Case study · Accounting and bookkeeping
Reducing accounting paperwork while keeping accountants in control
- AI-assisted document processing
- Client document collection
- Workflow automation
An accounting firm managing 40 monthly bookkeeping clients
Admin hours a month
6834
Minutes per document
31.5
Admin time on these tasks
−50%
Hours saved a year
408
The problem
Invoices, receipts and bank statements arrived through scattered emails and folders. Staff renamed and copied everything by hand and kept chasing clients for missing documents.
What we did
We built one intake workflow that sorts files by client and period, uses AI to draft invoice and receipt details, flags duplicates and gaps, and sends reminders until documents arrive.
What stayed human
Accountants still verify the details, approve classifications and reconcile accounts. Tax, advice and final reports stay with qualified staff.
See the full numbers
The changes
| Monthly administrative task | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Collect, download and organize client documents | 20 hours | 8 hours |
| Enter and verify details from 600 invoices and receipts | 30 hours | 15 hours |
| Follow up on missing documents | 12 hours | 5 hours |
| Prepare internal client-status summaries | 6 hours | 2 hours |
| Additional system checks and maintenance | — | 4 hours |
| Total time on these tasks | 68 hours | 34 hours |
Document processing time is based on an average of three minutes per document before implementation and 1.5 minutes afterward, including staff verification and corrections.
Business impact
The new workflow saves 34 staff hours per month—a 50% reduction in the administrative tasks measured, equivalent to approximately 4.25 eight-hour workdays.
At unchanged volume, that represents 408 hours annually. The recovered capacity can support reconciliations, client questions and month-end reviews.
These savings come from document administration and preparation, giving accountants more time to review the books.
Figures cover document administration only, not the firm’s total accounting workload.