How Automation Transformed Michelle Irwin’s Practice

From Ledgers to One-Click Reconciliations 

Michelle started her career reconciling bank accounts manually in ledger books. One cent out of place, and she’d spend hours tracking it down. That discipline stayed with her, but so did the desire for better systems. 

Today, her firm is fully cloud-based, using Xero and AccountKit to automate the bookkeeping tasks that previously consumed her time. These aren’t trendy add-ons, they’re essential tools that save hours, improve accuracy, and let her deliver higher-quality service without working longer hours. ​

The biggest time-savers? Three key areas in AccountKit: 

• Inter-entity loan reconciliations 
• Equipment finance schedules 
• Prepayment automation 

Inter-Entity Loans Made Simple 

Managing loans between multiple entities can be messy. One of Michelle’s clients has eight entities that regularly transfer money. Without automation, this would mean hopping between files, checking line by line, and hoping nothing was missed. 

With AccountKit, everything balances with a single click. Only the outliers need attention. 

“It easily saves me two to three hours a month for just that one client,” Michelle says. “And it’s not just the time, it’s the accuracy. I can’t bill a client for three hours just to reconcile their own accounts, but the work still needs to be done properly.” 

Equipment Finance, Handled from Day One 

Another win comes with equipment loans. When a client buys a vehicle, Michelle sets up the loan and interest schedule in AccountKit. The system posts entries automatically, so she doesn’t have to revisit it each month. 

“No stress. I just check that it’s all green down the page,” she says. Even small discrepancies between supplier figures and system calculations are usually immaterial, and the accounts remain accurate all year, not just at year end. 

Without this automation, Michelle admits she probably wouldn’t bother managing equipment loans in detail, it would simply take too much effort. 

Prepayments Without the Manual Hassle 

Prepayments used to mean recurring journals, monthly checks, and constant adjustments. Now, Michelle sets them up once in AccountKit and reviews a summary each month. 

Accounts remain accurate, the P&L is clean, and items like insurance or work cover are spread over the full year rather than hitting in one lump sum. 

Without automation, she says, many prepayments wouldn’t even happen, the manual effort simply isn’t worth it. 


Saving Time, Delivering Better Results 

The biggest benefit isn’t just hours saved. Automation allows Michelle to provide accurate, accrual-based bookkeeping at a price clients can afford. Without it, some work would be unprofitable or unaffordable. 

“It lets me offer a higher level of service that would otherwise be too time-consuming,” she explains. 


Testing Tools, Raising Expectations 

Michelle isn’t just using AccountKit for current task, she’s exploring upcoming features like document storage, workflow automation, and client collaboration. 

“I wasn’t impressed at first, but the updates have made a big difference,” she says. “I’ve got a demo coming up for the full workflow tools and I’m keen to see how far it’s come.” 

Her ideal setup includes centralised workflow tracking, task assignment, and clear visibility, especially useful for staff management or succession planning. 

“If I ended up in hospital tomorrow, I want someone to log in and know exactly what to do.” 


A Tech Stack Built on Trust 

Michelle has tried many systems over the years. What keeps AccountKit in her stack isn’t just the features, it’s the support. 

“The support team is great. They actually improve the product based on feedback,” she says. 

Automation in AccountKit is now a core part of her daily workflow. Even if no new features were added, she says she would keep it for inter-entity loans, prepayments, and equipment finance schedules. 
 

Can You Afford Not to Automate? 

Michelle’s journey shows the difference between doing bookkeeping the hard way and using technology to work smarter. 

If you’re still manually managing inter-entity loans, recurring journals, or prepayments, consider this: 

How much time are you losing each month, and what could you do with it instead? 

A huge thanks to our friends at AccountKit for providing us with the insights of their recent case study for this article. Want to learn more? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us or directly to the team at AccountKit.