Recommended AI and tech tools for accountants to consider in 2026
Thanks to AI, the world of technology is rapidly changing. As a certified public accountant, I've been testing and using various tools and discussing with others in the profession. If you're an accountant like me, here are a few that I’d recommend checking out and potentially using — either at your firm or recommending to your clients — this coming year.
AI assistants
Every business professional should subscribe to an AI assistant like ChatGPT, Microsoft CoPilot, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Grok or a number of others. A good AI assistant will integrate with your office platform and your saved file systems like OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox. Your AI assistant can help give you expert (although never perfect) advice on any business issue facing your firm or your clients. Also important, a good AI assistant can create policies, review documents and suggest just the right wording for client communications.
Microsoft 365/Google Workspace
Every good office needs a good office platform and the two most popular are Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. New AI capabilities automatically can create presentations, analyze spreadsheets, build macros, write proposals and quickly extract data from files in folders. For 2026, I recommend hiring a Microsoft or Google consultant (try LinkedIn) and getting your team trained. Not only will you realize all the tools you’re not using that can increase your productivity, but your employees will become more familiar (and less fearful) of AI and better appreciate its value.
Paychex Partner Pro
Paychex (a client of my company) offers a platform called Paychex Partner Pro (previously called AccountantHQ) that gives accountants instant access to their shared clients’ payroll and human resources data from one simple dashboard, allowing them to save time and deliver smarter insights to their clients. Other major payroll and HR providers offer similar platforms. It’s a great way to keep on top of your clients’ payroll data and tax filings, and identify potential HR needs that could be the source of additional business for your firm.
GenAI in popular accounting applications
Xero has Just Ask Xero. Intuit offers Intuit Assist For QuickBooks. Sage has its own version of Copilot. SAP has Joule. Most major accounting and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms offer generative AI tools and assistants that help both companies and their accountants receipt data extraction, document classification, invoice and bill generation, invoice reminders and proactive financial insights into a company’s data. All use similar natural language query interfaces similar to what you'll find in a popular AI assistant. Ultimately, these tools will replace how we analyze and report on all of our data.
Agents in popular accounting applications
In July, Intuit announced a “ground-breaking” team of AI agents to “fuel growth for businesses.” While agents still have a while to ago before they’re truly deemed reliable, many software makers like Intuit are rolling out their versions of agents to help do more work in the back office. Microsoft Dynamics, for example, is rolling out agents to handle sales order processing, supplier communications, financial and account reconciliations, and time and expense reporting. It’s important to get familiar with the current (and planned) capabilities of these agents, not only to use within your firm but to help guide your clients.
BILL accounts payable automation
BILL is one of a number of accounts payable automation systems that many accountants are helping their clients to implement. These systems use optical character recognition to extract accounting data from vendor and supplier invoices and bring into just about any mainstream accounting system for approval, processing and payment. Platforms like Bill are using AI to make more intelligent and accurate decisions, and are helping to cut the repetitive tasks many accounts payable staff are performing entering and paying invoices.
Meeting transcription and summary
Products like Zoom, Teams, Meet and Otter are helping accountants and their clients save time and be more focused at meetings by “listening” in to conversations, transcribing conversations and providing detailed summaries and action lists for participants.
FloQast for workflow enhancement
FloQast Accounting Transformation Platform says it’s “Built by accountants, for accountants” and claims to simplify workflows and enhance productivity. It enables accountants to build auditable workflows to automate tasks such as accruals, journal entries, and reconciliations — no IT required.
AI bookkeeping
A number of startups like Kick, Pilot and Puzzle are using AI to automate the bookkeeping process. Similar to the technology used by BILL, these applications can automatically bring in data to their platform, post transactions and create journal entries, all without human intervention. As they mature, they’ll become an indispensable (and profitable) part of any accounting firm’s data collection process from their clients.
Finally, (of course), tax research and preparation
If there is one area where generative AI is having an impact for accounts, it's helping them (and their clients) do tax research and also prepare tax returns. Platforms and tools like TaxGPT, Tutti and Thomson Reuters are offering great applications that can help any account be a tax expert by finding and verifying important information as well as helping to prepare and manage tax return compliance.
There are a lot of technologies available for accountants — and accounting and finance professionals — this year and they’ll only become more reliable with more choices in the years to come.
• Gene Marks is a CPA who owns and operates The Marks Group PC, experts in customer relationship management technologies.