Automation for law firms and tax advisors
Last updated: July 23, 2026
Your firm is drowning in standard enquiries, deadlines and document requests. routinefrei pre-sorts and writes drafts. The professional assessment and every approval stay with you.
Availability: Gmail, Google Calendar, draft replies, approvals and audit records are available in the customer workspace today. DATEV, beA or law firm software are possible pilot projects after a technical, data protection and professional law review. Overview of all systems: Integrations.
Sound familiar?
- Every morning 60 or more client emails, from the urgent deadline case to the simple status question, all in the same inbox.
- Always the same questions: where do I upload receipts, when is the filing deadline, has my return gone out yet, what is the current status.
- Chasing missing documents for the tax return or the legal brief, reminding several times, following up by hand.
- The phone rings while you are working on a case, and important appointments and callback requests get lost between notes.
One day, two versions
Without routinefrei
The day starts with the inbox. 60 new emails, including three actual deadline matters; the rest are status questions, receipt queries and appointment requests that you first have to read one by one to classify them. In between, the phone rings: a client just wants to know whether her return has been filed yet. The client still hasn't sent the receipt you requested the day before yesterday, so you type the same reminder for the third time. By the evening the inbox is done, and the actual professional work started too late.
With routinefrei
In the morning you open a pre-sorted overview: deadline matters and urgent items at the top, standard questions below, each with a finished draft reply. You read, correct if necessary, approve. The recurring question about uploading receipts is answered by a draft that you only check. The system politely requests missing documents and schedules the follow-up, and the client automatically gets a reminder. There are fewer standard questions on the phone, because the answers already go out by email. You keep making the professional decisions, just without the sorting beforehand.
How much time does client communication actually take?
According to industry surveys, tax advisors spend one to two hours a day on client emails alone. According to industry analyses, structured email triage with reviewed draft replies reduces this effort by 40 to 60 percent, because sorting, assigning and typing standard replies are no longer needed. At the same time, around 65 percent of firms report an acute skills shortage, with over 10,000 positions unfilled. Automation doesn't replace anyone: it gives the existing team back the hours that currently disappear in the inbox.
How the triage works in detail is explained in the guide Email triage for tax firms (in German). The interplay of inbox and calendar is described on the service page Email automation + time management. And if you are chasing receipts, the guide Requesting missing receipts automatically (in German) offers a step-by-step workflow. The routine check works out in two minutes what these hours cost your firm today.
What we automate for you
Email triage with draft replies
Client emails are pre-sorted by urgency and topic, deadline matters first. For standard questions, a finished draft is ready. You check and approve. The AI does not send anything on its own and gives no legal or tax advice.
Document and follow-up automation
Missing receipts and documents are requested and followed up automatically, with a polite reminder to the client. You can see at any time what is still outstanding, instead of chasing it yourself.
AI phone assistant
As a pilot after review: answers calls, answers standard questions such as filing deadlines or uploading receipts and notes callback requests. Complex or confidential matters are passed on to you, not advised on.
Knowledge base for the team
Answers to recurring client questions, internal workflows and checklists in one place. New employees find standards faster, without experienced staff being interrupted all the time.
What you get out of it
- The inbox is pre-sorted in the morning, deadline matters stand out immediately, and the usual sorting time typically largely disappears.
- Standard questions and receipt queries run through reviewed drafts, and clients often get a response faster.
- Less manual chasing of documents, because follow-ups happen automatically and on schedule. The professional approval remains entirely with you.
How a project works
- Initial consultation. In the free initial consultation we look at your inbox, the recurring client questions and your systems and choose the one routine that pays off first.
- Short analysis & fixed price. We look at the workflows and send a quote with a fixed price, scope and delivery date. Hosting, model region and data flows are set out in it before anything is built.
- Implementation. We build the automation, test it with real sample cases from your daily work and train your team. The pilot automation is then live in 14 days.
- Operation & expansion. After the start we monitor the workflows, fine-tune rules and drafts and remain your contact, if you like as part of ongoing automation operations.
Frequently asked questions from law and tax firms
Does routinefrei work with DATEV, beA and our law firm software?
Your software stays. The customer workspace starts today with Gmail and Google Calendar, including draft replies, approvals and audit records. Connections to DATEV, beA or your law firm software are possible pilot projects that are reviewed in advance from a technical, data protection and professional law perspective. We don't replace law firm software; we connect what you already use.
Is a data processing agreement enough for our firm to be allowed to use AI?
A data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR is the basis, but for professionals bound by secrecy it is not everything. In its FAQ (as of January 2026), the German Federal Chamber of Tax Advisors makes clear that a DPA alone does not meet the requirements of Section 203 StGB; a confidentiality undertaking from the service provider is also required. Both are part of our project start, and hosting, model region and data flows are agreed and documented in advance.
Does the AI write to our clients directly?
No. The AI pre-sorts and prepares drafts but doesn't send anything on its own. Every reply only goes out once someone in your firm has checked and approved it. The AI does not give legal or tax advice; the professional assessment remains entirely with you.
How does the pre-sorting recognise a deadline matter?
By rules we define together with you: senders such as courts and tax offices, keywords, document types and subject patterns. Such messages are at the top of the overview and are never answered automatically. The triage is a pre-sort and does not replace your deadline control; professional responsibility stays with the firm.
Let's take a calm look in a free initial consultation at which routine in your firm pays off first, without any obligation.
Request a free initial consultation