Industry · Professional firms
Automation for accounting firms and professional practices
For an accounting firm or a professional practice, I automate the work around client files: sorting incoming documents, chasing missing ones, booking appointments, drafting meeting notes. Data stays under your control, access is kept to a minimum, and nothing reaches a client without your review. A simple automation usually takes 1 to 2 weeks.
Free 30-minute call. Reply within one business day.
Expected documents 4 of 6 received
- Bank statements, DecemberReceived by email, filed in the client folderReceived
- Purchase invoices, Q4Received as photos, renamed and filedReceived
- Loan agreementReminder sent, second reminder in 5 daysChased
- Year-end inventoryClient to call: task created for youFor you
Day to day
Where does the non-billable time go?
- 01
Chasing documents.
The same reminder email, rewritten for every client, plus a spreadsheet to track who sent what.
- 02
Documents arriving through every channel.
A blurry photo over WhatsApp, a PDF by email, a USB stick at the front desk. Everything has to be renamed and filed before real work can start.
- 03
Meeting notes written three days later.
The notes are taken, but cleaning them up comes after the urgent work. The client is still waiting for their action list.
What I automate
Which firm tasks should you automate first?
The ones that surround your expert work without being part of it. Advice, production and sign-off stay with you.
Document sorting
Someone opens every attachment, renames it and files it by hand.
Each incoming document is recognized (invoice, statement, contract, tax notice), renamed to your convention and filed in the right folder. Uncertain cases wait for a human check.
Chasing documents
A list of what's missing and emails written one by one.
The list of expected documents per client updates as files arrive. Reminders go out on your schedule with the exact list of what's missing, and stop once everything is in.
Appointment booking
Back-and-forth by phone and email to find a time.
The client picks a time online for the right type of meeting. They get a confirmation, the list of documents to bring, then a reminder.
Meeting notes
Handwritten notes, typed up whenever there's time.
With the client's consent, a draft summary and action list is prepared from your notes or the recording. You review it before anything is sent.
Internal questions
"Where's the procedure for…?" A staff member interrupts a partner.
An internal assistant answers from your written procedures and cites the source document. It doesn't answer clients and doesn't give advice.
Confidentiality
Client confidentiality and GDPR: where does the data go?
That's the first question to ask, before any automation. I show you, tool by tool, where documents travel, so you can make an informed decision. Your professional obligations remain yours: my job is to give you a setup that respects them.
| Question | What I put in place |
|---|---|
| Where are documents stored? | In your current tools when they're suitable. For the automation itself, n8n can run on a server you control, in the region you choose, so files don't pass through one more third-party service. |
| Does the AI learn from my client files? | I use AI tools whose terms exclude training on the data sent to them, and I show you the clause. When a step doesn't need AI, it doesn't use any. |
| Who can access what? | Access limited to what each workflow needs, a log of what was processed, and the full list of access handed over at delivery. |
| Who approves? | A person, for anything that goes to a client or involves advice. The automation prepares; the firm decides. |
| What about GDPR? | If your firm is subject to GDPR, I process data on your behalf: we sign a data processing agreement, as GDPR requires, and I document the processing I set up. |
Healthcare practices are a special case. Health data comes with stricter hosting and handling rules in most countries. If your practice handles it, we check that first, before talking about tools.
How it works
A first workflow, tested on fictional data
A simple automation usually takes 1 to 2 weeks. Nothing touches a real client file until you've approved how it behaves on made-up examples.
30 min · free
Call
We look at your busy seasons, how documents reach you and your tools, without access to any client file.
free
Mockup
I build a demo of the workflow on fictional documents that look like yours.
2nd meeting
Demo
You watch the sorting or the reminders run. Together we decide what needs a human check.
fixed price
Quote
Tools, hosting, data flows, timeline and a fixed price, at the end of the demo.
usually 1 to 2 weeks
Build and test
On test data first, then on a small number of real files you choose.
launch meeting
Go live
Walkthrough with the team, documentation, a map of the data flows, error alerts. First month of maintenance free with a 6-month plan.
Honestly
What I don't do
It's worth it if
- your staff spend hours requesting and filing documents;
- meetings get scheduled through rounds of emails;
- you want to know exactly where your clients' data goes.
I don't
- replace your accounting or practice management software: I connect it to the rest;
- rebuild what your software already does, such as a client upload portal: we start by using it fully;
- let an AI give tax, legal or accounting advice to a client;
- send a document to a client without the firm's approval.
FAQ
Professional firms: your questions
Is this compatible with client confidentiality rules?
That's what we check before building anything. I show you where documents travel, which tools see them and under what terms. Data can stay on a server you control, and access is kept to a minimum. The final call is yours, under your professional rules.
Do we need to switch accounting software?
No. I automate around your current tools, as long as they allow an export or a connection. If your software already has a client document portal, we start with that.
Can the AI get document sorting wrong?
Yes, especially with blurry photos or unusual documents. That's why each workflow has a "to review" queue for uncertain cases instead of guessing. You see those cases during the demo, before go-live.
Can we record a client meeting to write the notes?
Only with the client's consent, asked before the meeting. Otherwise, the summary is prepared from your notes. Either way, it's a draft you review before sending.
How much does automation for a firm cost?
The price depends on the number of tools to connect, the hosting you choose and the edge cases. After the free call and the demo of your free mockup, you get a fixed-price quote. Any tool subscriptions are paid by the firm directly.
First step
Let's talk about what eats up your time
Thirty minutes on a video call. You walk me through how your business runs, and I tell you what could be simpler, roughly what it would cost, and what I would leave alone if I were you.
- Free, no commitment
- Reply within one business day
- A written summary after the call