Introducing the Accounting Agent: Smarter Tools for Smarter Advisory Work

Learn how QuickBooks AI agents** simplify bookkeeping workflows and help accountants and bookkeepers save time, improve accuracy, and deliver better results for clients.

Every accountant knows that spending hours manually categorising transactions or reconciling reports takes time away from the critical advisory work that truly makes businesses thrive. That’s where QuickBooks’ Accounting Agent comes in.

Built with accountants and bookkeepers in mind, the Accounting Agent uses AI agents to automate the tedious bookkeeping tasks that slow you down. With features like AI-powered bank feeds, transaction matching, and anomaly detection, the Accounting Agent is here to help you save time, reduce errors, and improve accuracy - all while keeping you in control of your clients’ books.

Let’s dive into the details of the Accounting Agent, what it can do for your firm, and how it empowers you to focus more on helping your clients grow.

What is the Accounting Agent?

The Accounting Agent is your AI-powered assistant built to handle tedious financial admin tasks, streamline workflows, and make bookkeeping easier. It combines automation and transparency to keep your clients’ books accurate and consistent.

Here’s what it does:

1. AI-Powered Bank Feeds: Streamlined Categorisation

(Available in Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced)

The new, AI-powered bank feed is designed to be a learning partner that supercharges your workflow. The Agent matches bank transactions and suggests categories, constantly learning from your responses so they’re done correctly and consistently, day or night.

• Smart Categorisation & Matching: The system learns from historical behaviour to automatically suggest accurate categories for new bank transactions. It also assists with complex matching, such as linking a single payment to multiple outstanding invoices, eliminating ambiguity where transaction descriptions are vague.
• Transparency and Control: Clear, detailed explanations are provided for every AI agent recommendation, offering full transparency on why a suggestion was made. This builds confidence, allowing you to quickly review and approve or confidently override the Agent's suggestion.
• Boosted Efficiency: Save time with features like inline editing for category, vendor, class, location, or attachments directly in the bank feed meaning you no longer need to click on an overlay to make adjustments. You can also leverage the customisable table view to update the fields that matter most, saving clicks and time.

2. AI-Powered Collaboration [BETA^]: Get Feedback When You Need It

(Available in Essentials, Plus, and Advanced)

Client collaboration for outstanding queries is often a manual, fragmented process. The AI powered collaboration streamlines communication between you and your clients.

• Seamless Communication: The Agent facilitates in-platform messaging, allowing you to request context or collect supporting documents like receipts directly from your client. The Agent checks the information provided to ensure accurate responses, and keeps all chat history organised within the client file, helping teams work more efficiently.
• Faster Answers: By centralising communications, you cut down on long email chains and quickly receive the necessary information, which accelerates the client close process.

3. AI-Powered Anomaly Detection: Take Control with Confidence

(Available in Plus and Advanced)

AI powered anomaly detection acts as a proactive quality control measure for your clients’ books. It identifies potential issues before they become major problems.

• Early Error Identification: The Agent flags unusual transactions, such as significantly higher-than-usual expenses, or identifies potential reporting discrepancies in financial reports.
• Actionable Guidance: When an anomaly is detected, the Agent provides context and guidance on how to investigate and fix the issue, giving you the necessary information to resolve errors faster and keep your client’s books accurate.

How Does It Benefit Your Advisory Practice?

The Accounting Agent is built to be more than just an automation tool. It’s a catalyst for business growth and better client service. Here's how it elevates your practice:

1. Drive Firm Efficiency and Speed Up the Close

By automating time-consuming tasks like transaction matching and categorisation, the Accounting Agent drastically cuts down on hours spent in the bank feed. All tasks are surfaced in the central Business Feed, allowing you to review and approve work in bulk, helping you finalise client books faster and meet deadlines with confidence.

2. Ensure Unquestionable Accuracy and Consistency

The Agent provides clear, transparent explanations for every suggestion, giving you the confidence to approve transactions without second-guessing. Combined with AI-powered Anomaly Detection, you can proactively spot and resolve potential errors and reporting discrepancies before they impact financial reports, guaranteeing the integrity and compliance of the books.

3. Unlock Capacity for High-Value Advisory

When routine admin is automated, your most valuable asset - your time - is freed up. The Accounting Agent removes the burden of repetitive data entry, allowing you to transition from being reactive to a strategic partner. You can now dedicate more time to analysing the insights surfaced by the Agent and providing the kind of high-level advice that truly drives your clients’ prosperity.

Your Central Control Panel: The Business Feed

In the new QuickBooks experience, all tasks completed by the Accounting Agent that require your attention are consolidated into the Business Feed. Think of it as your priority list for client work. This central hub ensures you can quickly review and action AI-driven suggestions, helping you maintain firm oversight over every client’s books and guarantee you never miss a critical update.

Transitioning to AI-Powered Bank Feeds

The Accounting Agent’s AI-powered bank feeds are currently opt-in. Eventually, all users will be transitioned to the new view automatically, and the previous version (without the AI capabilities) will no longer be accessible. You’ll be notified before these changes occur.

Rest assured, the upgrade will not impact your connection with your bank and works seamlessly with Open Banking in Australia.

The Accounting Agent isn’t just a tool - it’s your partner in simplifying workflows, making more informed advisory decisions, and helping your clients thrive. Automate admin tasks, surface insights, and resolve issues quickly, so you’ll have more time to focus on growing your practice.

Disclaimers

**Feature availability varies by product. While available in all QuickBooks supported languages, the AI agent’s output will be English only at launch. We recommend you review all outputs carefully. This information is intended to outline our general product direction, but represents no obligation and should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision. Additional terms, conditions and fees may apply. Product offers, features, and functionality are subject to change without notice. 

^[Beta] has limited availability and is subject to change. Features may be more broadly available soon.