AI in Your Small Business: Why Slow and Steady Wins

By Jason Koscinski

Artificial intelligence is everywhere right now. It's built into the software you already use, it's in your inbox, and it's probably in a few sales pitches you've heard this month. I'll say up front where I land: JRK Financial recommends AI. Used well, it can save a small business real time. But "used well" is doing a lot of work in that sentence, and some very large companies are learning that the hard way.

This post covers what's going wrong at the big end of the market, the questions I'd ask before adding any AI tool to your business, and where AI helps in bookkeeping versus where a person still needs to check the work.

What big companies are learning about AI

A recent Futurism article by Joe Wilkins reports that companies are cutting back on AI budgets after realizing employees were spending a fortune on AI tools to produce error-filled, low-effort work, sometimes called "workslop."

The article quotes Microsoft executive vice president Ryan Roslansky describing an AI-generated document he received: he read it, realized it was all AI, had his own AI summarize it, and "ended up with nothing that brought new thinking to the idea." He called it "a doom loop."

It also quotes Johnny Taylor Jr., CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management: "If we could all rewind… we would have introduced [this] in a more thoughtful, slow way."

And the stakes aren't just wasted time. The article cites a September survey by Ernst and Young that found about 36 percent of senior AI executives at firms with more than $1 billion in annual revenue had already experienced an "AI incident" that caused financial damage, operational disruptions, data loss, or brand damage.

If companies with dedicated technology teams and enormous budgets are running into trouble, a small business owner has every reason to take it slow.

Why "slow" is the right speed for small businesses

Going slow doesn't mean avoiding AI. It means adding one tool at a time, understanding what it does, and watching the results before you rely on it. The U.S. Small Business Administration's guide to AI for small businesses gives the same advice: AI is relatively new, so start small, and try free or low-cost tools to see whether they actually add value to your business.

The SBA also says that if you're using free AI tools, you should have another person review what the AI produces, and it advises against feeding sensitive data or proprietary information into these systems. Those two points, human review and protecting your data, are the heart of using AI thoughtfully.

Four questions to ask before you add an AI tool

Before you sign up for anything, work through these questions. If you can't answer them, you're not ready to rely on the tool yet.

1. What exact task will this tool do?

"It uses AI" isn't an answer. Name the specific job: sorting bank transactions into categories, reading receipts, drafting a customer email, summarizing a meeting. A tool with one clear job is much easier to test and trust than one that promises to "handle your finances."

2. Who checks its output?

Every AI tool makes mistakes. The question is who catches them and when. Decide in advance who reviews the results, how often, and what they compare them against. If the honest answer is "nobody," that's the problem to solve first.

3. Where does my financial data go?

Find out what information the tool needs, where it's stored, and who can see it. Bank records, payroll details, and tax information are sensitive. Read the privacy terms, and think twice before pasting account numbers, employee details, or client information into a general-purpose chatbot.

4. What would a mistake cost?

A clumsy AI-written social media caption is easy to fix. A wrong payroll tax deposit or a tax return built on miscategorized expenses is not. The higher the cost of an error, the more human review the task needs, and the slower you should go.

Where AI helps in bookkeeping

There are parts of bookkeeping where AI and automation genuinely earn their keep, because the work is repetitive and the results are easy to check:

• Categorizing transactions. Software can suggest a category for each bank and credit card transaction based on past patterns. For a business with a lot of recurring vendors, that saves time every month.
• Capturing receipts. Snapping a photo of a receipt and letting software read the vendor, date, and amount beats a shoebox of paper. It also makes it easier to keep the supporting documents you need.
• Repetitive admin. The SBA notes AI can help with repeat tasks like reminders, sorting email, and creating reusable templates, which frees up time for work that needs your judgment.

Even here, the suggestions are a starting point. A category that's "usually right" will still be wrong some of the time, and those small errors add up in your Profit and Loss.

Where a human must review the work

Some parts of your books carry too much risk to hand to software without a person checking every result:

• Reconciliations. Reconciling means comparing your books to your bank and credit card statements and making sure every transaction matches. It's how duplicate entries, missed deposits, and miscategorized transactions get caught, including the ones an automated tool created. If you're months behind, our catch-up bookkeeping services can get the accounts reconciled and current again.
• Payroll. Payroll involves withholding, employer taxes, deposits, and quarterly and annual filings. A mistake affects your employees' paychecks and your tax accounts, so someone needs to review each run.
• Tax filings. The IRS says the responsibility to substantiate entries, deductions, and statements on your tax returns is yours. That's known as the burden of proof. An AI tool can help organize records, but it won't be the one answering questions about your return. Someone who understands your business should review what goes on it.

The common thread: when a mistake is expensive or hard to undo, a knowledgeable person should be in the loop.

A simple way to start

If you want to try AI in your business, here's a low-risk approach:

1. Pick one task that's repetitive and easy to check, such as receipt capture.
2. Run it alongside your current process for a month or two and compare the results.
3. Keep your monthly reconciliation as the safety net that catches anything the tool gets wrong.
4. Expand slowly only after the tool has proven itself, and only to tasks where you've answered the four questions above.

If your bookkeeping fundamentals aren't solid yet, start there before adding new tools. Our guide to small business bookkeeping basics covers the habits that make everything else work.

How JRK Financial fits in

Technology keeps information moving, but reconciliation, review, and professional judgment are what keep your books dependable. At JRK Financial, bank and credit card accounts are reconciled every month, payroll runs through Gusto and is coordinated with your bookkeeping, and tax preparation is supported by organized financial records. You can see the full list on our services page.

If you're using AI tools to speed up the day-to-day work, that's great. We'll make sure the numbers they produce still tie out at the end of the month.

FAQ

Should my small business use AI for bookkeeping?

It can help with repetitive tasks like categorizing transactions and capturing receipts. Start with one task, check the results against your bank statements, and keep a person reviewing reconciliations, payroll, and tax filings.

Is it safe to put my financial data into an AI tool?

It depends on the tool. Find out where the data goes and who can access it. The SBA advises against feeding sensitive or proprietary information into AI systems, so be especially careful with general-purpose chatbots.

Can AI replace my bookkeeper?

AI can take on some of the routine work, but it still makes mistakes. Someone needs to reconcile the accounts, review payroll, and make sure your records can support your tax return.

What's the biggest mistake businesses make with AI?

Adopting it too fast without deciding who checks the output. That's the lesson big companies are learning now.

Let's talk about your books

If you're thinking about adding AI tools to your business, or you want a second set of eyes on what your current tools are producing, I'm happy to talk it through. Send me a message or call 269-200-2910. JRK Financial is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and works with small businesses across West Michigan.