Large CPA firm ROI: Building the business case for ProConnect™ Tax in 2026

For a large CPA firm, changing tax software is more than a technology decision. It can affect how teams prepare and review returns, how work moves across offices, how new employees get up to speed, and how much time the firm spends maintaining its systems.

That’s why the business case for switching to Intuit® ProConnect™ Tax should start with measurable outcomes.

Instead of assuming a software change will produce a specific return on investment (ROI), firms can evaluate the opportunity through metrics such as time per return, review-cycle time, onboarding effort, technology administration, and workflow consistency.

At scale, even modest improvements can add up. The key is to measure the firm’s current state, model realistic scenarios, and compare the potential benefits with the full cost and effort of making a change.

Why large CPA firms are rethinking their tax software in 2026

As firms grow, technology decisions can have a wider operational impact.

A workflow that works for one team or location may become harder to manage across multiple offices. Firms may also need to support different work arrangements, onboard more employees, integrate acquired practices, and maintain consistent preparation and review standards.

For leadership teams, that changes the conversation around tax software.

The question isn’t only whether preparers like the software. It’s whether the broader environment supports the way the firm needs to operate.

Some of the questions worth asking include:

• Are teams following consistent preparation and review processes?
• How easily can work move between offices or team members?
• How much staff time goes to manual handoffs or duplicate work?
• How much effort does IT spend maintaining the tax environment?
• How difficult is it to onboard new employees?
• Can managers see where work stands without creating additional trackers?
• What happens when the firm adds an office, team, or acquired practice?

For a firm handling thousands of returns, small points of friction can become meaningful when repeated across many people and engagements.

One Intuit customer story describes ProConnect Tax as “table stakes” for that firm’s operations. That’s one firm’s experience, not a universal benchmark, but it illustrates an important point: tax software can become part of a larger operating model rather than simply a return-preparation tool.

For firms evaluating a change, the next step is to understand what the current workflow costs and where a different approach could create value.

Quantifying ROI: Start with time, capacity, and workflow

ROI is more useful when it’s based on the firm’s own data.

Three useful places to start are:

1. Time spent per return.
2. Time and effort involved in review.
3. Time required to onboard and support staff.

Other measures may include IT administration, rework, workflow delays, and the amount of capacity available during peak periods.

Measure time per return

Start with a representative sample of returns.

Identify how much time is spent preparing the return and how much is spent on activities around the return, such as:

• Re-entering information.
• Moving information between systems.
• Locating documents.
• Managing handoffs.
• Updating status trackers.
• Resolving version or access issues.
• Repeating administrative steps.

Then, model what a modest reduction would mean at scale.

For example, consider a firm that prepares 5,000 returns annually.

If a workflow change reduced average handling time by 15 minutes per return, the calculation would be:

5,000 returns × 0.25 hours = 1,250 hours

That doesn’t mean ProConnect Tax will automatically save 1,250 hours. The 15-minute improvement is an assumption the firm would need to validate.

But the calculation shows why small changes matter at volume.

Leadership can then model several scenarios:

Scenario	Times saved per return	Annual hours across 5,000 returns
Conservative	5 minutes	About 417 hours
Moderate	15 minutes	1,250 hours
Higher-impact	30 minutes	2,500 hours

These scenarios turn a broad efficiency claim into something partners can examine and challenge.

The firm can then compare those hours with implementation costs, training requirements, staffing capacity, or other measures it uses internally.

Measure review-cycle time

Preparation time is only one part of the return process.

Review delays can also consume capacity, especially when work moves between offices or between multiple levels of preparers and reviewers.

Track questions such as:

• How long does a return wait before review begins?
• How many times does it move between preparer and reviewer?
• How often does someone need to locate additional context?
• How much time passes between a review note and resolution?
• How frequently does a reviewer need to ask for information that exists somewhere else?

An online environment can change how teams access and coordinate work, but the value depends on the firm’s actual process.

Rather than assuming faster review, compare a representative workflow before and during the evaluation.

If review time improves, record where the improvement came from. That makes the ROI case more credible.

Measure onboarding effort

Growth also makes onboarding more important.

A large firm may hire seasonal employees, experienced professionals, entry-level preparers, managers, or employees from acquired practices. Each group can require a different level of training.

Measure:

• Formal training hours.
• Manager or peer-support hours.
• Time before someone can complete common work independently.
• Time spent teaching office-specific workarounds.
• Differences in training between locations.

If a standardized environment reduces some of that effort, the firm can include the improvement in its business case.

Again, the goal isn’t to assume that new software automatically makes onboarding faster. It’s to identify where the current process is complex and test whether a different workflow simplifies it.

