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Build · Background workflows
AI automation for professional firms: intake, documents and re-keying
AI automation for professional firms is a set of background workflows that handle client intake, read and file documents, and copy data between systems, using AI only for the steps that need reading or classifying. Melbourne-based Pylon Digital builds and runs it for law, accounting and advisory firms where staff still re-key details into several systems.
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Is it right for you
Who it's for
AI automation suits any 10–100 person firm where staff spend part of every day on manual admin: typing details from forms, renaming and filing attachments, or entering the same client in three systems. The trigger is often growth: more clients, the same admin team, and errors creeping in.
- Law firms opening matters from web forms and emails, then re-keying details into Actionstep, LEAP or Clio
- Accounting firms setting up new clients in Xero Practice Manager and Xero by hand
- Firms filing incoming documents to the right matter or job one attachment at a time
- Practice managers chasing client details that differ between systems
- Firms considering another administrator just to keep up with volume
How is AI automation different from an AI agent?
An automation is a background workflow: when something happens, it follows the same steps every time, and AI handles only the steps that need reading or classifying. An agent is AI that takes actions, such as chasing a client, and a person approves anything it sends outside the firm.
| AI automation | AI agents | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts when | A form, email or document arrives | A task falls due or a client gets in touch |
| What the AI does | Reads, classifies and extracts; the steps are fixed | Decides the next step within rules you set |
| Client contact | Rarely; it works between your systems | Yes, with approval before anything is sent |
| Typical jobs | Intake records, document filing, re-keying | Chasing documents, intake conversations, debtor reminders |
Use automation when the steps are known and the same every time. Use one of our AI agents when the work involves follow-up and judgement, such as deciding when to send a second reminder.
What can you automate in a law or accounting firm?
Three kinds of workflow make good starting points: intake, document processing and re-keying between systems. Each removes a manual step that happens many times a week and is easy to check.
- Client intake and onboarding. Web forms and enquiry emails become structured records in your practice-management system. Our guide to automating client onboarding in an accounting firm walks through the steps.
- Document processing. Incoming documents are read, classified, renamed and filed to the right matter or job. See how AI document processing works in law firms.
- Re-keying between systems. A new client or matter entered once is copied to Xero, Xero Practice Manager or your CRM, with any differences flagged for a person.
Deliverables
What you get
You get working automations on your existing systems, with the checks, documentation and monitoring that keep them reliable after the build ends.
Intake automation
Web forms and enquiry emails turned into structured records in your practice-management system, with missing details flagged.
Document processing
Incoming documents read, classified, renamed to your naming convention and filed to the right matter or job, with key details extracted.
System-to-system updates
Client and job details entered once and copied to the other systems that need them, instead of re-keyed.
An exception queue
Anything the workflow cannot read or match with confidence goes to a person to check, rather than being guessed.
Monthly run and monitoring
We monitor every workflow, fix failures and adjust steps as your systems and processes change.
Process
How it works
Each automation is tested on your own past examples and run alongside your team before it replaces a manual step.
- Step 0145 minutes, free
Discovery call
We identify the admin tasks that repeat most and the systems they touch.
- Step 02Agreed in writing
Process mapping
We write down each workflow step by step with the people who do it today, agree the rules and collect sample documents.
- Step 03Timeline in your proposal
Build and test
We build the workflow and test it against real past examples until the results match what your staff would do.
- Step 04Timeline in your proposal
Parallel run
The automation runs alongside your team, who check its output before it takes over the manual step.
- Step 05Monthly, ongoing
Run
We host and monitor the workflows under Managed AI and update them when a system or process changes.
Integrations
Systems we work with
Automations work on the systems your firm already uses. Where two systems need a new connection first, that work sits under integrations and custom tools.
- Actionstep
- LEAP
- Clio
- Xero Practice Manager
- Xero
- MYOB
- Microsoft 365
Security & data residency
Where your data goes, and who can see it
Automations move client details and documents between systems, so each workflow connects only to what its task needs and every run is logged.
- Scoped access
- Each workflow uses the narrowest permissions its task allows, and access is removed when a workflow is retired.
