The 2026 Canopy Extra Credit Award Winners
Cedrus Wealth + Tax earned the 2026 Canopy Extra Credit Award for one simple reason: they set out to use every Canopy feature they could, and automated their firm from engagement to invoice.
From day one, Director of Operations Julie Buetow and Operations Specialist Abigail Perman treated Canopy like their own. While the rest of the team kept working in the old system, they locked themselves away to map, build, and automate every process. Today, a signed engagement kicks off tasks, questionnaires, and billing on its own. New hires train without a single piece of paper. And the team tests every new release and beta feature that ships.
They don’t just use Canopy. They help shape it—suggesting features, joining beta groups, and sharing what works with other firms in the Canopy Community.
“My goal has always been we want to be the super user. I know it will evolve over time as the software evolves, but we will use it to its max.”
—Julie Buetow, Director of Operations
Profile
The firm’s tax practice formed in September 2024 when owner Jesse Hallstrom acquired an established tax firm and rebranded it. Julie and Abigail came along for the ride, bringing years of experience working together.
Today, the firm has 16 employees, most based in Minneapolis, plus three remote team members. They serve 1,088 active clients, with roughly 285 more on the way from a recent acquisition, a partnership, and packaged tax services for clients of sister company Cedrus Wealth.
The team had outgrown its previous practice management software, which wasn’t keeping up with new technology. They briefly looked at another platform but quickly felt it hit a ceiling. Then Abigail found Canopy.
“We just immediately agreed, this is kind of where we’re gonna thrive.”
— Abigail Perman, Operations Specialist
They purchased Canopy in spring 2025, spent the summer building, and went fully live in September 2025.
Why Canopy Stood Out
For Julie, it came down to growth. Canopy is always moving forward, and she wanted software that would keep growing with the firm.
“I don’t want it to be like, okay, here’s your box software. This is it. The ability to grow with the software that’s going to continue growing is what drew me to Canopy.”
—Julie Buetow, Director of Operations
For Abigail, it was customization. The team had already perfected its workflow. Canopy let them keep what worked, then add the automations they needed.
Engagements That Run Themselves
Engagement letters used to be the team’s biggest seasonal headache. They wrote them in Word and sent them through Adobe. The letters weren’t customized, so clients didn’t know what they’d be billed. And the work often dragged too close to tax season.
Now the team bulk-sends engagements from Canopy with tiered pricing already built in. Canopy sends the reminders. Once a client signs, it creates the task and triggers the questionnaire automatically.
“Canopy manages it up until you get down to the last 20 that need a little hand-holding… it’s just a ripple effect.”
—Julie Buetow, Director of Operations
The result? At least a week saved every season.
Billing in Minutes, Not Hours
Because every task includes invoicing and WIP, billing happens as work gets done, not in a scramble at year end.
“I can create 30 invoices in five minutes. It just saves so much time.”
—Abigail P., Operations Specialist
Online payments made an even bigger difference during busy season. Clients no longer call to pay over the phone, so the lines stay open for the conversations that matter.
The impact shows up on the bottom line too. With WIP managed task by task, the team catches billable work they might otherwise write off.
“I think our revenues have been impacted positively because of the automations.”
—Julie Buetow, Director of Operations
Onboarding Built for Growth
With new clients arriving from acquisitions and partnerships, onboarding had to scale. At first, it felt overwhelming. So Julie and Abigail broke the whole process down and rebuilt it.
One big change: they separated prospects from clients. Prospects get a short, basic task until they confirm they’re joining. Only then does the full onboarding workflow kick in. No more hours spent onboarding someone who might not stay.
The process is so complete that new team members don’t need separate documentation.
“The process is built into Canopy. You follow the steps. You don’t need a piece of paper to tell you what to do because everything is in there.”
—Julie Buetow, Director of Operations
Real-Time Visibility with Insights
Julie built a tax task dashboard in Canopy Insights, including a donut chart that shows progress toward each deadline at a glance. She also keeps an eye on AR and open WIP from her own dashboard.
Automations move work to the next step and person without anyone lifting a finger. Combined with clear workflows, the team always knows where everything stands and who has it.
Community That Makes Everyone Better
For Abigail, the Canopy Community is more than a nice extra. It’s essential.
She reads release notes, checks what other firms are saying before rolling out new features, and shares the firm’s own workflows. When she posted the firm’s questionnaire workflow, another member suggested a smart tweak: route new clients to the full questionnaire, and let returning clients with no changes skip straight to uploading documents. That idea is now her next project.
“It’s not people gatekeeping how they made it work. It’s people being like, ‘Hey, this worked for me. Try it if you want.’”
—Abigail Perman, Operations Specialist
The team also attends nearly every Canopy webinar and Classroom Series session.
Advice for Other Firms: Think Big
Asked what she’d tell a firm considering Canopy, Julie didn’t hesitate.
“Think big. Think of what you want, what is your end result, and then go backwards and build it.”
—Julie Buetow, Director of Operations
Abigail added two more tips: take the time to map things out, and join the community.
As for how the team feels about Canopy now? Abigail summed it up best: “Now we’re in love.”
