Agents you talk to see what you can see
An agent your team talks to only sees what that person can already see.
For accountancy and professional services firms
AI agents that take the admin off your fee earners
We build them in Copilot Studio inside the Microsoft 365 your firm already pays for. They start on their own when something happens and do the checking, drafting and filing. Then they wait for one of your team to approve. For accountancy and professional services firms of 10 to 200 people.
Six
Ready-made accountancy agents
£1,500
Fixed first step, credited back
UK
Based in Colchester, Essex
Worked example
Post room agent- 01 Arrives
- 02 Read
- 03 Matched to a client
- 04 Filed and logged
The agent files the routine post. People see only the letters that need judgement.
Read the worked exampleWhat this looks like in an accountancy firm
Six agents, each with one job.
Each one starts when something happens in the practice, does the checking, drafting and filing, then waits for one of your team.
Fixed price See the agent Fixed price See the agent Fixed price See the agent Pilot places open See the agent Scoped per firm See the agent Coming next See the agent
WIP and billing agent
Every manager gets their own WIP exceptions in Teams each week, with the decision buttons built in.
Starts when your practice system emails its scheduled WIP report.
You approve bill now, defer or write off, matter by matter.
Adverse media and conflict checks
Every new client and every annual refresh is checked, evidenced and filed, without anyone having to remember.
Starts when a new client record is created.
You approve anything that scores, through your MLRO.
Client meeting agent
Briefs the adviser the day before, then turns the meeting into the file note, the tasks and the record updates when it ends.
Starts when a meeting carries your Client meeting category.
You approve the file note before anything is filed or sent.
PBC and records chaser
Knows what each job is still waiting for, matches what the client sends and chases what they haven't.
Starts when a job is created in your practice system.
You approve the chasers and any escalation.
Client onboarding agent
One form in; a signed engagement letter, a client workspace and a live client record out, with one partner approval in between.
Starts when a new client's intake form is submitted.
You approve the letters, through a partner, before anything goes to the client.
VAT return review agent
Checks the coding on every VAT return before it's filed, and gives the accountant a red, amber and green list with the source line for every flag.
Starts when the VAT return detail export lands in the quarter folder.
You approve every flag, and the return itself, through the accountant.
Two kinds of agent
Act, not just answer.
An agent that runs
- 01 Something happens
- 02 Checked and drafted
- 03 Your team approves
- 04 Done and logged
There are two kinds of agent. Agents you talk to help people find and draft things, and Microsoft's own Copilot now does a lot of that out of the box. Agents that run start on their own when something happens: an email arrives, a meeting ends, a report is exported, a date comes round. They do the checking, drafting and filing, then stop for one of your team to approve. The second kind is where a firm gets hours back, and it's what we build.
Agents you talk to
Find and draft things when someone asks. Copilot now does a lot of this out of the box.
Agents that run
Start on their own, do the checking, drafting and filing, then stop for your approval. This is what we build.
Microsoft keeps making Copilot better, and we'll tell you when it already does the job. What it doesn't know is your firm: your thresholds, your templates, your filing conventions and who signs off what. That's the part we build and look after.
Proof
Two builds from accountancy practice.
Worked example · Accountancy
The AI post room
Incoming post is read, split, matched against more than 1,500 live clients and filed by client code, with an audit line and a note to the right person in Teams. Letters that need judgement go to a person.
- End to end, per letter
- About 2 min
- A day back for the office team
- Up to 2 hours
Worked example · Client acceptance
Letters of engagement
A form in the firm's CRM feeds controlled Word templates and saves the letters to SharePoint, so the partner reviews rather than drafts. It is the core of the client onboarding agent.
- Of drafting, before
- Half an hour
- Of form filling and a partner review, after
- A few minutes
Worked examples from James Wilkinson's delivery work. Details are generalised and these were not FiveForward client engagements.
How it works
Three steps, fixed prices throughout.
-
We find the work worth handing over
Discover: up to six hours of conversations with the people who do the work, then a costed plan of where the hours go and which agents would take them back.
More on this step -
We build it in your Microsoft 365, or your team builds it with us
A ready-made accountancy agent or a build from your plan, tested on your own examples. Or a few of your team build it, with us alongside.
More on this step -
We keep it running
Embed checks each agent ran, chases approvals that have waited too long and keeps up with Microsoft's changes and yours.
More on this step
Already know which agent you want? We scope it on the free call and the specification is included in the fixed build price.
Your data and who approves
Built in your Microsoft 365. Approved by your team.
