A hosted private server runs Windows, so it runs almost any Windows desktop application your firm already owns. That includes Drake, Lacerte, ProSeries, UltraTax CS, CCH ProSystem fx and Axcess, QuickBooks Desktop, and Sage 50, 100, and 300. Verito hosts every tax and accounting application except ATX.
Key takeaways
- A hosted server runs Windows, so compatibility is a server question, not a device question.
- Verito hosts every tax and accounting application except ATX.
- App slots meter what gets installed: 2 on Essentials, 6 on Pro, unlimited on Elite.
- Three years of one tax program counts as a single app slot.
- Browsers, Microsoft Office 2021, Adobe Reader, and document management systems cost no slot.
Which professional tax programs run on a hosted server?
Every major professional tax program runs on a hosted Windows server: Drake, Lacerte, ProSeries, UltraTax CS, and CCH ProSystem fx or Axcess. These are Windows desktop applications, so a Windows server runs them natively without a translation layer. ATX is the one program Verito does not host.
The reason is simple. Professional tax software is written for Windows. A hosted private server is a Windows machine that happens to sit in a data center instead of your closet. Nothing about the program changes.
Two programs carry specific requirements worth knowing before you quote a price:
- UltraTax CS requires the Pro tier, which starts at $99 per user per month. Quote UltraTax from $99, not from the $69 entry price.
- UltraTax CS also carries a $500 setup fee per server, regardless of which tier you land on. That’s on top of the standard $500 setup.
Everything else installs under the standard $500 setup fee.
“I run my whole 4 person virtual tax firm with them hosting Ultra Tax, all of our files, and all of our other programs.” Skylar Dubrow · Google, Dec 2025
Which accounting and bookkeeping apps can you host?
QuickBooks Desktop runs on a hosted server in every edition: Pro, Premier, Enterprise, and Accountant. Sage 50, Sage 100, and Sage 300 run the same way. Practice management and document management systems install alongside them, and most document management systems carry no app slot charge.
The common firm setup looks like this: one or two tax programs, QuickBooks Desktop, a document management system, and Microsoft Office. All of it sits on the same server, and your team opens one desktop instead of five separate tools.
Running several programs together is the part firms usually get wrong when they price this out. A single tax program on a shared platform is cheap. Six programs that have to see each other’s files is a different problem, and it’s the reason app density drives tier selection more than headcount does.
What about QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Sage Intacct?
QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Sage Intacct are cloud-native applications. They run in a browser, so they aren’t installed on your server and they don’t consume an app slot. Your team reaches them from the hosted desktop the same way they’d reach them from a local machine, using the same login.
This trips people up during a quote. A firm running Xero and QuickBooks Online sometimes assumes it needs a bigger tier to cover them. It doesn’t. Browser-based tools sit outside the app slot math entirely, so a Pro tier’s 6 slots stay open for the programs that actually get installed.
Sage Intacct is worth calling out by name. Intacct is Sage’s cloud-native product, not a desktop program, so it’s supported and reachable from your environment rather than installed on your server. If a provider tells you they’ll “host Intacct on your server,” ask them what they actually mean.
Which applications will not run on a hosted server?
ATX is the one tax program Verito does not host. Beyond that, the practical limits are applications that need physical hardware attached to the machine, and software whose license explicitly forbids third-party hosting. Cloud-native applications aren’t a limit, since they run in a browser.
Being straight about the exclusions is the point of a compatibility list. A list with no exclusions isn’t a list, it’s a marketing page.
The categories that need a conversation before you sign:
- ATX. Not hosted. If your firm runs ATX, a hosted private server is not your answer.
- Hardware-dependent software. Anything that needs a dongle, a serial device, or a card reader physically attached to the machine running it.
- License-restricted software. A small number of vendors prohibit hosting outside their own environment. Your provider should check the license before the migration, not after. Verito’s migrations run 24 to 48 hours once the data is in hand, and a license surprise mid-migration is what turns that into a week.
