FAQs - Close Management & Intelligence

Getting Started & Core Concepts

What is the difference between a template and a close?

A template is a reusable, standardized workbook you configure once — its sections, checklist items, mapped work papers, and prompts. A close is a single run of that template for a specific client and period. You build the template under the organization area, then start a close to apply it to a client and produce that period’s work papers.

Where do I set things up — the organization area or the client view?

Templates and firm-wide settings live in the organization area, because a template can be shared across many clients. Once a template is active, you start a close and work within the individual client (business) view, where you review that client’s checklist, intelligence, and outputs. A simple way to think about it: start broad at the firm level, then drill into the specific client.

What is the intelligence layer, and what is the difference between business and firm intelligence?

The intelligence layer is the knowledge the system builds and stores. Business intelligence is everything specific to one client — their profile, what a typical month looks like, recurring patterns, and items to watch. Firm intelligence captures your firm’s general practices, conventions, and standards, and applies across all clients. Both are read by the agents when they run a close, so richer intelligence produces better results.

How long does initial setup take, and is this something I do every month?

Initial template setup is a one-time, front-loaded effort and can take a few hours per client depending on how detailed the workbook is. It is not a recurring monthly task. Once a template is built and proven, each new period largely runs and rolls forward on its own, with you reviewing and refining rather than rebuilding.

Building & Structuring a Template

How do I create a template?

Start a new template, give it a name and cadence (for example, monthly), and upload an existing Excel workbook. The system then extracts the checklist into sections and individual items, identifies which sheet is the checklist, and proposes how each item should be handled. Extraction runs in the background, so you don’t need to stay on the page while it works.

What is the difference between an AI task and a manual task?

An AI task is a checklist item the system will work on — typically anything with a corresponding work paper to populate from the data. A manual task is a human step that is tracked but not performed by the system, such as saving statements to a shared folder or making a posting before a reconciliation can run. Both stay visible on the checklist so nothing falls through the cracks; only AI items produce work papers.

Can I restructure a template after it has been created?

Yes. You can return to a template at any time and move through every setup stage again — rename or delete sections, add or remove items, reclassify items between AI and manual, and adjust mappings and prompts. Editing inside the application is the recommended path, and you can also adjust the source workbook before re-uploading if you prefer.

How do dependencies and prerequisites work?

You can specify that one item must finish before another begins. For example, you might require a bank reconciliation to complete before downstream roll-forwards start. This lets you enforce the natural order of your close so items only run when their inputs are ready.

What if the system identifies the wrong sheet as the checklist, or mislabels an item?

You can override any of its choices. If it selects the wrong sheet to extract from, you can point it to a different one, and you can always see where it pulled a given piece of information so you can verify it rather than take it on faith.

Will my prompts and mappings stay intact if I rearrange items or change dependencies?

Yes. Reordering items, or adjusting dependencies and prerequisites, does not reprocess or reset your prompts and mappings.

Work Papers & Prompts

How does work paper mapping work?

After the structure is set, the system matches checklist items to the sheets in your workbooks and makes its best attempt automatically. You then review and adjust. A single checklist item can map to multiple sheets or work papers, and you can upload additional workbooks that live outside the original file and map them as needed.

What happens if a checklist item has no work paper?

You can leave it unmapped. When that item first runs, the system creates a new work paper for it, following the same styling and structure as the other work papers you’ve uploaded. Over time this helps standardize the look and layout of work papers across your engagements.

What are prompts, and how do I edit them?

Prompts are the instructions the agent follows for each item, usually organized as data collection, analysis, and output. The system drafts them for you from the work papers, names, notes, and instructions it extracted. You can edit them manually or ask the assistant to revise them, including by describing your process out loud using voice. Prompts are the most important step to review, since they drive what actually happens.

Is there version history if I want to undo a prompt change?

Yes. Prompt edits are versioned, so you can review previous versions and roll back if a change doesn’t work out.

Do notes and instructions in my workbook matter?

They help significantly. Notes, embedded instructions, and clear naming are extracted and used when drafting prompts and mapping work papers. The more guidance you provide in the workbook up front, the less editing you’ll need to do later.

Running a Close

How do I start a close once my template is active?

Select the client, choose the period, and optionally set a due date and assignees. You can start it immediately or schedule it to begin on a future date. When a close first runs for a client, the system seeds the intelligence layer from recent history before working through the checklist.

What does it mean when an item shows “input required”?

If the system needs information it can’t find — for example, a statement that hasn’t been provided — it pauses on that item and requests it. The assigned owner uploads the file or provides the input, and the agent then resumes and completes the work paper.

