow also excels in all seven criteria used in this evaluation: ease of set up, ease of use, features, customer service, price, and integrations.

Canopy

• What is it: Canopy is a cloud-based practice management solution for accounting firms. It streamlines your firm and creates a connection with your clients.
• Top features: Some of their top features include project management tools, document tools, CRM, integrated time & billing, and a client portal.
• Who it’s for: Canopy is for mid-sized accounting firms who are looking for a comprehensive practice management solution to organize their workload, team, and clients.
• 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 with the client portal bridging the gap between the company and the client. Customer support, workflows, and task management doesn’t rate as high, so if you’re looking for a project management solution, this may not be the answer.

Aero Workflow

• What is it: Aero Workflow integrates processes and procedures into your tasks resulting in a clear view of what needs to be done and how to do it.
• Top features: As a project management system, Aero’s top features include time & project tracking, one-time & recurring task scheduling, and a training hub for your business.
• Who it’s for: Aero Workflow is for small to medium-sized accounting firms looking for a simple way to combine processes and procedures with tasks so that everything is in one place and the staff knows exactly what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and how to do it.
• Pricing: Aero offers three different plans. The Sole Proprietor Plan runs $39 a month if paid annually 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 takes it one step beyond being a to-do list for your firm but it doesn’t have the functionality some of the other options do.

Financial Cents

• What is it: Financial Cents combines accounting firms processes, workload, and invoicing tools into a single platform.
• Top features: Top features include workflow management, invoicing & time tracking, and client management.
• Who it’s for: Financial Cents is for accountants, CPAs, and bookkeepers looking for client management, document management, project management, staff management, and workflow management to monitor projects so that the team isn’t getting overloaded or underperforming.
• Pricing: Financial Cents has a Monthly Plan for $29 a month per user and an Annual Plan for $23 a month per user.
• Final word: While Financial Cents consists of firm processes, workload, and invoicing tools as key features, it lacks in the reporting and integration capabilities.

CS Professional Suite

• What is it: CS Professional Suite provides products and services to manage workflow processes in accounting firms.
• Top features: Some of their top features include a built-in time & billing tool, project reporting, and customizable dashboards.
• Who it’s for: CS Professional Suite is for cloud-based and on-premise accounting firms of all sizes looking for a project management tool to manage taxes, auditing, operations, payroll, documents, and workflow.
• Pricing: Contact Thomson Reuters for pricing.
• Final word: CS Professional Suite is mainly a billing and time tool with a design that is old and clunky according to users.

ClickUp

• What is it: ClickUp is an app to plan, organize, and collaborate but isn’t specific to accounting. It is generally a workflow, project management, and task tool designed for team collaboration.
• Top features: Some of its top features include marketing features, multiple PM methodologies, and a workload chart.
• Who it’s for: ClickUp is for teams of all industries and sizes who are looking for a project management tool to keep all projects under a single app.
• Pricing: ClickUp has a Free Forever Plan for personal use that is free, 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 pricing.
• Final word: ClickUp requires a little more effort to set it up for an accounting firm, the set up is a bit difficult, the interface is just okay, and the company has limited chat resources. Since it is not accounting specific, it provides broader features such as marketing tools.

Monday.com

• What is it: Monday.com is a platform that can build, run, and scale your workflow.
• Top features: Its top features include customization, over 200 use cases, task management, and more.
• Who it’s for: Monday.com is for any project, business, or team size looking for an open platform so that HR managers can build custom solutions for their teams’ needs.
• Pricing: Monday.com has 5 pricing tiers. These include an Individual Plan that is free, a Basic Plan that is $8 per seat 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.com is another tool that can be used as an accounting workflow hub but isn’t marketed specifically for accounting. With all the features, Monday.com is missing a client profile feature for accounting firms. This software’s strength is in its integrations: there are countless ways to fit Monday.com into your existing systems.