Cranston reads each document
Cranston extracts each client package and compares it with the prior-year return. It drafts requests for missing items.
For growing firms
Grow the book on current headcount
Senior staff often enter W-2 data on weekends. Cranston prepares the first pass in your current tax software, which adds preparation capacity.
Get startedFirst-pass drafts in your own software
Reviewers review instead of re-keying
Grow through March without hiring in January
Prepare the first pass at firm volume
Cranston uses the same preparation process for each return.
Entered into your software
Cranston enters each first pass in Drake, Lacerte, or CCH Axcess. You do not use another data-entry screen.
Review starts at the findings
Each prepared return lists its open items first. Reviewers can focus on the items that require judgment.
Common problems in firms with five to fifteen people
Growing firms report these problems during customer calls.
Partners enter data on weekends
When staff cannot process all client packages, partners enter return data on weekends to keep the season on schedule.
Every return crosses the partner’s desk
A first-pass review takes time for every complex return. Limited reviewer capacity limits the number of returns that the firm can complete.
Offshore preparation adds risk
Offshore preparation can add mid-season fee increases, 7216 consent requirements, staff turnover, and repeated training.
OCR tools create cleanup work
Earlier OCR tools often produced data that staff had to correct. Firms need a preparation system that flags uncertain values.
Growth stalled at capacity
Your firm is at capacity with current headcount. New clients wait on new hires, and new hires wait on January.
Cranston prepares. Your firm decides.
Cranston automates preparation. Your firm reviews and approves every tax decision.
Cranston prepares
Reads the package
Cranston compares each page with the prior-year return.
Enters the first pass
Cranston enters values in your current client file.
Links figures to source
Click a value to see its source page.
Flags open items
Cranston sends open items to your reviewer.
Your firm decides
Clears diagnostics
Your team reviews the return in its tax software.
Makes the tax calls
Your reviewer makes each tax election.
Approves and signs
Your firm signs each return.
E-files from your software
Your firm uses its own EFIN.
Everything Cranston does for a growing firm
Start where the bottleneck is worst. Add the rest when you want it.
Client Request Inbox
Every client ask in one queue, with the client’s file already in context.
Staff Review Queues
Prepared work lines up with findings attached, so reviewers start at the judgment.
S-Corp & Partnership Returns
Books-to-return for 1065s and 1120-S. Trial balance in, first pass out.
Monthly Close Automation
Categorization, reconciliation, and the close checklist, run for every client, every month.
Client Onboarding
Prior-year returns read, the profile built, and the first request list generated.
Proactive Doc Requests
Request lists built from last year, sent before the season starts.
Extensions at Scale
Know in March which clients will need an extension.
Firm Reporting
See returns by stage, outstanding documents, and open closes during busy season.
Answers for growing firms
Cranston prepares the draft in your software within the same hour. It links each figure to its source and keeps client data in your systems.
