What a finance department can automate today
Gathering, checking and preparing is done by an agent. Approving, paying and signing, by a person.
In short
In finance, almost everything that consists of gathering data, checking it and preparing documents can be automated today: balances, cash forecast, draft invoices, overdue payments and the review of every tax return.
Anything that moves money or has tax consequences is still approved by a person. Your accountants keep preparing and filing each return, and you sign knowing what you are signing.
What can be automated today
These are the processes an agent already runs in our own company. Each one has its own page, with the steps and what it takes to have it.
Treasury: every account in one view, unusual transactions flagged and a 13-week cash forecast.
Invoicing: draft invoices with the real hours of each project, ready to review and issue.
Collections: overdue invoices, who has not paid and the reminder already drafted.
Taxes: every return your accountants prepare, recalculated box by box with your data before you sign.
Cash surplus: how much is really spare, counting the buffer and the payments ahead.
Contract justification: the quarter's hours, grouped by task and on the reporting sheet.
In our own company the quarterly close went from a weekend to an afternoon, and no return is signed without being recalculated first.
What is better left alone, and why
The fact that an agent can do something does not mean it should. In finance we leave four things out.
Payments and transfers. The treasury agent only reads: a reading mistake can be corrected, a wrong payment not always.
Filing taxes. The responsibility lies with whoever files and signs, and that is your accountants and you. What the agents add is a second check with your own data.
Deciding where spare money goes. The agent says how much and for how long. It does not recommend products: it is not financial advice.
The conversation with a client who does not pay. The reminder is drafted automatically; the tone, the timing and the phone call belong to whoever knows the client.
Nor is it worth automating something that happens once a year and differently each time. Writing the process down costs more than doing it.
What a person still decides
Approving every invoice, every payment and every signature. Nothing moves money on its own.
You review, issue and send each invoice in your own tool. A payment reminder leaves your mailbox when you send it. And you decide on and sign every tax return, with the questions for your accountants already written if something does not add up.
Where to start
With treasury. It is read-only, so there is nothing to approve and no risk of anything going wrong outwards, and from day one you can answer the question that weighs most: how much money there is and how much there will be.
Then invoicing and collections, which give back the most hours every month. The tax review fits well when the next quarter arrives and your accountants send the returns.
What it takes
Read-only access to the banks and to the invoicing tool, and the time records if you bill by time. Bank data never reaches the AI model unmasked.
And someone on your team who can say how each thing is done today, exceptions included. The process is written with that person, not from a template.
Frequently asked questions
Does this replace my tax advisers?
No. Your accountants keep preparing and filing each return. The agent recalculates it with your data before you sign and leaves the questions written if something does not add up.
Can the agent make payments or transfers?
No. The connection to the banks is read-only. The agent does not pay, transfer or invest, and it cannot request permission to do so.
Do we need to change bank or invoicing software?
No. The agents connect to the tools you already use. Which connections your case needs is worked out in the assessment.
Other guides
Human resources
Paperwork, deadlines and checks are handled by an agent. Decisions about people are not.
Sales
Searching, filtering and preparing is done by an agent. Choosing who to write to and what to sign, by your team.
Marketing
Reviewing every week and preparing the changes is done by an agent. Publishing and spending is approved by a person.
Customer service
Logging, searching and drafting is done by an agent. What a client is told is approved by a person.
Legal and compliance
Watching dates, gathering evidence and preparing documents is done by an agent. Processing, signing and accepting a risk, by a person.
The next step
Tell us how you work today and we will tell you where to start.