The Future is Here: Meet Your New AI Accounting Sidekicks – Part 2 of 3

Transforming Data into Insights

Hey again! Last time we explored some of the basic benefits of AI accounting tools.

AI financial assistants are like having a virtual accountant, bookkeeper, and business advisor rolled into one.

Say goodbye to manual data entry and report formatting, and hello to automated accounting, cash flow insights, and financial planning for small businesses like yours.

It’s like getting a Fortune 500 analytics team without the giant payroll! New AI tools for accounting are being released all the time. Stay tuned for updates. Now let’s dig into some options are out there:

Botkeeper

• A robotic accountant of the fantasy, tirelessly recording and categorizing transactions with machine precision.
• Say bye-bye to forgotten receipts in the bottom of your bag. This AI bookkeeper can reconcile accounts, code transactions, manage payroll, track expenses, and handle all the routine – but mission critical –tasks.
• Botkeeper saves you time and effort by automatically categorizing income, expenses, and other accounting data. Even information from receipts and invoices can be extracted using optical
• character recognition (OCR).
• This automation means you can have clean books and real-time visibility into the nitty-gritty financial details – all without lifting a finger.

 

Intuit Assist for QuickBooks

• Meet your new BFF (Best Finance Friend). It is like having an accounting guru pal around 24/7 to answer questions and help get things done.
• This virtual assistant speaks plain English, so you can ditch the finance lingo. Ask it to run a report or send an invoice in normal human words. It automates tasks quickly so you can focus on running your business, not bookkeeping. More time for the fun stuff!
• Intuit Assist may be virtual, but this AI companion remembers your favorite report and learns what you need over time. You can even ask it “show me my profit and loss last month”.
• It is hanging out in QuickBooks online ready to help whenever you need a hand. No need to toggle between screens or apps to get answers or advice. Intuit Assist was just released in September 2023

QuickBooks Money

• A feature of QuickBooks Online and plays fortune teller, predicting low cash periods ahead of time to improve your planning. Accounting is about more than simply the past – it’s also about projecting the future.
• This program applies predictive analysis to give you financial foresight no crystal ball could match. By evaluating historical income, expenses, and cash flow, QuickBooks Money (FKA QuickBooks Checking and Cash) can estimate upcoming cash crunches or surpluses.
• It factors in seasonal trends, economic indicators, and your unique business patterns to predict future cash flow highs and lows.
• You’ll no longer be caught off guard by shortfalls or pass up opportunities to invest excess cash.
• Small businesses can open an FDIC insured QuickBooks Money account in as little as 5 minutes and manage their money from anywhere.

Sage Intacct Dimensions

• A feature of Sage Intacct that generates financial dashboards as visually appealing as a supermodel’s Instagram feed. This application focuses on transforming financial data into actionable insights through beautiful interactive dashboards.
• Dimensions collect and normalize data from all your business systems to create a uniform reporting framework.
• With the power of AI, Dimensions turn raw accounting figures into insightful charts and visualizations. Metrics are calculated and shown to help spot trends and benchmark performance.
• Flexible reporting allows drilling deep while seeing the big picture. By making data actionable and consumable, Dimensions give you advanced analytics beyond basic accounting software.

Xero Hubdoc

• A feature of Xero which works its document ninja magic, extracting data from invoices faster than you can say, “Where’s my report?”
• By utilizing intelligent document processing algorithms, this tool eliminates grunt work.
• Hubdoc automatically captures critical facts from paper invoices, bank statements, bills, and other documents.
• This extracts the data needed for coding transactions, without requiring you to manually enter rows of data yourself.
• Say goodbye to overflowing paperwork and illegible handwriting that kept you from getting the accounting truth.

Here is a table for comparison of the tools discussed above:

Tool	Pricing	Features	Integrations	Best For
Botkeeper	Starts at $155/month	Bookkeeping, reporting	QuickBooks Online, Xero	Small business bookkeeping
Intuit Assist for QB	Free w/QuickBooks Online subscription	Answers questions, automates tasks, learns over time	Embedded within QuickBooks Online	QuickBooks Online users looking to save time and boost productivity
QuickBooks Money	No month fees, pmt processing fees may apply	Cash flow management	QuickBooks Online, PayPal, Venmo, Stripe	Small businesses needing cash flow insights
Sage Intacct Dimensions	Starts at $1,295/month	Budgeting, financial reporting	QuickBooks Online, Sage 50, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics	Mid-sized businesses needing financial management
Xero Hubdoc	Starts at $12/month	Document management, invoice automation	QuickBooks Online, Xero, Wave, FreshBooks	Small businesses needing invoice and document processing

 

Some other available tools not discussed above include the following:

Tool	Pricing	Features	Integrations	Best For
AccountsIQ	$99/month	Invoicing, expenses	QuickBooks Online, Xero	Small business accounting
Klarity	$97/month	Audit preparation	QuickBooks Online, Xero	Accounting firms
Truewind	$99/month	Budgeting, forecasting	QuickBooks Online, NetSuite	Financial planning and analysis
Stampli	$19/user/month	Invoice management	QuickBooks Online, NetSuite	Mid-market AP automation

 

As you can see, there are plenty more AI assistants to suit different needs! From invoicing automation to audit prep and beyond, the use cases keep growing.

In the final part, we’ll explore what insights these handy helpers can uncover, along with important considerations as this technology advances. AI is already transforming accounting – so buckle up for more changes ahead!

I hope you’ve found this blog helpful for envisioning the potential of AI in your financial processes. See ya next time.

Best,
Amy York
amyyork@rabbitholepublications.com