You decide what each agent may do on its own and where a person has to approve. By default, anything that goes to a client or raises a bill waits for one of your team.
We build agents in your own Microsoft 365, and your own Azure subscription where a job needs it, not on our servers. We don't host your data.
Agents that run use a service account
Agents that run on their own use a dedicated service account. Its access is limited to the mailboxes, folders and systems the job needs, agreed with you in advance.
UK regions where Microsoft offers them
We build in UK regions wherever Microsoft offers them. Where a service isn't available in the UK, or a build uses a model from another provider, we set out where processing happens so your compliance lead can approve it before anything goes live.
Every run is logged
Every run is logged: what came in, what the agent did and who approved it.
- Discover, covering Design too. Credited back in full once follow-on spend passes £3,500.
- £1,500
- For a build, fixed at Design. Typically £5,000 to £15,000.
- From £5,000
- Embed a month, looking after up to two live agents.
- From £750
Microsoft's own usage charges, such as Copilot Credits, are billed by Microsoft to your firm, separately from our fees. All prices exclude VAT.
Not ready to build yet?
Start with a short course on Copilot agents.
Agents are already part of Copilot, and working with them will soon be part of everyday work. The course explains what they are and how to use them safely, for anyone in your firm. No technical knowledge needed.
Other sectors
Accountancy first. The same pattern elsewhere.
We also build for law firms, financial advisers and insurance brokers of a similar size. The agents change with the work; the approval points don't.
Who we work with Law firms
New matter intake and conflict checks, attendance notes and post routed to the right matter. The fee earner approves.
Financial advisersA brief before the review meeting, then the file note, fact-find updates and a first draft for the adviser.
Insurance brokersRenewal preparation that starts before the renewal date, submission packs and claims chasing.
Other professional servicesThe same pattern for any firm of 10 to 200 people where admin sits between the work and the client.
About FiveForward
FiveForward is a UK AI agent consultancy based in Colchester, Essex. We design and build AI agents and automations inside a firm's own Microsoft 365, using Copilot Studio and Power Automate, for accountancy firms and other professional services firms of around 10 to 200 people. Our agents start on a trigger, such as an email arriving, a meeting ending or a report being exported. They do the checking, drafting and filing, then stop for a person at the firm to approve. Engagements usually start with a fixed-price Discover, and we also train a few of the firm's own team to build and run agents. FiveForward was founded by James Wilkinson.
More about James and FiveForwardWill Microsoft's own Copilot make these agents pointless?
Some of what people call agents, yes, and we'll tell you when Copilot already does the job. Meeting recaps, drafting and “prepare me for my meeting” are now built in. What isn't built in is your firm: your thresholds, your templates and your naming conventions. Nor is filing to your document system, updating your records or the approval and evidence trail your regulator expects. That's what these agents do.
Couldn't someone in our own team build this?
They could build a first version of some of it, and our workshops exist to help them. The time goes on everything after the demo: the exceptions, the approval steps, the audit trail and keeping it working when Microsoft changes things. That's what the fixed price and Embed cover.
Who approves what the agent does?
You decide what each agent may do on its own and where a person has to approve. By default, anything that goes to a client or raises a bill waits for one of your team.
Where does our data go?
We build agents in your own Microsoft 365, not on our servers, and we don't host your data. Agents your team talks to only see what that person can already see. Agents that run on their own use a dedicated service account, limited to the mailboxes, folders and systems the job needs, agreed with you in advance. We build in UK regions wherever Microsoft offers them, and anything that has to run elsewhere is set out for your compliance lead to approve before go-live. Microsoft doesn't use your Microsoft 365 content to train its foundation models, and every run is logged.
What does it cost to run?
Two things, kept separate. First, our fees: a fixed build price, then Embed from £750 a month, which looks after up to two live agents. Second, Microsoft's usage charges, which Microsoft bills to your firm. We build agents so routine steps run as standard automations and AI is only used where judgement is needed, which keeps Microsoft usage low and predictable. We estimate it before you commit.
How long does it take?
Most builds take two to six weeks from sign-off, depending on the systems involved.
Do we need an IT team?
No. Some agents need your IT provider to approve an app registration or set up a shared mailbox. We tell them exactly what to set up.
Do you only work with accountancy firms?
Accountancy first. We also work with law firms, financial advisers and insurance brokers of a similar size.
What if our files are still on a server drive?
Then start with Discover. Most of these agents need your files in SharePoint or OneDrive first, and Discover sets out what to move and in what order.
Next step
Find out which admin an agent could take off your team.
A free 30-minute call with James. No pitch and no obligation.