The pressure point
For Smith CPA Group, a high-trust boutique firm handling over 500 returns with a lean team, tax season had become a cycle of unnecessary repetition. The work was getting done, but the cost was creeping up.
Amiee, one of just two core preparers, handled not only return prep but also intake, client follow-up, and tool implementation. Each new tax season added more noise: clients uploading scattered files, incomplete documentation, and a review process with little room to breathe.
"We were confused. The client was confused. It was hodgepodge," she said. "I didn’t want to work 60 hours a week anymore."
Despite adopting Onvio and UltraTax, the gains were incremental. The firm needed more than new tools—they needed a system that could quiet the noise and give them their time back.
Choosing Filed: Looking for relief, not reinvention
Smith CPA didn't want to throw everything out. They liked their core tax tools and had a clear client model. But the document chaos, manual prep, and workflow guesswork were holding them back.
They turned to Filed not because it promised to change everything, but because it offered relief in the areas that mattered most:
- Document clarity without client retraining
- Structured workflows without software sprawl
- Automation that supported their judgment, not replaced it
"You’re not just building software, you’re building it with us," said Greg, partner at the firm. "That’s why we’re excited."
The turning point: From repetition to rhythm
The Filed rollout started with a focused goal: streamline intake. Within weeks, the team began using Filed's Checklist feature to catch missing documents based on prior-year returns. The system flagged gaps like absent W-2s or HSAs before prep even began.
Amiee, who had spent 10–15 minutes per return just organizing and verifying documents, now uploads at night and comes in to a clean Checklist in the morning. "It’s like having another set of eyes that doesn’t get tired," she said.
Beyond intake, Filed introduced structured workflow states—Processing Documents, Checklist Complete, Ready for AI Prep—that gave Amiee clarity on what was ready to move forward and what still needed attention.
For a firm with no middle layer between admin and partner, that clarity mattered.