Does QuickBooks Assistant have the answer?
Artificial intelligence for accounting is landing in the UK. Because software provider Intuit QuickBooks is launching QuickBooks Assistant after its US introduction last year.
And the group says the chat-bot will tell you how much you made last month. How much you're going to make next year. And how much tax you owe!
QB Assistant is a "virtual assistant" that "offers a conversational chat experience", says the company. It combines data-driven insights and natural language processing to understand intent and identify context. From tax obligations to expense tracking, cash flow and profitability.
Business insights from QuickBooks Assistant
So those who work for themselves can ask questions or state requests and access insights easily.
“We are delighted to be launching QuickBooks Assistant in the UK, ” says Dominic Allon, vice-president and managing director of Intuit Europe (above).
He adds that direct data feeds are, or will soon, be available with major UK banks including Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, HSBC, Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Santander.
Smarter connections
Also announced at QuickBooks Connect at London Printworks recently was the integration of QuickBooks Self-Employed and QuickBooks Online Accountant. Soon to be available, the integration provides "smarter connections" between self-employed workers and accountants.
So, as the UK sees a big uptick in self-employment, with those workers now accounting for 15 per cent of all those in work, accountants are taking on more self-employed clients than ever.
New integration
"The new integration allows accountants that use QBOA to access their customers’ QuickBooks Self-Employed portals through their own account. It provides a seamless, collaborative client workflow. And it saves accountants valuable time by eliminating the extra step of logging into a separate portal," says the company.
“Our commitment to continued innovation for our customers – from our use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to partnering with key financial institutions and providing seamless integration between products – underlines our role in helping to foster a strong fintech ecosystem in the UK,” says Dominic Allon.
“A major part of this is better preparing our customers, whether business owners or accountants, for the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD). Technology that offers a smooth experience will empower customers to prepare for MTD and file taxes digitally with ease and confidence.
"This will free them up to make smarter decisions, smarter connections and smarter money.”
