There’s a lot of buzz around automation these days, especially as it grows more common in accounting. Most people in the industry are experimenting with new tools: a recent study by Moss Adams found that 79% of accounting professionals agreed that AI assistance was useful, and data analytics, cybersecurity, and RPA tools are becoming increasingly prevalent.

But in spite of the productivity gains, there’s an important downside to automation.

At its worst, automating a process that requires human oversight can be disastrous – such as Hertz’s automated system which reported late cars as stolen, resulting in multiple unnecessary arrests. But more often, the wrong automations just create more work.

As Bill Gates put it, “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”

So how do you avoid magnifying inefficiencies? Rather than trying to streamline every workflow, it’s better to pick a few to automate and then build on that over time. 

Here, we’ll cover five common processes in accounting firms that can be automated – and a few tools you can get started with, running the gamut from simple and straightforward tools to more complex ones.

1. Month-end review

Month-end close is full of the potential for error, from typos to duplicate entries and other discrepancies. Automating your month-end review is a great way to employ AI as a copilot to spot anything your human accountants might have missed.

Dext precision is a tool that integrates with both Quickbooks and Xero, and can identify individual errors as well as offer an overview of your clients’ data quality with a “health score.” This helps flag the reports that need the most help and keep track of your performance on different projects.

2. Expense management

Receipt and invoice scanning isn’t anything new in accounting, but the technology is getting much more intelligent and versatile. 

Veryfi can scan receipts and invoices and create instant text documents with all their info, as well as JSON data for integrations with other tools. While other accounting software has receipt scanners, the versatility of this tool makes it great for firms experimenting with their own software, apps and process automations. 

It’s simple to use, but has a ton of versatility if you want to build custom automations around it.

3. Prospect feedback

It’s easy to focus on getting client feedback, and forget that what your prospects think is equally important to your business.

If you’re not a Google Analytics buff, Hotjar is a bit easier to use. In addition to user journeys and heatmaps, it also can create automated customer surveys with an AI-enabled analysis of the results, for a quick understanding of what your prospects are looking for on your website.

That can help you discover where the gaps are between your service offerings and market demand, and consider where you can make adjustments.

4. Financial reporting and analysis

With more clients interested in advisory services, there’s never been a better time to adopt financial reporting tools. Custom data visualizations can give your firm an edge if you want to offer more bespoke advisory services.

And while Quickbooks and Xero have good enough reporting tools, you can really get creative with tools like Airtable. Airtable is also friendly for builders, with a large community surrounding it and a generous free tier.

That said, Airtable is one of the more complex tools on this list. There’s a lot you can do with it, but only if you have the time to learn how to use it.

5. Client onboarding

It can be pretty time-consuming to collect client data and then input that data into contracts and other documents. It’s also one process that’s ripe for human error.

Fortunately, there’s Formstack – it lets you create forms with fields that you can then use to auto-populate documents, complete with calculation functionality. It also has e-signature tools that enable clients to sign the documents from any device. Once you’ve created the forms, you can store them in client accounts in ProCharted so they’re right there when you need them.

Making the most of automation

Finally, a few tips on how to make the most out of the tools at your disposal:

• Hire new employees with experience using the tools you adopt. Even if you’re an expert, having a different perspective can help you create workflows you might not have otherwise thought of.
• Keep iterating to improve automations over time. Chances are, you won’t get it right on your first try, but there’s often a seed of something useful in an attempt that didn’t quite work.
• Choose tools carefully to match what your firm needs. Having excess software can create data silos and security risks that aren’t worth the hassle.

And while experimenting is fun, it’s always a good idea to have a main hub where most of your important workflows live. With ProCharted, you can integrate time tracking, client management, and document storage into one practice management solution that makes experimentation a breeze. Try it free for 30 days and get started on your automation journey!