Sille's story — ten clients and room for one more¶
Sille runs a small accounting practice on her own. She has ten regular clients: a builder, a design studio, a village shop and seven other small Estonian businesses. She works with Merit and SimplBooks. Her clients trust her and recommend her. But when the next inquiry arrives, Sille first looks at her calendar: can another company's month fit into her working days?
Jaan runs Jaani Ehitus, Maarja is the contact at the design studio, and Sille works with both the owner and Rita, the manager of the village shop. These three clients appear again throughout the story.
Every client has a different rhythm. Jaan sends purchase invoices across several emails. Maarja asks whether a new service fits within the monthly fee. Rita sends the shop's payroll inputs arrive at the last moment. Sille knows her work, but before doing it she has to reconstruct what arrived, what was promised and whose answer she is waiting for. A surprising amount of the practice lives in her head.
She starts using Studio because she wants help with that everyday work. She would like to start her day knowing where things stand, find a document when a client calls and finish a piece of work without leaving herself five reminders for later.
Studio AI team: Sven coordinates, Madis organises work and documents, Kairi handles client relationships, and Liisa helps with billing and finance.
Sille and her clients are illustrative. This story describes the experience, combining existing Studio capabilities and features with a desired outcome.
1. Sille starts by telling Sven about her practice¶
On her first visit, Sille tells Sven:
“I run an accounting practice with ten regular clients. Most of my time goes into their monthly books, payroll and chasing documents. Help me get the client work in order. Let's start with Jaani Ehitus.”
Sven asks for what will help with that first client: who sends the documents, what Sille has agreed to do and what is currently waiting. She shares Jaan's latest email and the service agreement, then explains that she is preparing his August books. Sven turns the conversation into a short overview for her to check. One missing detail becomes one clear question.
As they work, Sille meets the rest of her AI team. Kairi gathers the client details and agreements. Madis organises the documents and work to be done. Liisa helps with the practice's invoices and financial information. Sven keeps the overall picture and brings in the right colleague. Sille can stay in the conversation and ask for what she needs.
Sven guides her through the connections as they become useful: incoming client mail, existing document folders and accounting. Sille grants access through the relevant connection settings. She can already work with the email and agreement she has shared while the rest is being connected.
By the end of this first session, Jaani Ehitus has a place in Studio, its current work is visible and the next action is clear. Sille can return to her accounting. She brings in the other clients in the same way, as she works with them. She does not have to describe every task for all ten clients on the first day.
2. Kairi helps each client settle in¶
For the remaining clients, Sille shares her existing client list and agreements. Kairi prepares the client records from what is already there: the company, its contacts, the accounting software it uses, the agreed service and where documents normally arrive. Sille checks the proposed records and fills the few gaps that matter now.
For each client she also records who sends purchase invoices, who issues sales invoices, who supplies payroll inputs, and who prepares and approves payments. Some purchase invoices arrive by email; others go from the client's digitisation service straight into the accounting system. Sille still checks the data, corrects it if needed, codes it and approves it there. An invoice already in the accounting system need not be entered again in Studio.
Maarja represents the design studio. The village shop is a different client: its owner approves payments, and its manager Rita sends payroll inputs. Jaan runs Jaani Ehitus but also represents another company. If his email does not make clear which company he means, Kairi checks with Sille. That keeps the message and resulting work with the right client.
Sille adds the things she usually has to remember herself:
“Maarja wants the monthly summary in English. Ask Rita for hours two working days before payroll. Jaan's annual report is priced separately from the monthly service.”
Kairi records these alongside the relevant agreement, including when a new arrangement starts. If a later email appears to change the fee or scope, she brings the difference to Sille's attention and prepares the update for review.
When Sille next opens Maarja's client record, she can see who to contact, what was agreed, the recent conversation and the work in progress. Much of the information was already in her files and emails; now it is available to the team helping her.
3. Madis gives the documents a home¶
Jaan's documents are spread between a Drive folder, email attachments and files Sille has saved locally. She points Madis to the existing folder and adds the loose documents. He proposes a simple arrangement that keeps useful existing folders and makes the current month easy to find.
That is the arrangement for Jaani Ehitus. For a client whose purchase invoices go straight from a digitisation service to the accounting system, the useful question is whether they arrived and were reviewed. Studio need not create another document folder for them.
For Jaani Ehitus, that means keeping the service agreement and standing instructions together, then organising monthly material by year and reporting month: purchase invoices, sales documents, payroll inputs, bank documents and reviewed reports. A rent agreement stays with the lasting client documents and can be linked to the months where it matters.
Sille reviews the proposed filing changes once. Madis uses the agreed structure for new documents and prepares a similar starting point for the next client. Each document keeps its connection to the company, relevant work and original email or upload, so Sille can also find the explanation that came with it.
