Rima AI is trying to automate the accounting tasks software usually ignores
Accounting software has spent years making the easy parts faster, but a lot of the real-world grunt work still lands on people. Rima AI says it wants to change that by targeting the messy document handling and repetitive workflow steps that ERPs often leave untouched.
The Y Combinator-backed startup, founded by Harvard classmates Gwanygha’a Gana and Cedric Foudjet, has opened public access to what it calls the first AI accounting agent built to interview accountants, learn their edge cases, and create custom document workflows that run the same way every time.
That pitch matters because the work behind bookkeeping, reconciliations, tax prep, and cleanup is often less about neat software screens and more about emails, scans, spreadsheets, and manual corrections. Rima is aiming directly at that friction.
What Rima says the product does
Rather than asking users to adapt to a rigid dashboard, Rima’s system asks questions until it understands how a specific accounting task actually works. From there, it builds a “Blueprint,” which the company describes as a custom workflow that automates the process.
In practical terms, Rima says accountants can describe their work in plain English and provide client documents, even if those documents are disorganized. The system then builds a repeatable process around the task.
The company says accountants are already using the product for:
- cleanups
- catch-up work
- bank reconciliations
- credit card reconciliations
- accounts payable reconciliations
- data entry for tax preparation
Those are not glamorous jobs, but they are often the jobs that consume the most time in smaller firms.
Why the startup is focusing on this part of the workflow
Rima points to a stubborn reality in accounting: more than half of accountants still receive client documents through email attachments, scans, and paper. That means a large amount of time still goes into formatting, data entry, and spreadsheet cleanup before any information reaches an ERP system.
For solo practitioners and small to mid-market firms, that burden can be especially heavy. Larger teams may be able to build internal tools or automate around the edges. Smaller firms usually rely on manual handoffs and workarounds, which can turn routine work into an all-day slog.
That is the gap Rima is trying to fill. The company is not positioning itself as a replacement for accountants. Instead, it is leaning into the more unglamorous claim that it can help remove the repetitive work that gets in the way of advisory work.
More than 100 accountants are already using it
Rima says more than 100 accountants are using the platform now. One user, Ashley Losee, Senior Accountant at Sunbridge Advisors, said the Blueprint the company developed cut her monthly data entry process from 90 minutes per client to under 20 minutes.
That kind of time savings will matter most to firms juggling many clients at once. If the company’s numbers hold up across different workflows, the appeal is obvious: less manual cleanup, fewer repetitive steps, and more time for the work accountants generally want to spend time on.
Why the founders say they built it
The company says its origin story comes from family experiences with financial stress and the value of good accounting judgment. Gana’s mother’s business was nearly bankrupt before an accountant helped stabilize it, while Foudjet watched his uncle’s restaurants close after financial mismanagement.
The founders say those experiences shaped the company’s view of what accountants actually do. In their telling, accountants are not data clerks. They are the people who can help businesses avoid collapse, and the product is meant to reduce the time they spend on repetitive document handling.
What to watch next
Rima is now open to everyone, which puts it into a broader wave of AI tools aimed at specialized professional workflows rather than general chat. That market is growing fast because businesses are increasingly looking for tools that do more than summarize information or draft text. They want systems that can handle specific tasks end to end.
For accounting firms, the key question will be whether Rima can keep its promise across the wide range of edge cases that define real client work. If it can, the product could become a practical time-saver for smaller firms that do not have the resources to build custom automation themselves.
Rima says interested users can sign up and build their first Blueprint at getrima.ai.