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Before

Where would AI actually pay in our firm?

Most firms know AI matters and cannot say where it would pay.

After

The AI Audit · For firms of about 5 to 50 people

Know what to build first.

One working call. One written plan. Five business days. $997. When you’re ready, Vera can help build it.

Book a free 30-minute callStart the audit · $997

The call is free, by video, anywhere in the US. Starting the audit takes no payment on this page: you pick a time, and our founder confirms the details and sends the $997 invoice.

Written planSample

1Where you stand today2Your highest-value opportunities3What to do first4What it takes, and the risks5Your roadmap, in order

Before

Today

  • What you pay for now, and what it is really doing for you.
  • Where your people’s hours go.
  • What AI tools say about your firm when a customer asks who to hire.

After · what you get

A written plan, in five parts.

  1. 1Where you stand today
  2. 2Your highest-value opportunities, ranked
  3. 3What to do first, and why that one
  4. 4What it takes, and the risks
  5. 5Your roadmap, in order

The sample

Judge the work before you pay for it.

Short enough to read in one sitting. Here is a sample, part by part.

Sample & Co. is an accounting, tax and bookkeeping firm of 12 people, and it does not exist. Every name and number is an illustration of what a plan looks like. None of it is a client result.

Written plan · Page 1 Sample

Prepared for Sample & Co.

An accounting, tax and bookkeeping firm · 12 people. This firm does not exist. Every name and number is an illustration.

The short version

Your people spend about 28 hours a week on four jobs that follow the same steps every time. Start with chasing documents. It is not the largest of the four, but it involves no tax judgment and it is the easiest to check.

Before any of that, one thing needs fixing this week, at no cost. And two things you might expect to see here, we recommend you leave alone.

The jobCosts you now
1Quick-question emailsabout $29,600 a year
2Moving numbers between programsabout $22,500 a year
3Sorting transactionsabout $21,600 a year
4Chasing documents · Start hereabout $7,200 a year

1. Where you stand today Sample

What your people already put into AI.

On the call, four of twelve said they use a free chat tool to reword client emails, and two have pasted in parts of a client's letter from a tax agency. The firm pays for five seats of a business AI assistant that keeps what is typed private; three of those seats have not been opened in 60 days. So client information is going into the tool that protects it least, while the one you pay for sits unused. There is no written rule on what may go into either.

What you pay for, and what it is doing.

You pay forAboutWhat it is really doing
Tax preparation software$1,400 a monthThe core of the business. Its document-request feature is switched off.
Practice management and client portal$600 a monthUsed for due dates. Clients still send documents by email because nobody showed them the portal.
Business AI assistant, 5 seats$150 a monthTwo people use it. Three seats unopened in 60 days.
Bookkeeping software, firm plan$350 a monthUsed daily. Its bank rules are set up for 9 of 40 clients.

Where the hours go.

The jobHow oftenTime eachHours
Asking clients for missing documents, and asking againAbout 60 a week, January to AprilAbout 10 minutes10 a week
for 16 weeks
“Quick question” emails from clientsAbout 50 a week, all yearAbout 6 minutes5 a week
Moving numbers from one program into another5 people, all yearAbout 2 hours a week each10 a week
Sorting transactions for monthly books40 clientsAbout 1 hour a month each40 a month

Of the 50 quick questions a week, about 35 are answered by one of the two partners, because staff are not sure they are allowed to. Most are the same dozen questions.

2. Your highest-value opportunities, ranked Sample

The jobCosts you nowWhat would changeWhat could go wrong
1Quick-question emails5 hours a week
about $29,600 a year		A draft answer prepared from the firm's own past answers, for a staff member to check and send. Partners see only the ones that need them.A draft that is wrong about a client's situation. A person reads and sends every one; nothing goes out by itself.
2Moving numbers between programs10 hours a week
about $22,500 a year		The three transfers your people do most are done once, by a connection or an import, and checked.A wrong number carried into a return. Every transfer is checked against a total before anyone relies on it.
3Sorting transactions40 hours a month
about $21,600 a year		Bank rules set up for the other 31 clients, with a suggested category for whatever the rules miss.A wrong category repeated every month. The bookkeeper approves new rules and reviews a sample monthly.
4Chasing documents · Start here10 hours a week in season
about $7,200 a year		Each client gets a list of exactly what is missing, and a reminder on a schedule, through the portal you already pay for.A reminder sent to someone who already sent the document. The list is built from what has actually arrived.
5First drafts of returnsNot countedNothing, for now. See “leave alone” in part 5.Not applicable.

Dollar figures use $45 an hour for staff time and $150 an hour for a partner's, the figures the sample firm gave.

The arithmetic, so you can check it: 3.5 partner hours × $150 + 1.5 staff hours × $45 = $592.50 a week × 50 weeks = $29,625. 10 hours × $45 × 50 weeks = $22,500. 40 hours × $45 × 12 months = $21,600. 10 hours × $45 × 16 weeks = $7,200.

3. What to do first Sample

Chasing documents.

It is fourth on the list by dollars and first by good sense:

  • It follows the same steps for every client and involves no tax judgment, so it is the least likely to surprise you.
  • It uses the portal and the request feature you already pay for. Nothing new touches client records.
  • You can count it yourself: on March 1, how many clients are still missing something, against last March.
  • It has to be in place before January to be worth anything this season. The other three can start any month.
  • What your team learns here, about checking AI's work before it reaches a client, makes the quick-question drafts safer to do next. That is the bigger prize.

What "done" looks like

By the second week of January every individual client has a list of what is missing, reminders go out on a schedule nobody has to remember, and each Monday you get one number: clients still incomplete.

