How to use AI for bookkeeping without losing control

We’re firmly in the AI era, including for business finance. Founders and entrepreneurs interested in exploring these new tools may be hesitant to fully trust AI with something as critical as bookkeeping, fearing they may start losing control over the most critical aspect of their business.

Many small business leaders struggle to balance human judgement and AI, especially with so many software options available.

That’s what we’re discussing today – balancing new-age tools like Pilot with existing financial systems and protocols you’ve developed and relied on with the ultimate goal of making your life easier and your bookkeeping a little less DIY.

What can AI actually do in bookkeeping?

AI is fantastic at providing human decision makers with organized data that can identify financial patterns and trends in bookkeeping. When it can also sync your banks and flag duplicates and irregularities, it helps put you on the fast track to using those insights to make decisions and push your business forward.

Think of it as a digital workforce to pair with your human workforce. This lets your human staff focus on higher-value tasks instead of poring through spreadsheets to find something like a billing discrepancy from six months ago or spending billable hours on repetitive busy work that often produces mistakes. 

Instead, let the humans on your team be the financial decision makers you hired them to be. Or, if it’s still you running the finance department, then you have an AI assistant saving you hours in busy work that can be so difficult to find the time to do with everything required of you to run the company.

Many financial AI tools, like Pilot, integrate with QuickBooks and Xero. Some of these companies even have AI components themselves. One example: Pilot’s Instant Answers, a 24/7 AI tool that lets you ask financial questions directly and get insights in seconds.

Above everything else, your selected tool should operate as compatible technology with your existing systems to truly show its value. Ultimately, it’s you who is managing the AI support, not the other way around.

Where does AI fall short with bookkeeping?

We started this guide by expressing that finding the balance between AI and human decision-making is challenging. That’s because you can also lean a little too far into AI and become overreliant.

AI won’t know the nuance and context associated with your business. Whether it's your financial categorization methods you’ve come to understand for your business or a lack of strategic judgment around edge cases, equity, payroll, or revenue, business financial AI tools require human interference.

We encourage entrepreneurs and founders to remember that AI doesn’t tell the story; you do. Tax strategists, investors, or shareholders associated with your business will love to hear that you’ve implemented tools to make your finances more efficient and organized. But, they will be disappointed if you can’t accurately assess or describe your business’s status or growth opportunities from a financial perspective. You have to stay plugged into the output of AI tools and adjust them as necessary to meet the unique needs of your business.

It’s a balancing act, and one that the team at Pilot can help you achieve.

Should I trust AI to handle my books on my own?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: AI is an objective tool that, when deployed correctly, will help provide organized, helpful data. But, if it’s not managed and regulated, it could create costly problems. Whether that’s a miscategorized expense, missed dedication, or anything in between, it would be reckless not to review your AI’s financial output like any employee on your staff.

Even better, get an AI tool with human experts behind it, like Pilot, whose team of professionals help make financial insights actionable.

When can I use AI, and when should I invest in an expert?

There is no specific time AI should or shouldn’t get used, just like there isn’t ever an obvious time for you to turn over your bookkeeping to an expert. It depends on where your business is currently, where you project it to go, and how important it would be to your day-to-day to offload that responsibility.

Whether it's you or financial experts on your staff, ensure a review process is in place for AI output. It will help you, and any expert or third-party consultant you bring on, make the most of your AI investment.

This is where a program like Pilot offers a superior blending of tech and expertise. Triple-checked books from real finance professionals can help make sense of your bookkeeping. You stay fast and compliant while expanding your financial resources without giving up control.

How does Pilot combine AI and human expertise?

At Pilot, we’re focused on delivering clarity, accuracy, and consistency from our trained team members to our proprietary tech stack, which we use to speed up your bookkeeping process and provide a 24/7 financial chat advisor.

We strive to produce few to no errors and help our partners strengthen their audit or fundraising readiness. The best thing we can provide our partners is speedy insight, data, and organization required to help you make critical, informed decisions about your business.

Ultimately, we know how time-consuming and emotionally exhausting DIY finances can be, and how unattainable an expert CFO can feel for small businesses. We are the hybrid solution that can give you peace of mind by delivering AI-assisted bookkeeping support that keeps you in control as your business scales.

Want to see how AI fits into that system in real time? Explore how Pilot’s Instant Answers tool works.