ERP for accounting & cpa firm. Every client's books, filings and deadlines on one review queue.
A firm sells deadlines. Kinnow keeps the firm's own books, one list of every client job with two dates on each, and sales-tax jobs waiting for a partner before anything is filed. The United States edition opens from early 2027.
From early 2027How does Kinnow help an accounting or CPA firm? It runs two things side by side: the firm's own books (fees, payroll, expenses) and one list of every client job with two dates on each, your internal preparation date and the filing date. For clients who collect sales tax, the groundwork to add up the tax state by state for a preparer to review is completed before launch. Nothing is filed, paid or posted until a person says so. Nothing is filed, paid or posted without a person.
Your firm, in one paragraph.
Money comes in as fees: a monthly bookkeeping retainer, a fee per return or engagement, and the odd advisory job. It is billed late because a partner has to be sure the work is finished. Time goes into chasing clients for records and keying figures into state portals. Meeting deadlines is what you sell, and dozens of clients' dates land in the same few weeks.
Three things keep the managing partner awake. A client has not sent records and the date is close. A client collects sales tax in a state nobody is watching. A notice arrived and its reply date lives only in someone's mailbox.
Two ways a client can appear in Kinnow
Both can run in the same firm, client by client.
A party in your own books
Most clients start here. You bill them, and every job for them (a sales-tax return, a tax return, an advisory piece) is a line in your job list. The client does not need to use Kinnow at all.
Their own Kinnow company
A client who keeps their books on Kinnow can give you limited access. You see a list of the clients who have, switch into one, and can only look by default. Their administrator can switch on preparer mode for you, and every action in it is recorded.
See a month of your own client list on Kinnow, with your own deadlines on it.
How your month runs on Kinnow
Here is a firm that prepares sales-tax work and keeps the books for its clients.
| Step | Who | What Kinnow does | Where a person signs off |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Open the month's jobs | Practice manager | A repeating schedule opens one job per client, filing and period. You name the filing, such as a state sales-tax return or a company return. You set the preparation date and the filing date. A person starts the run. | The manager sets the dates; nothing is dated for you. |
| 2. Chase records | Associate | The document chaser lists clients whose records are still missing for open jobs, at 45, 21, 7 and 3 days out, and drafts one reminder per client. It sends nothing; you copy and send. | The associate sends. |
| 3. Book the month | Accountant | Bills and bank lines go in. Bank Reconciler pre-matches lines and shows why it matched each one; AI Invoice Extractor reads bill PDFs into fields. | A manual journal entry above your limit waits for a second person. |
| 4. Add up sales tax by state | Accountant | For a client who collects sales tax, the groundwork to group taxable sales and tax collected by the state each sale belongs to is completed before launch. Tax paid on purchases is a cost, so there is no input credit. | A person checks the totals against the client's registrations. |
| 5. Prepare the return | Executive | The state figures are set out as a worksheet you type into that state's own return. Kinnow does not produce a state form file. | Drafts only. |
| 6. Send for review | Executive | The job moves to Awaiting review. The person who sent it cannot be the one who files it. | A send-back needs a written reason. |
| 7. Partner review | Partner | The partner sees the draft and the amount payable. Returns above an amount you set need sign-off, with the reason written down. | Partner approves. |
| 8. File and mark filed | Executive | Your team files on the state portal and marks the job filed. Kinnow records the filed date itself; nobody types it. | Filing is a person's act. |
| 9. Bill the client | Partner, accountant | The fee goes on the job. A write-down beyond your limit goes to a second person with a reason. The invoice is raised through Sell. | An invoice above your limit needs approval. |
| 10. Close your own month | Accounts head | The month-end close routine runs twelve checks, and seven must pass. Close Checklist fills in most of the list ahead of time. | The close is confirmed by a person. |
Ask us to set up your first ten client jobs and take one of them from start to finish.
The filing calendar, what Kinnow tracks and what it does not
The United States has no national sales-tax return and no single calendar. What a seller files depends on the states it is registered in and how often each state asks. So Kinnow builds a client's calendar from the registrations recorded for that client. If none are recorded, it says so instead of showing an empty calendar, because an empty list would read as nothing to file.
| Filing | When it falls | What Kinnow prepares |
|---|---|---|
| State sales-tax return | Per state, monthly, quarterly or annual, as recorded for the registration. Where no due day is recorded, Kinnow assumes the 20th of the following month, and each row says so | A calendar line per state and period; the state-by-state totals of taxable sales and tax collected are completed before launch |
| State sales-tax permit | When sales in a state pass its economic nexus threshold | A tracked registration. Kinnow does not decide nexus (whether a client has enough sales or presence in a state to need a permit); that is for the client's tax adviser |
| State annual report or franchise tax | Each state's own schedule | A tracked registration with a 30-day warning. A due date appears only once you enter the state's schedule |
| Foreign qualification | When a client operates in more than one state | A tracked registration, so a missed state does not go unnoticed |
| Federal, state and company income tax returns, extensions | Dates you set | Tracked as jobs in your list with both dates. Kinnow does not prepare these returns |
| Payroll deposits and quarterly payroll returns, W-2, 1099 | Not tracked | Not built in the first release |
| Notices from a tax authority | The reply date printed on the notice | A notice list with the reply date you type in; shows overdue, due soon, no deadline or no supporting document |
What the partner sees, and what the client sees
Your job list separates three kinds of late: waiting on the client, waiting on your team, and past the filing date. Kinnow records the prepared and filed times itself, so you can quote a turnaround time you can stand behind.
