Drake Tax Software Hosting
Drake Tax is the most popular professional tax preparation software by market share — used by over 68,000 tax preparers nationwide. During tax season, your entire firm depends on Drake’s speed and reliability. Cloud hosting ensures every preparer accesses Drake from anywhere while your data stays secured on dedicated infrastructure.
EezyCloud hosts Drake Tax alongside QuickBooks Desktop on Azure-dedicated infrastructure. Your tax workflow stays seamless.
Why Tax Firms Host Drake in the Cloud
Tax Season Is Remote Season
Modern tax preparation isn’t 9-to-5 in one office. Your preparers work from:
- The main office
- Home (especially during peak season)
- Satellite offices during drop-off appointments
- Client locations for on-site preparation
Cloud-hosted Drake means the same installation, the same client data, and the same e-file queue — accessible from all locations simultaneously.
Multi-Preparer Access
A firm with 5-15 preparers needs simultaneous access to Drake during January through April. Local installations create file conflicts and version issues. Cloud hosting eliminates these entirely — every preparer works in the same Drake instance.
QuickBooks + Drake: One Cloud Environment
Many tax firms run Drake for preparation and QuickBooks Desktop for practice accounting. On EezyCloud, both run on the same dedicated Azure instance. Switch between Drake and QuickBooks without switching servers, logins, or environments.
What Hosted Drake Includes
Full Drake Tax Functionality
Your hosted Drake works identically to a local installation:
➜ schedule a demo of hosted Drake Tax in our cloud
- Individual returns (1040, state returns)
- Business returns (1120, 1120S, 1065, 1041)
- Tax planning and projections
- E-filing (federal and state)
- Drake Documents (document management)
- GruntWorx integration for scan-and-populate
- Drake Accounting (write-up work)
- SecureFilePro client portal integration
Scaling for Tax Season
Add preparer accounts in minutes when seasonal staff arrives. Remove them when season ends. No workstation setup, no software installation, no VPN configuration. New hires log in and start preparing returns immediately.
E-Filing From the Cloud
E-filing works normally from the hosted environment. Drake connects to IRS and state e-file systems through the same secure channels used in local installations. Acknowledgments, rejections, and status updates flow back in real time.
Security for Tax Data
Tax preparers hold the most sensitive data imaginable: Social Security numbers, income details, bank accounts, and financial histories for hundreds of clients. The IRS requires a Written Information Security Plan (WISP) per Publication 4557.
EezyCloud’s security directly supports WISP requirements:
- SOC2 Type II certified infrastructure
- 256-bit AES encryption in transit and at rest
- Multi-factor authentication for all preparer accounts
- Role-based access — seasonal staff sees only assigned clients
- Comprehensive audit logging — every client file access tracked
- Automatic encrypted backups — daily, geo-redundant
- IRS Pub 4557 alignment — technical controls for WISP compliance
Pricing for Tax Firms
| EezyCloud | Rightworks | Ace Cloud | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting/user/month | $58.30 | $120-190 | $49.99+ |
| BYOL (Drake license) | Yes | No | Limited |
| SOC2 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Infrastructure | Azure Dedicated | Shared | Shared |
| QuickBooks alongside | Same environment | Same environment | Same environment |
| Seasonal scaling | Instant add/remove | Contract terms | Monthly minimum |
BYOL for Drake Licenses
Own your Drake licenses? Bring them. EezyCloud doesn’t require relicensing through us. Rightworks forces license purchases through their platform at marked-up annual costs.
How Drake Hosting Works
1. Assessment: We review your firm size, Drake modules, and integration needs
2. Environment Setup: Provision your dedicated Azure instance with Drake, QuickBooks, and practice tools
3. Data Migration: Transfer client data, preparer configurations, and e-file settings
4. Testing: Verify e-filing, printing, client file access, and multi-preparer workflows
5. Go Live: Full operation with dedicated support during first tax season
Timeline: 3-5 business days. We strongly recommend migrating before January to avoid peak-season disruption.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can multiple preparers use Drake simultaneously?
Yes. Multi-user Drake runs on your dedicated Azure instance with all preparers accessing the same client database.
Does e-filing work from the cloud?
Yes. Drake’s e-file functionality works identically in the hosted environment. Federal and state transmissions, acknowledgments, and rejections all function normally.
Can I use Drake Documents in the cloud?
Yes. Drake’s document management module runs alongside Drake Tax in the same hosted environment.
Will GruntWorx integration work?
Yes. GruntWorx connects to hosted Drake the same way it does to local installations.
How do I handle tax season scaling?
Add user accounts instantly when seasonal staff arrives. Remove them when the season ends. No hardware or software setup required.
Is this IRS WISP compliant?
EezyCloud’s SOC2 Type II certified security controls support the technical requirements of IRS Publication 4557 WISP guidelines. We provide compliance documentation for your firm’s WISP.
Grow Your Tax Practice With EEZY
Beyond Drake and QuickBooks hosting, the EEZY platform gives tax firms:
- EezyCRM — Client intake pipeline, engagement tracking, and referral management.
- EezyPay — Invoice clients and accept tax preparation fees online. Payment links and ACH processing.
- EezyClock — Track billable hours for staff and seasonal preparers. Export to QuickBooks payroll.
- EezyFinance — AI-powered parsing of client source documents (K-1s, 1099s, W-2s). Eliminate manual data entry.
- EezySOP — Document your firm’s tax preparation procedures and quality review checklists.
- EezyPost — Tax season marketing on social media. Schedule tips, deadlines, and firm updates.
All tools under one platform. Also host Lacerte, ProSeries, and UltraTax alongside Drake.
Host Drake Tax on Infrastructure Built for Tax Season
Tax season doesn’t wait for IT problems. EezyCloud gives your firm consistent, dedicated performance when every other hosting provider’s shared infrastructure is groaning under load.
$58.30/user/month. Drake + QuickBooks together. BYOL. SOC2 certified. Azure dedicated.