Welcome to âGet Work Done,â where we discuss the complexities of efficiently running accounting and bookkeeping firms. This newsletter is brought to you by Financial Cents and delivered to your inbox every 2 weeks.
Small Change, Big Results
If youâve spent the last year feeling like youâre the only firm that hasnât figured this whole AI thing out, take a breath. Youâre not.
Hereâs what we found when we asked nearly 500 of your peers how theyâre actually using AI:
95% are using it in some form, but only about 1 in 5 can point to a clear, measurable return.
That gapâbetween âweâre using AIâ and âAI is actually paying offââis at the heart of the brand-new AI edition of Two Cents Magazine, out now. Itâs built on that survey of 486 accounting and bookkeeping pros, plus honest conversations with firm owners, operators, admins, and the industryâs sharpest AI voices. No hype, no doom, no âaccountants are about to be obsolete.â
A few of the stories waiting for you inside:
The Adoption Illusion: What the data says about why âtrying AIâ and âgetting value from AIâ are two very different things.
Time Is Not Money: How faster work is pushing firms to rethink hourly billing.
Trust but Verify: Why keeping a human in the loop is critical to managing AI errors and mitigating data risk.
Itâs the rare AI read that respects both your intelligence and your time. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it!
Community đ«¶
Grow your career and your network with NECPAs
The five state CPA societies of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont have joined forces as the New England Society of CPAs: one regional home for the accounting community across New England. Thereâs a way in whichever direction youâre headed: connect by volunteering, sharing your expertise, advocating for the profession, and supporting future CPAs, or prosper through expert-led CPE, conferences, networking events, and member communities built for every stage of your career. If you practice in the region, itâs a natural place to plug into the local relationships and priorities that actually shape your work.
Stop figuring out practice ownership alone with The Accounting Soapbox
Running your own practice can feel lonely, especially when thereâs no one down the hall to tell you whether your pricing is off, whether a client request is out of scope, or whether youâre the only one who feels behind. The Accounting Soapbox is a brand-new Canadian community built for exactly that: the same people in the room every month, so you come to know whose judgment you trust and whoâs a year ahead of you on the thing youâre stuck on. Founded by Kara Greenwood and Sherie Emini, it runs on real connection, offering monthly Soapbox Live catch-ups, a members-only Break Room peer meetup, and Experts in the Office guest sessions. And itâs built for every stage, whether youâre just thinking about going out on your own or well established and figuring out whatâs next.
Hđ„t Today
The IRS is retiring the system you use to file 1099s
If your firm e-files 1099sâor any information returnsâthrough the IRSâs FIRE system, that door is closing. FIRE stops accepting returns at 3:00 PM Eastern on November 19, and starting with the 2027 filing season, the modernized IRIS platform is the only way in. The catch that trips people up: your FIRE credentials donât carry over. You need a separate IRIS Application for a Transmitter Control Code, and the window to update your existing application locks on November 9. The move to make now to avoid a January fire drill: confirm whether you (or your filing software) already transmit through IRIS, and get your TCC squared away before 1099 season is in full swing.
A fake tax credit is making the rounds: what to watch out for
The IRS just flagged a promoter scheme pushing bogus âTribal Tax Creditsâ (also sold as âNative Americanâ or âSovereign Tribalâ credits) that simply donât exist under federal law, and itâs warning tax professionals not to get pulled into enabling them. The tells are the same ones behind most credit scams: an offer to buy credits for far less than their supposed value, a claim that some special Treasury-and-tribal âagreementâ unlocks them, or a creative stretch of a real provision like the New Markets Tax Credit. Clients who claim these can face civil and criminal penalties, and a firm that signs off on one isnât a bystander. Worth a quick heads-up to any client whoâs been pitched a too-good-to-be-true credit this fall.
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Swipe this My Quarterly Conversation template from Taylor Ammons.
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Firm SpotlđĄght
How Bookkeeping for Good built a firm that runs without having the owner in every loop
Melissa Miller Furgeson never wanted a big firm. She wanted a good one. In fact, the firm name she chose in 2013 has a triple meaning, because she wanted to do bookkeeping for good organizations (nonprofits and churches around Chicago), do good work, and do it for good (as in, her last job ever). More than a decade later, Bookkeeping for Good has around 25 clients, and sheâs kept her roster small on purpose, screening new clients as much for shared values as for fit, and refusing to trade the life she loves for growth she doesnât want.
