The AI solutions accountants swear by to transform accountancy work

I’ve interviewed hundreds of accountants for AAT. Here are the artificial intelligence tools they’ve found useful for bookkeeping support, data capture, analytics and more.

I’ve spoken to many AAT members, and other accountants, over the years. And I’ve been covering AI uses since ChatGPT exploded onto the scene in 2022, asking finance professionals about the tools they use.

This article does not contain affiliate links, and where I’ve written things like ‘AAT members rave about X tool’, it’s because it’s true! Not every tool featured was endorsed by AAT accountants, but they’ve enthused about Dex, Apron, Xenon Connect, and all the tools mentioned in the Admin and marketing section.

AI skills are critical, and it’s important to upskill and stay ahead of the curve. AI will not replace accountants, but accountants who can use it effectively will gain a competitive edge.

So whether you’re looking for a place to start, or are already an evangelist trying to explore more tools, here are some AI options worth trying.

Invoice capture and expense management

Many AAT members rave about Dext Prepare, thanks to its ability to capture data from paper receipts, invoices and bank statements simply by scanning them with a mobile. Dext Prepare’s ‘Fetch’ feature will also automatically check authorised suppliers once a week, while adding any new documentation straight to the accountant’s inbox – saving accountants the headache of logging into multiple websites and portals.

Apron is another clever option. Accountants can upload invoices from their WhatsApp accounts, before Apron does its magic by extracting data from these documents and categorising it. Syncing Apron with QuickBooks or Xero can ensure clients are paid on time too. Meanwhile, Rossum claims it can process invoices 10 times faster than manual data entry thanks to its trained AI which gathers data from documents with hawk-like precision.

Debtor management

Outstanding invoices are one of the biggest frustrations for small businesses. Over three-quarters (77%) of SMEs are owed money by slow-to-pay customers with firms owed £18-22,000 in unpaid invoices on average, according to recent research by Purbeck Insurance. A separate study by Xero found small businesses are typically waiting nearly a month (29.4 days) to be paid.

• AAT recently met with Small Business Commissioner Emma Jones CBE to discuss the pernicious problem.

Chaser (the name gives it away) aims to change all that. It’s an accounts receivable app/software which helps finance teams get a grip on their payments by doing all the invoice detective-work for them.

By syncing with Xero and QuickBooks, it’ll automatically chase any unpaid invoices and collect any outstanding payments. Its AI generator can even draft a nice, politely worded email, asking clients to cough up. Chaser says its customers get paid an average of 16 days faster, saving 15 hours a week in the process.

Bookkeeping

Want an all-in-one ‘Swiss army knife’ AI tool for bookkeeping? Try Pinvo, which blends AI-powered automation with human bookkeeping nous (it has a team of real accountants working on the platform). Pinvo helps accountants manage their workload via client dashboards, which can collect documents and provide financial analysis. It can also identify missing data, manage client communications and produce clear financial reports.

Aimed at accountants working in practice, Xenon Connect is another helpful tool. One of its key benefits is allowing accountants to view the health of all their clients’ bookkeeping data via a dedicated dashboard. It’ll also give each client a ‘health score’, as well as detect any issues with their Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage accounts (such as duplicate accounts or incorrectly-coded transactions) so they can fix them quickly.

Reporting and analytics

As any accountant who has presented cash flow projections to a less-than-engaged boardroom will know, it can be a real challenge making those numbers come alive on PowerPoint. Accountants are forever being told to become better ‘storytellers’ by contextualising data and identifying new trends/patterns, but how can you make those spreadsheets sparkle with a numerical narrative worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster?

Syft Analytics can help by converting data into snazzy dashboards, graphs and visuals, as well as generating AI-powered insights within seconds (its analytics can also help businesses plan for 10 years into the future).

Clarity takes a more diagnostic approach, scanning clients’ balance sheet data to calculate the seven key numbers of their business such as revenue growth, gross profit percentage and EBITDA percentage. It then uses these seven figures to generate plans and forecasts, giving the client/business greater ‘clarity’ (hence the name).

When aesthetics are key, Bricks.ai will transform standard Excel spreadsheets into an impressive, presentation-ready dashboard.

Tax

More than half of Britons (59%) plan to use ChatGPT to help with their tax returns ahead of HMRC’s January deadline, according to recent research from Taxflix. It’s a risky move: ChatGPT isn’t trained on the intricacies of British tax law (which is one of the most complex in the world, spanning 18,500 pages of legislation) while the chatbot’s famous ‘hallucinations’ could lead to expensive mistakes.

For those people, it might be worth trying Tax Terrapin, a ‘taxbot’ from the ANNA Money app, which uses large language models (LLMs) trained on over 100,000 HMRC tax guides. Tax Terrapin claims it can answer almost any UK tax question with a “coherent, comprehensive answer in seconds.” While no AI should replace professional judgement, tools such as these may help save time when researching or preparing returns.

Admin and marketing

One of the biggest ways accountants are finding AI useful is with writing: many AAT members use ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Jasper to draft email replies to clients, or help explain complex tax concepts into plain English for them.

These generative AI chatbots can help compose Instagram or LinkedIn thought leadership blogs for bookkeepers or small accountancy practice-owners who struggle to find the time to promote their businesses. And then you can get an AI tool such as Hootsuite to schedule them.

If a client meeting is coming up, these AI solutions can also help design slides for PowerPoint presentations, or prepare any responses to any questions customers might have.

Transcription tools such as Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai can record conversations during these meetings, before converting the audio into searchable text (perfect for verifying what was discussed). Feed the transcript into Perplexity, and it’ll even generate a presentation or podcast episode from the meeting.

Finally, if it all gets overwhelming, an AI calendar assistant or productivity platform such as Motion AI can help you manage your schedule, prioritise tasks and keep your workflow on track.

But don’t forget

Errors in accounting stop with the accountancy professional, not the AI model. It’s vital that we understand the tools we’re using, and sense check their outputs, to avoid misadvising clients.

Christian Koch is an award-winning journalist/editor who has written for the Evening Standard, Sunday Times, Guardian, Telegraph, The Independent, Q, The Face and Metro. He's also written about business for Accounting Technician, 20 and Director, where he is contributing editor.