# Cranston — AI prepares draft returns and monthly books inside a firm's own QuickBooks, Xero and tax software. > Source: Tick Mark Books — https://tickmarkbooks.com/cranston (structured, researched, re-verified) Cranston is AI software for CPA firms that reads client documents, prepares draft tax returns in Drake, Lacerte, UltraTax, CCH Axcess or ProSeries, and works the monthly books in the firm's QuickBooks or Xero. Every output waits for a firm reviewer's approval. **Best for:** CPA firms that want returns and monthly books drafted inside their own software | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Website | https://cranston.ai/ | | Category | Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Cheapest accounting software, With a bookkeeper checking, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero | | Open source | No | | Price | $30 a month | | Price checked | 27 October 2026 | Screenshot of Cranston: https://tickmarkbooks.com/img/1920/screenshots/cranston.webp, captured 27 October 2026 **What we checked** - Pages last read: 27 October 2026 - Price on its site: From $30 a month (From its pricing page) ## What it costs A month of books at 100 transactions: $57 a month at 100 transactions, on Bookkeeping, on Xero Early ## Cranston price and plans Prices excluding tax, as Cranston publishes them. | Plan | Price | What's included | | --- | --- | --- | | Bookkeeping, on QuickBooks Online Simple Start | $30 a month | Flat fee; Needs QuickBooks Online Simple Start, $38 a month | | Bookkeeping, on Xero Early | $30 a month | Flat fee; Needs Xero Early, $27 a month | Pricing page as we captured it: https://tickmarkbooks.com/img/1920/screenshots/cranston/pricing.webp, captured 27 October 2026 Read on https://cranston.ai/pricing, 27 October 2026. ## What Cranston costs at your volume | Transactions | Cost | Plan | | --- | --- | --- | | 100 | $57 a month | Bookkeeping, on Xero Early | | 500 | $57 a month | Bookkeeping, on Xero Early | ## What we checked on Cranston ### What it costs to keep your books **Cost at 100 transactions a month** · Yes — $57 a month on Bookkeeping, on Xero Early for 100 transactions. Includes Xero Early at $27 a month, which Bookkeeping, on Xero Early needs. > $30 per client book, per month > — https://cranston.ai/pricing · Bookkeeping plan card, price cell, checked 27 October 2026 **Cost at 500 transactions a month** · Yes — $57 a month on Bookkeeping, on Xero Early for 500 transactions. Includes Xero Early at $27 a month, which Bookkeeping, on Xero Early needs. > $30 per client book, per month > — https://cranston.ai/pricing · Bookkeeping plan card, price cell, checked 27 October 2026 **Cost for a solo freelancer** · Partly — One freelancer's books cost a firm $30 a month as a single client book, but the client still needs a QuickBooks Online or Xero subscription and Cranston sells to the firm rather than to the freelancer. > One client entity's books, connected through QuickBooks or Xero. Each connected book is $30 per month. A client with two entities is two books. > — https://cranston.ai/pricing · Billing questions, answered — "What is a client book?", checked 27 October 2026 **Promotion and regular price** · No — none — the two published rates are presented as the complete price list, with no introductory period, no discounted first months and no platform or onboarding charge named anywhere on the pricing page. > The two rates on this page are the full price list. You do not need a quote. > — https://cranston.ai/pricing · Billing questions, answered — "Do you have another billing question?", checked 27 October 2026 **Ledger included** · No — The $30 book fee buys the AI work only: the client's ledger stays QuickBooks Online or Xero, whose own subscription the firm or client pays separately, and Cranston states it does not replace that system. > No. QuickBooks Online stays the client's accounting system. Cranston reads from it and prepares work for your firm's review. > — https://cranston.ai/integrations/quickbooks-online · Answers about setup, review, and control — "Does Cranston replace QuickBooks Online?", checked 27 October 2026 **What the price is based on** · Yes — Billing is flat per unit of work: $30 each month per connected client book, plus a one-time $40 for each prepared return, with no per-seat, hourly or per-form element. > No per-form add-ons No hourly billing No per-seat charges No surprise charges > — https://cranston.ai/pricing · Band under the two plan cards, checked 27 October 2026 **Users included** · Yes — Staff seats are not metered: the pricing page rules out per-seat charges, and firm staff are instead managed by role as owner, admin or member with team-scoped access. > No per-seat charges > — https://cranston.ai/pricing · Band under the two plan cards, checked 27 October 2026 **Past your plan’s limits** · Partly — No transaction or account allowance is published for a book, so nothing is said about passing one; the only stated threshold is return volume, where past 2,000 returns a season the price is agreed with the vendor. > Every figure is the two rates multiplied by your counts. There is