Best AI Accounting Tools for Improved Accuracy and Efficiency in 2024 (original) (raw)

According to a 2023 Thomson Reuters report on 771 tax professionals, almost half said they support including generative AI like ChatGPT in accounting for greater efficiency.

Teams implementing AI in accounts and finance witnessed a 45% reduction in overall costs.

A Mordor Intelligence report of 2023 informed that AI in accounting could become a USD 6.62 billion market by 2029.

These statistics on AI trends suggest that the accounting and finance industry has started incorporating AI. The sector is also attracting heavy investments from giant accounting firms, including Sage and Accenture.

It is high time forward-thinking accountants and finance managers started exploring AI accounting. Just like AI productivity tools, incorporating AI accounting tools into your daily tasks helps you become efficient, productive, and ultimately profitable!

I reviewed many AI accounting tools and found the following to be top of the class. Here is the shortlist:

• Rows - for teams that require advanced data analysis for accounting spreadsheets (Bonus for Excel users)
• Vic.ai - for companies with high-volume invoicing needs to automate AP workflows
• Docyt - for small to medium-sized teams to streamline expense tracking and management
• Blue Dot - for teams needing assistance with VAT and diverse tax compliance, esp. cross-border invoicing
• Booke - for teams looking to automate and enhance accuracy in bookkeeping
• Bill (Formerly Divvy) - for optimized AP processes and invoice management
• Receipt-AI - for speeding up receipt scanning and data entry

If you are looking for AI adoptions in the accounting software you’re familiar with, head to the reviews of QuickBooks and Xero here.

Rows - Best for AI spreadsheet building

While full-featured accounting software has more advanced functionality, I know that many of us still prefer spreadsheets because of their flexibility, familiarity, and easy collaboration.

If you do so, having an AI boost to your financial and accounting spreadsheets can be very helpful. It helps you automate complex calculations and data analysis, saving valuable time and reducing the risk of human error. Take Rows for a tool like that.

Rows AI is a smart spreadsheet-building and analysis tool that enables you to create stunning financial reports in a few clicks. It works as a web-based Excel-like software where you can import datasets from various sources like CSV, XLS, XLSX, and more.

When you work on tasks like financial reporting, budgeting & forecasting, audit preparation, financial modeling, risk assessment, etc., the AI Analyst speeds things up.

Rows ensures all your data is 256-bit AES encrypted and strictly follows HTTPS TLS protocols when stored at rest on servers or in transit.

Rows Best AI Features

• AI Analyst Quick Insights: This AI-powered feature automatically analyses your spreadsheet dataset and suggests obvious improvements related to the project, such as “Total quantity of sales, “Average price per order, “Median sales amount, etc.

• AI Analyst Deep Dives: This functionality populates all relevant summary tables from the source worksheet so you can create further charts and graphs for data visualization.
• Ask Rows AI a Question: If you think there could be more insights, you can ask the Row AI Analyst straight away.

For example, I asked the tool to create a table of orders by country, and it did a pretty good job.

Rows Pros and Cons

Pros

• Import small to large spreadsheets in most formats with a single click
• Rows AI automatically transforms and organizes your datasets
• Significantly reduces the time needed in data analytics and visualization
• API support for spreadsheet tools like Excel, Google Sheets, etc.

Cons

• Limited data visualization charts
• Not specifically designed for accounting and finance, which means you cannot find advanced financial features here
• Occasionally, the AI-generated Pivot Table can be inaccurate

User Review:

“Great that Rows is based on standard Google Sheets language, meaning it's easy to start from scratch in building formulae, etc. It's certainly a necessary tool and resolves lots of issues we've had with data. Great that it also allows the use of APIs of tools like Crunchbase and others. Fantastic support available too. - Katie P., G2 user

Rows Pricing

You can start with a free trial to check out its functionalities. If you like it, you can upgrade to Plus for 79/mo,Profor79/mo, Pro for 79/mo,Profor219/mo, and Enterprise (custom quote).