The partner
The list of clients who have given you access, each marked read-only or preparer mode. The job list across every client: status, who has it, both dates, whether each job is late and who it is waiting on. Jobs waiting for review, and the deadline load by person and by client.
The client
A portal with your firm's branding. The client signs in with a code sent to their email, sees the invoices you raised with PDFs and what is still owed, and can raise a dispute. Engagement letters go out through Kinnow Sign, our e-signature, and working papers are shared as Vault links that you can switch off.
Walk through the partner view with your own client list.
What the ready-made setup covers
Two ready-made setups apply together: one for a CPA practice (we call it an industry pack) and one for the United States (the country setup). Together they bring seven limits, six sign-off routes, twelve starter questions for Ask Kinnow and nine report codes. The figures are plain numbers, so we go through every starting figure with you in dollars before you begin.
| Limit | Effect | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Return sign-off above an amount payable | Approval by someone other than the preparer | A filing cannot be undone, and the money belongs to the state until you pay it over |
| Invoice above a value | Approval | The tax on an invoice depends on where it ships and whether you hold a permit for that state |
| Sales order above a value | Warning | The order is the last easy moment to collect an exemption certificate (the buyer's proof that no sales tax applies) |
| Manual journal above a value | Approval | A journal entry on the tax liability account changes what is owed without changing what was reviewed |
| Engagement letter (sales order) above a value | Approval | A big client in the busy season decides what else the team can take on |
| Client credit limit | Warning only | Giving credit is a decision, not data entry |
These are starting figures. Set them to whatever a reviewer in your firm would want to see. Three of the close checks in the CPA setup were written for another country's returns, so for a US firm we set up the close checks with you instead of assuming them.
Agents for an accounting firm
Filing Prep
Builds the sales-tax return file from your books and lists every document it left out, with the reason, for a person to clear before filing.
Client document chaser
Lists clients whose records are outstanding before a filing date and drafts one reminder each. Sends nothing.
Notice reply clock
Tracks the reply date typed from each notice and shows what is overdue or has no deadline.
Close Checklist
Runs the twelve period-close checks, helps clear the ones holding up the close and drafts the commentary on variances. A person confirms the close.
AccountBank Reconciler
Matches bank lines to receipts ahead of time and shows why it matched each one. Lines it is unsure about come up as suggestions only and are never committed on their own.
Each agent is tested with each client before it touches their books, and everything it produces waits for a person.
Ask Kinnow, for a firm
| Ask | The answer is built from |
|---|---|
| Which client filings are due this week? | Your job list and the state calendar |
| Which client jobs are late? | Your engagement list, with who each job is waiting on |
| How much of our work is waiting on clients? | Your engagements, grouped by status |
| Which states am I registered to collect sales tax in? | The registrations recorded in Comply |
| What sales tax did my client collect this period? | The sales tax register |
Each answer names its source and what it will cost before it runs. Bank, tax and ID numbers are hidden by Veil, our privacy layer, before any AI call; today that covers Ask Kinnow and most agents.
Ask us to run these questions on your own numbers.
Questions
Can I see all my clients in one place?
Yes, in two views. The job list shows every client job with its status, owner, dates and whether it is late. The client list shows the clients who have given you access to their own Kinnow company, marked read-only or preparer mode.
Does Kinnow file sales tax returns?
No. The groundwork to add up taxable sales and tax collected by state, for a preparer to type into each state's own return, is completed before launch. A person files on the state portal and marks the job filed, after a second person has reviewed it.
Does Kinnow prepare income tax returns or payroll forms such as W-2 and 1099?
No. Income tax, company and information returns are not prepared, and W-2 and 1099 are not built. You can still track those jobs in the same list with your own preparation and filing dates, and bill for them the same way.
Can my clients stay on their current accounting software?
Yes, during the move. Data comes across with a trial balance that must tie before it is accepted, and clients can move one application at a time. Clients who are only a party in your books need nothing from their side.
Who can change a client's books?
Nobody, by default. Access is look-only until the client's administrator switches on preparer mode for a named person, and each action taken in it is recorded on the client's side.
What happens when an agent gets it wrong?
Each agent hands back a draft that shows its reasons, and a person approves it before anything is filed, paid or posted. Agents are tested with each client first, and you can send any job back with a reason.
How long does set-up take, and when can a US firm start?
About two weeks to first results for one firm. The United States edition is available from early 2027.
Show me Kinnow for accounting & cpa firm.
Answer three questions. Get the applications, the agents and a two-week plan for your business.