Working with Elliott

Elliott is the bookkeeper inside Switchbooks. He lives in the chat panel on every page, works in whichever company you have open, and does the work a bookkeeper would do: categorize and post, match transfers, book entries, reconcile, and answer questions about the numbers. This is how to work with him well.

Start by asking for the outcome

Elliott acts first and explains after. The best requests name the result you want:

• "Post everything in To Review."
• "Categorize these and make rules for the ones that repeat."
• "Reconcile Chase checking to the statement I just attached."
• "Why is September's net income lower than August?"
• "Book the opening balance for the new card."

You do not need to spell out the steps. If you want him to be conservative, say so: "post only what you are sure about and list the rest."

How he decides

He picks the most specific category he can defend from your posting history and the transaction description. When nothing fits he uses Uncategorized rather than guessing, and he lists the rows he was least sure about at the end of his reply so you can correct them in one pass.

If he stops to ask, it is because something could go two ways and a wrong answer would be expensive. Answer the question, or tell him to use his best guess and keep going.

Give him what a bookkeeper would need

Drop files straight into the chat: PDF bank statements, CSV or Excel exports, OFX files, receipt photos, and the three QuickBooks Online exports. A statement imports after a preview that shows what is new and what is already in the books. A receipt attaches to the transaction it belongs to. A sheet of journal lines from your accountant books as journal entries.

When a vendor only you can identify shows up, tell him once and ask for a rule. The next one files itself.

Rows from the Banking page

Select rows in To Review and choose Add to chat. Elliott gets exactly those rows and nothing else, which is the fastest way to work through a specific batch or to ask about one odd transaction.

Previews and yes

Anything that changes the books in a way that is hard to reverse shows a preview first. A reconciliation, an opening balance, or a transfer match comes back as a short summary; say yes and he does it. Deleting or merging anything waits for you to type yes.

Undo

Ask "what did you change today?" and he lists it. Ask him to undo any of it and he reverses it through the same paths the app uses. Unposting returns a transaction to To Review. The list covers his changes, not everything people did in the app.

Several things at once

Open a new chat tab for a second job and Elliott keeps both going. Each tab has its own thread, so a long reconciliation does not block a quick question. Switch the chat to full page when you are working through a long list.

Reports in the chat

Ask for a Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, or Cash Flow for any dates and he returns it as a table. Ask for it as a PDF and he hands you a download, or emails it to a teammate after showing you what will be sent. He can also hand over a general ledger or trial balance as a spreadsheet for your accountant.

A weekly note without asking

Turn on the weekly books check in Settings under Automation and Elliott reviews the books once a week, leaving one short note only when something is new. On a schedule he does only work that can be undone.

What stays in the app

Elliott cannot sign in to your bank for you, so connecting or reconnecting a bank opens the secure bank window; he gives you the link. Billing opens Stripe. He does not run payroll, send invoices, file taxes, or move money. He can book a payroll register or a loan payment from the schedule you give him.

If he gets something wrong

Tell him in plain words: "that Zelle was a client payment, not a draw." He fixes the row, and if you want, makes a rule so it does not happen again. Every correction makes the next pass better, because he reads your posted history before deciding.