Smart technology means smart business for Incorpro
Incorpro’s Andrew Doherty is leveraging the latest technologies to lay the foundations for growth at a time of transformation for the profession
In just five years, Incorpro Chartered Accountants has grown from an online company registration service to a full-service accountancy practice delivering simplified, innovative and cost-effective services to more than 200 SMEs nationwide.
The firm has just opened a new head office in Athlone and was recently named Small Practice of the Year at the 2025 Irish Accountancy Awards.
Smart technology
Incorpro’s success is grounded in its innovative use of smart technology, according to Chief Executive Andrew Doherty.
“We started Incorpro to challenge outdated ways of doing business,” explains Doherty. “SMEs need speed, clarity and control—and we deliver that by blending automation with insight.”
The Incorpro story began close to 20 years ago when Doherty graduated with a degree in business management from Technological University Dublin.
“Chartered Accountancy wasn’t originally part of the plan,” he recalls, “But, looking at the roles I wanted in the future, like Chief Financial Officer or Head of Finance, I realised the ACA qualification would be essential to getting there.”
After completing the Master of Accounting at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Doherty joined Crowe Ireland where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
“I was lucky to land there. I got really broad experience in audit, corporate finance and wealth management—and I worked closely with partners on special projects,” he says.
“I spent four years there and felt I needed a change from practice after that, so I joined high-frequency trading firm Virtu Financial in Dublin.”
The experience opened Doherty’s eyes to how powerful technology could be. “It was eye-opening to see how the company had been able to build its own systems to make billions of trades daily. That’s when I understood the potential for automation,” he says.
Incorpro: origins
After close to three years with Virtu, Doherty decided to take a career break to travel.
“I was doing some work online for accountancy firms in Ireland from Malaga in Spain and I came up with the idea of setting up my own accountancy firm,” he says.
“I’d picked up some coding skills while working with Virtu. I combined that with my accounting knowledge and built a website with a simple company registration platform—that was the seed of Incorpro.”
It was much more than a simple company registration system, however. The system automatically contacted companies on key dates when filings were due and offered to carry out required tasks.
“It was just me and a website I’d built from scratch. I figured it out myself. That was just before Covid and there wasn’t much competition online at that point,” Doherty says.
“My self-built website looked a lot better than many of the professionally designed ones out there at the time. It wasn’t just a gallery site; it was fully interactive. Then others started to upgrade their own sites, and I had to respond.
“I started bringing in specialist developers. John Dodd, our head of software development, joined and there are 13 of us now, with about 40 percent of our time focused on software development.”
Integrated systems
Incorpro’s early website upgrade was just the beginning. “Instead of stitching together third-party software, we built our entire accounting system from scratch—bookkeeping, practice management and tax,” Doherty explains.
“We have built all of those function ourselves from scratch in a single platform. It’s one integrated system, which means fewer errors, faster processing and better client experiences.
“Our system is also easy to learn. For a newly qualified accountant, juggling multiple disconnected platforms can be overwhelming. With ours, everything is unified, intuitive and built for purpose.”
Doherty’s ultimate aim is to be 100 percent automated. “Our goal is to automate all our processes to ensure an outstanding client experience. It does take a long time to build this system, and we are still working on some of it, but it will be worth it in the long run,” he says.
“Our accountants are not just doing accountancy work, they are actively trying to improve our systems to free up their time for higher-value work. It’s a continuous process.”
Client benefits
The benefits for Incorpro are clear. “Automation gives us a competitive edge,” Doherty says.
At the heart of firm’s client experience is MyIncorpro, a user-friendly platform that puts real-time data, compliance updates and smart automation directly in the hands of SMEs.
“We built MyIncorpro to give clients full visibility and control,” says Doherty. “They can upload documents, track progress, get instant feedback and receive key financial outputs—all in one place. It replaces back-and-forth emails with a clean, centralised dashboard that’s designed for clarity and speed.”
“Underneath the hood is our bookkeeping system—a critical piece in our goal of 100 percent automation.
“We’ve built our system from the ground up over the past two years and, today, 55 percent of all journal entries are booked automatically without human intervention.
“OUR PEOPLE ARE NOT OCCUPIED WITH MENIAL TASKS AND THAT ENABLES THEM TO RESPOND TO CLIENTS VERY QUICKLY. THAT EFFICIENCY AND ABILITY TO GET WORK DONE QUICKER IS A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE FOR US”
“Every percentage increase saves hours of accounting time, and our focus is on getting it as close to 100 percent as possible.”
The system also incorporates automatic reconciliations, reducing manual work and allowing accountants to focus on higher-value analysis and advice.
For clients, Doherty says, this translates into faster turnaround times, fewer errors and proactive communication.
“Clients are automatically notified when documents are processed, when something’s missing or duplicated and when their accounts are ready,” he says.
“When they need to speak to someone, our policy is to respond meaningfully within 24 hours, because our people aren’t tied up doing data entry.”
Crucially, he adds, Incorpro’s infrastructure is built to scale. “Our systems are designed to support thousands of clients efficiently,” he says.
“This means more value for clients, less overhead for us and pricing that stays competitive as we grow. With over 200,000 SMEs in Ireland, we’re focused on scaling to serve them with smarter systems.”
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a role as well. “We’re using AI to accelerate everything from internal coding to client interactions,” says Doherty.
“Tasks that once took days—writing, testing and refining code—can now be done in hours. That speed gives us a huge advantage when it comes to innovation and service delivery.”
But, for Doherty, the real breakthrough isn’t just speed, it’s control.
“Right now, there’s a gap between the person who understands the problem and the person who writes the code to solve it,” he says.
“Accountants explain what they need to a developer, and sometimes things get lost in translation, but with AI, the accountant can build the system themselves. They’re not just requesting a feature, they’re creating it exactly how they want it.”
There are implications for jobs, of course.
“The work of the software developers is being disrupted in the first instance, because writing code is becoming the job of AI,” says Doherty.
“Developers will shift toward creating the infrastructure into which the code will sit, validating it and shaping what AI produces, but the traditional role of coding from scratch is already fading.
“Accountants are in a much stronger position. The rise of AI actually puts more power in their hands. They will be the ones designing the tools, controlling the systems and delivering higher-value insights. The future of accounting isn’t about replacement—it’s about unleashing the full potential of the accountant.”
Continued expansion Incorpro’s new Athlone base will serve as a platform for the firm’s continued growth, Doherty says.
“We started out in Skerries as a two-person team. Now we’re 13-strong and growing fast. Our new Athlone office isn’t just a change of address, it’s a springboard for the next phase of our growth.
“We chose Athlone because it gives us room to scale, access to a deep talent pool and a more sustainable cost base than Dublin.
“While remote work helped us move quickly in the early days, building great systems requires tight collaboration— especially between developers and accountants. That’s much easier to achieve when you’re in the same room.”
“We’ve already begun engaging with the Athlone Chamber of Commerce and Technological University of the Shannon.
“Our goal now is to build a pipeline of skilled graduates in finance and software who can grow with us. This isn’t just an office, it’s the foundation of the next stage of our strategy—to scale nationally.”