Guide
Practical AI for accountancy practices: where to start.
AI will not replace your judgement or your knowledge of your clients, but it can take a lot of the writing, reading and admin off your team. Here is where it helps most in a small or medium practice, and where to be careful.
Where AI helps today
These are everyday tasks where practices tell us they save the most time.
- Drafting client emails, chasers and covering letters in your house style.
- Summarising long documents, such as correspondence from HMRC, leases or loan agreements, so you can find the important points quickly.
- Writing first drafts of management report commentary from figures you have already prepared.
- Turning meeting notes into clear actions and follow-up emails.
- Answering internal questions about your own procedures, using your manuals and checklists as the source.
- Preparing checklists and templates for onboarding and year end work.
Where to be careful
AI is good with language and weaker with precision. Keep these points in mind.
- Do not rely on a general chatbot for calculations. Use your accounting software and spreadsheets for the numbers.
- Tax rules change. Always check AI explanations of tax treatment against current guidance before advising a client.
- Keep client data in tools approved for it, using business accounts with data protection commitments.
- Check your professional body’s guidance on AI and make sure your engagement terms reflect how you use it.
A simple 30 day plan
Start small, measure the time saved and build from there.
Week 1: set the rules
Agree which tools are approved and what client information can and cannot be used. A short AI use policy is enough.
Week 2: pick two tasks
Choose two time-consuming writing or reading tasks and try AI on them with two or three willing colleagues.
Week 3: measure
Compare the time taken and the quality of the result with the usual way of working.
Week 4: share what works
Turn the best prompts into templates, show the rest of the team and choose the next tasks.
Want a hand getting started?
We help accountancy practices choose the right tools, set safe rules and put AI to work on the tasks that take the most time.