Can I use Liscio to migrate off FileCabinet CS and still choose Canopy as my platform?

Yes. This is a common path. Liscio handles the FileCabinet CS extraction, with your folder structure intact, and you complete platform setup within Canopy's onboarding. Using Liscio for the migration does not require adopting Liscio as your practice management system, so it does not conflict with a Canopy decision.

Does Canopy require a subscription to migrate my FileCabinet CS files?

Yes. Canopy's migration assistance comes as part of its practice management onboarding, so the file move is tied to adopting the Canopy platform. Firms standardizing on Canopy benefit from the bundled implementation; firms that only want their files extracted may prefer a standalone migration.

Which handles my files better on arrival, Canopy or Liscio?

Canopy imports files into its own document management module during onboarding. Liscio's standard migration delivers your archive with its FileCabinet CS folder structure and file names intact. If you want each document classified, tagged, and renamed by issuer, year, entity, and form type, File Intelligence does that when Liscio is the destination and is available as a custom build for other destinations.

Is Canopy or Liscio cheaper for a FileCabinet CS migration?

They price different things. Canopy bundles migration into platform onboarding and an ongoing subscription; Liscio offers a defined-scope migration without requiring an ongoing subscription. For a firm that only needs files extracted and organized, the standalone migration is usually lower total cost. Confirm current pricing with each provider.

What happens to my FileCabinet CS data after December 2027?

Thomson Reuters will provide export capabilities before shutdown, but firms are responsible for their own migration and access is not guaranteed beyond December 2027. Whichever destination you choose, complete the migration well before the deadline.

FileCabinet CS to Canopy vs Liscio: Choosing Your Migration Destination

FileCabinet CS reaches end-of-life on December 31, 2027, and Canopy comes up often for firms that want more than storage out of the move. Like TaxDome, Canopy is a practice management platform, and its migration help is tied to adopting it. Liscio approaches the same problem from the opposite direction: get the files out cleanly and searchably first, and keep the platform decision open. Liscio’s FileCabinet CS migration service moves your files to any destination, with no platform commitment.

Here is how the two compare when a decade of FileCabinet CS documents needs a home.

The core difference: adopt a platform vs. keep your options open

Canopy is a modular practice management platform covering client management, document management, workflow, time and billing, and a client portal. Firms choosing Canopy as their FileCabinet CS replacement get implementation support as part of Canopy’s onboarding, which means the migration assistance is tied to Canopy adoption. You are buying the platform, and the file move comes with it.

Liscio’s migration service is built to be independent of that decision. Liscio will extract your FileCabinet CS archive and land it in the destination your firm chooses, including Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, SharePoint, OneDrive, a Windows network drive, FileCenter, or Liscio, with no subscription required to complete the migration. If you later decide Canopy is your practice management system, you can use Liscio to handle the FileCabinet CS extraction and then complete setup within Canopy’s onboarding. The two are not mutually exclusive: Liscio can be the specialist that gets your files out, and Canopy can be where your firm runs day to day.

How each handles the files

FileCabinet CS stores documents as indexed page objects in a legacy OLE Structured Storage format, not as standard files in folders. A multi-page return has to be reconstituted into a PDF through the export function, one document at a time, and the folder structure visible in FileCabinet CS does not carry across the export. That is the real work of any FileCabinet CS migration, and it happens before files reach Canopy, Liscio, or anywhere else. (The FileCabinet CS export guide covers the format in detail.)

Canopy provides implementation support to bring your files into its document management module as part of standing up the platform. The files land inside Canopy, organized for Canopy’s tools.

Liscio’s migration delivers your archive with its FileCabinet CS folder structure and file names intact, ready to move into the destination you choose. If you want more than a navigable folder tree, File Intelligence classifies, tags, and renames each document by issuer, year, entity, and form type: built in when Liscio is the destination, and available as a custom build for other destinations.

Migration model, side by side

	Canopy	Liscio
Destination	Canopy platform	Your choice: Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, SharePoint, OneDrive, network drive, FileCenter, or Liscio
Subscription required to migrate	Yes (migration is part of onboarding)	No
What you adopt	Modular practice management suite	Document layer, or none
File handling	Imported into Canopy’s document module	Folder structure and file names preserved; classification built in on Liscio, custom build elsewhere
Can be combined	Use Liscio to extract, then set up in Canopy	Extraction specialist for any destination
Best fit	Firms standardizing on Canopy for practice management	Firms that need files out first or want no lock-in

When Canopy is the right call

If your firm is choosing Canopy to run practice management, client work, and billing, then bringing your documents into Canopy during onboarding keeps everything in one system, and the bundled implementation support is a real convenience. Firms that want their document archive living inside the same platform their staff already use all day get a genuine workflow benefit from that.

The consideration is the same as with any all-in-one: the migration is coupled to the platform commitment, so you are deciding where your firm runs and where your files live in a single step. If you are confident in Canopy, that coupling is fine. If you are not, it front-loads a decision you may not be ready to make before the deadline.

When Liscio is the right call

If you want your files off FileCabinet CS before you have finalized your platform, or you would rather land them in cloud storage you already pay for such as Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, or Microsoft 365, or keep them in-house on your own Windows network drive, Liscio’s separation of migration from platform is the lower-risk sequence. You get the archive out, organized, on the deadline’s clock, and you preserve every downstream option, including choosing Canopy later with your files already extracted and ready to import.

That combination is worth underlining: choosing Liscio for the migration does not rule out Canopy as your platform. It rules out being forced to pick your platform before your files are safe.

The decision in one line

Choose Canopy when you are standardizing your whole practice on it and want documents to live inside that platform. Choose Liscio when getting your files out cleanly and lock-in-free comes first, even if Canopy ends up being where your firm runs.

Ready to move your files out of FileCabinet CS?

Liscio migrates your archive out of FileCabinet CS and delivers it organized, with your folder structure intact, so it is easy to move into the destination your firm chooses.

See how Liscio’s FileCabinet CS file transfer service works →