What a client advisory services (CAS) firm can automate for each client

CAS here is the recurring work a firm does inside a client's books: coding, reconciling, a close pack, sometimes bill pay or payroll coordination. AICPA describes the automatable shape as copying data between systems, sending the same emails, and linking an action in one tool to the next action in another. Their worked example is onboarding: a form comes in, records get created, a welcome email goes out. The same shape applies to a monthly close. (How to build automations in your small firm)

It is not:

• ASC 606 contract to cash software for a SaaS company. Wrong problem.
• An AI that signs the reports, files a return, or decides whether a cost is capital.
• A generic Zap that posts to the client without anyone reading it.

Publication 583 still wants a complete set of books that clearly shows income, deductions and credits, plus supporting documents. Electronic records have to meet the same bar as paper. (Publication 583) Automation that loses the source document is not a close. It is a mess with a timestamp.

Do this at onboarding, then revisit when the engagement changes. If the card does not exist, you cannot automate the file. You can only improvise. The intake fields that feed this card are in client intake and task tracking.

Run the same order on every file. Automate the mechanical steps. Park anything that needs judgment.

Document chasing is still the thing that makes the rest wait. If that is the bottleneck, use the collection system and keep it off the bookkeeper's chair.

In QuickBooks Online, bank rules categorize downloaded transactions. You can set money in or money out, pick accounts, add up to five conditions on description, bank text or amount, and set type, category, tags and payee. QuickBooks applies one rule per transaction, in the order of the rules list. You can export rules from one company file and import them into another. There is a cap of 2,000 rules. (Set up bank rules)

Auto post (Intuit also calls this auto add) posts matching transactions immediately, without a review step. Intuit tells you to use it with caution, and to start with simple repeating items such as rent or fuel. Auto post rules run when you sign in, upload a file, or create or change an auto post rule. (Set up bank rules)

A workable policy for a CAS file:

• Build rules for vendors that look the same every month. Test the rule against the For review tab before you trust it.
• Leave auto post off until you have watched that vendor for two closes.
• Never auto post transfers, owner draws, loan proceeds, payroll, or anything that might be personal.
• If you copy rules into a new client file, walk the chart of accounts first. An imported rule that points at the wrong account is a quiet error.
• A RULE badge is a suggestion. An AUTO badge already hit the books. Review auto posted items in the first weeks, not never.

Illustrative. One S corp, cash basis, two bank accounts, one card, no inventory. The firm does books and a monthly pack. It does not pay bills or run payroll.

The automation did the coding of known vendors, the reminder, and the lock. A person still decided the mower. That split is the whole point of the service card.

• Capital versus expense, accruals, inventory counts, related party rent and management fees
• Anything the client will see as advice, not as a report they already asked for
• Payroll amounts, filings and tax deposits
• Writing off AR, offering discounts, or paying a vendor
• Signing the pack as if it were a compilation or review you have not actually performed
• The tax return. Separate books help. They do not replace a CPA on the 1120-S.

AICPA's own sequence is the same: pick one routine task, test it with sample data, then expand. Do not start with the judgment. (How to build automations in your small firm)

Download the per client checklist. One sheet per client. The service card fields, the monthly steps, a column for automate or person, the stop rule, and a line for auto post vendors you have actually approved.

Fill it during onboarding, then again after the second close. The second close is when you find out which "always the same" vendor is not.