Executive summary
- In Scanee, each of the firm’s clients has its own project: its fields, its chart of accounts, its receiving address, its export format and its members.
- The client sends documents to their project’s address, or the firm imports them from the client’s shared folder. The firm only asks for the ones that are missing.
- The AI extracts each document in about 2 seconds, with a measured accuracy of 99.4% on extracted fields. At 5 to 7 minutes per document keyed by hand (estimate), most of the firm’s data entry time becomes review time.
- Technicians review and correct; the file manager checks before export. Every change is logged, with its author and date.
- A client’s margin comes from their fees, the hours spent on their file and their share of the Scanee plan. This paper gives you the method.
- The plan follows the number of clients: 3 projects on Starter, 15 on Pro, 30 on Scale, tailored beyond that. The simplest way in is to start with three pilot clients.
This white paper builds on the article “Accounting firm: handling 30 clients’ documents at month end” (scanee.ai/articles/accounting-firm-month-end-documents/), which describes the as-they-come method. It doesn’t repeat it. It covers what comes next: setting up each client, splitting the work, measuring the margin, choosing the plan and getting started.
1. One project per client
A Scanee project is a self-contained workspace. For a firm, the rule is simple: one client, one project.
| Client item | Project tab | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Fields to extract | Fields | Vendor, dates, amounts, GST, QST or HST, account, cost centre |
| Lists: accounts, vendors, cost centres | Fields | Coding happens in this client’s chart of accounts |
| Plain-language instructions | General | Their habits written down once, for example “Hydro-Québec invoices go to account 5210” |
| Batch splitting | General | The PDF holding the whole month becomes one document per invoice |
| Email address and approved senders | Receiving | The client and their vendors send documents into their project |
| Export destinations | Exports | Reviewed documents go to their software, in its format |
| Automatic deletion | Storage | Retention is set client by client |
| Members | Members | Only the people assigned to the file work on it |
Name every project with the same rule, for example “Tremblay — Vendors”, so anyone can pick up a file.
2. Receiving documents without chasing them
One email address per client. Each project has its own receiving address, in the form project.workspace@email.scanee.ai. The client forwards invoices to it, or gives it to their vendors. Email intake is included in the Pro and Scale plans.
Approved senders. In the Receiving tab, list the addresses allowed for this client: theirs, their in-house bookkeeper’s, their vendors’. An email from any other address doesn’t enter the project, and its sender receives a rejection notice.
A shared folder. For the client who prefers to drop files, share a Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox or SharePoint folder with them. The technician brings the files into the project with “From your Cloud drives”. Importing is manual: Scanee does not watch the folder.
The shoebox. Scan the pile into one PDF and drag it into the project: Scanee splits the batch into one document per invoice.
The change fits in one email to the client, for example:
Hello, starting this month, please send your invoices and receipts to tremblay.example-firm@email.scanee.ai as soon as you receive them. You can also give this address to your vendors. Let us know which addresses to accept. No need to send us a package at month end anymore.
This address is fictional. Each client’s address is shown in the Receiving tab of their project.
3. One chart of accounts and one export format per client
Start from the right template. When you create a project, templates set up the fields for QuickBooks Online, Business Central, Sage Accounting, Odoo, Xero, Sage 50, Acomba and Avantage, as well as for invoices, receipts and bank statements in general.
The client’s chart of accounts. A project’s lists belong to that project. They are read from the client’s software when it is connected, or imported from a spreadsheet. The account suggested for a document comes from this client’s list.
Several accounting systems in one firm. A single Scanee workspace can connect several different systems, and several company files in the same system: client A’s QuickBooks Online, client B’s, client C’s Business Central. When you pick the company, Scanee flags the ones that are already connected. In the project’s Exports tab, you pick this client’s connection.
| Client’s software | How documents get there |
|---|---|
| Business Central, QuickBooks Online, Sage Accounting, Odoo | Invoice created directly, with its lines and the PDF |
| Xero | Direct creation, for a project created from the Xero template |
| Sage 50, Acomba, Avantage | CSV file in the software’s format, with a step-by-step import guide |
| Google Sheets, Excel Online | Added directly to the client’s workbook |
| Other software | CSV, Excel or JSON in the column layout you define, or a webhook |
Tax handling varies from one system to another: see the ERP connectors white paper.