You can do this with your own people, with the vendor of your practice software, or with us. This plan is written so that any of the three can pick it up.

4. What it takes, and the risks Sample

It needsFrom whom
A one-page rule on what may and may not go into an AI toolThe two partners, about an hour
The document-request feature switched on, and last year's client list loadedWhoever administers your tax software
One person who owns the Monday countYour office manager
A check of your written information security plan and your client consent wording before any new tool sees tax return informationA partner, with your own adviser where needed
RiskGuard
Client tax information goes into a tool that keeps itThe one-page rule, and the business assistant for anything with a client's name on it. Federal rules limit how a preparer may use or disclose return information (Internal Revenue Code section 7216), and you are required to keep a written security plan. Check both before connecting anything. This plan is not legal advice.
A wrong answer reaches a clientA person reads and sends every draft. Anything unusual goes to a partner untouched.
Staff work around itThe people who answer the questions help decide which dozen are routine.
A reminder annoys a good clientReminders stop the day the document arrives, and the top 30 clients are handled by hand.

5. Your roadmap, in order Sample

WhenWhat
This week, yourselves, no costWrite the one-page rule on what may go into AI tools and tell everyone. Move the four people off the free tool and onto the seats you already pay for. Start a two-week count of quick-question emails: what was asked and who answered.
Now, before JanuaryChasing documents, as in part 3.
Next, after April 15Quick-question drafts, starting with the dozen questions from your count.
Later, in summerBank rules for the other 31 bookkeeping clients. Then the three transfers between programs, once your software vendor confirms what it can import.
Leave aloneAn AI that answers clients' tax questions directly, without a person. The liability is larger than the saving. And AI-prepared first drafts of returns this season: the checking costs as much as the drafting saves until your review process is built for it. Do not replace your tax software; the problem is features you have not switched on.

This is a prioritized look across your whole firm, not an exhaustive audit of every corner. We go deep where the money is.

Before · your own number

What does one repeated job cost your firm a year?

Pick the job your team repeats most. Rough guesses are fine. Nothing you type leaves this page.

times
min
an hour

This is one row of a plan. The audit does it for the whole firm, and says which rows are worth changing.

After · costs you now

Example numbers · type your own

$21,600a year

240 times a month × 10 minutes = 40 hours a month
× 12 months = 480 hours a year
× $45 an hour = $21,600

This is what the job costs you now, on your own numbers. It does not say how much of it any tool would take away. Finding that out, job by job, is what the audit is for.

Why you pay for it

A free audit is paid for by what it sells you afterward. This one is paid for by you, so the plan is written for you.

It says “you can do this yourselves”
Write the one-page rule on what may go into AI tools and tell everyone. Move the four people off the free tool and onto the seats you already pay for.
It says “leave this alone”
An AI that answers clients’ tax questions directly, without a person. The liability is larger than the saving.

Both lines are from the sample plan above.

How it works

Under three hours of your time.

  1. 20minutes

    A short intake.

    The software and AI tools you pay for, your team by role, and rough weekly counts of the work that repeats.

  2. 90minutes, up to

    A working call, by video.

    You, our founder, and one person who knows the daily work. We walk through how work actually moves through your firm.

  3. 5business days

    Your written plan.

    Within 5 business days of the call. Short enough to read in one sitting.

  4. 30minutes

    A readout.

    We go through the plan together and answer your questions.

Who you deal with

The working call and the readout are with our founder.

Founded by Nik Palchikoff, a former Wall Street executive who now builds and runs AI systems for his own companies.

Done by video, anywhere in the US.

The AI Audit

$997

One time. Yours to keep.

  • One working call with our founderup to 90 minutes
  • One written plan, in five partswithin 5 business days
  • One readout30 minutes
  • If you change your mindfull refund before your working call

After the working call the fee is not refundable, because the work is done.

Book a free 30-minute callStart the audit · $997

Starting the audit takes no payment on this page: you pick a time, and our founder confirms the details and sends the $997 invoice.

After the audit

Three choices, all fine with us.

  1. Do the first item yourselves, from the plan.

  2. Hand the plan to someone you already work with.

  3. Ask us to build it.

If you ask us, you get a fixed written quote for that one job before you commit to anything. You owe nothing beyond the $997 unless you say yes.

Questions

What owners ask first.

We already have ChatGPT or Copilot. Why this?

Most firms do. Having a tool is not the same as knowing where it pays. Part 1 of your plan shows what your current tools are really doing, and part 5 lists what you can switch on yourself without paying anyone.

Do we have to buy anything afterward?

No. The plan is the product.

Will you look at our clients’ files?

No. We study how your firm works: the steps, the tools, the counts. We do not need your clients’ files, and we ask you not to send them.

What do you need from us?

About 20 minutes for the intake, up to 90 minutes on the working call from you and one person who knows the daily work, and 30 minutes for the readout.

Is this in person?

It is done by video, anywhere in the US.

Do you guarantee results?

No, and be careful of anyone who does before seeing your firm. What we promise is the plan: specific, in your numbers, in your hands within 5 business days of the call.

What does it cost if you build something for us?

It depends on the job, so we do not publish a price. If you want us to build, you get a fixed written quote first.

Does VeraID use AI to do this work?

Yes. AI tools help prepare your plan. Our founder reads and signs off every plan before you see it.

The AI Audit · $997, one time

Get the answer
in writing.

The plan is yours. If you never spend another dollar with us, you still know where you stand and what to do first.

Book a free 30-minute callStart the audit · $997

The call is free, by video, anywhere in the US. Starting the audit takes no payment on this page: you pick a time, and our founder confirms the details and sends the $997 invoice.

Book a free callStart the audit · $997