SpidNums vs Canopy: an honest comparison for Canadian firms
A fair comparison for Canadian practices — what Canopy does well first, then where the two differ.
Canopy is a modular practice suite built around US tax practice, with document management, a client portal and per-module purchasing. SpidNums is the better fit when a Canadian firm wants flat USD $1,200-per-firm-per-year pricing, white-label branding on every plan, deadlines generated from Canadian rules rather than from generic recurring tasks, and client data hosted in Canada. Here is the honest breakdown.
What Canopy does well
This section comes first deliberately. Canopy is a serious product with real customers, and a comparison that pretends otherwise is not worth reading.
- Solid document management and a capable client portal that firms genuinely like using.
- Modular purchasing lets a firm buy only the pieces it needs rather than a full suite.
- Its tax-resolution and IRS transcript modules are genuinely best-in-class for US practices.
- Clean, modern interface with a short learning curve for new staff.
Where the fit differs
These are differences in model rather than claims about missing features. Where a capability is not listed for Canopy, that means we did not verify it — not that it is absent.
- Product orientation: Canopy's flagship modules are built around IRS workflows — transcripts and tax resolution. A Canadian firm is buying a suite whose most differentiated components it cannot use.
- Pricing model: base plus per-module, per user. SpidNums is one flat firm fee with everything included.
- Deadline logic: SpidNums generates deadlines from CRA rules and each client's fiscal year-end and GST/HST cadence.
- White-label: SpidNums presents the firm's brand to clients across app, emails and letterhead on every plan.
Pricing
As of July 2026, third-party summaries put Canopy in the range of roughly USD $39 to $59 or more per user per month depending on which modules are purchased, on a base-plus-modules structure.
SpidNums is a flat USD $1,200 per firm per year with every feature included, so the comparison turns on headcount: per-seat pricing is usually cheaper for one person and usually more expensive from the third or fourth seat. Source: Hey Jodie — best accounting practice management software (Canada, 2026), checked 2026-07-22.
Side by side
| Compared on | SpidNums | Canopy |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat per firm, everything included | Base plus per-module, per user |
| Tax jurisdiction focus | Canada — CRA, Revenu Québec, Alberta TRA | US — IRS transcripts and tax resolution modules |
| White-label branding | Full white-label on every plan — app, emails and letterhead | See vendor |
| Canadian deadline logic | CRA-native: T2 six-month clock and earlier balance-due date, GST/HST by client cadence, fiscal-year-end reminders | See vendor |
| Data residency | Hosted in Canada (ca-central-1) | See vendor |
What SpidNums is, plainly
SpidNums is practice management for Canadian accounting firms: the client list, the services each client buys, the deadlines those services generate, the person who owns each one, and the engagement letter that defined the scope. It is not a general ledger, it does not prepare or transmit returns, and it does not calculate payroll — those stay in the tools your firm already files with.
The list below is the complete set of claims this site makes about the product. If a capability is not on it, we do not claim it.
- Multi-tenant white-label branding per firm — name, logo, colours, emails and letterhead
- Colour-coded SLA deadline dashboard ranked by proximity
- Aggregated reminders across tasks, service cadences and fiscal year-ends
- E-signed engagement letters with a public, no-login client portal
- Per-tenant Google Workspace integration
- Client portal
- Staff roles with confidential-client gating
- Canadian-hosted data (Supabase ca-central-1)
- Flat USD $1,200 per firm per year, all inclusive
- CSV/XLSX client import and export
Questions worth asking both vendors
Comparison grids converge because feature names converge. These six questions separate products that look identical on paper, and they are worth asking of Canopy and of SpidNums alike.
- How is a deadline generated — from a rule tied to the client's fiscal year-end and reporting period, or from a recurring task somebody configured by hand?
- When a client's filing cadence changes, is that one field or a rewrite of every future date?
- Whose brand does the client see on emails, on the portal and on a signed engagement letter — and on which plan does that become true?
- Where is client data hosted, and is tenant isolation enforced in the database or only in the application? Get the answer in writing.
- What is the total annual cost at three seats and at ten? Ask for the total, not the per-user figure.
- What comes across on migration, and what does not? Clients usually move; documents, notes and completed work usually do not.
Who should choose Canopy
A firm with US clients, US tax-resolution work or a cross-border practice should look at Canopy seriously. Its IRS-facing modules are real capability that no Canadian-built tool replicates, and if that work is a meaningful share of your revenue it outweighs the CRA-specific fit.
If that describes your firm, take the other product seriously. If it does not, the practice management overview covers what SpidNums does in full.
Switching
Export the client list from Canopy and import to SpidNums by CSV or XLSX. Documents stored in Canopy should be exported separately and retained under your own retention schedule — there is no direct connector.
SpidNums imports and exports clients as CSV or XLSX. There is no direct migration connector, so historical documents, notes and completed work do not come across automatically — plan the cutover around a period boundary rather than mid-season.
Frequently asked questions
Does Canopy work for Canadian accounting firms?
It works as general practice management, and Canadian firms do use it. The honest caveat is that its most differentiated modules — IRS transcripts and tax resolution — are built for US tax practice, so a Canada-only firm is buying a suite whose flagship components it will not use.
How much does Canopy cost?
As of July 2026, third-party summaries put Canopy in the range of roughly USD $39 to $59 or more per user per month depending on modules purchased. Because it is priced base-plus-modules, the real figure depends on configuration — get a quote.
What is the best Canopy alternative for Canadian firms?
For firms with no US work, a Canada-built platform avoids paying for IRS-specific modules. SpidNums is flat-priced per firm with CRA-native deadline logic and full white-label branding. For cross-border practices, Canopy's US modules are a genuine reason to stay.
Can I import my clients from Canopy into SpidNums?
Yes, via CSV or XLSX. Export the client list from Canopy and import it into SpidNums. Documents and module-specific records do not transfer, so export and retain them separately.