AI Receptionist for Accountants
Johnni answers the tax season rush, tells a new client enquiry from an existing client chasing a return, books appointments into the right partner’s diary, and does it without anybody in the practice stopping billable work to do switchboard duty.
Plans start at $44/mo No contract.
Why the phone costs a practice more than it looks
Every call answered by an accountant is a billable hour interrupted, and in tax season the volume triples while the team does not.
Tax season floods the phones
From July, calls about returns, deadlines and new clients pile up.
Johnni answers every call at once, so nobody waits on hold or reaches a voicemail.
New clients sound like existing clients
A new enquiry and a client chasing a return sound the same until someone answers.
It works out who is calling, captures new client details in full and routes existing clients to the right person.
Accountants end up on switchboard duty
Answering the phone pulls senior staff out of billable work.
It takes the call, answers the common questions and books appointments into the right partner’s diary.
Deadline worries need a calm answer
Clients anxious about a lodgement date want reassurance, fast.
It explains your process, takes the details and flags anything time-critical for the team.
Every call answered is a billable hour interrupted.
A practice runs on concentration and on time recorded against a client. The phone is the enemy of both. Whoever answers it is either a senior person doing $300 an hour work, or a junior who cannot answer the question anyway.
Then July arrives, the volume triples, and the practice spends its busiest quarter doing reception instead of returns.
- Answers every call through the tax season spike
- Keeps senior staff off the switchboard
- Books into the right person’s diary, not a general queue
- Takes new client enquiries in full, after hours included
- Never gives tax advice. It books the person who can.
The volume triples. The staff do not.
Practices do not hire a receptionist for one quarter. They just answer less of the phone.
An AI receptionist that runs your front desk
Johnni knows your services, your team and your booking rules, so your people can stay in their work.
- Answers every call 24/7 in your practice’s name
- Separates new client enquiries from existing clients
- Books appointments into the right partner’s calendar
- Answers common questions about services and what to bring
- Takes detailed messages and flags deadline issues
- Follows up new enquiries and sends reminders on the Starter plan
New client, existing client, or deadline panic.
New client enquiry
Individual or business, sole trader, company or trust, how many entities, whether they have a current accountant. Enough that whoever calls back is not starting from nothing.
Existing client
Recognised, and asked what it is about. Chasing a return, a question on a notice of assessment, a change of details. Routed to the person who handles that client.
Deadline panic
Somebody who has left it to the last week. Booked into the earliest appointment you have and told what to bring, which saves an unproductive meeting.
A new client in the last week of October.
Hi, I need to get my tax done and I have left it a bit late.
You are not the only one this week. Is this for you personally, or for a business as well?
Both. I am a sole trader, I do landscaping.
Got it, a sole trader return. Do you have a current accountant, or would this be the first year with us?
First year. My old one retired.
No problem. Sam handles sole traders and has Friday at 10am or Monday at 2pm. Which suits?
Friday.
Booked, Friday 10am with Sam. I will text you a short list of what to bring, income summary, expenses and last year’s return if you have it.
Works with the systems practices already use
Google Calendar is included on every plan. CRMs like HubSpot and Zoho, and practice software with an API, connect as a custom integration.
If your software has an API, Johnni can usually work with it. Ask us about yours.
A tax and accounting firm runs its front desk through Johnni.
A small tax and accounting practice put Johnni on its main line. Every call is answered, new client enquiries are captured in full, existing clients are routed to the right person, and the numbers below are the firm’s own.
Simple plans. No lock-in contract.
Start with phone answering, then add your website and follow-up calls when you need them.
Phone
24/7 answering, Google Calendar bookings, warm transfers and your full call history.
60 minutes included, then 50c a minute
Phone and website
Everything in Pay As You Go, plus a website assistant your visitors can type or talk to.
200 minutes included, then 45c a minute
Phone, website and follow-ups
Adds outbound calls: new lead callbacks, quote follow-ups and reminders.
600 minutes included, then 40c a minute
Every plan has a 7 day free trial and no lock-in contract. Pay annually and plans start at $44 a month. Growth ($899) covers bigger call volumes. Outbound calling is included from Starter, or add it to Pay As You Go or Solo for a one-off $750. SMS confirmations are a $50 a month add-on, and job software connections are quoted to your setup. See full pricing
Frequently asked questions
Is an AI receptionist appropriate for a professional practice?
It depends how it is set up. Johnni is built around your practice: it knows your partners, who handles which work, your appointment types and what you do not take on. It is not a generic answering script, and it does not pretend to give advice.
Will it give tax advice?
No, and it is set up explicitly not to. It answers questions about the practice, appointment availability and what to bring. Anything that is actual advice becomes a booking with the right person.
Can it book into different partners’ diaries?
Yes. It reads the calendars it is connected to and books the appointment type into the right diary, so a business planning meeting does not land with the person who only does individual returns.
What about client confidentiality?
Calls are recorded and transcribed into your portal and that data stays yours. Johnni does not disclose client information to a caller it has not verified, and you set what it is allowed to confirm.
Does it help during the tax season spike?
That is the main reason practices use it. It answers every call at once rather than queuing them, so nobody in the practice chooses between the phone and the work.
How much does it cost?
Plans start at $49 a month plus GST, or $44 a month paid annually, up to $899 for the highest call volumes. Every plan includes a set number of calls and minutes, then a per minute rate, with a 7 day free trial and no lock-in contract.
Get through tax season without answering the phone.
Seven days free. Set it up in June and see what July feels like.
Plans from $49 a month plus GST, or $44 paid annually. No lock-in contract.