Can automation make accounting less of a grind? Intuit thinks so

Intuit has launched a series of new QuickBooks features designed to automate routine accounting tasks and simplify financial workflows for businesses and their accountants.

The updates aim to reduce manual effort in areas such as payments, transaction categorisation, asset depreciation, and Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) compliance.

The company said the changes reflect growing demand for automation tools as businesses face increasing complexity in their financial operations.

The new capabilities include QuickBooks Payments, an integrated payment feature that allows customers to settle invoices directly through a pay-now button linked to the user’s bank account.

Payments are automatically reconciled in QuickBooks Online, helping businesses speed up collections.

According to Intuit, 73% of UK small businesses are affected by late payments, with 31% spending 20–30 hours each month chasing customers.

QuickBooks is also introducing an AI-powered bank feed to reduce manual categorisation errors.

The tool learns from user behaviour and suggests transaction categories based on historical patterns, while providing explanations for each suggestion.

Users can review, approve, or amend recommendations, with options for inline editing and adding new payees directly within the bank feed.

For businesses managing large asset portfolios, QuickBooks Online Advanced now supports the reducing balance method for calculating depreciation.

Previously limited to straight-line depreciation, the new functionality automates the calculation process and provides updated reporting while reducing the risk of manual errors.

Updates to CIS support include automatic bulk-sending of monthly CIS statements to subcontractors and the ability to verify subcontractors directly with HMRC from within QuickBooks.

The enhancements also include scheduled reminders for filing deadlines to help contractors and their advisers avoid late penalties.

Ciarán Quilty, Senior Vice President of International at Intuit, said:

“As businesses grow in size and complexity, we know that they need a financial technology platform that provides deeper customisation, enhanced automation and features to get critical jobs done. We’re committed to listening to our customers to help businesses and accountants work smarter, not harder, whilst gaining the financial expertise and confidence they need to succeed.

“Driven by direct feedback from our customers, these latest innovations are powerful examples of how we’re using AI to simplify financial workflows, improve accuracy, and give our customers more time to focus on what matters most. We’re re-imagining our entire connected business platform and I couldn’t be more excited about what’s coming.”

Aaron Patrick, Head of Accounting at Boffix Ltd, said the new features are already making a difference for his clients:

“I jumped at the chance to switch to the new QuickBooks experience, and the AI-powered bank feed alone has already saved hours of manual review and given my clients greater confidence in their records. As an accountant, I’m especially looking forward to the roll out of the enhancements to CIS. This will help us deliver compliance more quickly and free up time to focus on providing more support for our clients.”