XCAPE Academy · Pathway planner
First the basics. Then the earning. Then your market.
Don't choose a specialization before you understand the profession. This page follows the order a beginner actually learns it: the common foundation, the first supervised earning, the market fork, and only then the specializations that shape a broad or narrow route.
The basics — everyone starts here
Nobody chooses a specialization before understanding the profession. Everyone — including you — starts with the same Level 1 foundation: how the US tax system works, bookkeeping, entities, residency, ethics and client communication. This is where complete beginners start. Supervised paid work is not currently operating and is not a foundation outcome.
What you study first
- ·How the US tax system works
- ·US accounting essentials
- ·Bookkeeping fundamentals
- ·Entity types and residency concepts
- ·Ethics, Circular 230 and data security
- ·Documents, records and client communication
Earliest earning · supervised work
You can begin earning here in supervised support roles — no credential required yet.
- $EIN and registrations
- $Document collection
- $Onboarding support
- $Bookkeeping support
“I train on US tax support workflows, supervised, using academy case files. Live client files, if later offered, are gated.”
Earliest earning · supervised work
Early ways students can earn while training
These opportunities are open while you are still training, with clear supervision and review requirements. Expand a group to see the services, what you actually do, and the training needed.
Learn the process manually → perform it with AI → review the output → complete supervised client work.
Client onboarding
Opens files, gathers information, and explains the next steps
Document collection
Requests and tracks missing client documents
Tax organizer support
Helps clients complete questionnaires and organizers
Appointment coordination
Books meetings and manages calendars
Client follow-up
Sends reminders and status updates
Client portal support
Helps clients upload and access documents
File organization
Names, sorts, and stores documents correctly
Engagement letter support
Prepares letters for professional review
Client interview assistance
Records facts and prepares interview summaries
Workflow administration
Updates tasks, deadlines, and client statuses
Training needed ·Client service, privacy, communication, CRM systems, document security, and AI-assisted workflows.
Best opportunities for earliest earnings
The quickest starting points — structured, repeatable, and easy to supervise:
- 01Client onboarding
- 02Document collection
- 03Client follow-up
- 04Portal administration
- 05File organization
- 06Tax organizer support
- 07W-2 and 1099 data entry
- 08Foreign bank-information collection
- 09EIN application support
- 10AI communication and document-review support
Recommended training ratio
- Technical knowledge30%
- Practical service delivery30%
- AI-assisted workflows20%
- Client communication and ethics10%
- Supervised workplace simulation10%
Level 2
When is preparer curriculum?
Level 2 is after the PTIN gate. Live preparer work is not currently operating.
Tax preparer · PTIN holder
Level 4
When do I become an EA?
At Level 4, after sitting the Special Enrollment Examination.
Enrolled agent
Level 7
When is practice-operations curriculum?
Level 7 is later-stage curriculum. Running a live practice is not currently operating.
Practice principal
Choose your market
This is the choice that drives everything below.
After the basics, you choose the market you want to grow into — US individuals, US business, international individuals, or international business. Your course-by-course route builds from here.
Shape your route (advisory)
Now that the base and market fork are clear, your ambition helps us recommend a narrow specialist route or a broader principal route. These selections refine your plan — they don't replace the foundation everyone must take.
Optional — it only shapes what gets suggested later.
Pick any combination. Suggested ones are labelled, not auto-selected.
Your full pathway
Levels
7
Gates to clear
6
Short courses
26
Endorsements
0
Where this ends
Choose an ambition above.
What you study
- · How the US tax system works
- · US accounting essentials
- · Bookkeeping fundamentals
- · Entity types and residency concepts
- · Ethics, Circular 230 and data security
- · Documents, records and client communication
Paid-work curriculum (not currently operating)
- · EIN and registrations
- · Document collection
- · Onboarding support
- · Bookkeeping support
Endorsements available at this level
“I train on US tax support workflows, supervised, using academy case files. Live client files, if later offered, are gated.”
How to enrol
Your plan above is the route. Enrolling in it takes three steps, in this order — you never pay before an advisor has confirmed the pathway is right for you.
Step 1
Book a free orientation call
A 30-minute call with an XCAPE advisor. You share your background and the market you picked above, and we confirm the route that fits — no payment at this stage.
Book my orientationStep 2
Join the waitlist for your pathway
Cohorts open in small groups. Joining the waitlist reserves your place in the queue for the pathway you chose and gets you the enrolment invitation by email when the cohort opens.
Join the waitlistStep 3
Accept your invitation and enrol
Your invitation email carries your enrolment link and the instalment plan. Tuition is paid by instalment, and your course access opens in step with the instalments you have cleared.
See tuition and instalmentsNot sure which market or pathway to pick?
Send us your goal in your own words and an advisor will write back with the pathway that matches, before you commit to anything.
Save your plan
Choose a working domain above (section 02) to build your route and save the pathway as a PDF.