AI for accountants and bookkeepers

Spend January on returns, not on the phone

Every new enquiry needs the same questions asked before you can quote. We set up AI that asks them for you, day and night. Then we automate the chasing for IDs, letters and records that slows down every new client.

Talk to us about AI All AI automation services

Your business

Website assistant, replies instantly

how much do you charge for a self assessment tax return

I can help with that. Could I take your name and email, so the team can confirm the details for you?

Sure, it’s Sam, sam@example.com

Thanks, Sam. I’ve passed this to the team, and they’ll reply first thing tomorrow.

Enquiry captured and sent to the team

Type your question…
Example conversation. Answers come only from the business's own information.

In short

  • We set up a website chatbot that qualifies new client enquiries for accountancy and bookkeeping firms.
  • They find out business type, services needed, software used and any deadlines, then pass a tidy summary to you.
  • They never give tax or accounting advice, and they never quote a fee you haven't set.
  • We can also automate onboarding reminders and requests for records, linked to the systems you already use.
  • It starts with a short call, and the Website Chatbot is usually live within a few weeks.

The problem

Where small practices lose time and clients

The work you are paid for gets squeezed by the admin around it.

01

Enquiries arrive at the worst time

Late tax return panics peak in January, exactly when you have least time to answer. A sole trader who rings three firms will sign with whoever calls back first.

02

Discovery calls with no fit

You spend twenty minutes on a call before finding the caller wants a one-off favour, or works in a sector you don't cover. Better questions up front would save the call.

03

Onboarding stalls

The client said yes, but the ID check, engagement letter and HMRC agent authorisation are still outstanding. Someone has to chase each one, often more than once.

04

Chasing records every year

Bank statements, receipts and mileage logs arrive late or in pieces. Your team writes the same polite reminder emails again and again.

What we set up

What we would set up for your firm

Capture makes sure no new client enquiry slips away. Compound keeps clients on track, so year end runs smoothly and referrals follow.

Website Chatbot

Price on application

Qualifies new client enquiries

It learns your services, the clients you work with and your pricing approach. It asks the questions you would ask: sole trader, partnership or limited company, which software, and any deadline. You get a summary instead of a vague contact form.

  • Asks whether the enquirer is self-employed, a landlord or a limited company
  • Notes whether they use Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Sage or spreadsheets
  • Explains what your monthly packages include, using your own wording
  • Takes name, email and phone for a discovery call
About the Website Chatbot

Automation

Fixed quote

Answers website questions in the busy season

It answers in your firm's name, day and night. It takes the caller's details and sorts the call by your rules. A client with an HMRC deadline this week can be marked Urgent and texted to you straight away.

  • Takes details from a new caller who needs a self assessment return filed
  • Marks an existing client with an HMRC letter as Urgent
  • Takes messages in your name over lunch and after hours
  • Answers website questions day and night through January
About the Automation

Integrations

Fixed quote

Automated onboarding and chasing

Many firms use practice management tools such as BrightManager, Karbon or IRIS. We can connect to the system you already use, where it allows integrations (an API). Then reminders go out automatically until each step is done.

  • Reminders to complete ID checks and sign the engagement letter
  • A prompt to approve you as their agent with HMRC
  • Polite, scheduled requests for bank statements and receipts before year end
  • New enquiries added to your practice software or CRM
About the integrations work

Integrations

Fixed quote

Review requests and referral prompts

This is the Compound stage. Once a return is filed or accounts are signed off, the client gets a short thank you and a request for a Google review. Happy clients are reminded that you welcome referrals.

  • A review request after a filed self assessment return
  • A year end check-in email for limited company clients
  • A referral prompt for clients who have been with you a full year
About the integrations work

AI training

One-off

Faster client emails for your team

We run live remote sessions built on your firm's real work. Your team learns to draft client update emails, fee proposals and newsletters faster, using anonymised examples. You keep the prompt library.

  • Turning bullet notes into a clear year end summary email
  • Drafting a plain English explainer on a tax change for your newsletter
  • Keeping client data out of public AI tools
About the AI training

Day and night

Questions it can answer for your clients

Answered from your own information, by chat or by phone. Anything it cannot answer comes to you.

  • “how much do you charge for a self assessment tax return”
  • “I've just gone self employed do I need an accountant”
  • “can you still do my return before the 31st january”
  • “do you work with xero”
  • “do you do bookkeeping and payroll”
  • “can you help with making tax digital”
  • “how do I switch from my current accountant”
  • “do you do accounts for landlords”
  • “what do I need to send you to get started”
  • “do you offer fixed monthly fees for limited companies”

With it running

An example week with it running

This is an illustration of how a busy week could look, not a real firm.

It is mid January. A plumber asks the chatbot whether you can file his first tax return before the deadline. It asks a few questions and finds he is a sole trader with two years of paper receipts.

It explains your self assessment fee from your price list and takes his details. You call him the next morning.

Your team is at lunch. An existing client messages through your website about an HMRC letter with a payment date this week. The chatbot takes the details and the enquiry is marked Urgent under your rules.

The partner gets a text and calls back within the hour.

A new limited company client signed up last week but hasn't completed their ID check. An automatic reminder goes out, the second this week.

They complete it that afternoon, and your team can start work.

Built carefully

What it should not do

Clients trust you with money and personal data. The AI handles enquiries and reminders only. The professional judgement stays with you.

