How Accounting Firms Can Stop Chasing Documents and Start Delivering Insights
Accounting firms spend roughly 40% of their capacity on document collection and manual report generation — work that has nothing to do with the advisory services clients actually pay for. The partner who should be reviewing tax strategy is instead sending the fourth "just following up" email about a missing bank statement. The staff accountant who should be analyzing cash flow trends is instead reformatting a QuickBooks export in Excel for the third time this month.
The automations that fix this aren't complicated. They don't require switching platforms, training your clients on new software, or hiring a developer. They need to be designed correctly and built once. This guide covers the four workflows that free up the most time in accounting and bookkeeping firms, the exact tools involved, and what it costs to have them built for you.
Looking for done-for-you builds? See our accounting firm automation services — scope, pricing, and what's included.
The 4 Accounting Automations That Free Up the Most Time
1. Document Collection Automation
The single biggest time drain in most accounting firms isn't tax preparation or financial analysis — it's the document chase. Every period, the same ritual: email the client asking for bank statements, receipts, and prior-period documents. Wait. Send a reminder. Wait again. Call. Finally receive something incomplete. Request the rest. The average document collection cycle runs 3 to 5 days per client per period, and firms with 30+ clients are running this cycle simultaneously across their entire book.
At period start, a branded document request is automatically triggered and sent to the client with a secure upload link — either through TaxDome's client portal or directly to a structured Google Drive folder. If the client hasn't uploaded within 24 hours, a reminder goes out automatically. At 48 hours, the reminder escalates in tone. When documents arrive, you're notified immediately and the job is automatically moved to the next stage in Karbon or TaxDome. No manual follow-up, no calendar reminders, no "just checking in" emails.
The result is a document collection window that runs under 48 hours for most clients — not because clients suddenly became more responsive, but because the automated sequence is persistent and professional in a way that manual follow-up never is.
2. Automated Client Reporting
Monthly or quarterly reporting is often the most intellectually hollow work in an accounting firm. Pulling the P&L from QuickBooks Online, copying it into an Excel template, applying firm formatting, exporting to PDF, and emailing each client — this sequence takes 2 to 4 hours per client per period and produces exactly zero insight on its own. It's data transfer, not analysis.
The fully automated version of this workflow runs on a schedule. At the period close, a trigger fires in n8n, which calls the QuickBooks Online API or Xero API to pull the P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement for each client entity. The data is formatted into a clean report template in Google Docs, converted to PDF, and emailed to the client automatically — often before they've even thought to ask for it.
When reporting is automated, the accountant's role in that workflow changes entirely. Instead of building the report, they review it, add commentary, and call the client to discuss what it means. That conversation is advisory work. Advisory work commands higher rates and builds the kind of client relationship that generates referrals.
3. New Client Onboarding
The onboarding experience for a new accounting client is often the first real impression of how the firm operates — and for most firms, it's a bad one. Engagement letters go out manually days after the sales call. Intake forms arrive as email attachments. Kickoff meetings get scheduled by phone tag. The new client, who just agreed to pay for professional services, spends two weeks waiting for the process to actually begin.
Automated onboarding compresses a 2-week manual process into 48 hours without removing the human touch — it just removes the human bottlenecks. The moment a new client record is created (in TaxDome or Karbon), the automation fires: the engagement letter goes out via DocuSign, the intake questionnaire is triggered, and the Calendly link for the kickoff call is included in a welcome email with everything the client needs to know before their first meeting.
Client created in TaxDome → engagement letter sent via DocuSign → on signature, intake questionnaire triggered → questionnaire completed → Calendly kickoff link sent with welcome email and onboarding checklist → kickoff meeting confirmed → job created and assigned in Karbon → team notified. The client experiences a seamless, professional process. Your team doesn't touch it until the kickoff call.
4. Invoice & Collections Automation
Late invoicing and uncomfortable collections calls are a firm-wide cash flow problem dressed up as an administrative inconvenience. Invoices that go out late get paid later. Manual collections follow-up is awkward enough that it often doesn't happen at all. The result is AR that ages far beyond where it should be for a professional services firm with recurring clients.
The automated version is simple and entirely professional in tone. On the billing date, the invoice is auto-generated in QuickBooks or FreshBooks and sent immediately. If unpaid after 7 days, a polite automated reminder goes out. At 14 days, a firmer reminder. At 21 days, a final notice flagged for partner review. Three professional touchpoints, none of them awkward, none of them requiring anyone to pick up the phone unless escalation is genuinely warranted.