Do I need to stay on the page while a close runs?

No. Closes and extractions run in the background. You can close the browser and return later; work picks up where it left off.

Can the Chat edit a work paper for me?

Yes. You can ask it where a figure came from, have it re-pull data, change formatting, or update specific cells. Because it has context on the work paper you’re viewing and is connected to the accounting system, you can work with it much like a junior preparer — and edits you make are noted to improve future closes.

What happens when I complete a close?

Completing a close carries work papers and item assignments forward to the next period, so you don’t start from scratch each time. You can start the next close immediately or schedule it. The system also reviews what happened during the close and updates its intelligence accordingly.

How do I get the finished work papers out of the system?

You can export the completed work papers into a workbook, choosing which to include and whether to add a cover sheet, and then save the file wherever you store your final deliverables.

There are three chat options — which do I use?

For general questions, summaries, or journal-entry metrics, use the global chat available from any page. For edits or questions about a specific work paper, open it and use the Excel Editor chat. To change how a work paper is processed, edit its prompt and click Rerun.

Why is my task taking so long to run?

Long runs usually mean a full rerun was triggered. For quick changes use the Excel Editor chat, which is much faster; only use Rerun when a work paper is fundamentally wrong or the underlying data has changed significantly.

Can more than one person work a close at the same time?

Yes. Several people can work different checklist items at once. A write lock prevents two people — or a person and the agent — from editing the same file simultaneously.

Journal Entries & Accounting System

Can the system post journal entries?

It can propose journal entries with an explanation and the supporting line items. You review them, edit if needed, and then approve. Approving moves an entry to a pending state; approving and exporting posts it to the accounting system. Noting why you changed an entry helps the system propose better entries next time.

Can it complete a reconciliation directly in the accounting ledger system?

No. The reconciliation itself is still performed in the accounting system. The tool produces the supporting work paper so you can carry out and confirm the reconciliation, or you can track the step as a manual item.

Does the system pull data live, or do I still load a trial balance into the workbook?

It pulls data directly from the accounting system for the period in real time, so you generally don’t need to paste a trial balance or other source data into the workbook first. If you prefer your traditional flow, you can still add an early item that brings the data into the workbook for other items to reference.

How should I handle tasks that occur several times within a period, like payroll or weekly statements?

Because a monthly template runs once for the period, recurring sub-period work is best handled as a separate template or ad hoc run set to the appropriate cadence, with a final item on the monthly checklist that confirms all of those postings were made. This keeps each occurrence tracked without crowding the monthly checklist.

What do my options mean when I review a proposed journal entry?

Edit lets you adjust the entry, and your change is fed back so the system learns from it. Dismiss marks the entry incorrect with a reason. Approve posts it to Artifact only. Approve & Export posts it to both Artifact and your accounting system.

Accuracy, Learning & Administration

Where does the system get its information, and can it make things up?

It works from the data brought in from your accounting system plus documents you provide, rather than the open internet. This narrow, controlled data scope is designed to reduce the risk of fabricated information. As with any AI output, reviewing the results remains good practice, and you can always trace where a value came from.

How does the system get better over time?

After each close, it reviews what it did, where it could improve, and any corrections you made, and saves that into the intelligence layer. Periodically it also cleans up duplicates and contradictions and updates anything that has changed about the client. The result is a knowledge base that should grow more accurate and consistent with each close.

Can I teach the system additional context it didn’t pick up?

Yes. You can upload documents — policies, procedures, onboarding materials, prior deliverables — and the system extracts the relevant information into the intelligence layer. You can also let the assistant update the intelligence directly when something about the client changes.

Why can’t I edit the intelligence layer by hand?

Direct manual edits are restricted so that changes don’t conflict with agents that may be reading from or writing to the intelligence at the same time. Instead, you ask the assistant to make the change, which keeps updates safe and consistent.

Can I control who is allowed to edit prompts or other settings?

Permission controls let you manage which actions different users can take within the close workflow — for example, restricting prompt edits once a template is working well, while still allowing review and day-to-day use.

What if data changes after a work paper or close is finished?

Today, the most reliable approach is to ask the assistant to re-pull the latest data and update the affected work paper, and a common practice is to add a final checklist item that re-checks balances against the accounting system before closing. Automated, ongoing change detection is on the roadmap to handle this for you.

Can a template be reused across multiple clients, including brand-new ones?

Yes. A template is a reusable, standardized workbook. Firms often build one general template and assign it to many clients, tailoring it per client as needed. For a new client with no work papers yet, you can start from a standard firm template and fill in the details as you go.