Canopy is a modular practice management suite for tax firms — document management, workflow, time & billing, and tax resolution sold as separate add-ons on top of a base plan. ClientBrief does one job: get documents from clients without the chase.
By the ClientBrief Team · Last updated August 2026
Canopy's paid plans run $74/user/month (Standard), $109 (Plus), and $149 (Premium, currently marked "Coming Soon" and not yet purchasable) on annual billing, with monthly billing roughly 20% higher — plus consumption-based add-ons like Tax Workflow Automation at about $34 per client-credit/year and Close Automation at about $10 per connected client/month. As of September 2026 Canopy no longer offers a free tier — document management and workflow all sit behind the paid Standard plan. If document collection is the only piece you actually need, that's a lot of platform and add-on pricing for what ClientBrief does for a flat $7.99/month.
Canopy's modular pricing means you may be paying separately for Document Management on top of a base plan. Since that module is billed per user, dropping it and moving intake to ClientBrief's flat $7.99/month is usually the easiest cost cut — export your client list, build your checklist, and keep whichever other Canopy modules (workflow, time & billing) you actually still need.
Does ClientBrief replace Canopy's workflow and time & billing modules?
No. ClientBrief only covers document collection. Canopy's other modules — workflow, time & billing, tax resolution — aren't something ClientBrief touches, so you'd keep those in Canopy or elsewhere if you use them.
How much does ClientBrief save compared to Canopy?
Canopy's paid plans run $74/user/month (Standard), $109 (Plus), and $149 (Premium, marked "Coming Soon" as of this check) on annual billing — roughly $888 to $1,788 per user per year — before add-ons that scale per client. ClientBrief covers the document-collection job for $7.99/month flat, unlimited clients. Canopy no longer offers a free tier as of September 2026 — Standard at $74/user/month is the real entry point.
Can I migrate just the document collection piece off Canopy?
Yes — that's the most common path. Keep whichever Canopy modules you still use (workflow, time & billing), drop or downgrade the Document Management module, and move client document intake to ClientBrief.
When does Canopy's modular approach make more sense?
If you're already using multiple Canopy modules together — workflow, billing, and document management as one connected system — unbundling just the document piece may cost you more in coordination than it saves. Canopy fits firms that want everything under one modular roof.