Real Numbers: What Accounting Automation Saves
These are not theoretical projections. They reflect actual before-and-after measurements from accounting and bookkeeping firms that have implemented these workflows. The numbers are consistent enough across firm sizes that they're reasonable benchmarks for planning purposes.
The math that matters most: time freed from administrative work is not idle time. It's capacity that gets redirected to higher-value advisory services, business development, or simply taking on more clients without adding headcount. The effective hourly rate of your firm goes up when the hours are spent on work clients pay premium rates for.
A 15-client bookkeeping firm spending 3 hours per client per month on reporting (QuickBooks pull + formatting + delivery) is spending 45 hours monthly on work that can be fully automated. At a blended staff rate of $75/hr, that's $3,375/month in labor cost for zero-value data transfer. The automation that replaces it costs $6,000–$8,250 to build once, with no monthly fee and no ongoing maintenance for routine operation.
What Tools Do Accounting Firms Use for Automation?
The automations described above don't require any new platforms. They connect the tools accounting firms already use — practice management software, accounting platforms, e-signature tools, and scheduling systems — through an automation layer that coordinates them. Here's how the stack breaks down:
The automation layer — n8n — is what connects all of these tools together. It's open-source, self-hosted on infrastructure you own, and it's what allows a document upload in TaxDome to trigger a Karbon job update, or a DocuSign signature to fire an intake questionnaire. You don't interact with n8n directly; the workflows run in the background. We build on your existing stack. No platform migrations, no client retraining.
Cost and Timeline
Every Aplos AI project is priced at a fixed hourly rate of $150/hr with a flat project cost agreed upfront. There are no monthly fees, no licensing markups, and no retainer. You own the workflow outright when it's delivered. Here's how the four core accounting automations price out:
| Automation | Hours | Investment |
|---|---|---|
| Document Collection | 35–50 hrs | $5,250–$7,500 |
| Automated Reporting | 40–55 hrs | $6,000–$8,250 |
| Client Onboarding | 30–45 hrs | $4,500–$6,750 |
| Invoice & Collections | 25–40 hrs | $3,750–$6,000 |
Delivery timeline is 1–2 weeks from project kickoff. Every project includes:
- Workflow design and scoping session
- API connections to your existing platforms
- End-to-end testing across real client scenarios
- Loom walkthrough video of how the system works
- Written handoff documentation your team can reference
Most firms start with a single automation — typically document collection, because it frees up the most immediate time — and add additional workflows once they see the first one running. There's no pressure to bundle everything at once.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can accounting firms automate document collection?
Accounting firms automate document collection by connecting their practice management platform — TaxDome or Karbon — to an automation layer like n8n. At period start, a branded upload request is automatically sent with a secure link. If the client doesn't upload within 24–48 hours, a reminder sequence escalates automatically. The firm is notified the moment documents arrive and the job progresses to the next stage. This reduces a 3–5 day document chase to under 48 hours.
What software do accounting firms use to automate client reporting?
Accounting firms automate client reporting using the QuickBooks Online API or Xero API to pull financial data on a schedule — P&L, cash flow, balance sheet — then format and deliver it to clients automatically via Gmail or Google Docs. The automation layer connecting these tools is n8n. This eliminates the 2–4 hours of manual work per client per reporting period with zero ongoing effort after the initial build.
How much does accounting firm automation cost?
Accounting automation through Aplos AI is priced at $150/hr with a flat project cost and no monthly fee. Document collection automation runs $5,250–$7,500. Automated reporting runs $6,000–$8,250. Client onboarding runs $4,500–$6,750. Invoice and collections automation runs $3,750–$6,000. You own the workflow outright after delivery with no ongoing licensing or maintenance costs for routine operation.
Can I automate QuickBooks reporting for multiple clients?
Yes. QuickBooks Online's API supports multi-client access through Accountant Connect, which allows a single automation to pull data across multiple client entities on a schedule. The same approach works with Xero via Xero HQ partner access. One automation build covers your entire client book — 10 clients or 100. The per-client marginal effort is zero once the workflow is built.
How long does it take to implement accounting automation?
Most accounting automation projects are delivered in 1–2 weeks from kickoff. The timeline includes workflow design, API connections to QuickBooks, Xero, TaxDome, Karbon, or DocuSign, testing across real scenarios, and a final handoff with a Loom walkthrough video and written documentation. No technical knowledge is required on your end to receive or operate the system.
Do clients need to change any software for this to work?
No. Aplos AI builds automations that connect your existing tools — TaxDome, Karbon, QuickBooks, Xero, DocuSign, Calendly, Gmail, and Google Drive — without requiring you or your clients to switch platforms. Clients interact with the same upload links and emails they already know. The automation runs in the background and is invisible to them as a process change.