Accountants, Payroll & Tax Firms

Stop chasing clients for documents. Start delivering advisory work.

Accounting practices lose hours every week to document chasing, new client admin, and repetitive payroll queries. Cognumi runs those workflows automatically — so your qualified team spends time on the work clients actually pay for.

New client enquiryQualifying

“We're a Ltd company, turnover ~£180k — unhappy with our current accountant and looking to switch before year-end.”

  1. Fri 4:45pm

    New enquiry — Ltd company looking to switch accountants

  2. Fri 4:47pm

    Qualifying: company size, current software, services needed

  3. Mon 9:00am

    Intro pack sent, engagement letter queued for your team

Document checklist
Bank statements
Prior year accounts
VAT returnsChasing
Docs being collected
No tax advice given
The Problem

Admin is absorbing time your clients pay for advisory work

Document collection, client onboarding, payroll queries, and deadline reminders are all necessary — but none of them require a qualified accountant. Cognumi handles the admin layer so your team handles the work that grows the practice.

Hours
Lost each week chasing clients for documents

Bank statements, prior year accounts, payroll data, VAT records — collected manually, one client at a time, every month.

Admin volume during January and April peaks

Self-assessment deadlines and year-end create surges your team has to absorb on top of their regular client load.

< 2 min
Cognumi's response time for new client enquiries

Every new client enquiry acknowledged, qualified, and intake started — before a competitor replies.

Seasonal Peaks

January and April don't have to mean chaos

Self-assessment season and year-end both triple admin volume. Document collection sequences, deadline reminders, and client onboarding all run at the same time — on top of your normal client load. Cognumi absorbs that peak without hiring temporary staff.

Oct – Jan
Self-assessment document collection
High volume
Mar – Apr
Year-end accounts and corporation tax
High volume
Every month
Payroll queries and deadline reminders
Ongoing
How It Works

From new enquiry to collected documents — without your team lifting a finger

Cognumi runs the admin layer your practice needs. Every new client qualified. Every document chased. Every regulated decision escalated to your team.

01

New client enquiry or referral arrives

Website enquiries, email referrals, and inbound calls from prospects looking for accountancy, payroll, or tax services are captured immediately — even when your team is with a client or out of the office.

What happens
  • Website contact forms
  • Email enquiries and referrals
  • Out-of-hours capture
  • Immediate acknowledgement sent
02

AI qualifies and collects what your team needs

Cognumi collects company type, size, turnover range, current software, services needed, and switching timeline — so your team walks into the first call with context, not questions.

What happens
  • Company structure and size
  • Services needed (accounts, payroll, tax)
  • Current software and accountant
  • Preferred contact and timeline
03

Document collection runs automatically

Once a client is onboarded, Cognumi sends the right document request checklist, tracks what has been received, and automatically chases outstanding items at set intervals — without your team lifting a finger.

What happens
  • Checklist sent per client type
  • Automated chase at 3, 7, and 14 days
  • Confirmation when docs received
  • Outstanding items flagged to your team
04

Regulated matters go straight to qualified staff

Tax advice, HMRC guidance, AML checks, engagement letter sign-off, and anything requiring professional sign-off is immediately escalated to your qualified team. AI handles the admin. Humans handle the judgement.

What happens
  • Tax questions escalated instantly
  • AML/KYC never handled by AI
  • Complaints routed to practice manager
  • Human review before any regulatory action
What We Run

Workflows built for accountancy practices

Every service is a managed outcome — not a tool for your team to configure and maintain on top of their client work.

New Client Enquiry Handling

Capture and respond to every inbound enquiry from prospects — qualifying their needs, collecting initial details, and keeping them engaged until your team is ready to follow up.

Client Intake & Onboarding

Trigger intake packs, collect signed engagement letters (via your preferred tool), and gather onboarding information — without your team manually managing every new client through the process.

Document Collection

Send the right document checklist for each client type, track receipt, and automatically chase outstanding items at set intervals. Stop spending hours on follow-up emails.

Payroll Query Handling

Answer repetitive client questions about payroll timelines, P60s, payslips, PAYE codes, and pension auto-enrolment — from your approved knowledge base, consistently and accurately.

Tax Deadline Reminders

Send clients structured reminders ahead of self-assessment, VAT, corporation tax, and payroll deadlines — so they submit information on time and your team isn't chasing at the last minute.

Daily Admin Summaries

Your team starts each day with a clear summary of every enquiry handled, document received, and outstanding chase — so nothing falls through the cracks during busy periods.

Compliance & Oversight

Built around your regulatory obligations

Accounting practices operate under ICAEW, ACCA, and HMRC obligations. Cognumi is configured with those boundaries from day one — AI handles the admin, qualified professionals handle the judgement.

No tax advice, HMRC guidance, or financial recommendations — ever
AML and KYC sign-off always completed by qualified staff
Engagement letter approval and regulatory decisions handled by humans
All responses built from your approved, firm-specific content
Complaints and disputes routed directly to your practice manager
Weekly quality review on every workflow before it continues
Common Questions

Accountancy practice FAQs

Questions specific to how Cognumi works in an accounting and payroll firm environment.

Can AI give tax or financial advice to clients?

No. Cognumi never provides tax advice, HMRC guidance, or financial recommendations. These require qualified professional judgement and are always escalated to your team. AI handles administrative enquiries — onboarding, document requests, payroll process FAQs — and nothing advisory.

How does Cognumi handle AML and KYC requirements?

Cognumi collects initial client information during the enquiry and intake stage, but AML checks, ID verification, and KYC sign-off are always completed by your qualified staff. Anything that triggers regulatory review is escalated immediately — AI does not make compliance decisions.

Can it manage document collection across different client types?

Yes. Document collection workflows are configured per client type — sole traders, limited companies, partnerships, payroll-only clients — each with their own checklist and chase sequence. Cognumi tracks what has been received and automatically follows up on outstanding items.

Does it work during seasonal peaks like January self-assessment?

Specifically designed for this. Document collection sequences and deadline reminder campaigns are configured in advance so peak periods run without your team manually chasing every client. The volume AI handles scales with your workload — there is no drop-off during busy periods.

Does it integrate with our practice software (Iris, CCH, TaxCalc, Xero)?

Cognumi delivers structured handover summaries and document confirmation reports to your team's inbox, formatted for easy entry into your practice management system. Direct integration is assessed during setup — most firms find the inbox handover sufficient to start.

How quickly can we go live?

Most accountancy practice pilots are configured, reviewed, and running within 5–7 business days of sign-off. We recommend starting at least 4–6 weeks before your next seasonal peak so the workflow is proven and running before the crunch.

Ready to stop chasing documents and start delivering more advisory work?

Start with one workflow — document collection or new client intake. Most pilots are live in 5–7 business days. We recommend starting before your next seasonal peak.

What you get
  • New client enquiries captured and qualified before your team steps in
  • Document collection running automatically — with automated chasing
  • Payroll FAQs answered from your approved content, consistently
  • Deadline reminders sent to clients ahead of SA, VAT, and year-end
  • No tax advice or regulatory decisions made by AI
  • Weekly performance review and workflow improvement

Less admin. More advisory. Live in 5–7 days.

Start with document collection or new client intake. Prove the value before your next seasonal peak, then expand what Cognumi manages.

Apply For a Pilot