Rethinking the accounting work
After trying to build a replacement for Xero, I changed direction. Our AI agent now works in Xero, and the workflow has been running for about six months.
With our other businesses, we had used an external accounting firm for bookkeeping, reports, payroll and other accounting work. When Cindy started Chloe’s Mama Kitchen, I wanted to try a different approach.
My first idea was to use AI to develop a system for our own business that could replace accounting software such as Xero. I spent some time on that before realising I had taken the project in the wrong direction.
I changed the question I was trying to answer. We could keep Xero and have an AI agent operate it. The work I wanted to reconsider was the work we had previously handed to an accounting firm, rather than the accounting software itself.
That meant adjusting the setup around the agent and the scope of the work I delegated to it. The agent now operates our Xero account for bookkeeping and other accounting activities, and the BAS work has gone through to submission.
By the time I shared this story, the setup had been running for about six months. For our small business, I estimate that it saves around A$300 a month in accounting costs. There is also a feedback loop that automatically improves the agent’s skills as the work continues.
The useful part of this experience was recognising the detour. My first instinct had been to build a new tool. After spending time on it, I decided to keep the existing tool and change how the work around it was done. That became the direction of our accounting experiment for the little kitchen.