A template project. Once a client is set up well, duplicate their project for the next one. The copy keeps the fields, the list structure, the instruction, the settings, the exports and the approved senders, without the documents, the members or the list values. Before giving the address to the new client:
- Replace the approved senders, carried over from the original project.
- In the exports, pick the new client’s connection.
- Refresh the lists from the new client’s own software.
4. Splitting the work: technicians and file manager
Two settings work together. The workspace role decides what a person administers. The project role decides what they can change in that file.
| Person | Workspace role | Project role | What they do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner or manager | Admin | Sees every project | Creates projects, connects software, invites the team, follows usage |
| File manager | Viewer or Admin | Admin | Checks reviewed documents and sets them to Completed |
| Technician | Viewer | Editor | Reviews, corrects and codes their clients’ documents |
| Read-only | Viewer | Reader | Looks at the file |
A document’s path:
- New. The document arrives in the client’s project.
- Reviewing. Scanee has read it. The technician checks it against the source document, corrects it and confirms the coding.
- Completed. The file manager checks the document and sets it to Completed.
- Export. With the “Auto-Trigger on Statuses” option in the Exports tab, the document goes to the client’s software as soon as it is set to Completed. Otherwise, export is started by hand.
Set a clear rule: only the file manager sets a document to Completed. The change log lets you check it. It records every change (old and new value, author, date) and every export with its destination.
5. Month end, client by client
With documents received as they come, month end becomes the same checklist for every client.
| Check | Where to see it in Scanee | Who |
|---|---|---|
| No document left in New or Reviewing | The project’s document list, filtered by status | Technician |
| Missing documents | Bank reconciliation: transactions without a document are the ones to request | Technician, then the client |
| Unusual amounts, new vendors, taxes | The month’s documents, source shown alongside | File manager |
| The month’s exports | Each document’s log: date and destination | File manager |
| The client’s usage | Billing and usage, filtered by project and period | Partner |
A file is ready when all its documents are Completed and the missing ones have been requested. The “Bank reconciliation” guide, on scanee.ai, describes that search.
6. Measuring each client’s margin
Bookkeeping is often billed as a fixed monthly fee. The price is fixed, the time varies: a client who sends everything on the last day costs more than one who sends documents through the month, for the same fee.
For each client, over one month:
Client margin = F − (Tt × Ct) − (Tm × Cm) − S
F: monthly fees. Tt and Ct: technicians’ hours on the file and their loaded hourly cost. Tm and Cm: the same for the file manager. S: Scanee’s share for this client.
Record the hours in your timesheet, by client: Scanee doesn’t track time spent. It does provide usage by client. The Billing and usage page shows credits used by project, by user and by period. For S, take the plan price divided by the number of active clients or, pro rata, the plan price multiplied by this client’s share of the month’s credits.
| Input, per client | Before Scanee | With Scanee |
|---|---|---|
| F — monthly fees ($) | ||
| Tt × Ct — technicians’ cost ($) | ||
| Tm × Cm — file manager’s cost ($) | ||
| S — Scanee’s share ($) | 0 | |
| Margin ($) |
A fictional example, to read the formula
A fictional firm bills a fictional client $450 a month. Last month, the technicians spent 6 hours on the file at $35 an hour ($210.00), and the file manager 1 h 30 at $75 an hour ($112.50). The margin is 450 − 210 − 112.50 = $127.50, or 28.3% of fees. These numbers are made up. Replace them with yours.
Break-even, client by client
How much time does Scanee need to save on a file to cover its share? If every project in the plan is used, each client’s share is $13.00 on Starter ($39 ÷ 3), $6.60 on Pro ($99 ÷ 15) and $6.63 on Scale ($199 ÷ 30).
| Plan | Share per client | Break-even at $30/h | Break-even at $40/h | Break-even at $60/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter (3 clients) | $13.00 | 26 min | 20 min | 13 min |
| Pro (15 clients) | $6.60 | 13 min | 10 min | 7 min |
| Scale (30 clients) | $6.63 | 13 min | 10 min | 7 min |
In the fictional example, on the Scale plan at $35 an hour, Scanee covers its share as soon as it saves about 11 minutes of technician time per month on that file. You measure the actual gain during the pilot (section 9).