A filename such as scan0047.pdf becomes easier to recognise from its supplier, date and
invoice number. A suspected duplicate is flagged; an unclear company or reporting month
becomes a question. If Maarja sends a corrected spreadsheet, Madis identifies it as a new
version and keeps the earlier one traceable.
Later, Jaan phones about a lease. Sille asks, “Find Jaani Ehitus's current vehicle lease and the email where we discussed the first payment.” The document and conversation open together. That small moment gives her a reason to keep bringing her work into Studio.
4. The team keeps things tidy as the day unfolds¶
The following morning, Jaan sends two purchase invoices, Rita, the village shop manager, clarifies an absence and a new business owner asks about prices. The emails reach Studio through the agreed mail connection or forwarding route.
Kairi picks up the new inquiry, checks what the prospective client needs and prepares a reply. Madis links Jaan's attachments to his August work and updates the shop's payroll task with the clarification. The message history preserves the context, including emails that need no further action.
When Sille opens Studio, Sven gives her a short working overview:
“Jaan's new invoices are ready for your review. Rita has answered the absence question. Kairi has prepared a reply to the new inquiry. The design studio's employee start date is still missing; Madis has a question ready for you to send.”
Each item opens the relevant work or draft. Sille deals with the questions that need her judgment while the team keeps the records and next steps up to date. Before a client message is sent or a financial commitment is made, she reviews what has been prepared.
On Friday, Sven points out an unanswered request and a promised report due next week. Sille had forgotten the report. Madis has already put its preparation in the plan, with time for her review. Keeping the practice organised is becoming a shared daily job.
5. Sille asks questions and gets answers she can check¶
Once the client context is together, Sille starts asking ordinary questions:
“What are we still waiting for from Jaan?”
“What did we agree with Maarja about work outside the monthly fee?”
“Which of my practice's service invoices are overdue?”
Sven brings together the recorded tasks, messages and agreements, involving Liisa for the financial figures. The answer includes the relevant documents or records, so Sille can open the source and check it. She can follow up with “Prepare a reminder for those two invoices” and review the resulting drafts.
Merit and SimplBooks already contain information she would like to explore just as easily. With the appropriate client's accounting data connected, she asks:
“For Jaani Ehitus, show August's unpaid sales invoices. Which are overdue, and what changed since July?”
Liisa retrieves the available records for that company and period. Sven explains the result, with invoice references and the date the data was last updated. Sille can ask to see the underlying rows or narrow the question to one customer. The practice's own fees and Jaan's sales to his customers remain clearly identified as different sets of accounts.
The same conversation can grow into “Why were Maarja's costs higher in August?” as the connection gains access to the necessary expense data. An incomplete month or an unavailable bank feed is visible in the answer. Sille knows when she is looking at recorded invoices, when payment information is available and what still needs checking.
Being able to ask questions of organised documents and connected figures is useful in its own right. It helps her prepare for a client call and move from finding information to explaining it. Broader accounting automation can build on that foundation.
6. A missing invoice stops being something Sille must remember¶
While reconciling bank transactions in Merit, Sille finds a purchase without a supporting invoice in Jaan's company. She tells Madis:
“Jaan's August documents are missing the €186 building-supplies invoice from 18 August. Prepare a question for Jaan. I need it for the VAT review by 17 September.”
Madis records the missing document and prepares an email with the payment date, amount and requested reply date. Sille reviews it and approves sending. Jaan replies, “I'll send it tomorrow.” Madis records the promise and keeps the follow-up with the same task. If tomorrow passes without a document, a reminder is ready for Sille's review.
When the file arrives, Madis links it to the request and brings it back for checking. Sille verifies that it is the right invoice and completes the task. The payment, question, promise, document and her review remain connected. A received file and a reviewed piece of accounting work have distinct states.
Bank transactions may arrive in Merit directly from the bank, but Sille still checks them, corrects them or makes a missing entry herself. Jaani Ehitus makes its own payments; for other clients Sille may prepare them. The people agreed by the client give final approval in the bank, sometimes more than one person. A mark in Studio does not replace bank approval.
There is help inside the document too. For the practice's own supplier invoices, Liisa prepares extracted details such as supplier, invoice number, date, net amount, VAT and total beside the original PDF. Sille checks the figures and the allocation instead of first copying them out. A blurred amount is marked for clarification.
Extending that preparation to each client's own Merit or SimplBooks books is a natural next step: propose the entry, compare it with existing entries and let Sille review the accounting treatment. Jaan's purchase belongs in Jaan's accounts; the bureau's own costs stay in its accounts.
7. Maarja finds the same order on her side¶
Maarja likes the idea of one place to send documents and find replies. Sille enables her client portal access. Maarja signs in through an emailed link and sees the offers, contracts, issued invoices and project progress shared with her. She can find the agreed monthly fee without asking Sille to send the agreement again.
