If you could dedicate your time to building anything, what would you build? Our answer is next-gen bookkeeping, reporting, and tax software powered by AI.
Our mission is to save 100M hours spent on bookkeeping by 2030, with beyond human accuracy. Of all things we could possibly dedicate our time to, let us explain why we’re most excited to build AutoAccru.
Small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) or small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) are, quite frankly, the lifeblood of our nation’s economy. They make up 98% of all employer businesses in Canada, contribute to over half of the total labour force, and account for a huge chunk of our country’s GDP. They create jobs, keep our communities caffeinated, and deliver the innovation that propels humanity forward!
But managing finances? That’s where things get messy. When we ran our own SMB, we learned the hard way that keeping up with our books was like playing a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. It was impossible to know what our books looked like in real-time, and we spent weeks digging through the CRA’s guidance on tax regulations only to end up more confused than when we started.
Accountants can help with time saving and tax efficiency. Many Canadian SMBs end up paying more than they owe, simply because they don’t have the resources or know-how to dig deeper into potential deductions. Our accountant was not only critical in helping us understand how to categorize our transactions, but because of him, we were able to claim back a significant amount in tax deductions, money we were able to reinvest into hiring more people and growing our business.
Despite the rise of accounting tools, most of them are about as “automated” as IKEA furniture is assembled. To really put this into perspective, the biggest technology players in the space is Quickbooks Desktop, a locally hosted software tool that came out in 1992 and its UI/UX has barely changed since then. But you don’t have to take our word for it, take a look for yourself below.
2024 Quickbooks Desktop (Latest Version)
With these tools multiple standard deviations away from AI, the average bookkeeper can easily spend 16–20 hours every month sorting through receipts, categorizing transactions, and reconciling accounts for a single client. Multiply that by the hundreds of clients these firms serve, and you have a recipe for delays, errors, and a constant struggle to find time to listen to clients and provide tailored advice.
The fact of the matter is it’s not their fault - these firms aim to spend as much time as possible understanding their customers and help them navigate their financials. The majority of these firms truly care about their clients’ success. They just don’t have the right tools that can free up their time to let them leverage their expertise effectively.
At AutoAccru, we’re on a mission to make life easier for small-to-medium accounting firms across Canada. We don’t think we can just do a little better, we believe in a future where Accountants can focus on what they do best—giving SMBs the financial guidance they need, instead of spending hours categorizing transactions and running after missing receipts.