What is changing with CalCPA’s firm membership program this year?
CalCPA has simplified the firm membership experience by eliminating the roster process and expanding employee access to membership. These changes were made with two goals in mind: to significantly reduce administrative work for your team and to encourage broader engagement across your firm. Employees can now activate membership themselves through a simple email verification process, creating a more seamless experience while strengthening overall participation. 

Is this a trial or pilot program?
No. This is a permanent update to the firm membership program.

Membership access and activation

How do employees activate their CalCPA membership?
Starting in May, employees can sign into the CalCPA website using their work email address. A simple email verification confirms employment at your firm and activates membership.

Can employees activate membership at any time during the year?
Yes. There is no enrollment window. Employees can activate membership whenever it is most useful to them.

What happens after an employee signs in?
They will land on your firm’s dedicated CalCPA landing page, which includes firm contact information, CalCPA firm ambassadors if applicable, profession news, and free member features they can engage with immediately.

Firm administrator responsibilities

Do I need to submit or maintain a roster?
No. The roster process has been eliminated.

Will I need to approve employees individually?
No. Access is handled automatically through email verification. We determine employment based on an employee’s access to a firm issued email address, so there is no approval process or ongoing maintenance required from your team.

Membership access and cost

How many employees can access membership through our firm?
For 100 percent firms, all employees have unlimited access to membership.

For firms that are not 100 percent, your membership includes access for up to the number of employees outlined in your annual firm membership communication.

How is my firm’s membership cost determined?
CalCPA Firm Membership pricing is based on your firm’s prior engagement and historical participation levels. This structure is designed to create a true firm membership model with significantly reduced administrative work for your team, while providing predictable pricing for easier administration.

Will we be charged if more employees access the membership?
For 100 percent firms, your employees have unlimited membership access. And you will not be charged more.

For firms that are not 100 percent, your membership includes the allotted number of employees outlined in your agreement (it includes additional complimentary memberships to encourage broader engagement across your team.) You will not be charged for employee access within that total level.

If you would like to expand beyond your current allotment, please reach out to your Concierge, Stacy Curtin, and we will work with you to adjust your membership accordingly.

What is the difference between a 100 percent firm membership and a Firm Membership (non 100 percent)?

A 100 percent firm membership means the firm has agreed to cover membership for all licensed CPAs and CPA candidates on staff. In return, the firm receives unlimited access to CalCPA membership for all employees. Any employee with a firm issued email address can activate membership, and there is no cap on participation.

A Firm Membership that is not 100 percent includes a defined number of employee memberships, as outlined in your firm’s annual membership communication. If your firm would like to expand beyond its current allotment, your Concierge can work with you to adjust your membership level.

Both models are designed to simplify administration and make it easier for employees to engage with CalCPA.

Notifications and visibility

Will we receive any reporting or visibility into employee membership activation?
For firms that are not 100 percent, CalCPA will notify you when your firm reaches within 10 percent of its included membership level. At that time, you will receive a list of employees who have signed in and activated membership.

Your firm administrator can review this list. If you would like to remove access for certain employees and reallocate it to others, notify your Concierge and we will adjust access accordingly.

Going Beyond the Included Membership Level

What counts as a “significant increase” beyond the included employee level?
If your firm exceeds the included membership level, the next step is simply to reach out to your concierge, Stacy Curtin. Together, we will review the situation and determine the most appropriate path forward.

Will additional charges ever happen automatically?
No. CalCPA will always connect with you before any changes are made.

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Firm Changes

What happens if our firm merges with or acquires another firm?
Please notify CalCPA as early as possible, especially if the other firm already participates in CalCPA’s firm membership program or if email domains will change. If two firms in CalCPA’s firm membership program combine, we will work with you to ensure the merged firm’s membership is appropriately aligned and supported.

What if our firm changes its name or email domain?
Please let us know so we can ensure uninterrupted access and accurate employee verification.

Employment status questions

What happens when an employee leaves the firm?
If an employee no longer has access to their work email address, we will offer them the option to continue their CalCPA membership independently, with payment handled directly by them.

Can retired, part-time, seasonal, or contract staff access membership?
Yes, if you would like them to have access. They will count toward your firm’s included membership level.

How is employment verified beyond email domain matching?
Employment is verified through email access. Additional verification is not required unless you notify us that someone has left the firm and you would like their access blocked.

Engagement and value

What are easy ways employees can engage with CalCPA?
Two simple and free options are creating or attending a local meetup, and joining a facilitated conversation where employees can explore a specific topic with peers.

Communication and support

Do we need to communicate these changes to our employees?
CalCPA will post updates and resources on your firm’s landing page, and once a short video demo of the login process is available, Stacy Curtin will share it with you to support your communications.

We encourage firms to share information internally, as messages from internal leadership are often more likely to be read and acted on.

If you would like your Concierge, Stacy Curtin, to contact specific employees directly, please provide her with a list and she will reach out to them.

Who should employees contact if they have trouble signing in or accessing benefits?
If the issue is urgent, employees may contact Stacy Curtin or CalCPA’s Customer Success team directly. Employees may also reach out to their firm administrator, who can connect with Stacy on their behalf.