Why accounting calls pile up
An accounting firm has two kinds of busy. Most of the year, the phone is a steady stream of new enquiries, appointment changes and small questions. Then tax time arrives, and the same phone rings all day with people who are worried about a deadline.
When nobody answers, a potential client calls the next firm on the list. A worried existing client who gets voicemail in May sends an email at 9pm and waits. Neither ends well for the firm.
An AI receptionist answers every call, follows the process you set and passes anything that needs an accountant to the right person with the details already written down.
New client enquiries, sorted before the call ends
New enquiries need a few facts before anyone can decide whether the firm is the right fit: the business structure, the work needed, roughly when it is needed and how to reach the person. The AI asks those questions in plain language and writes a short summary for your new client team.
It does not accept or decline a client, and it does not quote fees. Where you publish a fee guide or a service list, the AI can point to it. Otherwise the enquiry is logged and someone on your team replies.
Appointments in the right slot
Not every appointment is the same length, and not every client sees the same accountant. The AI works from the appointment types you set: a quick check-in, a BAS review, a year-end meeting, a first consult. It offers times with the right person and books the one the caller chooses.
Where your practice software allows direct booking, the AI uses the same rules your team does. Where it does not, it takes a request with the caller's preferred times, and your team confirms it. Which applies is confirmed on the discovery call.
Document and deadline questions, answered from your information
Clients ask the same questions every year. What do I need to bring in? When is the lodgement date? Do you need my bank statements for the whole year or just the summary? The AI answers from the checklists and dates you publish, word for word, and sends the checklist by SMS if that helps.
Tax time overflow
During the busy weeks, the front desk cannot take every call. The AI picks up what overflows. It takes the caller's name and number, offers a callback, and queues it in order. Anything marked urgent by the caller or by your rules goes to the top of the list.
Callers hear that they are speaking with an AI assistant, and they are picked up rather than left on hold. Your team starts the day with a clean list of who rang and why.
Routing calls to the right accountant
A client who asks for their accountant should reach them, or at least leave a message they can trust. The AI knows who is on each client file and who handles which kind of work. It confirms who is calling, routes the call if the accountant is free, and takes a message with context if they are not.
A good message saves a callback. It says what the client needs, what they have already been told and what has a deadline, so the accountant does not have to ask the same questions again.
What it will not do
The AI does not give tax, accounting or financial advice. It does not say what a client can claim, what their return will show or how much tax they owe. It does not read or explain letters from the tax office. It takes the details and sends them to the right accountant.
Client details, kept to what is needed
Accounting calls often touch sensitive details. The scripts ask only for a name, a way to reach the client and whatever the enquiry needs. You approve that list on the discovery call, and you can remove anything your team does not need.
Every caller is told they are speaking with an AI assistant. Summaries go to your team. The privacy policy covers how we handle the details we receive.
What setup involves
Setup starts with your service list, your appointment types, the accountants who take which clients, and the publishing of your checklists and dates. We agree the urgent triggers and what the AI may say about fees. The discovery call confirms what connects to your booking and accounting software, so nothing is promised before we have looked. Plans are on the pricing section.