How to set up an AI receptionist for your accounting practice

Say it's a Sunday afternoon in early October. You've finally got an hour with nobody ringing. Call her Leanne. She's made up, but you'll recognise her: a sole practitioner in a two-room office above a chemist, with a phone that's about to get very busy before 31 October.

Leanne's decided she wants an AI receptionist answering for her. What she hasn't worked out is the setup. What does it need to know? Does she have to change her number? What happens if it says something silly to a client?

This is the walk-through we'd give Leanne. It uses Mia, RipperReceptionist's AI receptionist, because that's the one we know inside out. Most of it applies whichever service you pick.

Short version: setup takes about five minutes. You sign up, verify your phone by SMS, let Mia read your website, set your hours and rules, then forward your existing number. Then you ring yourself to check it works.

Before you start: have these three things handy

You don't need much.

• Your practice website address. Mia reads it during setup, so your services, hours and prices come across without retyping.
• Your mobile, for the SMS check at sign-up.
• Your carrier's name, so you know which forwarding code to dial. Telstra, Optus and Vodafone mobiles each have their own.

That's it. You don't need a new phone number, new hardware or a call with a sales rep.

Step 1: Paste your website and let Mia read it

Mia reads your site in about 60 seconds and pulls out your services, hours, prices and policies. You can edit any of it from the dashboard afterwards.

Have a look at what she found. If your website says "BAS and bookkeeping" but you've stopped doing bookkeeping, fix it here. Mia answers callers from what she knows, so this is the bit worth five extra minutes.

Step 2: Describe your style

Next you tell Mia how your practice sounds. Formal or relaxed. First names or not. Anything she should always say, or never say.

Leanne's note might read: "Friendly, plain English, no jargon. We don't do company audits. New clients get a 30-minute first meeting." Short is fine. You're briefing a receptionist, not writing a manual.

Step 3: Set your rules for the accounting stuff

This is where an AI receptionist for a practice is different from one for a plumber. Three things matter most.

Advice questions. Mia never gives tax advice on the phone. "Is it deductible?" becomes a booked consultation, because that answer is your billable work. That's already how she works for accountants. You don't have to switch it on.

Tax file numbers. If a caller starts reading out a TFN, Mia stops them before it lands in any note. Again, it's built in.

What to capture. Set your hours and what Mia should collect on each call. For a practice, that's usually name, number, what they need and how urgent it is. Mia also asks whether it's for a sole trader or a company when that matters.

If you're on Pro, this is also where bookings come in. Mia books consultations into your RipperReceptionist calendar, checked against your hours and existing bookings. If a slot's taken, she offers another time.

Step 4: Go live, then forward your number

When you go live you get your Mia number, an Australian number that's active straight away. Your clients never see it. They keep ringing the number they already know.

To send calls across, you set up call forwarding on your existing line. You've got three choices:

• Always forward. Every call goes straight to Mia. Good for a closed office, a holiday week or the October rush.
• Forward when you don't answer. Your phone rings first. If you're with a client, Mia picks it up. This is where most solo practices start.
• Forward when you're busy. If you're already on a call, the next caller goes to Mia instead of a busy tone.

Our free call forwarding code finder gives you the exact code for Telstra, Optus and Vodafone mobiles and for Telstra landlines. It also gives you the code to switch forwarding off again. If your practice uses a 1300 number, or a landline from another provider, you change the routing in your provider's portal or ask your provider. There's no dial code for those.

Changed your mind later? Dial ##002# to cancel all forwarding at once.

Step 5: Ring yourself

Grab another phone and call your own number. Mia answers.

Then play a caller. Ask about BAS. Ask "is my car deductible?" and listen for the booked consultation instead of an answer. Afterwards, open the call on your dashboard. You'll find a full transcript and an AI summary.

If you'd like to hear her before you've set anything up, ring the demo line on +61 2 4072 7246.

Your first week: what to check

The setup's done in an afternoon. The tuning happens over the first week, and it's mostly reading.

• Read the summaries. Every call lands with a transcript and an AI summary. Skim them each evening for the first few days.
• Look for "I'll get the owner back to you". When Mia doesn't know something, she tells the caller honestly that you'll get back to them, and the question shows up on your dashboard. Each one is something to add to her answers. Teach her once and she handles it from then on.
• Check your hot leads (Pro). Callers with real buying interest are flagged on your dashboard with the reason. Ring those back first.
• Keep an eye on your call credit. Calls are $0.50 a minute, drawn from credit you top up, any amount from $10 to $500 + GST. Credit never expires. You get a low-balance warning by SMS and on your dashboard. If it hits $0, Mia stops answering until you top up, so don't leave it to the last week of October.

What it costs to get going

There's no setup fee and no lock-in.

• Starter is $19.99 a month + GST and comes with 19 free call minutes.
• Pro is $49.99 a month + GST and comes with 49 free call minutes. It adds bookings, invoice and document chasing, and hot lead flags.
• Pro Max is $999 once + GST for 5 years of Pro, with 999 free call minutes.

Calls are $0.50 a minute after your free minutes. There's a 14-day refund when you first sign up, and you only pay for the minutes you use.

One more thing for practices on Xero: today Mia exports invoices and contacts in Xero's import format, plus a quarterly BAS-period summary. Native Xero sync is on the roadmap.

Back to Leanne

Leanne's done by four o'clock. She forwards on no-answer, rings herself from her partner's phone, asks Mia whether her home office is deductible, and gets offered a consultation. She smiles at that.

The next morning she's with a client when the phone rings twice. She doesn't look at it. At lunch there are two summaries waiting: a café owner behind on BAS, and a new sole trader who wants a return done before the 31st. Both are booked in.

That's the whole point. You set it up once, and the phone stops running your day.

Ready to try it? Get started in about five minutes, or ring Mia first on +61 2 4072 7246.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to set up an AI receptionist for an accounting practice?

About five minutes with RipperReceptionist. You sign up, verify your phone by SMS, let Mia read your website, set your rules and forward your number.

Do I have to change my practice's phone number?

No. You forward your existing number to Mia. Clients keep ringing the number they already know.

Will an AI receptionist give my clients tax advice?

Mia won't. Advice questions like "is it deductible?" become a booked consultation, because that answer is your billable work.

What happens if a caller reads out their tax file number?

Mia stops them before it lands in any note.

How do I turn call forwarding off?

Dial ##21# to cancel always-forward, or ##002# to cancel all forwarding at once. Or pause Mia from the dashboard by setting her status to Voicemail or Forward.