Cloudnine Realtime
Cloud workspace for accountants and CPAs.
About Cloudnine Realtime
Cloudnine Realtime hosts your existing accounting applications—QuickBooks, Drake Tax, Lacerte, ProSystem fx—on a managed cloud desktop so your staff logs in through a browser instead of a local machine. You get SOC 2-aligned infrastructure, 24/7 monitoring, and IT support without hiring an in-house IT person. Multi-user access and single sign-on mean the whole firm works from one environment regardless of whether staff are in the office or remote. It fits solo practitioners and small CPA firms—roughly one to thirty staff—who are spending real time on software updates, backup verification, and compliance documentation but cannot justify a full-time IT hire. If your firm already has managed IT through a general MSP and a compliance officer, Cloudnine Realtime duplicates what you already pay for. The main weaknesses are cost opacity and switching friction. Pricing is quote-only, and once your application data and user workflows live in their environment, migrating out requires coordinating data exports across every hosted application simultaneously. There is no trial period, so you are committing based on a demo. Firms running fewer than five users may find the per-seat cost hard to justify against simply using QuickBooks Online or a lower-cost VDI provider.
Best for
Accounting firms needing secure cloud hosting with compliance management and IT support
Key Features
- Secure cloud workspace hosting for accounting applications
- Managed IT infrastructure with 24/7 monitoring
- Compliance-ready environment for CPA firms
- Multi-application hosting with single sign-on
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Hosts Drake Tax, Lacerte, ProSystem fx, and QuickBooks Desktop in one cloud environment—applications that do not have native cloud versions run here without local hardware
- SOC 2-aligned infrastructure removes the compliance documentation burden from firms pursuing CPA firm peer review or working with clients in regulated industries
- 24/7 monitoring and managed patching means staff are not waiting on a partner to approve a Windows update before tax season
- Single sign-on across all hosted applications cuts the per-user login friction that slows multi-application workflows
- Remote access works on any device with a browser, which matters for firms with staff across multiple offices or working from home
- Managed backups with defined retention schedules replace the informal backup habits that get CPA firms into trouble during IRS audits or ransomware events
Cons
- No free trial or evaluation tier—you commit to a paid contract before testing the environment with your actual application stack
- Pricing is quote-only with no published rates, making it hard to compare against competitors like Right Networks or AbacusNext before a sales call
- Switching costs are high once your firm is embedded—migrating data out of a hosted desktop environment across five or six applications at once is a multi-week project
- Firms already paying a general-purpose MSP will pay twice for overlapping services like monitoring, patching, and backup
- Does not add functionality to your accounting applications—it only moves them to the cloud, so it introduces no workflow improvements over your current desktop setup
- Smaller vendor community means fewer third-party integrations, peer forums, and publicly documented troubleshooting guides compared to Right Networks
Ledger Brief Take
This is traditional cloud hosting specifically packaged for accounting firms, not an AI tool—it's essentially a managed desktop-as-a-service that runs your existing QuickBooks, Drake, or other applications in the cloud with accounting-specific compliance features. The value proposition centers on offloading IT headaches rather than introducing new capabilities, making it most relevant for smaller firms that lack dedicated IT staff but need SOC 2 or similar compliance frameworks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions accountants ask about Cloudnine Realtime.
How does Cloudnine Realtime pricing work?
Cloudnine Realtime uses quote-only pricing with no published per-seat rates. You will need to contact their sales team for a figure. There is no free trial. Budget conversations should account for per-user fees, application licensing you bring in separately, and any onboarding costs. Compare quotes against Right Networks and AbacusNext before signing.
Does Cloudnine Realtime work with QuickBooks Desktop?
Yes. QuickBooks Desktop, including Enterprise, is a primary use case. You bring your existing Intuit license and Cloudnine hosts the installation. QuickBooks Online does not need hosting—it runs natively in a browser—so this service applies to firms still on the Desktop product who need multi-user remote access.
Is Cloudnine Realtime SOC 2 compliant?
Cloudnine Realtime operates a SOC 2-aligned environment, which means their infrastructure controls meet the framework's requirements. Your firm still owns the responsibility for application-level controls and user access policies. Request their current SOC 2 Type II report before signing—any legitimate hosted desktop vendor should produce one on request.
Who is Cloudnine Realtime actually built for?
CPA firms and accounting practices with one to thirty staff who run desktop tax or accounting software and lack dedicated IT support. It is not built for firms already on cloud-native software stacks or firms with an internal IT team. Solo practitioners should weigh per-seat costs carefully before committing.
How does Cloudnine Realtime compare to Right Networks?
Right Networks is the category leader with a larger user base, more publicly documented integrations, and a broader application compatibility list. Cloudnine Realtime is a smaller vendor that may offer more hands-on support for smaller firms. Right Networks has published pricing tiers; Cloudnine does not, which makes direct comparison difficult without sales calls to both.
What happens to firm data if we cancel?
Data export and offboarding should be clarified in the contract before you sign. Hosted desktop environments store application data, user profiles, and file shares on the vendor's infrastructure. Exiting requires coordinated exports from every hosted application simultaneously. Ask specifically about offboarding timelines and data format guarantees before committing.