When Aryaman and I ventured out back in 2022, we had no idea how bookkeeping was done, let alone building Auto-Categorization on top of QuickBooks Online. We were on our way to solving the biggest problem in the SaaS space that all VCs were talking about back then—SaaS Sprawl Management.

We had planned everything from our hiring strategy to our speech when we rang the bell at NYSE. LMAOO! Looking back, we were naive and most certainly stupid. But we've always been scrappy, ready to change our ways, and most importantly, to hustle. Although we've taken maybe two steps back for every step forward, serendipity has found ways to pull us back from Tartarus.

The Pivot That Changed Everything

Our journey took a turn when we joined an accelerator in 2023, which pushed us closer to our customers. And boy, did we unravel things. First off, SaaS sprawl management was never truly the pain point. Like, obviously—have you ever met someone at a bar ranting about SaaS sprawl? Of course not.

We discovered that the real issues in the SaaS management space were inefficient vendor management and software security compliances. Both are grunt work that drain time and resources. In conversations with CFOs, Controllers, and CPA firm owners, we learned something chilling: "Finance and Accounting is broken"—and not in the usual way.

Whether it's a Fortune 500 company or a small mom-and-pop store in Indiana, too much time is spent on ensuring compliance rather than driving value for the business. This overemphasis on compliance has shifted the focus from optimizing cash flow to satisfying tax professionals and regulatory bodies. But with every new technology, the tides can turn. Calculators eliminated the need for mental math, software made record-keeping a breeze, and now AI promises to do the same for compliance.

Our Vision: AI Handling Compliance, You Handling Strategy

We envision a future where AI takes on the mundane, compliance-heavy tasks—with some human oversight—while CPA firm owners like you focus on strategy and advisory work. This means AI will handle things like:

• Categorizing transactions
• Creating prepaid expense schedules
• Managing AR/AP journal entries
• Bill matching
• Client communication
• Financial consolidation

By automating these tedious processes, Dunlin helps free up your time to become the trusted advisor your clients need. Your expertise guides the strategic decisions, while AI keeps the compliance and day-to-day tasks running smoothly.

How Dunlin Solves Real Problems

Our discovery journey revealed that existing SaaS management platforms were being repurposed for vendor management because they enabled financial systems to communicate with each other. Companies longed for tools that could break down data silos and minimize the time spent on compliance. There was a utopian dream of reaching zero time to insights—yet compliance held us back. That's when we decided to focus on solving this critical bottleneck.

Dunlin is built to bring out the best in accountants. By integrating smoothly with existing accounting software and automating manual tasks, we aim to reduce the compliance burden so you can move closer to that dream of instant insights.

Why This Matters to You

As a CPA firm owner, you know that technology giants like Intuit QuickBooks have tried to replace you with automated services. They have been investing in AI to take over tasks you once did. But we care about your role and believe in a future where AI supports rather than replaces you. Our mission is to bring back finance to what it once was—and what it can be: a field guided by trusted human expertise rather than just machine efficiency.

Repetitive manual tasks and burdensome compliance have created a perception problem for accountants. With Dunlin, we can change that. AI will gradually take over the mundane tasks, seep into financial systems, and bring you closer to insights every second. Complex analyses and calculations will become easier, allowing you to weave a magical story with numbers for each stakeholder.

Next Read

Explore more on how AI can optimize your practice:

• How to Use Common AI Tools to Optimize Your Practice
• See How Dunlin.ai Got Zuna Advisory's Close Time from 9 Days to 2

We see a future where firm owners are every small business's trusted advisor. It's time to change the narrative—Make the CPA great again!