Blueprint · Professional services · Illustrative example
How a 150-person accounting firm goes headless.
$32M revenue · 150 people · 18% EBITDA · Xero Practice Manager, Xero, Microsoft 365
The short version
$1.13M
More EBITDA a year
net of software and running costs
18% → 21.5%
EBITDA margin
+3.5 points
32,400
Hours back a year
30 → 12 FTE on repeatable work
16 weeks
To fully running
first value in week 8
01 · Where the time goes
30 people on repeatable work. 12 after.
Full-time equivalents spent on work that is the same every week, by function.
TodayHeadless
Client onboarding
7 → 2
Practice admin
10 → 4
Compliance prep
8 → 4
Billing and debtors
5 → 2
Total18 FTE of time back. 32,400 hours a year.30 → 12
02 · The stack
Your stack. Built by us. Owned by you.
PADISO is not in your stack. We choose the agents, wire them into the systems you already run, and set the rules inside your own tools. Every account, contract and log is in your name.
You
Managing partner and leads
7am daily summaryApprovals in TeamsWeekly partner review
Agents
Bought, not built
IgnitionContent SnareKarbon AIFYIDextChaserCustom Claude agents on n8n
The rules
Set in your own tools
Approval thresholds in SlackSpend caps in each vendorAudit logs you keepWeekly accuracy checks
Systems of record
Stay as they are
Xero Practice ManagerXeroMicrosoft 365TeamsTax agent portalsBank feeds
Models: Claude, GPT, Gemini or Grok, chosen per task on accuracy and cost. Swappable without a rebuild.Custom agents: only where no product exists. Here, three: workpaper drafts, WIP invoices and capacity reports.
03 · The playbook
Function by function, step by step.
The tools, the order of work, the guardrail and what it is worth. Detailed enough to implement.
Client onboarding
Weeks 5 to 8
Client onboarding
3 weeks → 3 days
Hours back a year
9,000
Net EBITDA a year
$315K
Tools
IgnitionContent SnareKarbon
Steps
1Map the onboarding path per service line: proposal, engagement letter, identity checks, prior year files.
2Ignition sends the proposal and engagement letter, and collects payment details on signing.
3Content Snare requests the documents and chases the client until the list is complete.
4Karbon opens the client and the first jobs from templates. A manager checks before work starts.
People keep
Scoping, pricing, the first client call
Guardrail
A partner signs every engagement over $10K. Identity checks need a person.
Practice admin
Weeks 8 to 11
Email triage, per manager
2 hours a day → 20 min
Hours back a year
10,800
Net EBITDA a year
$378K
Tools
Karbon AIFYIMicrosoft 365
Steps
1Move work, email and deadlines into Karbon. One timeline per client.
2Karbon AI summarises client threads and drafts replies. Managers edit and send.
3FYI files every document to the right client and year, with templates for standard letters.
4A Claude agent on n8n prepares weekly deadline and capacity reports for each team lead.
People keep
Client relationships, review, team leadership
Guardrail
Nothing reaches a client or regulator without a named reviewer.
Compliance prep
Weeks 11 to 14
Return prep, per client
6 hours → 2 hours
Hours back a year
7,200
Net EBITDA a year
$252K
Tools
XeroDextClaude agent on n8n
Steps
1Standardise workpapers and checklists for the top five job types.
2Dext pulls source documents into Xero for bookkeeping clients. Bank rules handle the repeats.
3A Claude agent on n8n drafts workpapers, flags variances to last year and lists missing items.
4Accountants review, adjust and sign. Agent accuracy is tracked per job type.
People keep
Judgement, advice, sign-off
Guardrail
Every lodgement is reviewed and signed by a qualified accountant.
Billing and debtors
Weeks 13 to 16
WIP to invoice
45 days → 7 days
Hours back a year
5,400
Net EBITDA a year
$189K
Tools
Xero Practice ManagerIgnitionChaser
Steps
1Move recurring clients to fixed fees in Ignition, billed on a schedule.
2A Claude agent drafts WIP invoices from Practice Manager time each week. Managers approve in one pass.
3Chaser follows up overdue invoices with polite, escalating reminders.
4A weekly debtor and WIP report goes to partners. Write-offs flagged before they age.
People keep
Fee conversations, write-offs, disputes
Guardrail
Write-offs, fee changes and disputes need a partner.
Tools named are what we would shortlist for this business today. No paid placements and no vendor affiliation. Best of breed moves fast, so the stack is reviewed every quarter.
04 · How it runs
Faster on every measure that matters.
Shorter bar is better. Same business, same team leads, same systems.
Client onboarding86% faster
Today
3 weeks
Headless
3 days
Engagement letter signed9× faster
Today
9 days
Headless
1 day
WIP to invoice84% faster
Today
45 days
Headless
7 days
Lock-up days36% shorter
Today
110 days
Headless
70 days
Email triage, per manager6× faster
Today
2 hours a day
Headless
20 minutes
Admin hours per partner75% fewer
Today
12 a week
Headless
3 a week
05 · The money
$5.76M EBITDA becomes $6.89M.
Each function adds to the bottom line. Figures are net of software, models and running the agents.
$5.76M
Today
+$315K
Client onboarding
+$378K
Practice admin
+$252K
Compliance prep
+$189K
Billing and debtors
$6.89M
Headless
EBITDA margin
18%→21.5%
How the $1.13M is built
18 FTE × $84K$1.51MSoftware, models, running, 25%−$0.38MNet a year$1.13M
06 · The 16 weeks
One function at a time. Value from week 8.
Each function runs in shadow mode for two weeks: agents draft, people send. Nothing goes live until accuracy holds above 90%.
12345678910111213141516
Diagnostic
Diagnostic
Client onboarding
Live wk 8
Practice admin
Live wk 11
Compliance prep
Live wk 14
Billing, debtors
Live wk 16
DiagnosticShadow modeLive
Annual EBITDA run rate, by week
$1.13M by week 16
12345678910111213141516
Milestones
Week 4Partners sign off the case, the stack and the guardrails
Week 8Ignition, Content Snare and Karbon onboarding live. $0.32M run rate
Week 11Karbon AI and FYI live across all teams. $0.69M
Week 14Workpaper agent live for the top five job types. $0.95M
Week 16Fixed fees and Chaser live. Handover to Operate. $1.13M
07 · After
The managing partner’s Monday, headless.
One summary at 7am. Two decisions. The rest of the day goes on clients and advice.
Daily summaryMon 7:00am
14
new clients onboarded last week
63
returns drafted, ready for review
$186K
WIP invoiced on Friday
Waiting for you · 2
New engagement · $24K a year · group of 3 companiesApprove
Write-off $3,200 · aged WIP · client in disputeReview
Lodgement deadlines on track · Debtors down 9% on last month
Always waits for a human yes
New engagementsover $10K
Fee changesevery one
Write-offsevery one
Lodgementsreviewer signs
Advice letterspartner signs
Illustrative model: 18 FTE of repeatable work at $84K fully loaded, less 25% for software, models and running the agents. 1,800 hours per FTE a year. Not a client result. A Diagnostic replaces these with your numbers. Product names are trademarks of their owners.
What would your business look like headless?
30 minutes with our founder. We sketch your before and after, and your stack, on the call.