  • It never gives tax, VAT or accounting advice, even when a question sounds simple.
  • It only quotes fees and packages you have published or approved, and it says when a fee depends on the work.
  • It doesn't take UTRs, National Insurance numbers or bank details in chat or by phone.
  • It doesn't decide whether you take on a client. Your ID and anti-money laundering checks stay with your team.
  • Anything involving an HMRC enquiry or penalty is passed to a person straight away.
  • Anyone who asks to speak to an accountant gets a call back from one.

Your questions answered

AI for accountants and bookkeepers: questions answered

How can accountants use a website chatbot for client enquiries?

Accountants can use a website chatbot to answer enquiries about the firm while the team is busy with client work. It is taught your services, packages, published fees and how to become a client. It asks set questions, such as business type, turnover band and services needed, then sends the details to you by email. Existing clients can be told how to send records or who to contact. Questions that need tax or accounting advice are passed to a person.

Read our guide: What can an AI website assistant do for a small business?

Is it safe for accountants to use AI with client data?

Accountants can use AI safely with client data if they control what goes in and which tools they use. UK GDPR requires a lawful basis, being open with clients, and a data processing agreement with any supplier that handles personal data. Never paste client names, tax references or figures into free AI tools that may store or learn from what you type. Business versions with clear data terms are a safer choice. Check your professional body's ethics rules on keeping client data private, and ask a specialist if you are unsure.

Read our guide: AI and GDPR: what UK small businesses must know before using AI tools

Can a website chatbot save an accounting firm time on enquiries?

Yes, for the routine part of the job. A website chatbot answers common questions about your services, fees and how to become a client, takes enquiry details and passes them on. It does not answer the phone, greet clients, sort the post or chase paperwork by hand, though automation can send reminders about missing records. For a small firm or a sole trader, the usual alternative is answering the same questions by email and phone between client work. The chatbot is quoted per firm and covers your website day and night, so busy periods are covered.

Read our guide: How much does AI automation cost for a small business?

Can AI chase clients for records before the self assessment deadline?

Yes, automation can chase clients for records before the 31 January self assessment deadline, so your team doesn't send every reminder by hand. A schedule of emails or texts can go out from the autumn, each one asking for the missing items and stopping once they arrive. This works best when it connects to your practice management software, where that system allows integrations. AI can also help write friendly reminders in your firm's voice. A person should still handle clients who stop replying or have questions.

Read our guide: How to automate lead follow-up so no enquiry is missed

Can AI help accountants with client onboarding and anti-money laundering checks?

AI and automation can help with the admin of client onboarding, but the anti-money laundering checks and decisions must stay with your firm. Automation can send the engagement letter, request ID documents, and remind new clients until each step is done. It can collect the information your checks need in one tidy place. It should not decide whether you take someone on, and it should not judge how risky a client is. Your AML supervisor's guidance sets out what the firm itself must do.

Read our guide: What can AI automate in a small business? Practical examples

What should an AI assistant never do for an accountancy practice?

An AI assistant for an accountancy practice should never give tax, VAT or accounting advice, even when a question sounds simple. It should not quote fees you haven't published or approved, and it should say when a fee depends on the work. It should not ask for UTRs, National Insurance numbers or bank details by chat or phone. It should not decide whether the firm takes on a client. Anything about an HMRC enquiry, a penalty or a missed deadline should go straight to a person.

Read our guide: Will a chatbot make things up? How to stop AI giving customers wrong answers

Do accounting clients mind dealing with an AI assistant?

Most accounting clients don't mind an AI assistant handling simple enquiries, as long as they can reach their accountant when it matters. People are often happy to get a quick answer about fees, opening hours or how to send their records. They are less happy if they feel a worry about tax or money is being brushed off. Be open that the assistant is automated, keep its answers about the firm, and offer a call back from a named person whenever someone asks.

Read our guide: How to use AI for customer service without annoying your customers

How it starts

From first call to working AI

A managed service. We build it, connect it and keep it tuned.

  1. 01

    A short call about your firm

    We learn who your ideal clients are, what you charge, and where enquiries and onboarding get stuck.

  2. 02

    We write the qualifying questions

    We turn your discovery call into a short set of questions for the chatbot. You check every answer it will give.

  3. 03

    We connect your systems

    We link enquiries and reminders to your inbox, phones and practice software where it allows.

  4. 04

    Go live before the busy season

    The Website Chatbot is usually live within a few weeks. Every conversation is logged, which helps us improve the questions.

FAQ

AI for accountants and bookkeepers: your questions

No. It is set up to answer questions about your firm, such as services, fees and how to get started. Any question that needs advice is passed to you with the client's details.
It can note which bookkeeping software an enquirer uses. For practice tools such as BrightManager, Karbon or IRIS, we can connect where the system allows integrations (an API). We confirm what is possible on our first call.
Yes. It asks the questions you choose, such as business type and services needed. If someone is outside what you offer, it can say so politely and suggest they look elsewhere.
January is when it is most visible, but enquiries come in all year. Year ends, new businesses and VAT registrations happen every month. The onboarding and chasing automations also work all year round.
The chatbot takes only contact details and a short enquiry summary. It doesn't ask for tax references or bank details. In AI training we use anonymised examples and show your team how to keep client data out of public AI tools.
Yes. A sole bookkeeper often can't reply to enquiries while working through a client's books. The chatbot answers common questions on your website and takes new enquiry details, and automation sends each person an instant reply, so you can follow up when you are free.
The Website Chatbot and integrations are quoted on application after a short call about your firm. You get a fixed price before anything starts, and there is no obligation.

Keep reading

Related pages and guides

Websites and marketing for the same businesses, related sectors, and our guides to AI in practice.

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