12 ways your firm can use AI to improve operations

September 12, 2023 10:00 AM

There's no doubt that artificial intelligence and automation are two of the hottest topics in the business world. Companies in virtually every industry are now excitedly researching how they can use AI to automate tasks, streamline operations, and amplify productivity and work output. Accounting firms in particular are using AI to expedite all kinds of administrative tasks and improve operations.

Are you wondering how AI can revolutionize your own accounting practice? I've got you covered! In my journey as the owner of Kairos Venture Studios, which specializes in launching new online businesses in the Latin American market, I have discovered these impactful ways accounting firms can optimize their operations with AI.

Evaluating client support employees

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Do you have standard operating procedures for your client support team? For example, do you have SOPs related to the email greetings to new accounting clients and how steps are written out when onboarding a new business client? Or do you ask that client support agents reply to all email inquiries within two hours of receipt during business hours? These SOPs are pivotal for streamlining communications and preventing further client frustration that could ultimately lead to a loss of business.

Therefore, it would be in your best interest to verify that your client support agents abide by your designated SOPs. AI is here to help! You can pass all support team emails through AI applications like Smartwriter.ai to judge how well they hold up to your company's SOPs and values. You can also use AI software like TimeToReply to analyze average response time to email inquiries. If there are any discrepancies, you can further train your client support agents so they can provide the best service possible.

Streamlining client check-ins

Regular, consistent check-ins are key for maintaining relationships with your accounting clients and landing new ones. The problem is that manually sending out monthly email follow-ups to your entire client list can take so much time and effort. So let AI handle it! An automatic email follow-up tool like Mixmax can help your practice better check in with current and potential clients to keep leads warm and strengthen existing client relationships.

Customizing every step of the client experience

Your client base may comprise of all kinds of demographics, all with varying needs and interests. For example, both a Fortune 500 CEO and stay-at-home mom might need your accounting services, as well as both baby boomers and Gen Zers. So why would you use the same marketing strategy for all of them? AI can help customize the entire marketing experience each of your customers has.

For example, you can use AI software like Klaviyo to personalize email blasts for the various demographics in your customer list. An AI tool like Unbounce can also select the exact page a potential client will open on your website. Providing tailored experiences can help you showcase your practice in the best way possible, helping you land new clients.

Sending out post-service questionnaires to clients

Client feedback can help your firm improve existing services, pinpoint new demographics to target, and improve the enterprise's overall operations. However, it can be difficult to find the time to come up with an effective questionnaire for clients (and then figure out when to send it). Luckily, AI software like Qualtrics can be used to periodically send out questionnaires to clients to get their valuable feedback. Remember, when clients know that you care about their experience, they will be more likely to stick with your accounting practice.

Analyzing data to identify client pain points

Going off of the last point, it can be a really time-consuming process to read through every client questionnaire to find common complaints and suggestions. However, it is important to do so, as you may be completely unaware of an issue that many of your clients are experiencing. An AI tool like Idiomatic can help your firm pinpoint client pain points based on large data sets (like years of reviews or client feedback). This will help your business improve its offerings and fuel client loyalty.

Content creation, but not for the website

You may think it would be efficient to use ChatGPT to write informative blog posts and copy for service descriptions on your business website. However, don't do this, as Google has already stated that AI-generated content is against their terms and conditions. Using ChatGPT to generate text for your website can cause it to be penalized and lose its ranking in the Google search engine, which can result in a major drop in business.

Instead, I recommend using ChatGPT to write tweets, Facebook posts and other text-based social media content. It can take a lot of time to come up with social media posts each day, which is why so many businesses hire specialists or employees to handle social content creation. However, if you don't have the budget to hire someone to create text-based social media content, ChatGPT can take care of it. You can even train ChatGPT to write in your firm's voice from analyzing previous emails, your other blog posts, etc.

Creating an outline for an online course

As an accountant, you likely have a ton of valuable expertise on managing finances, tax preparation, investing and saving for retirement. You can launch an online course all about investment strategies, tips to ensure more financial freedom, and more. Launching an online course is a fantastic way to generate passive income for your business, so have ChatGPT help you get started! You can use ChatGPT to create the full outline for your online course, then you or an employee can fill in the course and build it.

Brainstorming ideas for the problems your firm faces

Are you struggling to help a business client cut costs? Have new client leads been declining for a while? Trying to figure out how to grow your firm's social media presence? ChatGPT can help you brainstorm solutions for the challenges you face in your company. You can ask ChatGPT to come up with a list of solutions for a specific problem and then take the time to think over all of the options it generates. To be fully transparent, a lot of the presented ideas can be bad, but sometimes an AI-generated solution can lead you down the right path.

Generating summaries of video and phone calls

Do you usually have a team member write summaries of weekly video meetings and phone conference calls? This can take up a lot of valuable time, which costs your business money. On top of this, it can be easy for your team member to forget a major point that was made in the meeting, which can result in a lot of time-wasting back-and-forth emails. That said, I recommend using a transcription service like Otter.ai, as you can then copy the meeting summary into ChatGPT and ask it for a bulleted list of what was important during the phone/video meeting.

Generating job descriptions to make better hires

If you really need to hire a bookkeeper or accounting assistant, writing the perfect description for your job post can be half the battle. If you get the wording wrong or don't sell the position well, you can turn away the best candidates for the job. So let ChatGPT generate the job description for you! I recently did this for my own business and it helped me attract excellent candidates for the position I posted. You will likely need to tweak the description based on your company's goals, but this will free up time for you to focus on other areas of your business.

Creating copy for Google ads

The first place most people go when searching for accounting services in their area is Google. Therefore, a robust Google ad campaign can really make or break your firm's success. While it is paramount to target the right keyword phrases in Google, having messy, confusing or grammatically incorrect ad copy can really turn away potential clients. So use ChatGPT to write succinct and attractive copy for all your Google ads. You may realize that changing your Google ad copy was all that was needed to supercharge your practice's growth!

Writing podcast episodes

Podcasts have exploded in popularity over the years and are now a top source for information on all kinds of topics. Therefore, hosting a podcast all about accounting and money management can help you land a lot more clients! If you are finally ready to launch your podcast or already have one but are struggling to stick to a consistent recording schedule, use ChatGPT to write entire podcast episodes. Tweak the episode so it contains exactly what you want discussed, then you can feed the copy into a voice-generation service. This will create an entire episode for you — NPR just did a whole show like this!