Built for accountants running a client-facing practice
The CRM that gets what you need in January, and what you need in October.
Accounting practice work is seasonal, document heavy, deadline sensitive, and compliance aware. Strkr ships a CRM core shaped around engagements, tax deadlines, and document chase, with AI drafting that sounds like a professional, not a chatbot.
A general-purpose sales CRM assumes a clean linear funnel from prospect to closed-won. An accounting practice does not work that way. The client lifecycle is a loop: prospect, onboard, engage, deliver, invoice, renew, with document chase and compliance deadlines woven through the middle. The pain points below are what Strkr's onboarding team hears on every intake call with an accounting firm, from the 11-person boutique practice to the 180-person regional CPA shop.
The January avalanche
Tax season breaks the generic pipeline.
From January 15 to April 15 an accounting practice is not running a sales pipeline. It is running a 2,000-item document chase, a filing-deadline triage, and a billable-hours tracker. Generic CRMs assume you want to see a weighted forecast of your pipeline, which is not useful when the real question is which 42 clients still owe you their W-2s on April 2. Strkr's pipeline view flips to a deadline-sorted triage during tax season with document completeness as the primary filter.
Engagement letter friction
Chasing signed engagement letters by email.
A boutique accounting practice sends 180 engagement letters per year. 60 come back signed on the first ask. 90 need a follow-up. 30 need three or more. The partner spends about 11 hours per month chasing signatures. Strkr tracks engagement letter status as a workflow stage with automated reminders at days 7, 14, and 21, Strkr AI drafts the follow-up email in a professional tone, and the partner approves and sends. The 11 hours drop to roughly two.
For each client Strkr maintains a document request checklist tied to the engagement type (1040, 1120, 1065, 990, bookkeeping monthly). The checklist drives the chase email cadence (every 7 days until complete), the engagement status in the pipeline view, and the readiness report for the partner. 90 percent of the where-are-we-on-this-client questions get answered on the client card without a call.
Billable hours context
The CRM does not know what the time tracker knows.
Accounting practices run time trackers (QuickBooks Time, Harvest, TSheets) that know the hours per client per engagement. The CRM usually does not. The result is a sales conversation where the partner cannot see that this client has absorbed 42 billable hours this year against a $9,000 fixed-fee engagement. Strkr exposes the time-tracker tie through the standard webhook spec with HMAC signing and prints hours-used-vs-budget on the client card.
Audit trail requirements
AICPA peer review wants the paper trail.
AICPA peer review examines workflow and client communication records. A CRM that cannot show who touched this client file, when, and with what notes fails the review. Strkr's audit log records every record read, every record write, every email sent, every AI prompt, with 90-day default retention tunable per tenant. HIPAA compliant with BAA available for firms that handle medical practice bookkeeping.
Multi-partner visibility
The managing partner cannot see across books of business.
In a 25-partner firm each partner has 40 to 180 clients. The managing partner wants a cross-firm view of pipeline, renewal risk, document chase status, and billable hours used. Most firm management tools (CCH, UltraTax, Lacerte) are production tools, not practice management. Strkr's role-based views give the managing partner a cross-firm cockpit without stepping on partner autonomy or client confidentiality.
The accounting practice schema
Custom objects shaped like accounting work.
The default CRM schema (account, contact, deal, opportunity) does not map cleanly to accounting work. Strkr ships a tunable accounting schema with Engagement, Return, Document Request, Deadline, Partner Assignment, and Billing Milestone as first-class objects. The partner can rename or extend anything. The default lands close to where most practices eventually settle.
Client object
Entity type, filing jurisdiction, year end.
A client in Strkr is an entity (individual, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, partnership, nonprofit, trust) with filing jurisdiction (federal, state list), fiscal year end, EIN or SSN scoped to the role model, prior-year CPA, and engagement history. The schema drives the correct document request checklist and the correct deadline cadence automatically.
Engagement object
Scope, fee structure, deliverable, deadline.
An engagement ties to the client and defines scope (1040 individual, 1120 corporate, 1065 partnership, 990 nonprofit, monthly bookkeeping, quarterly review, audit, advisory). Fee structure can be fixed, hourly, or hybrid. The engagement drives the document request checklist, the staff assignment, and the billing milestones.
