AI agents for accounting firms: invoices read, matched and ready to approve
An agent reads each client's invoices and receipts, proposes entries from past bookings and checks the bank. Your accountants review the batch and decide.
Where bookkeeping hours go
Documents in every format
E-invoices, PDFs by email and receipt photos, each read before booking.
The same suppliers, categorised again
The judgement is in the exceptions, not the routine.
Chasing what does not match
Duplicates, missing payments and odd VAT rates take longest to find.
Try it: one client's October invoices, from inbox to import
Step through six documents, the proposed entries, the bank check, the accountant's decision and the export.
The month's supplier invoices come in
3 November, 08:00. For the client Northgate Joinery Ltd, the agent collects the e-invoices and the PDFs and receipt photos the client emailed during October.
| Supplier | Document | Total, EUR |
|---|---|---|
| Timber North Ltd | E-invoice | 2,904.00 |
| Fuel station | Receipt photo | 122.48 |
| Mobile operator | 36.30 | |
| Hinge & Bolt Ltd | E-invoice | 459.80 |
| Hinge & Bolt Ltd | 459.80 | |
| Finish Coatings Ltd | E-invoice | 773.04 |
- Client
- Northgate Joinery Ltd, fictional
- Period
- October 2026
- Documents
- 3 e-invoices, 2 PDFs, 1 receipt
The agent proposes the entries
It reads each document, suggests a category from how the same client's earlier invoices were booked, and shows what the suggestion is based on.
| Supplier | Category | VAT | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timber North | Raw materials | 21% | Same category for 4 months |
| Fuel station | Vehicle fuel | 21% | Company van card |
| Mobile operator | Telecoms | 21% | Monthly contract |
| Hinge & Bolt | Raw materials | 21% | Hardware for production |
| Finish Coatings | Raw materials | 19% | New supplier |
- Flagged Hinge & Bolt invoice HB-1187 arrived twice, once as an e-invoice and once as a PDF. Likely a duplicate.
- Flagged Finish Coatings charges 19% VAT where every other supplier charges 21% for similar goods.
The agent checks the bank statement
It looks for each payment in the statement the client sent and drafts a question for anything that does not match.
- Timber North, 2,904.00 Paid on 7 October, same amount.
- Mobile operator, 36.30 Direct debit on 15 October.
- Finish Coatings, 773.04 No payment yet. Normal for an invoice due in November.
- Fuel receipt, 122.48 Company card, 21 October.
- Draft for the client "We received invoice HB-1187 from Hinge & Bolt twice. Can you confirm it was a single purchase?" The accountant sends it, not the agent.
The accountant approves the batch, or sends it back
Andrea sees the proposals, their sources and both flags on one screen. Nothing reaches the accounting software until she decides.
Waiting for Andrea. Nothing is exported.
Approved by Andrea at 10:20. Four documents go through, the duplicate HB-1187 waits for the client, and Finish Coatings goes through with a note to query the VAT rate with the supplier.
Andrea recategorises Finish Coatings as consumables and asks for a new proposal. The agent redoes the batch and sends it back to her. Nothing is exported.
The approved batch goes to the accounting software
Locked. Export starts only after the accountant approves.
| Document | Status |
|---|---|
| Timber North | Exported |
| Fuel receipt | Exported |
| Mobile operator | Exported |
| Finish Coatings | Exported, with note |
| Hinge & Bolt HB-1187 | Waiting for the client |
- Import file The agent prepares the file in the format the firm's accounting software accepts. The accountant imports it.
- If the import fails The batch stays as it was and the agent shows the row and the reason. It does not try other variations on its own.
What an agent can take on
Collect and propose
Gathers the month's documents and suggests category and VAT from earlier bookings, with the basis shown.
Bank matching
Finds each payment in the statement and lists what is unpaid or unexplained.
Flags and import
Spots duplicates, drafts client questions and prepares the approved batch for import.
Who this is for
A good fit
Firms with many small clients whose documents follow a monthly pattern.
Look elsewhere if
Mostly advisory work, or software that already reads and matches documents well enough.
Questions
Which accounting software does it work with?
It depends on what your software can import or connect to. We check the documented import formats and APIs for your version before we commit to anything.
Does client data leave our firm?
That depends on the setup you choose. Financial documents are a good case for agents on your own servers, and we tell you which data, if any, goes to an outside AI model.
Who is responsible for the entries?
Your accountant, as now. The agent proposes and explains; nothing is booked until a person approves the batch.
How many hours a month go into reading and matching documents?
Tell us roughly how many clients and documents you handle a month and which software you use. No client data, please.