The short answer
Start with a business licence on a language model with a data processing agreement, use the AI features already inside your existing package (such as in Exact and AFAS) before buying anything, and then automate the preparation of case files and correspondence. Judgement and review stay with an employee. That is not caution, that is the requirement.
Where the time actually goes
Not in the bookkeeping itself, because your package has largely handled that for years. The time goes into everything around it: gathering documents, checking whether a file is complete, tracing differences, chasing clients for missing paperwork and typing the same answer for the fiftieth time.
That is exactly the work a controlled workflow can prepare: collect, compare, flag what is missing and put a draft ready. The employee reviews and signs.
The order for a firm
| Order | What | Why here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business licence on a language model, with a data processing agreement | Without that agreement no client data may go in. A free account does not have one |
| 2 | The AI features your package already has | Exact and AFAS build AI features in themselves. Check what your package can already do before buying anything |
| 3 | Case-file preparation and document checks | This is the largest recurring time cost, and the steps are easy to record |
| 4 | Correspondence as a draft | The same question, the same fifty answers. Never send automatically |
What not to do
- Putting client data into a free or personal AI account. No data processing agreement, no legal basis, no story for the supervisor.
- Letting a model decide the outcome of a case file. That is a judgement with consequences and it belongs to a person.
- Sending correspondence automatically. A draft is a gain; a sent mistake is a case file.
- Buying a tool for a process you have not written down yet.
How this list was made
The order is chosen for a firm of five to twenty people. The order follows four questions: is there a data processing agreement, so client data may go in, does it work with the packages Dutch firms use, such as Exact and AFAS, does it save time on work that comes back every week, and do judgement and review stay with an employee.
Features come from the official vendor websites, checked in September 2026. They change, so check with the vendor before you switch anything on or buy it.
Frequently asked questions
May I put client data into ChatGPT?
Only with a business licence where you have signed a data processing agreement, training on your data is off and you know where the data is stored. With a free or personal account the answer is no.
Does this work with Exact, AFAS or Twinfield?
Yes. If you use Exact or AFAS, first check what the AI features of that package already do. What falls outside them are the steps between mail, documents and the package; that is where I build the workflow.
What does this deliver for a firm of ten people?
That depends on your volume and your current time per file. Calculate it with the net process value tool, or start with the free AI plan; then it is on paper before you spend anything.
About the author
I am Joost, AI specialist and founder of Tamboer AI. I have worked with AI daily since 2022. I tested and developed applications at one of the largest banks in the Netherlands and now build AI workflows for smaller businesses, with a person who checks every outcome. More about me.
