AI & Accounting Software

It is no secret AI is the hot topic du jour. Love it or hate it, it is getting rolled out to seemingly everything you interact with during the day, including most accounting software.

Each software has chosen to adapt AI in different ways, and some not at all. Each business is different, each business's need or desire for AI is different, and with that, choices need to be made.

If you love AI but your software is not adopting it, or if you hate AI and your current software is all in on AI, maybe it is time for a switch. Read on to understand how our top picks for accounting software is using AI to help you decide what is right for you.

Here is a summary of  how our recommended software solutions are using AI technology.

Quickbooks Online

Quickbooks Online is leaning heavily into AI. They call their AI Intuit Intelligence, and they tell us in their press releases and updates they plan to fully integrate AI into every function and feature of their platform.

This tech is very new, and we are told via the latest Quickbooks update email that Intuit is unsure what results the robots will come up with, but rest assured that they will have "offsite product experts" to review the AI output in the background like a great and powerful Oz.

We are sure as Intuit continues to develop this technology, they will find new functions to embed the AI into.

So if you are in the "let the robots do it!" camp, this will delight you. We can't attest to the accuracy or how helpful you'll find the features, only that the AI features will be front and center in everything you do in Quickbooks.

Xero

Xero is leaning into AI like a rancher on an outpost; lightly, but not hard enough to break it.

Xero has rolled out Jax AI, and this is more of a chat bot that will help you do basic tasks, understand metrics, or answer basic questions. This can be turned off for your organization should you choose to.

Jax AI can help you create invoices, give you financial insights, and help automate some of your accounting tasks.

While helpful, Jax won't be the main character of your Xero story. The whole of Xero's fantastic (AI and non-AI) features will.

Zoho Books

Zoho Books has taken an interesting approach in the AI battle-of-the-bots and has rolled out not one, but two on-demand AI tools.

Zia was designed to be an assistant, not a boss, that takes requests and runs functions in the background for you. Zia can help you do basic tasks and will be a chat bot, but you will need to ask for help before it lends it.

We think that is a nice compromise. No one likes an overbearing robot, after all.

CoCreate is the other AI tool and will also work with you when you ask it to help. CoCreate will take over your screen to do certain tasks for you like create quotes and invoices. This one is a bit more bossy, but Zoho thinks you'll love it.

AI will help you a lot like Xero, in helping you create invoices, giving you insights, and helping automate some of your accounting tasks.

So whether you want an assistant or a bossy robot, Zoho has something for everyone.

Wave 

Wave has chosen to stay out of the AI fray, and honestly, we find this refreshing.

Wave has steadily found its place in the 'easy & inexpensive & stable' arena and we have to give it credit for letting the robots battle it out somewhere else.

Wave decided 'not today', and is just sticking to what it does best. Basic accounting.

We love Wave for so many reasons, and we respect the software for continuing to stay true to its core mission and users. Small businesses, who need basic, easy, and affordable accounting software that does what needs to be done.

So, if you love AI and are looking for an AI assistant or an integration with your custom bot, you might want to pass this one by. That is not to say it does not have automations and great functions, it is your basic technology that just works. And with that personal side to the platform, it is a useful tool in your financial arsenal.

Summary

Whether you find it useless, or useful, we can guide you to the right software to meet your preferences.

And if you are thinking about switching your software, we can help with that too! Just give us a call and we can help you one step at a time.