To send August's documents, Maarja opens Messages, selects her accounting project and attaches PDF invoices, a receipt photo and a payroll spreadsheet. She adds: “Here are August's documents. Is the rent invoice still missing?” The message and files stay in the conversation for her next visit.
Sille receives a notification and opens Messages on Maarja's client record. The files are already linked to Maarja's company and selected project. She reviews them and replies: “Thank you! We have the rent invoice. Please confirm the new employee's start date.” Maarja answers in the same conversation.
At month end, Sille shares a reviewed report there. Maarja can read the explanation and download the report alongside her earlier questions. She needs no separate Studio workspace for her company. Jaan can continue using email while Maarja uses the portal; Sille's team keeps the work connected to the appropriate client.
All enabled portal contacts for a client share that client's conversation history. Sille chooses access accordingly; other clients' files, internal notes and the practice's margins remain private. Receiving documents, reviewing them and sharing a finished report each have their own place in the work.
8. The next month builds on what is already in place¶
Towards the end of September, Sille asks Sven:
“Keep this rhythm for Jaan next month. Have Madis prepare the agreed work, check what is still open and leave me time to review everything before the deadlines.”
Madis prepares the next plan using the service agreement and the routine Sille has checked. The client details, standing documents and working preferences are already there. Open questions remain visible with their original reporting month. Sille reviews changes and exceptions, such as a new employee or a separately agreed assignment.
This is where Studio's retainer project becomes useful. It holds the ongoing service, with a period for each month's work and billing. Sille has arrived at it through a familiar need: keep serving the same client without rebuilding the arrangement every month.
| In Studio | What it means for Jaani Ehitus |
|---|---|
| Client | Jaan's company, contacts, correspondence and lasting documents |
| Service agreement | The agreed accounting and payroll service, monthly fee and extra-work prices |
| Retainer project | The ongoing service and its work history |
| Monthly period | Service work performed in September, its tasks, time and billing |
| Task | “August VAT return: review documents and file the return”, with an owner and deadline |
The reporting month stays in the task title; time is recorded on the date Sille actually does the work. Studio opens and closes the billing periods. The work that repeats every month is the retainer's routine: each task keeps its deadline rule, such as "the 20th, moved to the next working day", so October's KMD is due on the 20th even though September's moved to the 21st. When a month opens, Madis prepares its plan from the routine. A task that was new last month, such as the bank report, is his to judge: it either joins the routine or stays a one-off. Because Sille's workspace is human-led, Madis first asks whether to prepare the month and then shows her the plan to approve. In a workspace that lets the AI lead, a settled routine simply rolls forward. Closing a billing period does not mean the client's books or declarations are complete.
When Sille has someone covering for her, she assigns that person to the task. They can see which documents are there, what has been checked and what is still waiting. Sille or her cover marks the task complete after checking the result.
9. The plan follows an Estonian accountant's month¶
With the recurring work in place, Madis prepares a plan around the dates Sille has agreed with each client. The ten clients do not all need the same list: a business with no employees has no routine payroll run, and VAT returns belong in the plans of clients with the relevant obligation.
| When | What happens in Sille's work plan |
|---|---|
| 1st–2nd | Collect payroll inputs: hours, absences, client-calculated bonuses and employee changes. For some clients an HR manager prepares the inputs. Requesting missing information has its own task. |
| 3rd–5th | Prepare payroll for each client's agreed payday. Sille calculates it or checks what the client prepared. The client reviews it; who makes and approves payments depends on the agreement. |
| By the 10th | File TSD and declare and pay employment taxes, including social tax, for the previous month's payments. |
| 11th–17th | Check purchase and sales documents and bank entries, then resolve open questions before KMD. These are Sille's internal work dates. |
| By the 20th | File the previous tax period's KMD and, where applicable, KMD INF and the intra-Community supply report VD; pay any VAT due. |
| Month end | Send the client a monthly summary, review outstanding work for the next month and bill Sille's own service. |
Sales records do not come from one place either. Jaani Ehitus issues its own invoices. The village shop uses a point-of-sale system, and Sille posts a summary from its report to the accounts. She checks the period and totals; there is no separate accounting task for every shop sale.
TSD follows the month of payment: wages paid on 5 August belong to the August TSD, due on 10 September. The wages may have been earned in July. Estonian Tax and Customs Board: TSD principles, employment income and taxes.
The VAT deadline on the 20th covers both filing and payment. VD is the intra-Community supply report. Sille adds it for the clients and months in which the relevant transactions occurred; a nil VD is not filed. A tax deadline falling on a non-working day moves to the next working day: 20 September 2026 is a Sunday, so the deadline is 21 September. Sille still schedules her review earlier. Estonian Tax and Customs Board: VAT returns, VD filing, VAT payment deadline.
