Do I still need Smart Capture or Dext?

Not for the supplier invoices the agent handles. It finds each PDF in Gmail, reads it itself and attaches it to the FreeAgent entry, so there is nothing to forward or upload. For anything it never sees, such as a paper receipt, keep using whichever you have.

Can't I do this with Zapier?

Not this part of the job. A Zapier zap follows the fixed steps you set up in advance, and deciding whether FreeAgent's VAT guess fits your rules, or holding an invoice back because the rules don't cover it, is judgement those steps don't make. The agent writes to FreeAgent through its API directly, with no Zapier or Make in between.

What can it change in my books?

Only the category and VAT on a bank transaction FreeAgent has already imported, the receipt attached to it, its review flag, and out-of-pocket expenses. It leaves money coming in alone, records nothing the rules don't cover, and every entry names the rule it was recorded under, so you or your accountant can see why it went where it did.

What happens when it isn't sure about the VAT?

It doesn't record the invoice. It emails you the reason, and it confirms and approves nothing on that invoice until you answer.

Does it work with Xero or QuickBooks?

The one we have built works in FreeAgent. Whether we can build the same for Xero or QuickBooks depends on what that software lets another program do, and we will tell you on the call whether yours does.

It comes within one flat monthly fee for unlimited agents, month to month, so you pay nothing per invoice. We give you the price on the call.

FreeAgent Invoice Agent

Supplier invoices from Gmail to a finished FreeAgent entry

An AI agent for FreeAgent

By Kole Ogundipe · 3 November 2026

The agent reads supplier invoices from Gmail, matches each one to its bank transaction in FreeAgent, checks the category and VAT against the business's written rules, and attaches the receipt. FreeAgent has usually guessed the category already; the agent confirms that guess, or corrects it where the rules say otherwise, and anything the rules don't cover goes to a person instead of into the books. When an invoice was paid personally rather than from the business account, it can record it as an out-of-pocket expense.

How it works, from Gmail to the finished entry

We built it for TripleDouble, a marketing agency and consultancy, as its AI invoice processing agent, and it now runs every day. It writes to FreeAgent through FreeAgent's own API, with no Zapier or Make in between, and it works from one document: the rules the business and its accountants wrote down for it. One run goes like this.

Step 1
Read the rules
The business's written rules, read in full before anything else.
Step 2
Find the invoice in Gmail
Supplier invoice PDFs, and nothing else: Gmail is never read for advice.
Step 3
Find the bank transaction
The payment in FreeAgent's bank feed. If it isn't there yet, the invoice waits for the next run.
Step 4
Check FreeAgent's guess
Category and VAT, held up against the rules the invoice falls under.
Step 5
Ask when the rules don't say
The invoice goes to the owner with the reason, and nothing is recorded.
Step 6
Check it isn't there already
If the entry might exist, it stops rather than post it twice.
Step 7
Attach the receipt
The invoice PDF goes on the entry. No PDF, no entry.
Step 8
A finished FreeAgent entry
Category and VAT confirmed, receipt attached, review flag cleared, read back to check it saved.

One run of the agent, from the written rules to a finished entry in FreeAgent.

FreeAgent's guessbefore

Invoice: £150, AI model provider
VAT: 20% UK VAT
Receipt: None attached
Bank: Matched to the payment
Status: Flagged for review

The agent's entryafter

Invoice: £150, AI model provider
VAT: Reverse charge, 0%
Receipt: Receipt attached
Rules: R4 and R1, reverse charge
Bank: Matched to the payment
Status: Review flag cleared

The £150 invoice, the first the agent recorded: the entry as FreeAgent had guessed it, and the entry the agent left from the PDF and the rules.

What it may and may not touch in FreeAgent

It may confirm or correct the category and VAT on a bank transaction FreeAgent has already imported, attach the invoice PDF, clear the review flag, and record an out-of-pocket expense. Everything else is outside what it is allowed to do.

The written rules are its only source. It uses Gmail only to find invoice PDFs, takes no accounting advice from email, never writes to the accountants, and never makes up a rule of its own.
What the rules don't cover goes to a person. An invoice that turns on a question the rules leave open is not recorded: the agent confirms and approves nothing on it, and the owner gets an email with the reason.
Every entry starts unapproved. Routine invoices the rules cover are approved under a standing instruction from the business; anything new or unclear waits for a person.
No receipt, no entry. Every entry it records carries the invoice PDF.
Never twice. Each entry is stamped with the time FreeAgent recorded it, so a second run can't post it again, and an expense that looks like one already recorded is reported and skipped.
Out of pocket only on evidence. It records an out-of-pocket expense only when the invoice is addressed to the owner personally. A bank line that hasn't arrived yet is not evidence of that, so the invoice waits.
Money coming in is left alone. It works on supplier invoices and expenses only.

It emails the owner only when it has added something, needs an answer, or hit an error, so a quiet day sends nothing.

What it has done for TripleDouble

Up to 29 October 2026, it recorded 14 supplier invoices in FreeAgent for TripleDouble, each matched to its payment and carrying its receipt.

The AI model it runs on cost under 5p an invoice, against about £2.54 each for a bookkeeper doing the same work by hand. That is the model's usage alone, not building the agent or looking after it.

The build, the rules it works from and what it recorded are in the TripleDouble case study.

Frequently asked questions

Do I still need Smart Capture or Dext?: Not for the supplier invoices the agent handles. It finds each PDF in Gmail, reads it itself and attaches it to the FreeAgent entry, so there is nothing to forward or upload. For anything it never sees, such as a paper receipt, keep using whichever you have.
Can't I do this with Zapier?: Not this part of the job. A Zapier zap follows the fixed steps you set up in advance, and deciding whether FreeAgent's VAT guess fits your rules, or holding an invoice back because the rules don't cover it, is judgement those steps don't make. The agent writes to FreeAgent through its API directly, with no Zapier or Make in between.
What can it change in my books?: Only the category and VAT on a bank transaction FreeAgent has already imported, the receipt attached to it, its review flag, and out-of-pocket expenses. It leaves money coming in alone, records nothing the rules don't cover, and every entry names the rule it was recorded under, so you or your accountant can see why it went where it did.
What happens when it isn't sure about the VAT?: It doesn't record the invoice. It emails you the reason, and it confirms and approves nothing on that invoice until you answer.
Does it work with Xero or QuickBooks?: The one we have built works in FreeAgent. Whether we can build the same for Xero or QuickBooks depends on what that software lets another program do, and we will tell you on the call whether yours does.
What does it cost?: It comes within one flat monthly fee for unlimited agents, month to month, so you pay nothing per invoice. We give you the price on the call.

Get one built for your FreeAgent

Tell us how supplier invoices reach you today and who codes them. We will tell you on the call what we would build, which rules we would need from you, and the price. If you run a practice and want this for clients' books, AI agents for accountants sets out what we build for firms.

Unlimited agents. One flat monthly fee. Fully functioning and delivering value in 30 days guaranteed, or you pay nothing more until your agents are.

Free Consultation

Kole Ogundipe wrote this for Agent Place, which builds AI agents for companies.