Document request object
What is missing, who owes it, when.
The document request checklist attaches to the engagement. For a 1040 individual return the default checklist is 24 items (W-2, 1099 forms, mortgage interest, property tax, charitable contribution, prior-year return, dependent info, and others). The partner can customize per client. The chase cadence runs 7, 14, and 21 days after request send, with AI-drafted follow-ups in a professional tone.
Deadline object
Federal, state, extension, estimated.
Strkr seeds the federal filing calendar (April 15, March 15, May 15 for 990, quarterly 941 and 940, September 15 extension, October 15 extension), state calendars for all 50 states, and client-specific deadlines (fiscal year end, trust distribution, estate return). The deadline object drives the triage view during tax season.
Partner assignment
Primary partner, review partner, staff.
Each engagement has a primary partner, an optional review partner, and a staff accountant assigned. The role model drives permission scoping, visibility, and billing attribution. A review partner sees the engagement for sign-off purposes without owning the client relationship.
Billing milestone
Retainer, interim, final, dispute.
Billing milestones tie to engagement scope. For a fixed-fee $9,000 corporate return the default milestone pattern is 50 percent retainer on signed engagement letter, 50 percent on filing. The milestone drives invoice generation (through QuickBooks or Xero via the webhook spec), payment reminder cadence, and dispute tracking.
Note type taxonomy
Advisory, compliance, communication, internal.
Notes on a client file carry a type (advisory conversation, compliance note, client communication, internal review note). The taxonomy drives the audit trail (compliance notes get longer retention per AICPA peer review requirements) and the client-portal visibility (advisory conversations are shareable, internal notes are not).
How Strkr AI drafts in a professional voice
The AI jobs that fit an accounting practice.
An accounting practice cannot ship AI-drafted client communication that sounds like a chatbot. Strkr AI drafts in the professional, deadline-conscious tone a CPA would use, with no vendor-brand chrome in the output. The jobs below are what shows up in every accounting-firm deployment inside the first two weeks.
Engagement letter draft
Scope paragraph in the firm voice.
Strkr AI drafts the engagement letter scope paragraph from the client type, engagement type, fee structure, and prior-year scope. The partner reviews and tunes two sentences on average before sending. The draft lands in the firm's voice because Strkr AI learns the tone from the first 20 letters the partner approves.
Document chase email
The friendly nudge at day 7, 14, 21.
Strkr AI drafts the document chase email with the missing items listed, a courteous tone, and the deadline printed. The partner approves and sends. 70 percent of day-14 chases get a document response within 48 hours because the email is specific instead of generic.
Status update to client
The weekly tax-season touchpoint.
During tax season a client wants to know where their return stands. Strkr AI drafts a weekly status email summarizing documents received, documents outstanding, review status, and expected filing date. The partner approves and sends to a batch of clients in one pass.
Advisory followup
Turning a conversation into a next step.
After an advisory call Strkr AI drafts a followup email summarizing the discussion, the recommended actions, and the next scheduled touchpoint. The draft pulls from the call summary (which Strkr AI generated from the recording or notes) and the engagement history on the client file.
Renewal letter
The June 1 engagement renewal.
For firms that run June 1 engagement renewals Strkr AI drafts the renewal letter with current-year fee adjustment, scope confirmation, and signature link. The partner can batch-approve 60 renewal letters in 20 minutes. The historical scope data comes from the engagement history, which keeps the renewal grounded in actual delivery.
Internal review memo
The partner-to-partner handoff note.
For engagements that get reviewed by a second partner Strkr AI drafts the internal review memo summarizing the engagement scope, the key judgment calls, and the areas needing partner review. The memo lands with retrieval citations so the review partner can click through to the source document.
Prospective client intake
The post-call summary and fee quote.
After an intake call with a prospective client Strkr AI drafts the summary email with scope restatement, fee quote range, next steps, and engagement letter draft attached. The partner approves and sends in under five minutes instead of rebuilding the context from memory.
Tax season triage mode
The pipeline view that flips in January.
