Accountants & bookkeepers · Kent
AI for accountancy and bookkeeping practices
Much of the week in a small practice goes on writing: chasing records, explaining deadlines, writing up meetings. AI is good at that writing and poor at arithmetic it can't show. This page covers where it helps, what ICAEW and ACCA have published, and how to keep client data where it belongs.
AI Kick-Start £395 · half a day
Based in Kent, working with businesses across the UK: on site in Kent, by video anywhere else.
Where it earns its keep
- Client emailsAsk for 'a reminder to a sole trader that we still need March's bank statements, firm but friendly' and you get a short email to adjust and send.
- Tax changes in plain EnglishGive it the official guidance and ask for 200 words a client will follow. Check every rate, threshold and date against HMRC before it goes.
- Meeting notesWith the client's agreement, a recording or your rough notes become a summary with actions and deadlines.
- Checklists and lettersTurn your standard terms into a year-end checklist for a new client, or tidy a letter's wording.
- Document summariesA long lease or loan agreement, names removed, boiled down to the clauses that affect the accounts.
- Excel formulasDescribe it ('flag any invoice over 60 days') and get the formula with an explanation, without uploading client figures.
- An internal knowledge assistantProcedures, templates and past answers in a shared Project, so staff can ask how the practice does things.
Which tool, and does it learn from client data?
Free versions of the main assistants can use your conversations for training unless you switch it off. Business plans don't by default.
| Plan | Price | Trains on your data? |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Free / Plus | £0 / £20 a month | Yes, unless you opt out in Settings, Data controls |
| ChatGPT Business | £15 per user a month annually, minimum two users | No, by default |
| Claude Free / Pro | £0 / £18 a month, including VAT | Your choice, in Settings, Privacy |
| Claude Team | £18 per seat a month annually, including VAT | No, by default |
| Microsoft Copilot Chat | Included with Microsoft 365 business plans | No, for work accounts, Microsoft says |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business | £16.10 per user a month paid yearly, ex VAT (£13.80 on a promotion ending 31 December 2026) | No; adds Copilot inside Excel, Word and PowerPoint |
Prices checked October 2026. Microsoft prices exclude VAT.
What ICAEW and ACCA have published
ICAEW's Generative AI guide covers uses, risks, ethics, cyber security and legal points, with a list of dos and don'ts. Its AI hub added ethics material in 2026, including how accountants can use AI ethically (April, covering CCAB guidance) and protecting client confidentiality under the ICAEW Code of Ethics (July). The hub also links to HMRC's expectations for AI in tax software, published in January 2026.
ACCA's technology hub has 2026 pieces on skills and data for AI-enabled finance and on human oversight. We couldn't confirm a dedicated ACCA guide to generative AI ethics, so check your member area rather than our summary.
Check every number
Language models predict words. They can produce a VAT figure or an allowance that looks right and isn't, especially if the rules changed after the model was trained. Let AI write the words around the numbers, take the numbers from your software and HMRC, and read the two together before a client sees them. Why models get facts wrong is covered in Is ChatGPT safe? Ten answers.
Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and Excel
Your accounting software is where the figures live. Check whether Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or FreeAgent has added AI features to your subscription, what they send outside your account, and whether you can switch them off for particular clients.
The free Copilot Chat that comes with Microsoft 365 business accounts doesn't work inside Excel on the basic tier, but it will write and explain formulas if you describe the layout. Copilot in Excel itself needs the paid licence in the table. For client meetings, the AI meeting notes page compares the options and covers telling people first.
What a Kick-Start would look at first
- Your client emails. The five messages you write most often (records chasers, deadline reminders, fee explanations), each with a tested prompt.
- Plans and settings. Which AI tools people in the practice already use, and whether those plans keep client data out of training.
- One internal assistant. Your procedures and templates in a Project, so 'how do we do this?' has an answer.
Your written plan lands within three working days, and the £395 is credited against Managed AI set-up, or a build quoted at £1,000 or more, booked in the following 60 days.
Questions people ask
Is it safe for accountants to use ChatGPT?
Safe enough for practice work if the plan is a business one that keeps your content out of training, client identifiers stay out where possible, and every figure gets checked.
Does ICAEW allow members to use AI?
ICAEW publishes guidance on using generative AI, with an emphasis on ethics and confidentiality. Read its current material directly: we're summarising, not advising.
Can AI do bookkeeping?
It helps with the writing and spreadsheets around bookkeeping. Categorising transactions and reconciling accounts belong in your accounting software, where every figure can be traced.
Can Copilot help with Excel?
Yes. Copilot inside Excel needs a paid licence (£16.10 per user a month paid yearly, ex VAT, checked October 2026), while free Copilot Chat can still write formulas you describe.
Do we need to tell clients we use AI?
If you process their personal data with AI, the ICO's advice is to be upfront and explain why. Your engagement letter and privacy notice are sensible places to do it.
Who you'll work with
James Hayes Consulting is led by Ross Hayes, who builds software for his own businesses and uses AI tools in them every day. We set AI up on your real work, explain it in plain English, and tell you straight if something isn’t worth paying for.
Every project starts with a free 15-minute call, and prices are agreed in writing before you commit.
You might also like
An AI policy for your business
£295
A one-page AI policy for your business, a staff guide and a 30-minute briefing, usually ready within five working days.
Find out moreAI meeting notes, set up safely
£195 · 2 hours
Which AI note-taker you already pay for, what the UK rules say about recording people, and notes that arrive with an action list. £195.
Find out moreCustom AI assistants built on your own documents
£495
Up to three assistants for your staff, built on your own documents in the AI tool you already use, with a handover session.
Find out more