Is This AI Finally Making Accounting Suck Less?

Chad here, cutting through the BS to bring you the stuff that actually matters. You know I’m all about tech that makes life easier for us small business hustlers. So, when I heard about Digits launching their AI-powered accounting platform, I had to check it out. Could this be the tech that saves us from the never-ending nightmare of bookkeeping?

For the last five years, Digits has been working on a platform that they are calling the world’s first AI-powered Autonomous General Ledger. On Monday at HumanX in Las Vegas, they finally launched the service, which is meant to allow accountants and small business owners to put their accounting needs almost completely in the hands of AI.

The Claim: AI That Actually Does Something

Digits is trying to take on the likes of QuickBooks and Xero, promising to automate a huge chunk of the accounting process. We’re talking about recording transactions, categorizing expenses, reconciling accounts, and generating reports—all in near-real-time. If it works as advertised, we could be looking at turning weeks of work into mere minutes.

Jeff Seibert, the co-founder and CEO of Digits, isn’t shy about calling out the competition. He says many other platforms claiming to use AI are just throwing numbers at broad-based LLMs like ChatGPT, or ChadGPT which isn’t good. Digits, on the other hand, has spent the last five years building its own AI from the ground up.

Can AI Fix the Accountant Shortage?

Here’s a scary stat: three-quarters of accountants are nearing retirement, and the number of new accountants entering the field is at a historic low. According to Seibert, “Nobody in Gen Z wants to be an accountant.” Honestly, can you blame them?

Seibert hopes Digits can help bridge the gap, allowing accountants to do more with less. The goal isn’t to replace accountants entirely, but to give them a powerful AI assistant that handles the tedious stuff.

Investors and Early Testers Are Hyped

Digits has already raised around $100 million from big-name investors like Benchmark and SoftBank. More importantly, the businesses that have been testing the platform for the past year are reportedly giving it a thumbs-up. According to Seibert, “We already have hundreds of firms that want to access it. It’s magical.”

My Take: Promising, But Let’s See the Proof

Look, I’m always skeptical of AI hype. But if Digits can actually deliver on its promises, it could be a game-changer for small businesses and accounting firms alike. I’m eager to see how it performs in the real world and whether it can truly make accounting suck less.

Photo by FIN on Unsplash