| Traditional bookkeeper | Back-office software suites | The Automated Biz (AI) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $300–$1,000+ for a bookkeeper or bookkeeping service | Often unpublished — usually "request a demo" | $0 – $74.99, listed on the site |
| Getting started | Interviews, handing over statements, weeks to catch up | Sales calls and an onboarding project | Sign up and start the same day |
| How often books update | Monthly, after the fact | Daily, once set up | Every time you snap an invoice or your bank syncs |
| Who enters invoices | You mail or upload them; they type them in | Usually your staff, in the software | AI reads them — math checked automatically |
| Supplier price hikes | Rarely noticed | Some systems track your own prices | Tracked over time and compared to U.S. market data |
| Managers can help | No | With full software access | Photo-only logins — they never see your numbers |
| Financial statements | Yes, monthly | Yes | P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, every week |
| Human judgment | Yes — a real person | Your team | You review anything the AI is unsure of |
For taxes, yes — The Automated Biz keeps your books, it does not file your taxes. Most owners hand their accountant the P&L, balance sheet and cash flow at tax time, which makes that job faster and cheaper.
The AI reads every invoice into structured data, then checks that the lines add up to the total and re-reads anything that doesn't. Each line is marked by confidence, so you only review the uncertain ones, and every correction you make is remembered.
If you want someone else to handle everything without reviewing anything yourself, or your business has complex accounting like inventory costing across many entities, a professional bookkeeper or accountant is still worth it. Many owners use both.