AI agent for document processing and file assembly

Every morning started with sorting: email, client portal, scans and bank exports. Two assistants spent 9 hours a day on it together before an accountant could do anything. Invoices landed in the wrong file, receipts sat untouched and the end of every quarter meant overtime.

An earlier attempt with a standard OCR tool failed on variety: 300 clients, 300 ways to make an invoice, and no connection to Exact Online or the case system. The partners also wanted certainty about GDPR and about who could see the data.

We started with a 2-week Automation Sprint on one stream: purchase invoices. An agent based on Claude, hosted via Azure in the EU, reads the document, determines client, supplier, amount, VAT and ledger account, and books in Exact Online through the official API. Below 92% confidence the document goes to a review queue.

After a shadow run with 2,000 real documents, accuracy was 96.8%. We then extended to bank statements, sales invoices and loose file documents, with a knowledge base (RAG) on the firm’s own manuals for ledger selection.

Governance got as much attention as the technology: data minimization, processing agreements, no training on client data, a log per decision and a monthly sample check by an accountant.

An agent that reads the inbox, portal and scan folder 24/7, classifies documents, books or queues them, and completes files. A review screen shows the extracted values next to the original per document; one click approves.

A dashboard shows daily volume, accuracy, lead time and hours saved. Model cost: about €140 per month. The firm spends the freed hours on advisory work.