Aider
Period-close checks and client advisory reports for firms that keep the books in Xero or QuickBooks.
- Starting price
- $150/mo minimum, 12-month commitment
- Pricing
- Paid
- Works with
- QuickBooks Online, Xero
- Pricing checked
- October 12, 2026
Our take
- Best for
- An accounting or bookkeeping firm that closes many Xero or QuickBooks clients and wants a report it can take to an advisory meeting.
- Not ideal if
- A company building its own budget and forecast, or a firm that will not sign a 12-month minimum.
- Standout
- One close queue across client ledgers, plus an editable performance report for the client meeting, without replacing Xero or QuickBooks.
About Aider
Aider is period-close and advisory software for accounting and bookkeeping firms. You connect each client's Xero or QuickBooks file. Aider pulls the ledger, runs close checks, flags anomalies, and reconciles transactions so the reviewer works a checklist instead of rebuilding the month. It also writes a performance report, with an executive summary, action points, and charts, that the firm can edit and take to a client meeting. An advisory assistant drafts meeting prep. A firm dashboard shows which clients are behind.
Fathom reads a company file and turns it into management reports for that business. Jirav and Vena are planning systems for a finance team inside the company, building budgets and forecasts. FloQast is a close checklist for an internal accounting department. Aider is the firm's version of the close-and-explain job: many client files, one queue, and a report meant for an advisory conversation. It does not replace Xero or QuickBooks. Karbon acquired Aider in 2025. You can run Aider on its own. Connected to Karbon, close checks sit next to the firm's work management and client messages.
Firms keep it when month-end is a pile of client files and the partners want a report they can show without building slides. Bookkeepers live in the checklist. Advisors use the report in the meeting. The books stay in the client's ledger. Aider tells you whether that ledger is ready, and gives you something to say about it.
Pricing
The published floor is $150 a month, with a 12-month commitment, paid monthly or annually. New Zealand and Australia practices see that figure in NZD or AUD. Everyone else sees USD. New Zealand GST is added. Other countries are not charged sales tax by Aider. The per-client rate is not printed. The page says it drops as you connect more clients. Unlimited users are included. A five-client firm still pays at least the minimum, and cannot see the per-file price before talking to sales.
Advisors
Accounting and bookkeeping firms. The minimum is $150 a month in USD, or in NZD or AUD if the practice is in New Zealand or Australia. GST is added only in New Zealand. The per-client rate is not published and falls as you add clients. 12-month commitment, paid monthly or annually.
- Period close automation
- AI management reports
- Firm-wide dashboards
- AI advisory assistant
- Unlimited users
- Optional Karbon connection
- 12-month commitment
How it hits your books
- Replaces your ledger
- No
- QuickBooks Online
- Partial
- Xero
- Yes
- Inventory
- No
- Payroll
- No
The firm still posts and reconciles in the client's Xero or QuickBooks file. Aider runs the checklist, flags exceptions, and shows which clients are unfinished.
This is the firm's own tool. The handoff to the client is the performance report plus the ledger that already lives in Xero or QuickBooks. A 1099 file was not part of the documented product.
Features
- Run the close checklist on the client file
- Connect Xero or QuickBooks and Aider syncs the client ledger. The checklist flags anomalies, reconciles transactions, and lets you set alerts on figures you care about. The firm still corrects the books in Xero or QuickBooks. Aider is the review layer.
- See every client on one close board
- The period-close dashboard shows progress across clients, which alerts are open, and which checks are still manual. That is how a firm spreads work across bookkeepers instead of discovering a late file in the last week.
- Hand the client a performance report
- AI-written management reports produce an editable executive summary, action points, and charts in plain language. The firm uses them in client meetings next to the annual accounts. You can edit the draft before it goes out.
- Prep the advisory meeting
- The advisory assistant is described as meeting prep, analysis, and charts, with juniors doing more of the first draft. A separate advisory dashboard uses a traffic-light view across the client base so partners can see who is ready for an advisory conversation.
- Use it alone, or next to Karbon
- The pricing FAQ says Aider works as a standalone close tool. With Karbon, close checks, exceptions, and client communication sit in the practice workflow. The about page says Karbon acquired Aider in 2025. Unlimited users are listed on the pricing page.
Images
Integrations
Platforms
Audience
Pick something else instead of Aider
Fathom
Pick Fathom instead if you want management reports on one company file, not a firm-wide close queue.
FloQast
Pick FloQast instead if an internal finance team needs a close checklist and there is no client-advisory report to deliver.
Jirav
Pick Jirav instead if the company itself needs budgets, forecasts, and hiring plans, not a firm's month-end review.
Ready to try Aider?
Check the live pricing page before you sign up. Plans change.