nothing else on the bill. Past 2,000 returns a season, we price the volume together. > — https://cranston.ai/pricing · What a firm pays section, note under the calculator, checked 27 October 2026 **Setup or onboarding fee** · No — The vendor states there is no onboarding or platform charge at all, so a firm pays only the recurring book fee and the per-return fee as returns are prepared. > Bookkeeping is the only recurring line. There are no platform fees or onboarding charges. > — https://cranston.ai/pricing · What determines your bill — "There are no other charges", checked 27 October 2026 **Catching up past months** · Yes — Cleanup of messy prior months is offered as a project in which Cranston recategorizes and reconciles until the firm has a signable baseline; the pages put no separate price on that work. > Yes. Point it at the messy books. It recategorizes, reconciles, and flags what needs a human call until there is a baseline your firm will sign. > — https://cranston.ai/product/bookkeeping · Bookkeeping questions — "Can it take on a cleanup project?", checked 27 October 2026 ### What the AI does with your books **What the AI does** · Yes — The AI reads client document packages, keys a first-pass return into the firm's tax software, classifies and reconciles ledger activity, works close checklists and answers tax questions with primary-source citations. > Cranston works with QuickBooks, Drake, CCH Axcess, and the rest of your stack. AI prepares the work. Your reviewers make the calls. > — https://cranston.ai/ · Hero paragraph, checked 27 October 2026 **What the AI costs** · Yes — included — the AI is the product itself and is covered by the two flat rates; the vendor states explicitly that nothing is metered in credits or tokens. > Pay per client book and per prepared return. Flat rates, no credits or tokens. > — https://cranston.ai/ · Pricing section intro line, checked 27 October 2026 **Categorizes transactions** · Yes — Transactions sync from the ledger and are classified every day under the firm's own rules; a treatment decided once becomes a standing instruction that applies each month rather than needing re-teaching. > Transactions sync from QuickBooks and are classified daily under your firm's rules. Set a treatment once and it holds every month. > — https://cranston.ai/product/bookkeeping · How the close runs — "Cranston categorizes transactions daily", checked 27 October 2026 **Reconciles your accounts** · Yes — Bank and credit-card accounts are matched to statements, unmatched differences become reconciling items, and preparer and reviewer sign-off is recorded on each reconciliation for the firm. > Bank and credit-card accounts reconcile against statements, with preparer and reviewer sign-off recorded on each one. Approval always belongs to your firm. > — https://cranston.ai/product/bookkeeping · What Bookkeeping covers — "Reconciliation with sign-off", checked 27 October 2026 **Accrual books and reports** · Yes — Cranston works each client's close checklist and generates the financial statements when the period closes, publishing them within days of month end; the pages do not name cash or accrual basis or list a cash-flow statement. > When a period closes, statements are generated within days of month end. > — https://cranston.ai/product/bookkeeping · What Bookkeeping covers — "Published financials", checked 27 October 2026 ### Who checks the AI’s work **People check the books** · Yes — Checking is the buying firm's own staff work by design: Cranston queues exceptions and findings, and nothing posts to a ledger, files or reaches a client until a firm reviewer approves it. > Your team does. Cranston prepares the work, links it to source documents, and queues exceptions for review. Nothing posts, files, or goes out to a client without your approval. > — https://cranston.ai/pricing · Billing questions, answered — "Who reviews Cranston's work?", checked 27 October 2026 **When the month is closed** · Yes — The vendor commits to month-end output in the week the month ends, with reconciliations already run and only exceptions left for the firm's staff to clear before publication. > When the period closes, financials are generated and published to the client the same week the month ends. > — https://cranston.ai/for/growing-firms/monthly-close · How the close runs — "Reports go out on time", checked 27 October 2026 **Your accountant can sign in** · Yes — Because the buyer is the accounting firm and seats are not charged for, reviewers and administrators can be added without extra cost, with access scoped by role and by team. > Staff roles: owner, admin, member Access scoped by team Actions logged and reviewable > — https://cranston.ai/for/multi-office-firms/role-based-access · Hero stat strip, checked 27 October 2026 **Accuracy the vendor claims** · Yes — The vendor claims material errors in fewer than one draft in ten against four in ten for firm-prepared returns, and describes the method, but the figures come from its own internal study. > 4 in 10 returns had an error that changed the tax owed. Cranston's software, given the same documents, made that