- Run log
- Every run records what was read, what was changed and where it was filed, so errors can be traced and corrected.
- Where data is stored
- Workflow data is stored in fully GDPR-compliant data centres. Our security and data residency page explains how we protect it.
- Model training
- Your proposal shows each AI provider's terms on model training, and we switch on the settings each provider offers to keep client data out of it.
- Privacy
- Each system's handover documentation records what personal information it holds, where it is kept and who can see it, so your firm can answer privacy questions from clients and regulators.
Pricing
Pricing guidance
Pricing model: Setup + monthly
Setup fee plus a monthly fee, both quoted in writing after the free discovery call. The setup fee depends on how many workflows we build, how many systems they touch and how varied your documents are. The monthly fee covers hosting, monitoring, fixes and changes.
Illustrative example
Example: a 35-person law firm filing incoming documents
Talk through a similar buildIllustrative scenario: documents for conveyancing and estates matters arrive by email all day, and a legal assistant downloads each attachment, renames it and files it to the matter by hand. With AI automation, each attachment is read, matched to the matter by reference number and party names, renamed to the firm's convention and filed. Anything that cannot be matched with confidence goes to the assistant's review queue.
Commitments
What you can hold us to
These are the working rules behind every engagement, from the first discovery call to the monthly Run service. Ask us on the call how each one works for the system you have in mind.
Scope and price in writing first
Every build is scoped and priced in writing before work starts, so there are no open-ended hours.
A person approves what agents send
Our AI agents draft; a person at your firm approves what they send. The After-hours Receptionist answers live only from wording your firm approves in advance.
Every agent action logged
Every action an agent takes is recorded in an audit log, so you can see exactly what it did.
GDPR-compliant data centres
Client data in the systems we build and run is stored in fully GDPR-compliant data centres.
Accessible, fast websites
Websites are designed and tested against WCAG 2.2 level AA and Google’s Core Web Vitals “good” thresholds.
Built and run under one roof
A build can move straight onto a monthly Run service with us, so it is not handed over and forgotten.
Melbourne and Victoria
Areas we serve
We are based in Melbourne and work with businesses across Melbourne, Geelong and Victoria, on site by arrangement or remotely.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between AI automation and an AI agent?
An automation runs a fixed workflow in the background when something happens, such as a form arriving, and uses AI only for steps like reading a document. An agent decides what to do next within rules you set, such as when to chase a client, and a person approves anything it sends outside the firm. A firm can run both side by side.
Which admin tasks are worth automating first?
Start with work that is frequent, rule-based and currently done by copying: opening new clients or matters, filing incoming documents, and updating the same details in several systems. These tasks are easy to test against past examples and easy to measure. We rank the candidates with you in the free 45-minute discovery call and build the clearest win first.
How accurate is AI at reading our documents?
Accuracy depends on the documents, so we measure it on yours. During the build we test each workflow against a sample of real past documents and compare the results with what your staff did. Anything the automation cannot read or match with confidence goes to a person to check, so uncertain results are reviewed rather than filed.
Do we need to change our practice-management system?
No. We build on the systems you already use, such as Actionstep, LEAP, Clio, Xero Practice Manager, Xero and Microsoft 365, through their APIs. Some vendors approve API access case by case, and where a system has no suitable API we look at scheduled exports or other supported options. We confirm what is possible before you commit to a build.
Will automation replace our administrative staff?
It changes their work more than it replaces it. Automation takes over the copying, renaming and filing, and staff spend their time on the exceptions it flags, on client questions and on work that needs judgement. How you use the time saved, whether for growth or for client service, is a decision for your firm.
How much does AI automation cost?
AI Automation is priced as a setup fee plus a monthly fee, both quoted in writing after the free discovery call. The setup fee depends on how many workflows we build, how many systems they touch and how varied your documents are. The monthly fee covers hosting, monitoring, fixes when a system changes and small adjustments to the workflows.
Secure by design. Set up correctly. Fully managed.
Talk to us before you commit to anything
Start with a free 45-minute discovery call. We look at your systems and priorities, then recommend a first step with a fixed scope, or tell you if we are not the right fit.
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