Matt had reached the limit of what he wanted from off-the-shelf software
“With the way technology is going,” Matt said, “I wanted to be able to control our own destiny and put our own flavor on it.”
Both Matt’s frustration with off-the-shelf software and the amount he was spending on it was growing. Switching to another lackluster system wasn’t an option.
Eventually, while Matt was using yet another piece of new software, and thinking on everything he was learning from a community called Automation Town, one thought became difficult to ignore:
“We can build this ourselves.”
Matt knew he’d need some experts on the case. The creator of the Automation Town community, Chad Davis, spoke highly of Isaac, our founder. So Matt got in touch, and in his words, he gave us his “dream.”
Bringing Matt’s dream to life
The dream would be a custom financial reporting application that pulled data from Xero. The finished reporting experience would run across around six or seven pages, starting with what would be most important to Advise’s clients.
And because the system would be customized for Advise, it would surface details that matter specifically to the builders and construction businesses the firm frequently works with.
Before we automated anything, we verified whether it was worth it
Advise had already documented what it wanted carefully: Matt identified 52 processes he wanted to automate to fulfill his vision, and we went through them one by one, identifying what could and couldn’t be automated based on the way Xero worked. After checking his plans were technically possible and cost-efficient, we began building.
There were two builds: one dashboard for Advise’s own metrics and another designed for its clients. But rather than disappearing for months and returning with a supposedly finished product, we shipped usable pieces progressively. The first working version took around two to three weeks.
Soon, Matt really was in control of the firm’s destiny, he just needed help
Off-the-shelf software helped Advise get a long way. But eventually, adapting the firm’s processes around somebody else’s product started creating as much complexity as it removed. It’s a familiar situation for many accounting firms serious about AI and automation.
Matt knew what he was looking for. He understood his own processes well enough to know what technology needed to accomplish; he just needed to work with people who could translate his hopes into something practical.
Matt kept building beyond what Opzer created
“I’ve always had a little bit of an interest in tech,” Matt says. “Actually, I love it. Not very good at it, but I love it.”
After around 30 years in accounting, Matt has seen technology change a lot about how firms work. He spends Fridays tuning into Automation Town, watches what other accountants are building with AI, and likes playing around with new tools himself.
As our project progressed, we showed Matt what was becoming possible with tools like Replit – and he wanted to build himself. Opzer’s Project Manager Krisztina, who worked on this project with Matt, sees that as an important part of our relationship.
Matt subsequently built his own version of software he was paying for and canceled the existing subscription.
For a complex reporting application, Advise still needed Opzer’s expertise. But simpler internal tools were increasingly within Matt’s reach, and Krisztina mentored him through the process.
In total, Advise went from spending $24,000 a year on software to around $90 a month
The journey hasn’t ended here. “There’s other things I want to build,” Matt says, “and there’s other things I want Isaac to build.”
One area he’s particularly interested in is automating repetitive work that currently consumes his team’s time. That matters for efficiency, of course, but Matt sees a bigger opportunity. “It’s really hard to get people in the accounting industry now,” he says. “We want to make the job more exciting.”
