Quick answer: The fastest way to know whether automated bookkeeping works for your firm is to run it on your real clients, which is exactly what the CleanBooks AI free six-month pilot is for. Your firm runs a cohort through the platform at no cost, CleanBooks AI absorbs the bookkeeping while your team reviews, and you measure the per-client time saved on your own book. It works alongside your existing tools, so there is no re-platforming, and you only move to paid afterwards at 12 pounds per client per month.
The fastest way to know whether automated bookkeeping works for your firm is not a brochure or a demo, it is running it on your real clients. CleanBooks AI offers a free six-month pilot built for exactly that. No spend to weigh up, no rip-and-replace, just a clear measure of the time and capacity it gives your practice back. Here is how the pilot works and why it is the smart first step.
Why a pilot, not a demo
Demos show what a tool can do in ideal conditions. A pilot shows what it does on your clients, with their records, at your firm’s real volume. For a decision as practical as capacity and margin, only the pilot gives you an answer you can trust. That is why CleanBooks AI leads with a free pilot rather than a sales pitch.
What the pilot involves
Your firm runs a cohort of real clients through the platform for six months at no cost. CleanBooks AI absorbs the bookkeeping, automating categorisation, keeping records clean and keeping quarterly updates submission-ready, while your team reviews. You see, on your own book, how much time per client the automation saves.
For background, see AI bookkeeping for accountants and whether AI bookkeeping is safe and accurate.
What you learn
By the end you have hard numbers: per-client time before and after, the effect on your team’s capacity, and a clear view of how many more clients you could carry. Those numbers are the basis for a confident decision, and they double as the proof points behind your own MTD service pricing and growth plans.
No risk, no disruption
The pilot is free for six months, so there is no spend to justify, and it works alongside your existing tools, so there is no re-platforming. The downside is genuinely limited to the time spent setting up a cohort; the upside is a measured, evidence-based answer to your firm’s biggest capacity question.
Starting your pilot
The smart move is to pilot now, before the quarterly cadence peaks and before the next threshold pulls more of your clients into scope. Setting up under deadline pressure is always harder. Beginning a free pilot today means entering the busy period with a proven workflow and a clear sense of the capacity you have unlocked, then moving to paid at £12 per client per month only once it has proven itself.
Prove it on your own client base. Start a free CleanBooks AI pilot
