OpenLazarus for accounting firms: AI teammates for the work around the return

Contents

1. What OpenLazarus does for accounting firms
2. Published evidence
3. Strengths and limits
4. Pricing
5. Questions to ask OpenLazarus
6. Sources

Type	AI operations platform
Pricing	Published
Website	openlazarus.ai

OpenLazarus builds a system the firm owns, with AI teammates that each have an inbox, a phone number and limits the firm sets⁠1The agent libraryOpenLazarus. For accounting firms, it aims at the work around the return rather than the return itself⁠2Accounting firms: clients, returns and every filing date, on one systemOpenLazarus.

Best for: Firms that want AI teammates to run the work around the return: document requests, engagement letters and 8879s, filing deadlines, phones and billing from WIP.

Not the right fit for: Firms looking for software that prepares returns, or a replacement for their tax and practice software.

What OpenLazarus does for accounting firms

Its accounting page describes modules for returns (read by status from the tax software), client requests, documents, proposals through to the signed engagement letter, clients, phones, billing and reports on WIP and realization⁠2Accounting firms: clients, returns and every filing date, on one systemOpenLazarus. Example teammates match portal uploads to returns and send reminders, send 8879s for e-signature, match bank lines for monthly clients and bill returns from their WIP. A separate AI Bookkeeper use case describes categorization and reconciliation on a shared ledger⁠3AI Bookkeeper use caseOpenLazarus.

It does not replace the tax or practice software. Returns are still prepared, reviewed and e-filed there, and OpenLazarus reads each return's status and due date and writes back what changed. The teammates do not prepare or sign returns, and workpapers stay in Excel and the tax software⁠2Accounting firms: clients, returns and every filing date, on one systemOpenLazarus.

Everything runs on the firm's own server: mail, documents, calls and the AI's work. Access follows roles the firm sets, every action is logged, and nothing the firm holds is used to train a model⁠2Accounting firms: clients, returns and every filing date, on one systemOpenLazarus. Firms design their system in a conversation; engineers then connect the tax and practice software, portal and phone lines over a few weeks, and most firms start in May or November⁠2Accounting firms: clients, returns and every filing date, on one systemOpenLazarus. Firms of 30 or more people begin with a session with the engineers⁠4Design your company’s operating systemOpenLazarus, and the company recommends its AI-Architect engagement above 100 people⁠5PricingOpenLazarus.

The accounting page shows the product on an invented example firm. Its people and figures are illustrative, not results, and OpenLazarus has no published accounting-firm case studies yet.

Published evidence

No case studies with named customers are published.

Strengths and limits

Strengths

• Built for the work preparers do around the return: requests, signatures, deadlines, phones and billing.
• Reads each return’s status and due date from the tax software and writes back what changed, so preparers keep the software they know.
• Runs on the firm’s own server, with role-based access, a log of every action and no use of firm data to train models.
• Publishes plan, hosting and engineering-support prices.

Limits

• No published accounting-firm case studies yet. The accounting page uses an invented example firm, and its figures are illustrative.
• Does not prepare, review or sign returns, and does not replace the ledger.
• Firms of 30 or more people start with a session with its engineers rather than a self-serve plan.
• Setup involves connecting the tax and practice software, portal and phone lines, which the company says takes a few weeks.

Choose another option if: Your bottleneck is preparation itself or the monthly close. Basis prepares returns and runs the close, and Dext or Botkeeper automate bookkeeping.

Pricing

Published: plans at $100 or $300 a month including the same amount in AI credits, managed hosting from $150 a month, engineering support from $4,500 a month and a 5.5% fee on AI credits. The AI-Architect consultancy is priced per engagement.

Questions to ask OpenLazarus

• Which of our tax and practice systems can you read from and write back to today?
• How do approvals work for what a teammate sends to clients, such as reminders and 8879 requests?
• How are client calls handled when a teammate is unsure, and who on our staff takes over?
• Can we run a fixed-scope first phase on one service line before busy season?

See how OpenLazarus compares with the other tools in the main guide.

Sources

1. The agent library. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
2. Accounting firms: clients, returns and every filing date, on one system. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
3. AI Bookkeeper use case. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
4. Design your company’s operating system. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
5. Pricing. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
6. Questions about OpenLazarus. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
7. AI Architects. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.

Further reading

• Buyer's guide · Updated quarterlyThe best AI for accounting firms in 2026An analysis of eight AI tools that accounting firms use for intake, documents, client mail, bookkeeping and tax preparation, with the evidence behind each and a path to a first result before busy season.
• Guide · Intake and documentsAI for client intake and document collection at accounting firmsIntake is where busy season is won or lost. This is what AI can now take off the people who chase paper, step by step, with the tools that do each part.
• Guide · Tax seasonHow AI reduces tax-season load at an accounting firmBusy season concentrates a year of client work into a few months with fixed deadlines and fewer new accountants. This is where AI now helps, and where it does not.