Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is the job everyone puts off until tax time. Accounting software pulls in bank transactions, sorts them into categories, tracks what each job made, and gives your accountant a clean set of books. The AI features mostly show up as automatic categorizing, cleanup suggestions and plain-language reports.

Prices in the list are copied from vendor pages, with the date we read them.

When AI helps

• Categorizing. It learns that a supply house charge is materials and suggests it next time.
• Cleanup. It flags duplicates, oddities and uncategorized items before your accountant does.
• Questions in plain English. “What did we spend on fuel last quarter?” without building a report.

AI doesn’t replace an accountant’s judgment on taxes, payroll or 1099s.

What to look for

Items marked must-have are the ones that decide whether a tool fits this job.

• Clean sync with your FSM (must-have). Invoices and payments come over once, with no duplicates and the right customer.
• Accurate auto-categorizing. We check a sample batch of real-world transactions.
• Job costing. You can see profit by job or project.
• Contractor and 1099 handling for subs.
• Easy for an owner who isn’t an accountant.
• Price for the plan you actually need, after any intro discount ends.

Common pitfalls

• Intro discounts. Several plans show a low price for the first few months. Budget for the regular price.
• Plan caps. Entry plans may limit invoices, bills or users.
• Double entry. If your FSM and your books both create invoices, you’ll count revenue twice. Pick one system that creates them.
• Not inviting your accountant early. Set the chart of accounts up with them, not after the fact.

FAQ

QuickBooks or Xero?

Both are common with small service businesses. The deciding factor is usually which one your FSM integrates with best, and which one your accountant prefers.

Is the free plan enough?

Free plans exist, but they’re limited. One we list caps invoices and users and has no accountant access. They suit very small operations.

Can AI do my bookkeeping for me?

It can do a lot of the sorting. Someone still needs to review it, and an accountant should handle taxes.