ClientWhys

What ClientWhys does

ClientWhys, a privately held US corporation operating under the legal entity CountingWorks, Inc. and the brand names TaxCPE, TaxCPE.com, Total Practice, and CountingWorks Learning Center, delivers tax continuing professional education (CPE/CE) to CPAs, Enrolled Agents, and California Tax Return Preparers. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, the company operates a self-serve e-learning platform at taxcpe.com built on the Litmos learning management system for course delivery and certificate tracking, with Shopify powering the e-commerce storefront. The company holds three foundational regulatory approvals — NASBA QAS (national), IRS Approved CE Provider (federal enrolled agents), and CTEC Approved Provider (California preparers) — which authorize it to issue CPE credits accepted across US state boards and federal tax preparer categories.

The product surface is anchored by the Total Practice membership platform, with three subscription tiers: Solo ($299/year, individual practitioner), Gold ($399/year, includes the flagship 16-hour tax update), and Teams ($1,299/year, firm-wide seats). Core non-subscription offerings include the 16-Hour Virtual Tax Update & Review (federal), 6-Hour California Individual Tax Update, the 24-Hour Big Book of Taxes self-study (and Big Book of Taxes 365 continuous-access variant), specialized bundles for EAs and CRTPs, monthly micro tax updates, nano courses, deep dives, and a marketing library of client engagement tools. Instructors — Art Werner, Lee Reams Sr., and Mike Gleeson — are positioned as the primary differentiator, with the company emphasizing practical application of tax updates by veteran practitioners over academic theory. The company claims 30+ years of operating history and a customer base of "thousands of tax professionals," despite a founding date of 2007 on the corporate record, suggesting the brand lineage predates the current entity.

Revenue is generated through a combination of recurring annual subscriptions and one-time à la carte course purchases, with publicly disclosed pricing and annual billing cycles. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer through the taxcpe.com storefront with no third-party channel partners. The company is led by founder Lee Reams II (CEO) with co-founder Lee Reams Sr. as a continuing instructor; no external institutional investors, private equity involvement, or public ownership is evidenced in the source material.

Name

ClientWhys

Legal name

CountingWorks, Inc.

Website

https://clientwhys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ClientWhys (TaxCPE / CountingWorks Learning Center) delivers tax continuing professional education courses and subscription memberships to CPAs, Enrolled Agents, and California Tax Return Preparers through its self-serve taxcpe.com e-learning platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Continuing Education (Tax CPE)

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Accounting, Audit & Tax (CPA/CA/ACCA CPE) (EDAAALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Tax Advisory & Compliance (BPAHABAB)

Keywords

• Tax continuing education
• CPE courses online
• Professional tax updates
• Enrolled agent training
• California tax preparer education

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Subscription Memberships: Annual subscription plans (Solo $299/yr, Gold $399/yr, Teams $1,299/yr) providing varying levels of access to CPE content library, tax updates, and practice growth resources. Recurring revenue model with predictable annual renewals.
2. Individual Course Sales: À la carte purchase of individual CPE courses ranging from 1-24 hours. One-time purchase model for specific courses like the 16-Hour Virtual Tax Update, California Tax Update, Big Book of Taxes, and specialized bundles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ClientWhys (operating as CountingWorks Learning Center / TaxCPE) sells online continuing professional education (CPE) courses, bundles, and annual membership subscriptions to licensed U.S. tax professionals — primarily CPAs, Enrolled Agents, and California Tax Return Preparers. The flagship offerings are annual federal and California tax update webinars, the Big Book of Taxes 24-hour self-study, and Total Practice membership tiers that grant unlimited access to the CPE library, micro updates, and certificate tracking.

Product overview

CountingWorks Learning Center (TaxCPE) operates a modular online education platform offering tax continuing professional education (CPE) for CPAs, Enrolled Agents (EAs), California Tax Return Preparers (CRTPs), and tax professionals. The core offerings include the flagship 16-Hour Virtual Tax Update & Review (federal) and 6-Hour California Tax Update, supplemented by the Big Book of Taxes (24-hour self-study and 365 online access). The platform is structured around Total Practice membership tiers (Solo, Gold, Teams) providing unlimited CPE access, plus à la carte course purchasing. Additional products include specialized bundles for Enrolled Agents and CRTPs, monthly micro tax updates, nano courses, deep dives, and a marketing library with tax organizers and client engagement tools. The platform is powered by the Litmos learning management system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CountingWorkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCountingWorks Learning Center operates as part of the CountingWorks ecosystem. CountingWorks is a parent company providing technology and infrastructure for tax and accounting professional services. Total Practice by TaxCPE.com is branded as part of CountingWorks, which helps 'tax and accounting professionals learn faster, work smarter, and grow stronger practices.' CountingWorks, Inc. holds the copyrights and provider approvals (NASBA, IRS, CTEC).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• AICPA: The US professional association for CPAs offering its own CPE catalog and CIMA credentials. Competes for the same CPA CPE dollar as a broader professional-body incumbent with significant brand recognition.
• Thomson Reuters (Checkpoint & CPE): Major tax-and-accounting research and software publisher offering CPE-accredited content alongside Checkpoint and UltraTax. Broad incumbent with overlapping CPE content for tax practitioners.
• Becker Professional Education: Large-scale professional education provider (CPA exam prep, CPE, CMA) that competes in the same continuing education category as TaxCPE but with a broader portfolio across exam prep and professional credentials.
• Wolters Kluwer (CCH): Publisher of CCH AnswerConnect, ProSystem fx Tax, and CPE-eligible tax research content. Indirect incumbent serving the same tax-professional buyer with overlapping continuing education offerings.

Direct peers

• CPAacademy.com: Online CPE marketplace serving CPAs, EAs, and tax practitioners with on-demand courses, webinars, and bundles. Closely overlaps with TaxCPE's target buyer, content format, and self-serve distribution model.
• Web CPE: NASBA-registered self-study CPE provider for CPAs and tax professionals. Competes directly on à la carte tax update courses and unlimited subscription access.
• Surgent CPE: Direct online CPE competitor for CPAs and tax professionals with self-study, webinars, and annual subscription packages. Surgent competes head-to-head on price, course hours, and NASBA-approved tax update content.
• Lorman Education Services: Online and on-demand CPE/CLE provider serving accounting and tax professionals. Overlaps in self-study tax and accounting content and subscription-style unlimited learning plans.

Emerging players

• Federal Tax Workshops (FTW): Specialized provider of federal tax update seminars and CPE for practitioners. Niche competitor focused specifically on tax update content with a similar practitioner-instructor format to TaxCPE.

Others

• National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP): Membership association for tax preparers offering its own CPE-eligible education programs. Comparable buyer base (Enrolled Agents, CRTPs, CPAs) but distributes via member dues rather than retail e-commerce.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/taxcpe
• Facebookfacebook.com/CountingWorksLearningCenter

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ClientWhys