Click here to try Rows

Bonus: Microsoft Copilot in Excel

If you prefer using Microsoft Excel or your company requires it, you can club Excel with Microsoft Copilot to inject AI capabilities into legacy Excel worksheets.

Copilot integrates with an Excel worksheet seamlessly. You simply need to ask questions regarding the worksheet data to create professional data analysis for accounting and finance processes. It also helps you to eliminate human error from accounting operations.

The Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on subscription costs $30 per user/month.

>> Click here to get started with Microsoft Copilot for FREE.

Vic.ai - Best for automated invoice processing

Vic.ai is an AI accounting platform that provides an AI-powered solution for invoice processing. It enables accounts payable (AP) workflow optimization and finance autonomy beyond basic automation.

Vic.ai can handle various invoice formats (PDF, Docx, .jpg, .gif, and .tif) with high accuracy. Its AI-based platform has learned from millions of invoices, providing a level of precision in financial data interpretation that manual methods can't match.

This means you no longer have to manually import data with traditional OCR (scans printed or handwritten physical documents and converts them into digital text files) and template-based methods (set up predefined formats for different types of documents and manually enter data into corresponding fields) that are prone to errors, inefficiencies, and are time-consuming.

Vic.ai was named the Top Fintech Company by CNBC World in 2023. It is also SOC1 and SOC2 Type 2 compliant, ensuring the highest security level for your financial data and reporting.

Vic.ai Best AI Features

• Invoice Approval Flow: This feature can reduce the inefficiencies that occur while processing countless invoices. By categorizing the incoming invoices and automatically routing them to the right approval flow, it helps you complete the approval process within the stipulated time.

• Payments: This feature enables accurate and efficient payments while establishing your control over the cash flow. It lets you make payments according to your own terms. Besides supporting various payment methods, it manages vendor outreach on your account.

Vic.ai Pros and Cons

Pros

• AI model for autonomous invoice processing helps you eliminate the manual work of entering and reconciling invoice data
• Integrates with major ERP solutions and offers a scalable open API
• Customizable dashboards for business, operational, and prescriptive insights
• Can process mining for real-time analytics data

Cons

• Some users shared that report-related features could be improved
• Occasionally, there is still incorrect invoice parsing

User Review:

“Vic.ai is definitely one of the best AI platforms in the fintech space I’ve come across. Their solution is revitalizing a sleepy industry when it comes to tech innovation by freeing up accounting and finance teams from repetitive AP workflows. A process that used to take hours or even weeks can be done within minutes at a higher accuracy than ever achieved. Not to mention all the insights generated from the platform, which gives companies a competitive edge. - Anders L., G2 user

Vic.ai Pricing

Vic.ai has not disclosed the pricing information for the tools. You need to request a demo and custom quote for your requirements.

Click here to try Vic.ai

Docyt - Best for business expense management

Docyt is a fantastic AI-powered accounting software that helps you automate your back-office operations and get real-time financial insights. It is particularly useful for those who have to deal with a high volume of transactions every month.

One of Docyt's most helpful features is its AI-powered transaction categorization.

It can handle bill pay, credit card reconciliation, expense reports, receipts, reimbursements, and vendor payments, which can be time-consuming to enter manually.

Also, it reads these transactions and automatically categorizes them into relevant preset categories.

If there is a need for more context, Docyt will notify you and ask for more information to match the transaction to the right category.

This means that you only need to review the final results and speak to your "AI accounting assistant."

By automating these tasks, Docyt frees up valuable time and resources, allowing you and your teams to focus on business scale-up.

The platform provides two-factor authentication, facial recognition or fingerprint sign-in, and OAuth2 authentication to protect your account from unauthorized access. It is also SOC2 Type II compliant and employs bank/military-grade encryption for data at rest and in transit, including between servers and partnered services.

Docyt Best AI Features

• Business Accounting Management: It manages complete business expenses, including bill payments, vendor payments, reimbursements, receipts, and credit card reconciliation. You can also use it for automated revenue tracking and insights.
• Real-Time Reporting: This advanced and customizable feature lets you track trends, metrics, and KPIs for faster data-driven decision-making.