kind of error in fewer than 1 in 10. > — https://cranston.ai/lp/error-rates · Hero paragraph above "How the study worked", checked 27 October 2026 ### Where your books live and what it connects to **QuickBooks Online** · Yes — The integrations page lists QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero and Sage Intacct as ledgers Cranston reads, alongside five tax packages > QuickBooks Online Trial balances, ledgers, and statements read from the books > — https://cranston.ai/integrations · Integrations list, QuickBooks Online entry, checked 27 October 2026 **Xero** · Yes — The integrations page lists QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero and Sage Intacct as ledgers Cranston reads, alongside five tax packages > QuickBooks Online Trial balances, ledgers, and statements read from the books > — https://cranston.ai/integrations · Integrations list, QuickBooks Online entry, checked 27 October 2026 **QuickBooks Desktop** · Yes — The integrations page lists QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero and Sage Intacct as ledgers Cranston reads, alongside five tax packages > QuickBooks Online Trial balances, ledgers, and statements read from the books > — https://cranston.ai/integrations · Integrations list, QuickBooks Online entry, checked 27 October 2026 **NetSuite** · Yes — NetSuite appears on no page, and the list is not stated to be complete. > QuickBooks Online Trial balances, ledgers, and statements read from the books > — https://cranston.ai/integrations · Integrations list, QuickBooks Online entry, checked 27 October 2026 **Bank and card feeds** · Partly — Daily transaction flow comes through the ledger rather than from the banks: Cranston syncs two-way with QuickBooks Online and pushes results back, and no direct bank or card connection of its own is described. > Yes. Cranston syncs two-way with QuickBooks Online: transactions in, categorization and reconciliation results back. Your client's QBO file stays the system of record. > — https://cranston.ai/product/bookkeeping · Bookkeeping questions — "Does this work with QuickBooks Online?", checked 27 October 2026 **Platforms** · Yes — web — the agreement describes a cloud-based platform a firm signs into, and preparation runs in the background rather than on the user's machine; no Windows, Mac, iOS or Android app is named. > Cranston is a cloud-based tax preparation platform that organizes source documents, generates workpapers and review findings > — https://cranston.ai/csa · Section 2, Cloud Service, checked 27 October 2026 ### Taxes **Files your tax return** · Partly — Cranston prepares and keys a complete draft federal and state return at $40 per return, but stops short of filing: elections, sign-off and e-filing stay with the firm on its own EFIN. > Your firm, unchanged. Cranston prepares and flags. Elections, judgment calls, sign-off, and filing stay with your reviewers. > — https://cranston.ai/product/tax-prep · Tax prep & review questions — "Who is responsible for the return?", checked 27 October 2026 ### Your data and its security **SOC 2 report** · Partly — There is no SOC 2 report to hand yet: the vendor says a Type II examination is in progress and names the live controls instead, offering a control walk-through with a founder rather than a report. > The SOC 2 Type II examination is in progress. Encryption, role-based access, PII protection, audit logs, and SSO are live across the platform. > — https://cranston.ai/security · Security questions, answered — "Is Cranston SOC 2 certified?", checked 27 October 2026 **Your data trains AI** · Partly — The agreement limits the vendor to using submitted taxpayer and financial data only to provide, secure, support and maintain the service, but neither it nor the privacy policy says anything explicit about AI model training or an opt-out. > Provider may use this information only to provide, secure, support, and maintain the Cloud Service and related offerings. > — https://cranston.ai/csa · Section 5, Customer Data, checked 27 October 2026 ### Who it is built for **For accounting firms** · Yes — The whole product is built for accounting firms, with many client books on one dashboard, firm-wide rules, role and team scoping and pages for solo, growing and multi-office practices; white-labeling is not claimed. > Cranston keeps each client's documents, books, returns, and email together so the next step is always ready. > — https://cranston.ai/ · "All your work, working together" section, checked 27 October 2026 **Several businesses** · Yes — One firm account holds as many client books as it connects, and each additional entity is simply another $30 book, so a two-entity client costs $60 a month before its ledger subscriptions. > One client entity's books, connected through QuickBooks or Xero, is one book. A client with two entities is two books. > — https://cranston.ai/pricing · What determines your bill — "Books recur monthly", checked 27 October 2026 **Australia** · No — It is sold to US firms: the return list is 1040, 1065, 1120 and 1120-S with federal and state filings, safeguards follow GLBA and IRS Pub. 4557, and no