How AI Can Help Professional Services Firms Improve Their Profitability

All In One Accounting can help professional services firms like yours navigate the often confusing AI landscape.

Professional services—accounting, legal, public relations, advertising and marketing agencies, medical practices, and more—are already benefitting from the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

The technology is improving customer experiences, making operations more efficient, and increasing businesses’ profitability. It is becoming more and more essential for these firms to use AI to improve efficiency, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness. AI can also help companies win more business by helping them address customer concerns, which can go a long way in creating loyal clients.

A McKinsey report found that 40% of professional services companies surveyed plan to increase their investment in AI. That includes the use of Generative AI, which can create original data based on human input and a program’s ability to analyze data. A Thomson Reuters study found that 67% of professional services companies believe that AI will have a “transformative or high impact on their business” and an overall positive effect.

That said, adapting to the use of such new and advanced technology can be daunting. It isn’t a toy. Professional services firms need to first decide how to use AI strategically to best serve their business goals.

What kinds of AI can professional services benefit from the most?

Some of the most common AI tools are natural language processing (NLP) such as ChatGPT; chatbots for websites; predictive analytics; and even machine learning. Accounting and financial software with these built-in AI features can help firms save time and money.

Does AI compromise client trust?

AI certainly doesn’t have to create problems with client data. Using predictive analytics can help identify potential issues and address them. AI can also ensure that you’re only using high-quality, unbiased data.

What problems can AI help professional services solve?

Professional services firms can face multiple challenges in maximizing their profits. When used strategically and to their greatest effect, AI and automation can help alleviate these challenges.

COSTS
There are a variety of ways AI can help professional services automate tasks and reduce costs:

  • Automated expense tracking
  • Personalized budgeting
  • Recommendations on how to save
  • Predictive analysis for financial planning
  • Automated savings and investment management
  • Smart budgeting with AI apps

 

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
AI can automate mundane tasks that can dominate an employee’s day. Using AI can free them to focus on more strategic, goal-oriented projects. Automating data entry, systems monitoring, email program management, workflow automation, document processing, research, analyzing large amounts of data, and replacing other tedious manual tasks are all beneficial uses of AI technology.

PRICING
Implementing AI in a professional services business allows you to make more informed decisions about what your clients want and need. When you can identify your most profitable practice areas, you can refine pricing strategies and forecast future demands to get more from your work output.

EXPENSES FOR SERVICES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS YOU’RE NOT USING
Most professional services firms carry a lot of software, subscriptions, and other recurring expenses. Just like paying for home television streaming services, some of these expenses are seriously under-utilized or never used at all. This is all contributing to margin erosion. AI can help identify what’s working for you and what should be dropped or at least revisited.

INCREASED NEED FOR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND DATA
Professional services firms have a more difficult time calculating gross profit. It’s not as simple as a retail or manufacturing operation where you can measure cost of production, cost of distribution, and so on. Professional services firms require a more nuanced approach that takes into account specific key performance indicators and highly detailed data. AI systems can help analyze and make recommendations.

WHO IS DRIVING YOUR REVENUE?
AI can help professional services companies identify who at the company is producing the most revenue. Is their cost per client making them profitable? What percentage are they bringing to the firm? For example, if an owner is generating 90% of the revenue and wants to sell the business, do they need to lower their share of revenue so they aren’t the main source for the company?

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Accounts receivable. Accounts payable. Projections. Profits. All of these functions can benefit from the use of artificial intelligence. A lot of professional services organizations are still employing manual billing operations that waste time, produce unnecessary overhead labor costs, and risk inaccuracies. AI bookkeeping and accounting automation can provide efficiencies that save a lot of time and budget.

QuickBooks and many other financial management programs are now equipped with AI and automation so you don’t have to overspend to get innovative, efficient, and easy-to-use accounting tools.

Will accounting be replaced by artificial intelligence? Not at all. Systems and repetitive tasks can be automated, but the need will still exist for the “human touch” to interpret data and create strategies to move the firm forward.

Every part of professional services firms' use of AI can be integrated. We can help.

All In One Accounting is the financial and accounting team for growth-minded professional services firms that want to profitably scale their business. We understand how AI and automation can help you and we’re continually searching for, studying, and refining tools, technologies, and processes to help all of our clients grow.

We invite you to book a meeting to learn more about how our team of accounting and financial experts can help you use AI to maximize your profitability.

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