Docyt Pros and Cons

Pros

• Effortless integration with business management systems, ERP, and POS
• Departmental accounting and reporting for department-specific income statements and KPIs
• Automated transaction matching and categorization for continuous revenue reconciliation
• Dashboards and reporting for real-time insights and KPI data

Cons

• Plans are expensive compared to other solutions
• Users claim to get delayed response from customer service

User Review:

“Very positive experience. My main objective was to free our store managers from tedious daily bookkeeping duties and focus on growing our business. Docyt definitely aided us in allowing us to achieve that objective. - Dennis C., Capterra user

Docyt Pricing

Docyt offers four pricing tiers, starting at $299/mo with a free trial. Accounting firms or CFO service providers must contact their sales team for custom pricing.

Click here to try Docyt

Blue Dot - Best for VAT and tax compliance

Blue Dot is a cloud-based AI accounting tool that helps you easily manage tax compliance. Its capabilities in handling VAT and taxable employee benefits make it particularly effective for modern, dynamic work environments”.

Blue Dot autonomously handles the entire tax compliance journey, from data integration to comprehensive reporting. It uses AI to identify all qualified VAT spend, inevitable costs, and unclaimed returns, making accounting and tax-related tasks more manageable for your team.

You can connect Blue Dot with expense management platforms like SAP Concur, Rydoo, Yokoy, or Workday for a cohesive and efficient tax compliance process across various systems”.

Blue Dot ensures data privacy and security for your accounting information in compliance with CSA STAR Level 1, GDPR, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 Type II.

Blue Dot Best AI Features

• Custom Taxation Rules: After creating rules for taxation according to your company policy and local tax laws, this tool analyzes to identify which expenditure is not exclusively for business purposes.
• AI-enabled insights for your transactions: This feature leverages Deep Learning and NLP to generate a financial story for every employee-driven transaction, using historical data and data from external sources.

Blue Dot Pros and Cons

Pros

• ML-based deep analysis for minimal human intervention
• Integrates with multiple expense management solutions like SAP and Expensify
• AI and ML models for multi-level semantic knowledge graph
• Customize tax rules and other settings by local and international laws

Cons

• Comes with a steep learning curve
• Users reported encountering technical glitches while using this software
• Some users are concerned about the platform managing their personal data

Blue Dot Pricing

Blue Dot has not disclosed the pricing information for the tools. You need to contact its sales team to get pricing information.

Click here to try Blue Dot

Booke - Best for standalone AI in accounting

Booke AI is an AI accounting tool to automate your bookkeeping tasks. It's beneficial if you find yourself spending too much time on transaction categorization or frequently dealing with bookkeeping errors.

One of Booke AI's most helpful features is its ability to automatically detect and correct bookkeeping errors, which helps you maintain accurate financial records.

It analyzes your financial transactions using AI technology, categorizing each based on historical data and learned patterns. This helps you save time and reduce errors since you don't have to categorize each transaction manually.

In addition, Booke AI scans and corrects your financial records for inconsistencies or coding errors. This ensures that your financial records are always up-to-date and accurate. It can also help you identify trends, flag potential issues, and offer insights that guide your business strategy and financial planning.

Although more relevant for firms, Booke AI's client communication tools can also improve interactions between your team and vendors or clients, making it easier to stay organized and on top of things.

Booke AI integrates well with popular accounting software, including Xero, QuickBooks Online, and QuickBooks Desktop, so you don't have to worry about disruptions to your existing accounting workflows.

Booke Best AI Features

• Robotic AI Bookkeeper: It combines robotic process automation with GPT models for bookkeeping. You can instruct it to update books daily, weekly, or monthly. When it detects any uncategorized transaction, it notifies you or your clients.

• Month-End Close: When you create month-end reports in a hurry, Booke can review them to locate inconsistencies and rectify them.
• Document Data Extraction: Booke’s AI utilizes OCR technology to scan physical documents like invoices, receipts, and PDFs to extract transaction information.

