Will AI replace bookkeepers?
Updated
Bookkeepers score 67 of 100 for AI exposure. AI can already do 63% of their task time. Another 32% gets faster with AI, and 5% still needs a person.
- 63% AI can do it
- 32% AI helps
- 5% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 98% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 28 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 18 of them today, speeds up 9 and leaves 1 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Transfer details from separate journals to general ledgers or data processing sheets. Moving entries between journals and ledgers is pure data transfer. | 85% AI can do it |
| Match order forms with invoices, and record the necessary information. Three way matching of orders to invoices is highly automatable. | 80% AI can do it |
| Calculate, prepare, and issue bills, invoices, account statements, and other financial statements according to established procedures. Generating invoices and statements is standard automated output. | 80% AI can do it |
| Prepare trial balances of books. Trial balances are generated automatically from ledger data. | 80% AI can do it |
| Reconcile records of bank transactions. Bank reconciliation is among the most automated bookkeeping tasks. | 78% AI can do it |
| Prepare purchase orders and expense reports. Purchase orders and expense reports are templated and easily drafted. | 75% AI can do it |
| Compile statistical, financial, accounting, or auditing reports and tables pertaining to such matters as cash receipts, expenditures, accounts payable and receivable, and profits and losses. Report and table compilation from ledgers suits AI well. | 75% AI can do it |
| Perform financial calculations, such as amounts due, interest charges, balances, discounts, equity, and principal. Interest, balance and discount formulas are fully automatable. | 72% AI can do it |
| Debit, credit, and total accounts on computer spreadsheets and databases, using specialized accounting software. Debits, credits and totals are routine entries software handles. | 72% AI can do it |
| Compare computer printouts to manually maintained journals to determine if they match. Comparing printouts to journals is simple automated matching. | 72% AI can do it |
Show the other 18 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Code documents according to company procedures. Document coding by rule is well suited to AI. | 70% AI can do it |
| Classify, record, and summarize numerical and financial data to compile and keep financial records, using journals and ledgers or computers. Classifying and summarizing ledger data is core AI territory. | 70% AI can do it |
| Calculate and prepare checks for utilities, taxes, and other payments. Bill and tax payment prep follows set rules and schedules. | 70% AI can do it |
| Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes. AI checks figures and codes quickly; person confirms exceptions. | 68% AI can do it |
| Reconcile or note and report discrepancies found in records. Discrepancy matching is a core automation use case today. | 65% AI can do it |
| Access computerized financial information to answer general questions as well as those related to specific accounts. Chat tools can query ledgers and answer routine account questions. | 65% AI can do it |
| Monitor status of loans and accounts to ensure that payments are up to date. Flagging overdue accounts is simple monitoring that AI handles well. | 65% AI can do it |
| Prepare and process payroll information. Payroll software runs most calculations; staff review exceptions. | 62% AI can do it |
| Calculate costs of materials, overhead, and other expenses, based on estimates, quotations and price lists. Costing from price lists is routine; estimates need judgment. | 58% AI helps |
| Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information. Software recording and analysis are readily AI assisted. | 55% AI helps |
| Compile budget data and documents, based on estimated revenues and expenses and previous budgets. Budget drafting suits AI; forecast assumptions need human judgment. | 55% AI helps |
| Complete and submit tax forms and returns, workers' compensation forms, pension contribution forms, and other government documents. AI drafts forms well; signing and submission need accountable staff. | 55% AI helps |
| Maintain inventory records. Records live in software; physical stock counts need people. | 50% AI helps |
| Perform general office duties, such as filing, answering telephones, and handling routine correspondence. Filing and phones need people; correspondence drafting is AI assisted. | 40% AI helps |
| Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations. Policy reading and checklists suit AI; accountability stays with staff. | 35% AI helps |
| Prepare bank deposits by compiling data from cashiers, verifying and balancing receipts, and sending cash, checks, or other forms of payment to banks. Physical cash counting and bank trips limit AI contribution. | 28% AI helps |
| Receive, record, and bank cash, checks, and vouchers. Cash and check handling is physical; recording is AI assisted. | 25% AI helps |
| Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents. Physical machines like copiers need hands on operation. | 12% Needs a person |
How bookkeepers compare
All occupations (923)
Office and administrative support (51)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $50,670 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 1.4 million in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- -5.6% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Reconcile bank statements against ledgers in Intuit QuickBooks
- Audit AI-posted journal entries in Microsoft Excel
- Resolve exceptions in invoice-to-purchase-order matching
- Count cash and checks, then prepare bank deposits
- Run physical inventory counts against stock records
- Hold the Certified Bookkeeper (CB) credential
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about bookkeepers and AI
Will bookkeepers be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 6 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly moving entries from journals to ledgers and matching order forms to invoices. Cash handling, bank deposits and physical stock counts stay with people, and someone still has to check what the software posts.
Will AI take over accounts payable jobs?
AI can already do 63% of the task time in accounts payable and speeds up another 32%. People still do 5% of it. The US has 1.4 million bookkeeper jobs, with a projected change of -5.6% from 2024 to 2034.
Which tasks are bookkeepers losing to AI?
Data movement goes first. Transferring journal details to general ledgers has an exposure score of 85 because it is pure data transfer with no judgment involved. Matching order forms to invoices and reconciling bank records follow, since three-way matching and bank feeds are among the most automated bookkeeping tasks.
Which tasks stay with bookkeepers?
Physical money handling stays with people. Receiving, recording and banking cash, checks and vouchers, and preparing bank deposits by counting cash and balancing receipts, need hands and bank trips. Operating 10-key calculators, typewriters and copy machines has the lowest exposure of all tasks, at 12.
Which tasks stay with bookkeepers?
Physical money handling stays with people. Receiving, recording and banking cash, checks and vouchers, and preparing bank deposits by counting cash and balancing receipts, need hands and bank trips. Operating 10-key calculators, typewriters and copy machines has the lowest exposure of all tasks, at 12.
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