TaxTrex by Swanson Reed, Under Your Brand

What it is

White-label TaxTrex is embedded in a CPA firm's or business's own ERP or practice system. People self-manage their R&D documentation there. Review by Swanson Reed is optional. It is a Swanson Reed product, and Cost Guru presents the white-label offering. Facts about the product on this site are limited to what Swanson Reed has provided, and integrations, review tiers and partner pricing are proposals until Swanson Reed confirms them.

The idea is simple. Research credit claims are won or lost on documentation, and documentation is hardest to produce after the fact. TaxTrex gives the people doing the research a routine for recording it as they go, and gives the firm or business a way to see and review what has been recorded, under its own brand and in a system its clients already use.

For CPA firms

A firm that adds TaxTrex keeps the client relationship. Clients see the firm's name, logo and domain, not a third party's. The firm decides how closely to supervise the process, from a light touch for clients who manage their own documentation to a close review of every claim pack. Because the evidence builds up through the year, the firm's busy season work shifts from chasing information to reviewing it.

A firm also decides who reviews at the end. Review tiers, which are proposals, range from self-managed documentation, through review by the firm's own CPA or enrolled agent, to a Swanson Reed review with audit support. The firm can choose a tier per client according to the risk.

For businesses

A business that adds TaxTrex to its own ERP or practice system gets a documentation routine inside tools its people already use. The product prompts staff, keeps their answers with the right project and gathers cost data from accounting, so that the finance team and any outside adviser see the same record. The business still needs a qualified professional to review a claim before it is filed.

A worked example (illustrative)

This is an invented scenario. A regional accounting firm has fifteen clients that build software or products. At present it learns about their research activity during tax season and asks them to reconstruct it. With a white-label documentation tool under its own name, the firm invites each client at the start of the year. Short surveys go to the clients' technical leads each month, the answers are stored against projects, and accounting data is matched to them. When filing season arrives, the firm reviews claim packs that already hold the evidence. For two clients the evidence is thin and the firm advises them to wait, which is a sound outcome.

Limits and risks

TaxTrex helps clients document and prepare. It does not decide eligibility, give tax advice or guarantee that a claim will be accepted. Review by a licensed CPA or enrolled agent remains essential, and forms are filed through an authorized IRS e-file provider or tax software. Partner terms, integrations, review tiers and partner pricing are proposals until Swanson Reed confirms them, so please do not treat anything here as an offer.

How we work with partners

We begin with a call about your firm or business: how many clients have research activity, which systems you use and how much review you want to offer. We then describe what could be offered, mark what is confirmed and what is still a proposal, and involve Swanson Reed where its terms apply. Contact us for pricing.

What changes in your practice

For a firm, adding a documentation product usually shifts work earlier in the year. Instead of one intense period of gathering evidence, there is steady, light-touch supervision of surveys, and the busy season becomes a review exercise. It also changes conversations with clients: you can tell them what to record and when, instead of asking afterwards what they remember. Some firms find this opens R&D services to clients they would not otherwise have approached, and others find it simply makes existing work cheaper to deliver.

Roles and responsibilities

The roles need to be clear. The client records the evidence. The partner supervises and reviews. Swanson Reed provides the product and, if the partner chooses that tier, an additional review. Cost Guru presents the white-label offering. Who is responsible for what, including data handling and client communication, should be agreed in writing, and the terms are confirmed with Swanson Reed.