A new kind of hire
Grow your practice, not your payroll.
73% of accounting firms turn down work due to lack of staff. Lucas is an AI bookkeeper who takes that work on with no NI, no pension, no sick days.
The ceiling isn’t demand. It’s hours.
In Advancetrack’s 2026 Accounting Talent Index, a survey of around 500 firms, 73% said they were turning away potential clients because they didn’t have the staff to serve them. For a small practice, the ceiling on growth isn’t demand. It’s the hours your team loses to routine bookkeeping.
You know the drill: “AMZN*2847XJ” is actually Amazon Web Services, Client B always pays 3 invoices in 1 transfer, and that missing receipt takes a WhatsApp, a week of waiting, and a follow-up to arrive.
That in-between work - the chasing, the matching, the context switching across every client’s quirks - is where a junior bookkeeper’s week goes. Easily 30+ hours a month that never touch the actual books.
71%
of firms say staffing problems are already slowing their growth (Advancetrack 2026).
Lucas takes the routine work on: no NI, no pension, no sick days.
Not software. A team member.
Save 30+ hours of chasing, matching, and follow-up, and turn them into capacity. The clients you’ve been turning away, taken on without a new salary, training, or turnover.
| Junior hire | LucasAvailable now | |
|---|---|---|
| Included | Included | |
| Annual salary | £28,908 | A fraction of that |
| Employer NI + pension | Due monthly | None |
| Holiday + sick pay | Accrues | None |
| Notice period to exit | 1 to 3 months | None |
| Time to start | Weeks of hiring | This week |
The terms, where they differ
Annual salary
Employer NI + pension
Holiday + sick pay
Notice period to exit
Time to start
Salary: average bookkeeper salary in England, Indeed.
Probation first. Commitment later.
Lucas starts the same way any new hire would - on probation. They shadow your team, you review their output, and you promote them to live work only when you’re satisfied. Expect 4 to 8 weeks.
Shadow
Lucas works alongside your team. They process everything your junior does and produce a weekly report. No client exposure yet.
Compare
You compare their output against your team's. What they caught, what they missed, how long it took. Real numbers from your real data.
Promote
Once you trust the output, Lucas moves from observer to active team member handling real work. You decide when.
Every reconciliation still gets reviewed by your team before it’s filed.
What about Xero and Dext?
Keep them. And use Lucas to do what they can’t: work out that one payment covers three invoices, or get a straight answer out of a client.
| Xero and Dext alone | With Lucas | |
|---|---|---|
| Missing receipt | Flags it. You still write the email. | Drafts the chase, sends it, processes the reply. |
| Confusing match | Matched or unmatched. No middle ground. | Uses context to make the call, like a good junior. |
| Messy documents | Needs clean, standard formats. | Handles crumpled receipts, photos, odd layouts. |
| Upcoming deadlines | No alerts. You track them yourself. | Spots patterns, flags risks, reminds you before it's late. |
| Where you use it | Inside its own dashboard. | Email, WhatsApp, spreadsheets. Wherever you already work. |
Missing receipt
Xero and Dext alone
Flags it. You still write the email.
With Lucas
Drafts the chase, sends it, processes the reply.
Confusing match
Xero and Dext alone
Matched or unmatched. No middle ground.
With Lucas
Uses context to make the call, like a good junior.
Messy documents
Xero and Dext alone
Needs clean, standard formats.
With Lucas
Handles crumpled receipts, photos, odd layouts.
Upcoming deadlines
Xero and Dext alone
No alerts. You track them yourself.
With Lucas
Spots patterns, flags risks, reminds you before it's late.
Where you use it
Xero and Dext alone
Inside its own dashboard.
With Lucas
Email, WhatsApp, spreadsheets. Wherever you already work.
Start with a 15 minute call.
No commitment. No setup fee during probation. Lucas shadows your team on real work, and you decide whether to hire them.
Book a 15 minute call“You’re definitely taking the pain point away. The time-consuming, repetitive stuff is getting took out. That’s a massive win.”
A practising accountant