Intuit’s customer story on how ProConnect supports large-firm growth can provide another perspective as firms develop their own evaluation criteria.

Include rework and quality-related effort

Not every ROI measure appears as a direct cost.

Rework can consume meaningful time even when it never appears on a separate budget line.

Review where teams commonly need to:

• Correct information
• Reconcile differences between systems
• Recreate work
• Search for the latest version
• Resolve incomplete handoffs
• Repeat administrative steps

Avoid assuming every manual process creates errors. Instead, track where rework actually occurs and how much time it takes.

That gives leadership a defensible baseline for evaluating whether a workflow change reduces that effort.

Workflow standardization across multi-office teams

For a multi-office firm, standardization can be as important as individual productivity.

Without a shared approach, offices or teams may gradually develop different procedures, templates, documentation practices, and review habits.

Those differences can create friction when:

• Employees move between offices.
• Work shifts between teams.
• A centralized reviewer handles work from several locations.
• An acquired practice joins the firm.
• Leadership wants to measure performance consistently.
• Training needs to be delivered across the organization.

Standardization doesn’t mean every return or client should be treated identically.

It means the firm defines which parts of the process should be consistent.

That might include:

• How returns are assigned.
• How work status is communicated.
• How preparation is documented.
• When a return moves to review.
• How review notes are resolved.
• Where supporting information is stored.
• Which quality-control steps are required.
• How completed work is handed off.

For firms evaluating ProConnect Tax, those requirements should become part of the product assessment.

Rather than asking whether the software has the most capabilities, ask whether it can support the processes the firm has decided to standardize.

Intuit’s guide to what established CPA firms should look for in tax software provides additional considerations for that evaluation.

Standardization and the client experience

Internal consistency can also affect the client experience.

When offices follow different processes, clients may encounter different document requests, communication patterns, or turnaround expectations depending on who handles the work.

A more consistent operating model can help firms create clearer expectations.

But software alone won’t create that consistency. Firms still need to define their processes, train employees, and decide how client-facing work should be managed.

For firms moving toward remote, hybrid, or more paperless operations, Intuit’s guidance on moving to a virtual and paperless office can provide additional context.

Scaling for growth: Acquisitions, new hires, and capacity planning

Growth creates another reason to evaluate whether the current technology environment still fits the firm.

The challenge becomes especially visible during acquisitions.

Integrating an acquired practice

When a firm acquires another practice, it may inherit:

• Different tax software.
• Different workflows.
• Different document-management practices.
• Different training expectations.
• Different review procedures.
• Different client communication processes.

Technology integration is only one part of the acquisition, but it can affect how quickly teams begin working in a common way.

Before assuming a platform will simplify integration, model what the transition would actually require.

Ask:

• What client and prior-year information can be converted?
• What needs to be validated after conversion?
• Which existing workflows need to change?
• How much training will the acquired team require?
• Which local practices should become firmwide standards?
• How long will both environments need to remain accessible?

This creates a more realistic view of both the benefits and the work involved.

Supporting new hires

The same thinking applies to organic growth.

A standardized online environment may reduce differences in how employees access work, but the firm still needs clear procedures and training.

For new employees, separate the learning challenge into two parts:

Learning the software: How does the technology work?

Learning the firm: How does this organization prepare, document, review, and deliver work?

A strong technology environment can help reduce unnecessary complexity in the first category, giving the firm more time to focus on the second.

Planning for capacity

Capacity planning is another useful part of the ROI conversation.

Leadership teams can model how much additional capacity could become available if selected workflow steps take less time.

For example, if a firm recovers 1,250 hours across a filing year, those hours don’t automatically become revenue.

They could instead be used for:

• Additional client work.
• More review capacity.
• Training.
• Advisory work.
• Reduced overtime.
• Process improvement.
• Workload balancing.

That distinction matters.

A credible ROI model should show where recovered capacity would go, not simply assign every saved hour a billing rate.

The Bovard CPA Group story provides another example of how a firm approached technology and growth decisions.

Compare the operating model, not just the product list

For large firms, product comparisons can easily turn into long lists of capabilities.

A more useful approach is to compare how each option fits the firm’s operating model.

The original business case may include ProConnect Tax and other professional tax products. Each should be evaluated against the same set of requirements.

Consider these areas:

Evaluation area	Questions for the firm
Access	Where do employees need to work, and how do they access returns?
Deployment	What does the firm need to install, host, configure, or maintain?
Updates	Who is responsible for keeping the environment current?
Multi-office workflow	How easily can work move between offices and teams?
Review	How do preparers and reviewers coordinate work?
Administration	What controls do firm administrators need?
Integrations	Which existing systems must connect with the tax workflow?
Conversion	What information can move from the current product?
Training	What will the transition require from different employee groups?
IT impact	What infrastructure and ongoing support does each option require?
Growth	What happens when the firm adds people, teams, or locations?
Total cost	What does the firm spend on software, infrastructure, support, training, and internal administration?