The 3rd–5th is the working rhythm agreed with Sille's clients; the actual payday comes from the employment contract. A payday falling on a non-working day moves to the preceding working day. Estonian Labour Inspectorate's Tööelu portal: wages.
Sille confirms each client's obligations and dates. Madis works backwards from them, leaving room to request missing information and for Sille to review the result. When a client adds an employee or changes its service, the plan changes with the agreement.
Sille calculates or checks wages in payroll software and files declarations through her usual accounting software or e-MTA. In Studio, she completes the filing task after checking the submission; paying the taxes remains a separate action to track.
For some clients, the accounts must be ready well before the tax return. One group company, for example, needs its previous-month report sent to the parent company by 14:00 on the third working day. Sille plans the requests for missing data, the checks and the reporting tables with an owner and deadline for each step. All that work does not disappear inside one task labelled “month-end close”.
The year also brings different work. Sille has agreed to price Jaani Ehitus's annual report separately. If the company needs an audit or review, she plans time to collect the auditor's materials and answer questions before filing. An audit may be required by law or requested by a group; she checks each client's situation. The annual report is due six months after the financial year end: 30 June for a year ending on 31 December. e-Business Register: report deadline, Auditors Activities Act.
Sille adds a Statistics Estonia report when a client receives a notice. Some are monthly, others quarterly or annual, and their deadlines differ. Statistics Estonia: business surveys.
10. Sille can see what her own work is worth¶
The tidier routine also makes the practice's billing easier. The design studio's monthly fee covers the agreed recurring service. Mid-month, she asks for a separate cash-flow analysis to help decide whether to hire another employee. Sille agrees the price before starting, Madis adds the work and records Sille's reported time as separately billable.
Today Sille can enter hours manually on the project. The intended next step is Start and Stop buttons on the task: she starts time when she begins and stops it when she finishes, with a way to correct an entry. At month end she can see how much time went into payroll, chasing a missing invoice and separately agreed work.
For example, the monthly fee is €250 and the extra consultation is 2 × €60. Liisa prepares €370 before any applicable VAT, with the fee and consultation shown separately. These are illustrative prices. Sille can follow each line back to the agreement or recorded work, then approve issuing the invoice. The connected accounting system's payment status helps her follow up afterwards.
Some clients have an unmetered monthly service; others have an included hours allowance and an agreed overage rate. Separately billed extras do not consume that same allowance. Work recorded late can reach an adjustment invoice without charging the monthly fee again.
After a few months, Sille asks Sven, “Which clients take more work than their monthly fee allows for?” He brings together the recorded time, costs and fees with Madis and Liisa. Gaps in time recording remain visible. Repeated document chasing is part of the effort she can now discuss with a client, alongside the accounting itself.
For one client, a clearer document routine may be enough. For another, Sille may propose a revised service or fee. When she considers taking on more work, she has a basis for the decision in the work already recorded.
11. There is room to get to know the next client¶
With her existing work easier to oversee, Sille joins Studio Network and publishes her practice's services: monthly accounting, payroll and advisory work. She chooses which service descriptions and prices to make public.
A business owner might begin in a ChatGPT or Claude conversation:
“Find an accountant in Estonia for a service business with three employees. We need monthly accounting and payroll. Ask whether they can start next month.”
An assistant connected to Studio Network can find Sille's public services and send a quote or availability request. This requires a Network connection in that conversation; a catalogue listing alone does not bring an automatic recommendation in every chat.
Kairi receives the inquiry, gathers the initial information, checks capacity with Madis and prepares a proposal. Sven helps Sille see what accepting it would mean for the coming month. Sille judges the fit, timing and price, then approves the proposal for sending. The client's acceptance is followed by her confirmation.
The new client's arrival follows the pattern she established with Jaan. Kairi prepares the company record, contacts and agreement. Madis prepares the document structure and first-month plan, including the earlier accountant's handover, required access and opening questions. The monthly service continues from that starting point. Only the selected public services are exposed through Network; client accounting data stays private.
A calmer end to the day¶
On Friday afternoon, Sille asks Sven for a last look at the week. Jaan's missing invoice has been checked, Maarja's report is shared and next week's work has a place in the plan. One client still owes her an answer. Madis has recorded what is needed and prepared the follow-up for her review.
Sille started with one email and one client. Over time, that became a way of working: Kairi keeps the client context together, Madis looks after the documents and next steps, Liisa prepares the billing, and Sven helps her see what needs attention. Sille has more time to check the accounts, explain the figures and talk to her clients.
She closes her laptop knowing where the unfinished work stands. On Monday, she can pick up from there. The practice's working memory now has a home the whole team can use.
Next: The retainer example · Using the client portal · Studio Network.