From a local server and manual everything
to a firm that runs on automation.
When this engagement started, the firm was operating on a physical on-site server with no backup, using Microsoft 365 for email only, and handling every client-facing process manually: no consistent onboarding, no document structure, no automation of any kind. Staff kept files on local machines. Critical communications ran through individual inboxes. There was no web presence and no long-term strategy.
Three years later, the firm runs on a fully structured Microsoft 365 environment. Workflows that once required staff time are automated. Client intake, document handling, and communications are centralized, and clients now manage their own documents through a self-serve portal instead of routing everything through the firm's inbox. An AI agent manages ad-hoc operational requests across the entire M365 stack, and gets more capable every week.
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Infrastructure foundation
Migrated the firm off the local server entirely. Built a structured SharePoint architecture for both personal and corporate client data. Standardized OneDrive across the team and put monitoring in place for client file activity. The foundation everything else runs on.
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Digital presence and CRM
Built the firm's first website. Migrated to a centralized CRM, configured core communication flows, and automated appointment booking in sync with Microsoft 365 calendars and individual employee schedules — no manual coordination.
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Workflow automation
Audited core accounting and admin workflows and rebuilt them. Moved critical client communications out of individual Outlook inboxes into a centralized, monitored structure. Inbound documents are now processed automatically: invoices filed to the correct SharePoint folders, Microsoft Teams alerts and Planner tasks triggered on key events.
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Client self-serve portal
Replaced the client experience with a self-serve portal: live account balance and next-action visibility pulled from Xero, and a document center where clients can view, download, and browse everything the firm has shared with them — including past invoices — the moment it's filed. There's no separate publishing step. Staff drop a document into the client's normal SharePoint folder exactly as they always have, and it appears on that client's dashboard automatically.
Client uploads work the same way in reverse: dropped in with no type picker, read and classified automatically — personal or corporate, invoice or tax slip — filed to the right account and folder, and routed to the right Teams alert or Planner task. Onboarding now runs as a conversational chat instead of a static form, following up on incomplete answers and flagging what a client doesn't have on hand rather than blocking them on it.
An earlier version of this portal had already been built and stood up, but it never made it into the firm's actual workflow. Once the real requirements were clear, the better call was to repurpose what was reusable and rebuild the client-facing experience from scratch rather than retrofit a first attempt.
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AI operations agent
Built an autonomous agent with full access to the Microsoft 365 environment — tightly scoped, controlled, and secure. The agent handles operational requests in plain language, executed directly against the firm's systems.
- Take care of this email.
- Notify the team when an invoice arrives from this vendor.
- Create a recurring report for the work completed on these clients.
- Add these clients to the corporate payroll nurture campaign.
When a request falls outside its current capabilities, the agent logs the workflow and notifies me. Once I build the tool, the agent handles that request automatically going forward. Its capability grows continuously — without the firm having to track what it can or can't do.
Impact
The firm doesn't track this formally — hours saved, ticket counts, that kind of measurement isn't how they operate day to day. But the clearest signal showed up as a decision they didn't have to make: when a staff member who'd handled inbox triage and document filing moved on, the firm didn't need to backfill the role. The work that person did by hand was already being handled by the systems above.
In development
- Full marketing strategy and campaign infrastructure
- Automated bank statement reconciliation with QuickBooks and Xero
Three more firms are currently onboarding.
Each with their own mix of infrastructure gaps, workflow bottlenecks, and automation opportunities. Case studies will be added as those engagements mature.
If your firm is working through similar challenges, the process starts with a conversation.
Recognize any of this?
Most accounting firms are further along on the problem list than they realize. A 30-minute call is enough to find out where the biggest gaps are.
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