ProConnect Tax is an online tax solution, making anywhere access an important part of its value proposition.

Because competitor offerings and hosting options can change, confirm current product details before publishing a side-by-side comparison.

The point isn’t to declare one deployment model universally better.

A firm with significant investment in an established desktop environment may reach a different conclusion from a firm prioritizing online access, distributed teams, or changes to its IT model.

That’s why switching costs belong in the same analysis as potential workflow gains.

For additional criteria, review Intuit’s guidance on features to consider when choosing tax software and the ProConnect Tax resources for large firms. Also check out Nick Boscia’s case study on moving from Lacerte® Tax to ProConnect Tax.

Build the ROI model around the total cost of change

The potential benefits of a new workflow are only half of the business case.

Partners also need to understand what the transition will cost.

Include expenses and internal effort such as:

• Software costs.
• Implementation resources.
• Data conversion and validation.
• Employee training.
• Process redesign.
• Internal project management.
• IT involvement.
• Temporary overlap between systems.
• Reduced productivity while employees learn.
• Ongoing support after launch.

Then compare those costs with measurable potential benefits.

Possible benefit categories include:

• Reduced time per return.
• Shorter review cycles.
• Reduced duplicate work.
• Lower technology administration effort.
• Reduced onboarding effort.
• Additional staff capacity.
• More consistent processes across offices.

Use ranges rather than a single promised outcome.

Example ROI structure

Suppose the firm identifies three measurable opportunities:

Opportunity	Current state	Modeled improvement	Potential annual impact
Return handling	5,000 returns	15 minutes less per return	1,250 hours
Review delays	Firm-specific baseline	10% reduction	Calculate from firm data
Onboarding	Firm-specific baseline	10% fewer support hours	Calculate from firm data

The firm can then assign an internal value to those hours based on its own financial model.

Next, subtract implementation and ongoing costs.

A simple framework is:

Potential annual value − annual operating cost − allocated implementation cost = modeled net benefit

From there, leadership can calculate payback period or multiyear ROI.

The important word is modeled.

The calculation becomes more valuable as the firm replaces assumptions with actual pilot or first-year data.

Implementation roadmap and training requirements

A strong ROI case should explain how the firm will move from evaluation to adoption.

For a large organization, a phased approach can make the transition easier to manage.

Phase 1: Document the current state

Before configuring a new environment, document how work happens today.

Identify:

• Core preparation workflows.
• Review steps.
• Existing integrations.
• Office-specific processes.
• Custom templates.
• Access requirements.
• Reporting needs.
• Existing pain points.
• Success measures.

This prevents the implementation team from simply recreating old processes without questioning whether they still make sense.

Phase 2: Plan and validate the data transition

Identify the information the firm needs from prior years and confirm what can be converted.

That may include:

• Client information.
• Prior-year return data.
• Carryforward information.
• Depreciation information.
• Firm settings.
• Preparers and other access information.
• Supporting records required by the workflow.

After conversion, validate representative clients and return types before relying on the information broadly.

Complex firms may want to test a range of return types rather than validating only simple individual returns.

Phase 3: Train by role

Different employees use tax software differently.

Structure training around those roles.

Preparers need the workflows they’ll use to enter information, prepare returns, resolve diagnostics, and hand work to reviewers.

Reviewers need to understand how to access work, review returns, communicate changes, and complete the firm’s approval process.

Administrators need the controls and setup required to manage the environment.

Managers and firm leaders need the information they use to oversee workload and operations.

Role-based training keeps employees focused on the work they actually need to perform.

Phase 4: Practice before peak workload

Give employees an opportunity to use representative returns before filing volume increases.

Practice can surface issues in:

• Configuration.
• Training.
• Documentation.
• Roles.
• Handoffs.
• Converted information.
• Internal procedures.

Designate knowledgeable employees who can help answer questions within each office or team.

Phase 5: Monitor and improve

Implementation shouldn’t end at go-live.

During the first filing cycle, collect feedback and compare results with the baseline metrics established in the business case.

Ask:

• Has average handling time changed?
• Has review time changed?
• Where are people still using workarounds?
• Which training gaps remain?
• Are offices following the intended process?
• Has the IT workload changed?
• Are the original ROI assumptions proving accurate?

This closes the loop between the original investment case and actual results.

Build a partner-ready business case

Managing partners don’t need a product pitch. They need enough information to make a well-supported decision.

A useful business case can follow six parts.