- Peripheral-heavy workflows. Scanners and specialty printers work through remote desktop tools, but they need setup. Ask how yours will be handled.
How do app slots work, and which apps are free?
One app slot equals one application. Three years of the same tax program still counts as one slot, so keeping prior-year returns accessible costs nothing extra. Browsers, Microsoft Office 2021, Adobe Reader, and document management systems are complimentary and consume no slot at all.
Here’s the slot allocation by tier, and what happens when you need more:
| Essentials | Pro | Elite | |
| Price | $69/user/mo | $99/user/mo | $149/user/mo |
| App slots | 2 | 6 | Unlimited |
| NVMe storage (total per firm) | 40 GB | 100 GB | 150 GB |
| RAM (total per firm) | 10 GB | 15 GB | Unlimited |
| Backup retention | 60 days | 60 days | 90 days |
| Typical fit | 1-5 users, 1-2 tax apps | 5-20 users, 3-6 apps including UltraTax or CCH | 20+ users, multi-office |
| Recommendation | Right if you run one tax program and QuickBooks | Right for most multi-app firms, and required for UltraTax | Right when app count stops being predictable |
Storage and RAM are totals for the firm, not per user. That matters when you’re modeling a 15-person firm against a 5-person one, and it’s part of what separates a dedicated server from a shared platform.
If you’re one or two slots over a tier, buying slots is usually cheaper than jumping tiers. Extra app slots run $10 per month each. Extra RAM is $20 per GB, and extra storage is $10 per 10 GB.
Can you run several tax programs on one server?
Yes, and it’s the normal configuration for firms serving mixed clients. A single server can run Drake and UltraTax and QuickBooks Desktop together, with prior-year versions alongside them. The Pro tier’s 6 app slots covers most multi-program firms, and three years of one program still counts as one slot.
Firms end up multi-program for ordinary reasons. You acquired a practice that ran Drake when you run something else. One partner won’t leave Lacerte. A niche client base needs ProSeries and nobody else touches it.
The alternative is worse. Splitting programs across separate machines means your staff logs into two places, your files live in two places, and your backups cover two things you have to reconcile.
What should you ask a host before you sign?
Ask for the compatibility answer in writing, specific to your program list and versions. Ask which of your applications consume app slots and which are complimentary. Ask what happens to prior-year software. Ask who checks the license terms. A provider who answers these from memory is guessing.
Run this list against any provider you’re evaluating:
- Name every program, including versions. “We support QuickBooks” and “we support QuickBooks Enterprise 2024 with three prior years” are different answers.
- Ask what you cannot host. If the answer is “everything,” push back. Every provider has exclusions.
- Get the slot math on paper. Count your programs, subtract the complimentary ones, and confirm the tier before you sign rather than after.
- Ask about prior-year access. Amended returns and audits need old software. Confirm how many years stay installed and what that costs.
- Ask who does the installing. Verito’s $500 setup covers initial configuration, security setup, and employee training.
- Ask what backup and uptime look like. Backups run 3x daily, with 60-day retention on Essentials and Pro and 90 days on Elite. Verito has held 100% uptime since 2016.
“We switched from both a Citrix hosted platform, and we had previously been Right Networks customers as well.” Dustin J., Owner, Johnson and Stern Tax Solutions · G2, Mar 2025
Does device type change what you can run?
No. Your staff connects to a Windows server through a remote desktop client, so the applications live on the server, not on the laptop. A Mac user and a Windows user open the same programs and see the same files. Device choice affects the connection, not the compatibility list.
This is the part most firms find out late, usually after buying hardware. If your compatibility question is really a Mac question, the answer is on the server side.
Mac users connect through Windows App, Microsoft’s remote desktop client, which requires macOS 13 Ventura or later. The full picture is in our guide to running Mac and Windows staff on the same programs. The tax program still runs on Windows. It just runs on Windows in a data center instead of on the laptop.
Sources
- Verito hosting pricing
- Drake Tax system requirements
- Running multiple tax apps on one server
- QuickBooks Online vs Desktop for CPA firms