For years, though, the whole operation lived in her head: every deadline, every payroll schedule, every client quirk. The forcing function finally came in 2022, when she planned her first real vacation in years: 17 days in Europe with her family. To step away, she had to make the firm runnable for someone else. So, she wrote down every process, adopted project management software, and brought on her first hire.
The payoff wasnât just an amazing vacationâit was a firm that no longer depended on her being in every single loop. Her advice to any owner just starting out? Write everything down, from the very beginning, instead of waiting until youâre nine years in.
Check out Melissaâs full story â
Events
đ Financial Cents AI Demo Day â October 7, 2026 (Virtual)
See how Financial Cents is making AI effortless with our new built-in agents. Join the FC team for a live, 30-minute walkthrough where you can watch client uploads get renamed to your firmâs convention the moment they land, see documents checked against the request type and period they were actually sent for, and get a clear look at where your team approves, overrides, and stays in control. Plus, get a sneak-peek at whatâs coming next. Free, recorded, and capped off with a live Q&A.
đ Register here â
đ Intuit Connect 2026 â October 26â28 (Las Vegas, NV)
Intuitâs flagship gathering returns to Las Vegas for three days of CPE-accredited sessions, hands-on product demos, and big-stage keynotes (this yearâs lineup includes Lupita Nyongâo and Grit author Angela Duckworth). Itâs built for multi-service firms who want a front-row look at whatâs next on the Intuit platform, a chance to shore up their tech stack, and a few thousand peers to compare notes with. Group passes drop the per-seat price if youâre bringing the team, and CPE credits are available throughout.
đ Register here â
đAccountex Canada â November 3â4 (Toronto, ON)
Canadaâs biggest accounting and finance gathering takes over Toronto for two days of CPD-verified sessions and a packed expo floor where you can actually put your hands on the software, automation, and AI tools reshaping daily workflows. Expect 31 sessions built for the real pressures on Canadian firms, up to 24 CPD credits, and a thousand-plus peers to swap notes with. If youâre north of the border, this is the one to block off.
đ Register here â
đ WorkflowCon 2026 â November 9â10 (Virtual & Free)
Our own two-day virtual conference is back, and this yearâs theme says it all: Focus is the New Flex. Most accounting conferences are built for firms trying to get bigger. WorkflowCon is built for firms betting on depth: better-fit clients, sharper services, and systems that hold up. Five tracks with 20-plus sessions spanning AI in practice, workflow automation, pricing, client selection, and team operations. Plus, recordings for every registrant. Did we mention itâs 100% free?
đ Sign up now â
Noteworthy
We built AI that does the file busywork, and itâs free on every plan
If the magazine up top made the case that the hardest part of AI is rolling it out, then this is our answer to the problem. We just launched three AI agentsâAI File Renaming, AI File Validator, and AI File Routingâthat automatically handle the document grunt work inside your current workflows. No new system, no separate login, no training day. The agents rename client uploads to your firmâs convention the moment they land, catch wrong or mismatched files before they stall your team, and file documents into the right folder automaticallyâand you decide how much they do on their own versus when they need human review. Theyâre live now, free on every Financial Cents plan, and you stay in control of any work with your name on it.
Last call to nominate a Small & Mighty firm before October 10
The clockâs almost out! Nominations for the Small & Mighty Awardsâpart of WorkflowCon 2026âs âFocus is the New Flexâ programmingâclose October 10 at 11:59 p.m. ET, and this is exactly the recognition this newsletter was built to celebrate: firms that stayed small on purpose, picked a lane, and got exceptional at it. There are four categories (Rising Voice, Underserved Market Champion, Community Builder, and Efficiency Engineer), any firm size is eligible, you donât have to be a Financial Cents customer, and you can nominate a peer or yourself. It takes about ten minutes, winners take home $1,000 cash (or $2,000 paid forward to a nonprofit of their choice) plus a slate of prizes, and theyâre revealed live on stage at WorkflowCon on November 10.
Know a firm that deserves the spotlight? You know what to do.đ
Thatâs all for now. See you in two weeks. đ