AI bookkeeper · Daily close · Import from Zeni · Free Plan
Zeni bundles AI bookkeeping with a managed finance team and charges a premium monthly price built for venture-backed startups. HelloBooks is the AI-first alternative that gives you the same AI outcomes — daily categorize, reconcile, and close — inside an account you own, for a fraction of the retainer.
Import your Zeni data, run AI cleanup on any period that needs it, and move to software you control — Free Plan for early-stage founders, Pro at a $9.99/mo founding-member price (then $19.99) with unlimited users, AI included. Keep your CPA in the loop with reviewer mode.
1. The same AI outcomes — without the enterprise price
Zeni bundles AI bookkeeping with a managed finance team and prices it for funded startups — a premium monthly fee that scales with your spend. HelloBooks runs an AI bookkeeper on your bank feed every day — categorizing at 95%+ accuracy, matching transfers, reconciling accounts, and drafting month-end journal entries — on a Free Plan or Pro at a $9.99/mo founding-member price (then $19.99). Same daily AI outcomes, a fraction of the retainer.
2. You own your books — it is software, not a service
With Zeni your books and dashboards live inside a service engagement staffed by a finance team. HelloBooks is software you control: your ledger lives in your account, you export any time, and the AI agent runs on a public MCP server you can query from Claude or ChatGPT. No engagement to renew, no team to be reassigned, no service you can be locked out of.
3. Free Plan + $9.99 Pro, AI on every plan
Zeni is enterprise-priced by design — built for venture-backed teams that can absorb a premium monthly fee. HelloBooks Pro is a $9.99/mo founding-member price (then $19.99) with unlimited users, and the Free Plan covers most early-stage founders and solo LLCs at $0 — with AI bookkeeping included on every plan, not sold as a tier above.
4. AI cleanup for the catch-up
Behind on the books, or moving mid-year? Point the AI cleanup mode at the backlog — it backfills categorization, matches transfers, surfaces duplicates, and reopens the books in an afternoon. What catch-up bookkeeping firms charge $1,500–$5,000 for, without onboarding onto another premium retainer.
5. US compliance + your accountant, built in
IRS-ready books, 1099 e-file, and 50-state sales tax generated from the same ledger — plus a reviewer mode so your CPA reviews and signs without a separate subscription. You keep human oversight, but as an option you control instead of a finance-team retainer you rent.
The differences that matter most when you replace a bundled AI + finance-team service with AI you own. For the full side-by-side, see the detailed HelloBooks vs Zeni comparison.
| Feature | HelloBooks | Zeni |
|---|---|---|
| Model | AI bookkeeping software you own + optional CPA review | AI bookkeeping bundled with a managed finance team (retainer) |
| Cadence | Daily — books stay close-ready continuously | AI-assisted, delivered through the service team |
| Who does categorization | AI agent at 95%+ accuracy, learns your patterns | AI plus an assigned finance team |
| Data ownership | Your account, export any time, open MCP access | Inside the service engagement |
| Starting price | Free Plan + Pro at $9.99/mo founding price (then $19.99), unlimited users | Premium monthly retainer (hundreds/mo+), scales with spend |
| Catch-up / cleanup | AI cleanup mode included — backfills a stalled year in an afternoon | Historical/catch-up billed as an add-on |
| Bank connections | 11,000+ US banks via Plaid + AI statement upload | Connected on your behalf by the service |
| US tax filing | 1099 e-file + 50-state sales tax from the ledger | Tax & CFO as paid add-ons |
| Accountant access | Built-in reviewer mode + CPA practice dashboard | You rely on the assigned team |
| Open AI integration | MCP server — works in Claude, ChatGPT, any MCP client | Closed platform |
| Multi-entity | Built in, every plan | Separate engagement per entity |
Zeni is built for venture-backed teams and priced like it — a premium monthly fee that climbs with your spend. If you are bootstrapped, pre-revenue, or watching burn, HelloBooks gives you the same daily AI bookkeeping on a Free Plan or a $9.99/mo founding price.
The categorizing, reconciling, and dashboards Zeni charges a premium for are exactly what an AI agent now does well. HelloBooks does that work automatically and keeps your CPA in the loop for the judgment calls — at a fraction of a bundled finance-team retainer.
You liked Zeni for the AI, not the retainer. HelloBooks keeps your books reconciled daily by an AI agent you run yourself — so you always know where you stand, and month-end is a 15-minute review instead of waiting on a team.
With Zeni your books live inside a service engagement. HelloBooks puts the ledger in your account with export any time and open MCP access, so your financials are yours — queryable from Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP-aware client.
Zeni bills tax, CFO, and catch-up as separate add-ons that stack on the retainer. HelloBooks includes AI bookkeeping, US tax filing, cleanup, and multi-entity on every plan — so the price you see is the price you pay as you grow.
Moving off a bundled service is simpler than it sounds — you bring your data in, the AI backfills anything open, and you own everything from there.
Step 1
Sign up free
Create your HelloBooks account at no cost — the Free Plan includes 5,000 AI credits and full reporting, no credit card.
Step 2
Import your Zeni data
Bring in your Zeni export / CSV — chart of accounts, historical transactions, and balances flow into your new ledger.
Step 3
Connect your bank
Link your bank via Plaid for live feeds across 11,000+ US banks. AI statement upload covers anything Plaid misses so nothing is lost in the switch.
Step 4
Run AI cleanup
Point the AI agent at any stalled or uncategorized period. It backfills categorization, matches transfers, surfaces duplicates, and reopens the books.
Step 5
Own it going forward
The AI runs daily from here — categorize, reconcile, close. Add your CPA in reviewer mode for oversight. Your books, in your account, on autopilot.
Free Plan with 5,000 AI credits, full reporting, and bank connection. No credit card. Import your Zeni data and let the AI keep the books current — then own your books going forward, without an enterprise retainer.