Canadian, UK or Australian filing is named. > 1040, 1065, 1120, and 1120-S. If your book leans on trusts, estates, or exempt orgs, ask us where those stand before you buy. > — https://cranston.ai/product/tax-prep · Tax prep & review questions — "What returns does it handle?", checked 27 October 2026 ### Trying it, starting and getting help **Free trial or free plan** · Partly — There is no standing free plan: the Terms cover evaluation, trial or pilot access at no charge, while any paid use needs a signed Order Form, and the public route in is a 30-minute demo on a real return package. > These Terms govern all other access: evaluation, trial, or pilot use of the Product, and use of Cranston's public website. > — https://cranston.ai/terms · Opening section, scope of the Terms, checked 27 October 2026 **Sign up without a sales call** · Partly — Both rates are public and the vendor says no quote is needed, but buying is not self-serve: paid subscriptions run through a signed Order Form and every call to action books a demo. > Paid subscriptions are not sold under these Terms. Cranston subscriptions are purchased through a signed Order Form governed by the Cranston Cloud Service Agreement . > — https://cranston.ai/terms · Opening section, paragraph on paid subscriptions, checked 27 October 2026 **Contract and cancelling** · Partly — The published rates recur monthly per book and per return, but the commitment itself is not public: fees, included volume and payment schedule all sit in the signed Order Form, so cancellation terms cannot be read off the site. > Fees, included volume, the payment schedule, and the payment method are set out in the Order Form and are billed according to the payment process the Order Form specifies. > — https://cranston.ai/csa · Section 6, Fees and Payment, checked 27 October 2026 **Support** · Yes — Paid customers get email support during US business hours with a one-business-day response target; no phone line, live chat or after-hours cover is offered, and hello@cranston.ai handles billing questions. > Provider will provide support by email during normal U.S. business hours and will use commercially reasonable efforts to respond within one business day. > — https://cranston.ai/csa · Section 3, Technical Support, checked 27 October 2026 ## Cranston alternatives - [Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books) · Free plan, then $20 a month: Cloud accounting ledger with Zia AI, bank feeds, sales tax and 1099 e-filing, from $20 a month. - [FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent) · From £10 a month (about $13): UK cloud accounting with HMRC filing, bank feeds and AI receipt capture, priced per business type. - [Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle) · No list price: AI-native accounting software with optional bookkeeper services for startups and small businesses. - [Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai) · No list price: An AI bookkeeper that works inside QuickBooks Online and Xero to categorize transactions and match documents. - [Stampli](https://tickmarkbooks.com/stampli) · Price on request: Procure-to-pay workspace for invoices, vendors, payments and card spend, with AI coding and routing. - [Pilot](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot) · No list price: A bookkeeping and tax service for startups that pairs software-driven dashboards with human financial advisors. - [SimpleAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai) · From $79 a month: AI agents that extract, classify and reconcile accounting documents, then publish them into Xero or QuickBooks. - [Digits](https://tickmarkbooks.com/digits) · From $65 a month: AI-native general ledger that books and reconciles itself, replacing QuickBooks or Xero for US businesses. - [Expensify](https://tickmarkbooks.com/expensify) · Free plan, then $5 a seat a month: Receipt scanning, company cards, bill pay and reimbursements that feed QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite. 5 of the 9 publish a price. [All 9 alternatives](https://tickmarkbooks.com/cranston/alternatives/) ## Sources and changes Last changed 27 October 2026 **Sources on cranston.ai** (12) - https://cranston.ai/pricing, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/product/bookkeeping, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/csa, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/product/tax-prep, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/terms, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/for/growing-firms/monthly-close, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/for/multi-office-firms/role-based-access, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/integrations, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/integrations/quickbooks-online, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/lp/error-rates, read 27 October 2026 - https://cranston.ai/security, read 27 October 2026 ## Is this yours? Claim Cranston: https://tickmarkbooks.com/claim/cranston Report an error if a fact is wrong: hello@tickmarkbooks.com, subject "Report an error: Cranston (cranston)".