Can AI do my bookkeeping for me?

Section 01 · tested at home

What I do

I ran bars for years. The bookkeeping was done by a chartered accountant, and it still is. AI files my invoices, prepares my questions and explains an obscure line to me.

Section 02 · step by step

Your monthly bookkeeping in 20 minutes

1. 2.1Step 2.1: Collect the month's invoices: the "Invoices" label in Gmail (setting below), plus receipts as photos.
2. 2.2Step 2.2: Drop them into ChatGPT or Claude with prompt 1: table, totals, duplicates.
3. 2.3Step 2.3: Export your bank statement for the month as CSV, hide your IBAN, and run prompt 2: it lists the payments with no invoice.
4. 2.4Step 2.4: Chase each missing invoice with prompt 3: a ready email, supplier by supplier.
5. 2.5Step 2.5: Before your appointment, prompt 4 prepares the questions to ask your accountant.

Here are my invoices for the month.
Make a table I can copy into Google Sheets: date, supplier, amount excl. VAT, VAT, total incl. VAT, category.
Put the totals (excl. VAT, VAT, incl. VAT) at the top.
Flag duplicates, invoices with no date or no VAT, and anything that looks odd.
Don't calculate my taxes and don't tell me what to declare.

Here is my bank statement for the month (CSV) and the table of my invoices.
For each debit, find the matching invoice (same amount, close date).
List the payments with no invoice: date, amount, bank label.
If you hesitate between two invoices, say so. Don't invent anything.

Write a short, polite email to [supplier] asking for the invoice for [amount] paid on [date].
Simple tone, no administrative formulas. Three sentences maximum.

Here is my table for the quarter.
List the 5 questions to ask my accountant: expenses to justify, unclear categories, what I might forget.
Then explain in plain words this line of my balance sheet: [paste the line].
Don't give me any tax advice.

Section 03 · going further

The invoice drawer: Gmail sorts them by itself

One Gmail filter, set up once, and every invoice lands in the same drawer. No need to connect your mailbox to AI: its Gmail connector doesn't read attached PDFs.

1. 3.1Step 3.1: On a computer, open Gmail and type in the search bar: has:attachment {invoice receipt bill}
2. 3.2Step 3.2: Click the options icon, on the right of the search bar, then "Create filter".
3. 3.3Step 3.3: Tick "Apply the label", create the label "Invoices", and tick "Also apply filter to matching conversations".
4. 3.4Step 3.4: Every month, open "Invoices", download the month's PDFs and drop them into the chat with prompt 1.

Gmailhas:attachment {invoice receipt bill}Show search options1Create filter2

Gmail · Create filterSkip the Inbox (Archive it)✓Apply the label: Invoices1✓Also apply filter to matching conversations2Create filter3