Accounting - Setup Guide

How to set up Keeper

Otto's honest, no-fluff walkthrough. Every step here is what we'd actually do if we were sitting at your keyboard. Real gotchas first, real steps second, and a link to the personalized version at the bottom.

Read these before you start

• Multi-state filing accuracy is the most consistent complaint, if you owe in one state and expect a refund from another, get a CPA to review the draft before submitting, don't treat Keeper's multi-state output as final without a second look (Source: BBB/App Store review pattern via WebSearch summary, 2026)
• The free trial does not include filing, a clear and repeated pattern of user confusion, set this expectation explicitly, filing always requires the paid plan regardless of trial status (Source: complaint pattern via WebSearch summary, 2026)
• Audit protection (quarterly tax-pro calls, audit resolution) is a $399/year Premium add-on, not included in the base Plus tier, don't assume basic write-off tracking includes audit support

The 7-step setup

1. 1

   Create your Keeper account

   Sign up at the link below. Free tier available - no card required. Use your business email so you can invite teammates later.

   Open Keeper signup
2. 2

   Complete the initial onboarding

   Skip the marketing questionnaires when you can. Fill only the fields that actually configure the product - name, timezone, your first workspace or project. If Keeper pushes you into a setup wizard, take it - it usually accelerates the first productive session.

3. 3

   Connect your existing tools

   Wire Keeper into the rest of your stack. The integrations that most people set up first: Bank accounts and credit cards (via Plaid-style connections), this is intentionally a narrow integration list since the product is single-purpose.. Do these before importing data - clean integration first, data second.

4. 4

   Import your existing data (only what you'll actually use)

   Do NOT bulk-import everything. Import the last 30 days of the ONE workflow you're moving over first. Prove it works. Then import more. Big-bang migrations are how Keeper deployments die in month 3.

5. 5

   Set up your first real workflow

   Pick the single most-frequent task you'll do in Keeper - the daily-driver workflow. Configure it end-to-end. Use it live for a week. Do not touch any other feature yet. Adoption failure comes from teams trying to use everything on day one instead of the one thing that actually pays.

6. 6

   Add your team (if applicable) and set access

   Once your solo workflow works, invite one teammate at a time. Watch them use it. The friction points you missed are the ones they hit. Fix those before scaling to more users. Never invite 20 people at once - you'll get 20 confused people and 0 useful feedback.

7. 7

   Compound with the right pairings

   Recommend Keeper for solo freelancers and gig workers with simple, single-state tax situations who are currently doing zero organized write-off tracking, it's a strong low-effort improvement over "nothing." Do not recommend as a standalone solution for anyone with multi-state income, flag that a CPA should review multi-state returns regardless of which tax tool is used. Never suggest the free trial includes filing, that's a documented source of user frustration.