Booke Pros and Cons

Pros

• Transforms existing legacy accounting tools to an easy AI-enabled accounting app and Chrome extension
• Highly affordable
• You can set up the AI app yourself
• Dedicated portals and mobile apps for clients and businesses/firms to streamline communication and financial task management

Cons

• Does not offer a standalone accounting interface
• There isn't a specific mention of Booke AI's compliance standards or detailed data security practices. This could be a big downside for a tool that handles sensitive financial data.
• You need a business email to sign up

User Review:

“This AI-powered bookkeeping tool is pure magic! It works like a charm with Xero, automating so many tasks and saving me a ton of time. I've cut my month-end closing time by at least 50%. You have to give it a try! - Karen White, Booke user.

Booke Pricing

Its Data Entry Automation Hub costs 20/month.IfyouwanttouseAIinexistingtoolslikeQuickBooksorXero,youcansubscribetotheRoboticAIBookkeeperfor20/month. If you want to use AI in existing tools like QuickBooks or Xero, you can subscribe to the Robotic AI Bookkeeper for 20/month.IfyouwanttouseAIinexistingtoolslikeQuickBooksorXero,youcansubscribetotheRoboticAIBookkeeperfor50/month.

Click here to try Booke

Bill (Formerly Divvy) - Best for business payments

Bill is an AI accounting software for AP workflow acceleration and data entry automation. It uses AI and machine learning to automatically extract critical information from invoices and other documents.

When you receive an invoice, Bill's AI analyzes the document and pulls out essential data such as vendor names, invoice numbers, amounts, and due dates. By doing this, Bill cuts down the time and effort you'd normally spend on manual data entry.

I enjoy the convenience that Bill provides to quickly create vendor records and bills in the system with data extracted by AI. Because the process is automated, the chances of human error - like mistyping an invoice number or entering the wrong amount - are greatly reduced.

Bill's AI is also trained to recognize and flag duplicate invoices. This feature helps prevent you from accidentally paying the same bill twice, which can be a common error in manual processes.

The tool allows you to connect with AP & AR management systems like QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Oracle Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, and Xero to enhance and streamline your existing workflows.

It also conducts regular SOC 1 and SOC 2 audits, uses role-based access control, and employs data encryption with TLS to ensure your data security.

Bill Best AI Features

• Automated Bill Creation Process: Its AI automatically populates essential fields of an invoice, including invoice number, vendor name, due date, and amount. It also detects multiple bills or duplicates within multi-page invoices and saves you from double payments.
• Invoice Data Extraction: This feature enables the automatic extraction of information from your documents. There is no chance of mistakes as fields are left empty for any incomprehensible data.

Bill Pros and Cons

Pros

• Automates accounts payable processes, cutting processing time significantly
• Automatic separation of multiple invoices into individual bills and various features for accounts receivable management
• Automated warning on duplicate invoice detection
• Can integrate with other AP/AR systems for seamless workflows

Cons

• Too many subscription plans can make inexperienced users confused
• Requires a learning curve to make the most out of its rich mix of features and navigation bars.
• Some users complained that they failed to get desired assistance from the support team

User Rating & Review:

• G2: 4.3/5 (806 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.1/5 (502 reviews)

“The best thing about Bill.com is it is a complete solution for all your AP needs where you get all AP-related things in one place. All AP modules in bill.com are very good at auto-processing of bills, easy vendor creation, and payments with a single click. AI automation in Bill is super, which remembers each vendor and has all dimensions. It has training features in the portal and good customer support. It is also easy to implement and integrate with other software such as Quickbooks and NetSuite. - Aditi G., G2 user

Bill Pricing

Bill services are free for users and partners of its Spend & Expense plan. The prices of other paid plans start at $45/user/mo. For the Enterprise plan, you get custom pricing.

Click here to try Bill

Bonus: Receipt-AI for speeding up receipt scanning and data entry

Receipt-AI is a simple AI accounting tool that helps you manage receipts more easily and efficiently.

It allows you to take a picture of your