7. Which plan for how many clients
With one project per client, the number of clients sets the plan. The number of people working in Scanee can push it up one step.
| Clients | Plan | Price per month | Users | Credits per month | Average credits per client | Email intake |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Starter | $39 | 1 | 500 | 166 | — |
| 4 to 15 | Pro | $99 | up to 5 | 1,000 | 66 | yes |
| 16 to 30 | Scale | $199 | up to 10 | 2,500 | 83 | yes |
| More than 30 | Enterprise | tailored | tailored | tailored | — | tailored |
Prices in Canadian dollars. The per-client average assumes every project in the plan is used.
- One client, one project, usually. If a client’s bank statements are processed in a separate project, count two projects for them.
- Credits are shared across the firm. One credit usually processes one standard document of one to three pages; a more complex document can take more.
- Overage is predictable. With pay-as-you-go (Pro and Scale), each extra credit beyond the plan is billed $0.01 at the end of the cycle.
Connections to accounting software, spreadsheets and cloud folders are included, with no integration fees.
8. Confidentiality between clients
A firm keeps the files of dozens of businesses in one place. Each client also has to stay in their own place.
| What keeps clients apart | How |
|---|---|
| One project per client | Documents, fields, lists, instructions, address, senders and exports belong to the project; suggested accounts come from that project’s lists |
| A filtered address | An email enters a project only if the sender is on its approved list |
| The right company file | Each export points to the connection chosen for that client; when you pick the company, Scanee flags the ones already connected |
| Everyone has their own files | Admins see every project; other members see in their list only the ones they have been added to |
| The firm kept apart from Scanee’s other customers | Every data request is limited to the firm’s workspace |
| A trace of every action | The change log: who changed what, when, the original value, the export date |
| Retention per client | Storage tab, “Data Retention & Privacy” section: delay in days, file only or full purge; off by default |
Files and data are hosted in Canada. The AI reads documents in the United States, at Google (Gemini). The AI does not train on your clients’ documents. For details, see Scanee’s security and privacy overview.
9. Start with three pilot clients
Don’t switch the whole firm at once. Pick three clients who represent your hard cases:
| Pilot client | What you test |
|---|---|
| A client on QuickBooks Online, Business Central, Sage Accounting or Odoo | Direct creation of documents in their software |
| A client on Sage 50, Acomba or Avantage | The CSV export and the import guide |
| The client who sends everything at once | The PDF batch and the shoebox, which weigh most on month end |
The trial is free for 14 days, with no credit card.
Days 1 to 3 — Prepare. Pull last month’s hours for each pilot client and fill in the “Before Scanee” column from section 6. Create the three projects from the right template, connect the software, import the lists.
Days 4 and 5 — Tell the clients. Send each client their address with the message from section 2. Add their approved senders. Add the technician and the file manager to the project.
Days 6 to 12 — Process as they come. The technician reviews, the file manager sets documents to Completed. Note the time spent per client and the fields corrected.
Days 13 and 14 — Decide.
| Criterion | Client 1 | Client 2 | Client 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours before (last month, scaled to the same period) | |||
| Hours with Scanee (days 6 to 12) | |||
| Documents received without a reminder | |||
| Fields corrected | |||
| Documents accepted by the client’s software | |||
| Credits used (Billing and usage) |
Credits used, scaled to all your clients, point to the plan to aim for (section 7). The first full month end then confirms each pilot client’s margin.
Conclusion
A firm doesn’t save time by typing faster. It saves time when each client sends documents to the right place, when each file keeps its own chart of accounts and export format, and when the work is split between those who review and those who check. Each file’s margin is then measured with your own hours.
Next step. Pick your three pilot clients this week, pull their hours from last month, then create your trial account at scanee.ai. For a demo with one of your clients’ documents, contact us through scanee.ai.