Strkr's pipeline view ships with a tax-season triage mode that flips the primary sort from deal value to filing deadline. During January through April the partner sees the full book of business ranked by filing deadline, document completeness, and review status. The cards below are what the triage view surfaces and how the partner acts on each.
Deadline sort
The next 30 days of filings on top.
The triage view ranks every engagement by filing deadline. The top of the list is the 42 engagements with filings due in the next 30 days. The partner can filter to a partner, staff accountant, or engagement type to focus a work session.
Document completeness
Red, yellow, green on the client card.
Each engagement shows a document completeness status (red for less than 50 percent, yellow for 50 to 90 percent, green for 90 percent or more). The red cards are the 11 to 18 clients who need a phone call this week. The yellow cards are the ones who need one more chase email. The green cards are ready for the staff accountant to start the return.
Review queue
Returns waiting for partner sign-off.
Returns that have been prepared by staff and are waiting for partner review surface in a dedicated queue. The partner can batch-review from the client card without jumping into UltraTax or Lacerte. The partner sign-off writes back to the production tool through the API webhook.
Extension triage
Who gets a 6948 or an estimated-tax draft.
Clients who will not land a complete return by April 15 roll into an extension triage view. Strkr AI drafts the extension notice and the estimated-tax computation. The partner approves and files. The engagement reopens for the September 15 or October 15 target.
Billing in flight
Retainers unpaid at filing time.
A separate triage view shows engagements where the retainer or interim invoice is outstanding and the filing deadline is close. The partner can decide to delay the filing, request immediate payment, or waive the hold. The triage view keeps the accounts receivable risk visible during the busy season instead of surfacing it in April.
Post-season retrospective
What ran well, what ran late.
After April 15 Strkr runs a post-season retrospective report. Which engagements landed on time, which went to extension, which hours ran over budget, which clients churned mid-season. The partner uses the report in the June 1 engagement renewal conversation.
Head-to-head
Strkr vs a general CRM for accounting work.
Most accounting firms try a general CRM (HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive) once and bounce because the schema does not fit practice work. The comparison below is Strkr's accounting posture versus a generic sales CRM applied to the same firm.
Feature
Strkr
Generic sales CRM for an accounting firm
Client entity type as first-class field
Yes with picklist (LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, 1040).
Custom field the admin has to build.
Engagement letter workflow
Built in with chase cadence.
Manual email with no reminders.
Document request checklist per engagement
Yes with 24-item default for 1040.
None.
Deadline calendar seeded
Federal plus 50 states.
Blank calendar on day one.
Tax season triage view
Flips automatically January through April.
Linear sales funnel view only.
AI drafting in professional CPA voice
Trained on first 20 approved emails.
Generic chatbot tone.
HIPAA BAA for medical bookkeeping
Available on business plan.
Enterprise plan typical gate.
AICPA peer-review audit log
Record-read and record-write with retention.
Partial record-write only.
Time-tracker tie through API
QuickBooks Time or Harvest via webhooks.
Manual CSV import.
How teams use Strkr
Five accounting-practice playbooks.
The playbooks below are the patterns Strkr's onboarding team sees on accounting-firm deployments, from boutique two-partner practices to regional 180-staff CPA firms.
Pattern A
The 11-person boutique practice.
An 11-person boutique practice in Boise ran its client book in a shared Google Sheet with a copy-paste email cadence. The partner spent about 14 hours per week on administrative chase. Strkr onboarding ran a nine-business-day migration (shorter than default because there was no legacy CRM). The engagement letter workflow, document request checklist, and tax-season triage view landed on day one. By tax season the partner had reclaimed about 11 hours per week. The practice took on 22 new clients the same tax season without hiring.
Pattern B
The 48-staff regional firm.
A 48-staff regional CPA firm in the Mountain West ran CCH ProSystem for production and a tangle of Google Docs for client communication. The managing partner wanted a cross-firm view of pipeline, document chase, and billable hours. Strkr onboarding ran a 22-business-day migration (longer than default because of the CCH tie-in through webhook spec). The managing-partner cockpit landed with cross-firm visibility while preserving partner autonomy and client confidentiality through the role model.
Pattern C
The nonprofit-heavy practice.