1. Current-state problem

Describe what’s happening today.

Use evidence such as:

• Staff time.
• Return volume.
• Review delays.
• IT administration.
• Training requirements.
• Duplicate processes.
• Office-to-office variation.

2. Desired future state

Explain what the firm wants to improve.

For example:

• More consistent workflows.
• Better support for distributed teams.
• Less manual administration.
• Easier onboarding.
• More capacity.
• Clearer preparation and review processes.

3. Options considered

Include ProConnect Tax alongside the realistic alternatives.

That could include:

• Keeping the current environment.
• Improving existing processes.
• Making targeted technology changes.
• Moving to another tax solution.

Showing alternatives strengthens the recommendation because it demonstrates that the firm evaluated the decision rather than starting with a predetermined outcome.

4. Financial model

Present conservative, moderate, and higher-impact scenarios.

Show assumptions clearly.

Partners should be able to change an assumption—such as minutes saved per return—and see how the economics change.

5. Transition plan

Explain:

• What needs to happen.
• Who will own it.
• What will be tested.
• How employees will be trained.
• How data will be validated.
• How the firm will protect critical filing periods.

6. Success measures

Agree on what the firm will measure after implementation.

That turns ROI from a sales claim into an operating metric.

For firms ready to evaluate broader options, Intuit’s enterprise tax solutions resources can provide a starting point for the conversation.

Make the decision with evidence

Switching tax software is a significant decision for a large CPA firm.

The potential value of ProConnect Tax shouldn’t rest on a promise that every firm will save a certain number of hours or recover implementation costs within one filing season.

A stronger business case starts with the firm’s own operating data.

Measure the current workflow. Identify where time and effort are going. Model how improvements could affect capacity. Account for the full cost of the transition. Then test the assumptions.

For large firms, the advantage of this approach is scale.

A small improvement repeated across thousands of returns or dozens of employees can matter. But leadership should know exactly which improvement it expects, how it plans to achieve it, and how it will measure whether it happened.

That’s the foundation of a business case partners can evaluate with confidence.

Frequently asked questions

What is a large CPA firm?

There isn’t one universal staff-count definition that applies to every context.

For purposes of an internal technology business case, what matters more is operational complexity: the number of preparers, locations, returns, service lines, workflows, and systems the firm needs to coordinate.

A firm with 50 or more employees may face different technology needs than a smaller practice, but headcount alone shouldn’t determine the software decision.

What ROI can a large CPA firm expect when switching to ProConnect Tax?

ROI will depend on the firm’s current workflow, return volume, staff structure, implementation costs, and the improvements it can actually achieve.

Firms can model potential ROI by measuring time per return, review-cycle time, onboarding effort, technology administration, rework, and other operational costs.

For example, a firm preparing 5,000 returns would recover 1,250 hours if it could validate an average 15-minute reduction in handling time. That is an illustrative calculation, not a guaranteed ProConnect Tax result.

How can ProConnect Tax support efficiency and standardization across a large firm?

ProConnect Tax provides an online environment that firms can evaluate as part of their preparation, review, access, and multi-office workflows.

The potential value depends on how the firm configures its processes and how well those processes address existing sources of friction.

Software can support standardization, but the firm still needs to establish consistent procedures, responsibilities, training, and quality controls.

Is ProConnect Tax appropriate for a growing firm adding staff or acquiring practices?

Growth should be part of the evaluation.

Consider how the firm would add employees, train new teams, convert information from an acquired practice, manage access, and standardize processes.

Test those requirements against ProConnect Tax before assuming that growth alone makes a particular platform the right choice.

How does ProConnect Tax compare with Lacerte for a large accounting firm?

A key difference is the operating model: ProConnect Tax is an online solution, while Lacerte uses a desktop-based model.

That distinction can affect access, IT requirements, existing workflows, and transition effort.

Firms should also consider familiarity, return complexity, integrations, conversion needs, training, and total cost of ownership.

Current product and hosting options should be verified before publishing detailed competitive claims.

How should a firm account for ownership changes or acquisitions in a software decision?

Ownership and organizational changes can coincide with broader operational changes, including new teams, locations, or processes.

Rather than treating ownership structure itself as a reason to select a platform, evaluate what the organizational change means for access, onboarding, workflow consistency, conversion, administration, and future capacity.

What technology should a regional firm use if it wants to operate more like a much larger firm?

Avoid trying to replicate another firm’s technology environment simply because that organization is larger.

Start with the operating capabilities your firm needs.

Those might include consistent workflows, access across locations, standardized review processes, clearer management visibility, easier onboarding, or lower technology administration.

Then choose technology that supports those needs at a level appropriate for your firm’s size, complexity, and growth plans.