The Karbon alternative built for Canadian firms.
Clerra works out every CRA and provincial deadline from each client’s details, keeps your firm’s data in Canada, and is one Canadian-dollar plan with every feature included.
No credit card · No setup fee · Cancel anytime
Made for how a Canadian practice actually runs.
The CRA calendar, done for you
Add a client once and Clerra builds every federal and provincial filing and payment date, so nobody types a due date or rebuilds a template when the rules change.
Your data stays in Canada
Every firm's data is stored in Canada, with passkeys, two-step login, files never deleted automatically and FINTRAC records in the same place as the client file.
One Canadian price, everything in
Portal, e-signing, automations, invoicing and payments are in the one plan, billed in Canadian dollars, with no setup fee.
Clerra and Karbon, honestly compared.
| For a Canadian firm | Clerra | Karbon | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRA and provincial deadlines | Worked out for you from each client's type of business, province, year end, GST/HST and payroll: T1, T2, T3, GST/HST, payroll remittances, slips, instalments and provincial filings. Weekend and holiday rules applied; dates update when a client's details change. | Recurring work and reminders the firm sets up. Karbon's published features don't include calculating CRA or provincial due dates. | Clerra |
| Where your data is stored | In Canada, for every firm. | Karbon runs in several cloud regions and doesn't publish which one holds a Canadian firm's data. | Clerra |
| Price | $79 a month for your first person and $49 for each person after, in Canadian dollars. One plan, every feature, and no setup fee or contract. | Team $59 or Business $89 per user per month billed annually ($79 or $99 monthly, teams of four or more), as listed on Karbon's pricing page. | Clerra |
| Automations | Included: ready-made or your own, with a test run before anything goes out. Work moves on by itself, such as a T1 moving to Ready to prepare when every slip is in. | Automatic client reminders and task automation are listed on the Business plan. | Clerra |
| E-signatures | Included, with no per-signature charge. | Bought as credits ($100 per 100), per Karbon's pricing page. | Clerra |
| Reports | Profitability, realization, capacity and a report builder, included. | Custom reporting is a paid add-on. | Clerra |
| FINTRAC records | Client identification by FINTRAC's methods, beneficial ownership (filled from Corporations Canada for federal corporations), risk assessments saved as dated PDFs, and every client screened against Canada's sanctions lists automatically. | Not part of Karbon's published features. | Clerra |
| Client portal | A portal in your firm's brand, at your firm's own web address, free for every client: they upload documents, sign and pay. Android app now; iPhone coming. | Karbon has a client portal. Its pricing page doesn't say whether it carries your firm's brand. | Even |
| Today: a Gmail add-on that files email to the client. Clerra Inbox, your email sorted by client inside Clerra, is coming in January 2027. | Email triage is one of Karbon's longest-standing strengths, built into every plan. | Karbon | |
| Track record | Newer, built in Canada for Canadian firms. | Established internationally since 2014, with a large user base and many published reviews. | Karbon |
Karbon details are from Karbon’s own public pages, checked November 1, 2026. Prices are as Karbon lists them; Clerra’s are in Canadian dollars, plus GST/HST.
Moving from Karbon to Clerra.
Sale until December 31: subscribe monthly by then and your first person is $49 too. See pricing
- Is Clerra a good Karbon alternative for Canadian accounting firms?
- Clerra is built in Canada for Canadian accounting and bookkeeping firms. It works out every CRA and provincial deadline from each client's details, stores data in Canada, includes FINTRAC records with automatic sanctions screening, and costs $79 a month for the first person and $49 for each person after, in Canadian dollars with every feature included. Karbon is a well-established international product with strong email triage; firms that need Canadian deadlines and Canadian data residency are Clerra's focus.
- Does Karbon calculate CRA deadlines?
- Karbon's published features (checked November 1, 2026) don't include calculating CRA or provincial due dates; firms set up recurring work and reminders themselves. Clerra calculates them from each client's profile and keeps them current.
- Where does Clerra store a firm's data?
- In Canada, for every firm. Clerra also lets firms keep client files in their own Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft 365 if they prefer.
- How do I move from Karbon to Clerra?
- Bring your client list as an Excel or CSV file and Clerra builds each client's filing calendar; you check every row before anything is saved. Email support@clerra.ca and we'll help you get the list out and across.
Karbon is a trademark of its owner. Clerra isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Karbon. Comparison based on publicly available information as of November 1, 2026; features and prices change, so check each product’s own site.