A Chicago practice specializing in 990 nonprofit returns had 180 clients, each with a distinct fiscal year end. The deadline triage was the primary pain. Strkr onboarding configured a custom fiscal-year-end calendar per client, a 990 document request checklist of 31 items, and a quarterly outreach cadence shaped around the nonprofit board meeting rhythm. The partner shaved about 180 hours per year off the deadline-tracking spreadsheet work.
Pattern D
The medical practice bookkeeping shop.
A Phoenix practice serving medical offices needed HIPAA compliance because the bookkeeping touched protected health information in the chart of accounts. Strkr's business plan BAA closed the compliance gate without the Enterprise-tier upgrade most competitors require. The engagement letter workflow landed with a HIPAA addendum template, and the AI drafting ran with retrieval scope limited to non-PHI fields. The practice closed its first medical-group multi-location deal six weeks after cutover.
Pattern E
The advisory practice shift.
A 32-staff Denver firm wanted to move from pure compliance to advisory-first client relationships. The hard part was tracking advisory conversations as billable work and surfacing advisory opportunities inside the client book. Strkr's note taxonomy (advisory, compliance, communication, internal) and the engagement-type field (advisory, compliance, tax, audit) gave the partners visibility into which clients were ripe for an advisory conversation. Advisory revenue grew 42 percent in the 12 months after cutover.
Run tax season on a CRM shaped for accounting work.
Book a 30 minute call. We will walk through the accounting practice schema, the engagement letter workflow, and the tax-season triage view with your actual client types and partner structure.
Does Strkr integrate with UltraTax, Lacerte, Drake, or CCH ProSystem?
Strkr integrates with every major production tool through its REST and GraphQL API, outbound webhooks with HMAC signing, and a published OpenAPI spec. The integration is on your side, which keeps the data model clean and the dependency surface flat. For a 48-staff firm the integration usually takes an engineering sprint of two to three weeks. For a smaller practice the Zapier-free direct webhook tie lands in a few hours. The result is bi-directional sync between the client file and the production tool.
How does Strkr handle HIPAA for firms that do medical practice bookkeeping?
Strkr is HIPAA compliant with a BAA available on the business plan, which is a lower gate than most CRM vendors (who typically require the enterprise tier). The AI calls run with retrieval scope limited to non-PHI fields by default, and the admin can tune the scope per engagement. The audit log captures every record read, every record write, and every email sent, with 90-day default retention tunable per tenant. SOC 2 Type II is in progress through 2026-Q4.
Can the firm expose a client portal for document upload?
Strkr's document request workflow drives email-based collection with secure upload links. A dedicated client portal (branded tenant subdomain with a logged-in client view) ships on the subdomain roadmap for firms on the business plan. In the meantime the email-plus-link pattern covers 90 percent of what firms need, and the AICPA peer-review audit log captures the upload events.
What does Strkr cost compared to Karbon, Canopy, or TaxDome?
Strkr prices flat per seat at $29 per user per month on the mid plan with AI capability included (no per-conversation credit meter below plan cap). Karbon runs roughly $59 to $89 per user, Canopy runs about $55 per user, TaxDome runs about $65 to $800 per year billed annually. The feature overlap is 70 to 80 percent on client-communication workflow. Strkr's advantage is the open API, the AI router cost control, and the deeper custom-object graph for firms that run bookkeeping plus tax plus advisory under one roof.
How does Strkr handle multi-partner books of business without stepping on autonomy?
The role model gives each partner ownership of their book of business with full control over client data, workflow, and billing. The managing partner gets a read-only cross-firm view (configurable per role) for pipeline, document chase status, and billable hours. Partners can share specific clients across the firm (for example a shared advisory engagement) through explicit record sharing. The audit log records every cross-partner view, which keeps the trust posture clean.
What happens to our existing engagement letters and client history on migration?
Strkr's import brings in the full client history (contact info, engagement history, note history, email history) with original timestamps preserved. For engagement letters stored as PDFs in a document management system (SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox) Strkr's attachment import brings the files in with their original paths and tags. The AI retrieval index sees the full history on day one, which means the first draft Strkr AI writes is grounded in the actual client relationship, not a stub.
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