Heard Review (2026)

Pricing (2026)

✓ Pricing re-verified 6 Oct 2026

Three plans, billed upfront per year with the monthly equivalent shown: Lite $129/mo or $1,548 a year, Essential $169/mo or $2,028, Premium $255/mo or $3,060. Lite covers done-for-you bookkeeping, financial reports and quarterly and annual tax support for solo sole proprietors; Essential adds personal tax preparation and filing; Premium is for group practices and S corps and brings payroll in as an add-on. Annual tax prep and filing is a $750 one-off add-on on Lite.

Frequently asked questions

What does Heard cost a therapist in private practice?

$129 a month for Lite, $169 for Essential and $255 for Premium, all billed annually — $1,548, $2,028 and $3,060 for the year. Read on 17 August 2026. Budget the annual tax filing separately: the page prices that as a $750 one-off on top.

Which plan actually includes my tax return?

Essential is the first one that includes personal tax preparation and filing. Lite covers bookkeeping, reports and quarterly tax support but leaves the annual filing as the $750 add-on, which closes most of the gap to Essential — so if you were going to pay for the filing anyway, compare $1,548 plus $750 against $2,028 rather than $129 against $169.

Is it really cheaper than a CPA?

Heard's own claim is that it replaces a CPA, bookkeeper and payroll provider that would typically cost $5,000 or more a year, against $3,060 for their top tier. That is their arithmetic, not ours, and it assumes you would otherwise buy all three. The honest test is what you pay now for bookkeeping alone — if that is under about $130 a month, the saving is smaller than the headline suggests.

Can I cancel at any time, and do I get money back?

You can cancel, but it runs to the end of your term. Heard's help article How can I cancel with Heard? (updated 1 October 2026, read 6 October 2026) schedules every cancellation for the end of the current billing period, unless other terms bind you; those are shown when you try. The annual plan paid monthly is a one-year commitment, per the pricing FAQ. Since the June 2026 Terms of Service, a monthly plan cancelled within 30 days of sign-up is credited toward future Heard services, not refunded. You can leave without owing future fees only if the practice closes, in case of death or incapacity, or if Heard leaves a material breach uncorrected for 14 days. Two practical limits: Heard only files your return if your subscription runs through the end of tax season, and a Heard Business Banking account has to be closed before the cancellation date.

What can I take with me when I leave?

Download your data before access ends. The cancellation article (read 6 October 2026) says you lose access to the account, including your Profit & Loss and other reports, when the cancellation takes effect. Under Plan and Billing a Download Account Information button sends you a copy and files it under Documents > Other, but only after you have started the cancellation. Which files and formats that copy contains is not described: not confirmed.

Can I move to a cheaper plan later?

Only in narrow cases. Heard's article on changing plans (updated 1 October 2026, read 6 October 2026) allows upgrades at any time. Moving down to Lite is open to sole proprietors and single-member LLCs on a monthly Essential plan who have not used, or opted into, annual tax filing that year; once Heard has filed for you, Lite is closed. Annual plan members cannot downgrade until the commitment renews, and Premium cannot move down to Essential or Lite at all, because S corps and group practices must stay on Premium.

What should I weigh before buying Financial Operations software?

The bar here is higher than features. Check who actually holds the money and under what licence, whether client funds are segregated, what audit trail and permission controls you get, and how support behaves when something goes wrong mid-transaction. Anything touching payments should be able to answer those in writing; if it cannot, that is your answer.

Is this a hands-on review of Heard?

This is a researched assessment, not a hands-on test — where we've used a tool ourselves, we say so explicitly. We name what each tool is good and bad at, and we earn a commission only if you sign up, at no cost to you.

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