.png){kind=icon}
How much time does AI save in your accounting? (example)
Everyone says AI saves time, but how much does it really save? Discover in this calculation example how many hours per month you win back with Exact Online and an AI assistant.
You know it can be faster, but how much faster?
Everyone says AI saves time in your administration. But how much time does it really save?
Instead of vague promises, we show you concretely. In this article we calculate exactly how many hours you win back each month when you use an AI assistant in combination with Exact Online.
The figures are based on what we see daily with SME companies and accountancy firms that automate their administration with our connector. And even when we calculate conservatively, you often earn the connector back within half a working day.
The starting point
For this calculation example we take a typical SME scenario:
- 1 bookkeeper or administrator
- 50 to 200 administrations/clients
- Exact Online as accounting software
- Average hourly rate of €85 per hour
The difference lies mainly in how you work.
Manual means: logging in, navigating, setting filters, exporting a report and opening Excel. With AI you simply ask a question. For example: "Which invoices are still open at Van der Berg?" Within a few seconds you have the answer. No menus, no exports, no Excel.
Daily tasks: from 18 minutes to 1 minute
Many administrative tasks come back every day. Below is an overview of the most common ones.
| Task | Frequency | Manual | With AI | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Checking outstanding items | 1x per day | 5 min | 15 sec | 4.75 min |
| Looking up client data | 5x per day | 2 min | 10 sec | 9.2 min |
| Checking payments | 1x per day | 3 min | 15 sec | 2.75 min |
| Daily total | 18 min | ~ 1 min | ~ 17 min |
For comparison: manually you log in to Exact Online, navigate to accounts receivable, set filters and wait for the overview to load. With AI you simply ask the question and get an answer within seconds.
Curious how big that difference is in practice? In our article on manual vs. AI reporting we show step by step how AI speeds up the process.
Weekly tasks: from 33 minutes to 1 minute
Reports and overviews traditionally take a lot of time too.
| Task | Frequency | Manual | With AI | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts receivable overview | 1x per week | 10 min | 15 sec | 9.75 min |
| Creating a revenue overview | 1x per week | 15 min | 20 sec | 14.87 min |
| Accounts payable overview | 1x per week | 8 min | 15 sec | 7.75 min |
| Weekly total | 33 min | ~ 1 min | ~ 32 min |
You notice the difference most with reports. Manually you export data to Excel and create a pivot table. With AI you ask: "Give me the top 10 clients by revenue this month." The overview appears immediately.
Monthly tasks: from 115 minutes to 7 minutes
The larger administrative tasks become considerably faster.
| Task | Frequency | Manual | With AI | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAT preparation | 1x per month | 45 min | 3 min | 42 min |
| Profit and loss statement | 1x per month | 20 min | 30 sec | 19.5 min |
| Client analyses | 2x per month | 15 min | 30 sec | 14.5 min |
| Creating invoices | 10x per month | 40 min | 1 min | 39 min |
| Monthly total | 120 min | 5 min | 115 min |
VAT preparation in particular delivers a lot of time savings. AI checks the preliminary return, flags discrepancies and automatically detects missing entries. What previously took three quarters of an hour is now sorted in a few minutes.
The sum: 10 hours per month
How much time do you actually win back when you add it all up?
| Category | Saving per week | Saving per month |
|---|---|---|
| Daily tasks | 85 min | 340 min (5.7 hours) |
| Weekly tasks | 32 min | 128 min (2.1 hours) |
| Monthly tasks | -- | 131 min (2.2 hours) |
| Total | ~ 10 hours per month |
That is more than a full working day that you win back every month.
What does that yield financially?
Time savings mean directly more productivity and lower costs.
Costs
| Costs | Essentials | Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Base subscription | €29 per month | €79 per month |
| Extra administration | From €15 per month | From €25 per month |
| Setup | Free | Free |
Saving
| Saving | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Hours saved | ~ 10 hours | ~ 120 hours |
| Value (85 euro per hour) | €850 | €10,200 |
| Connector costs | €29 to €79 | €348 to €948 |
| Net saving | €771 to €821 | €9,252 to €9,852 |
Two scenarios from practice
Scenario 1: Freelance bookkeeper with 3 clients
With the Essentials subscription you pay €29 per month, plus 2 extra administrations at €15, totalling €59 per month. Thanks to AI you save around 25 hours per month, worth €2,125. That means a return of no less than 36x your investment!
Scenario 2: Accountancy firm with 15 clients
Here you pay €29 base + 14 extra administrations at €12 (volume discount from 11 administrations), totalling €197 per month. With AI you save about 120 hours per month, a value of €10,200. You earn the investment back in less than 2 hours.
In both scenarios the connector pays for itself within half a working day. More time for your clients, your team and growth, while your administration largely runs automatically.
For bookkeepers with multiple clients
With multiple administrations the saving grows faster than the costs, thanks to our volume discount. As soon as you reach the next tier, the lower rate applies retroactively to all your extra administrations. This way you benefit from economies of scale straight away.
| Number of administrations | Saving per month | Costs (Essentials) | Net saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 hours (€850) | €29 | €821 |
| 5 | 40 hours (€3,400) | €89 (1 + 4 x €15) | €3,311 |
| 10 | 85 hours (€7,225) | €164 (1 + 9 x €15) | €7,061 |
| 25 | 200 hours (€17,000) | €317 (1 + 24 x €12) | €16,683 |
From 11 administrations you pay €12 per extra administration instead of €15. This lower rate then applies to all extra administrations.
What this calculation does not yet include
Besides measurable time savings, AI in your administration also delivers:
- Fewer errorsAI makes no typing or calculation mistakes when looking up and summarising data.
- Faster decision-makingImmediate insight into figures, without waiting for reports.
- Better client experienceYou answer questions about invoices and payments right away, without "I will look into it and get back to you."
- Less stressRoutine work disappears. You can focus fully on advice, analysis and strategic tasks, the work that really adds value.
Want to know how to get started right away? In our step-by-step guide you have the connector up and running within 2 minutes.
Do the maths yourself. Start 30 days free →
