Accounting and tax software that files on time
Accounts payable automation, VAT and GST returns, expense management, crypto tax, audit workpapers, AI bookkeeping and payroll tax filing. Built around the tax rules, not around a spreadsheet.
What accounting and tax software has to get right
Accounting software is only as good as its last filing. Most of the problems we see come from data that lives in many systems, tax rules that change every year, and review notes that get lost between the preparer and the approver.
The builds below pull data from the source systems, apply the tax rules as versioned configuration, keep a person on every filing decision, and lock the record once it is filed.
Problems we are asked to fix
The problems teams bring to us, the system that fixes each one and the builds that did it.
Accounts payable automation
Supplier invoices are keyed in by hand and approvals are slow.
Invoices read and matched, tax withholding and payment-term rules applied, and approvals routed by amount.
VAT compliance platform
VAT and GST returns need data from many systems and e-invoicing rules change.
ERP data mapped to the return, checks before filing, and an audit file ready for the tax authority.
Expense management
Receipts and expense claims are chased at month end.
Receipts captured at the time of spend, with sales tax recovery worked out on each claim.
Crypto tax engine
Cost basis for crypto across wallets and exchanges is hard to compute.
Trades from wallets and exchanges matched with a set cost basis method, producing the tax forms and profit and loss.
Audit workpaper platform
Audit workpapers live in folders and review notes get lost.
Engagements from acceptance to a locked archive, with review notes tied to the workpaper they are about.
AI bookkeeping
Small businesses miscategorise bank transactions.
Bank transactions categorised by AI with the owner or adviser confirming, and records kept to the retention rules.
Payroll tax workbench
Payroll tax filings for several jurisdictions are prepared by hand.
Payroll data checked against each jurisdiction's rules and filed from one workbench, with exceptions flagged before lodgement.
7 kinds of accounting and tax system we have built
Each one links the product build behind it, counted from our case studies.
Accounting and tax products we built
Pravah - Accounts Payable Automation with GST, TDS and MSME Rules Built In
Designed and built a clickable accounts payable platform for an Indian auto components maker with four plants and a GSTIN in each state: invoice capture with field confidence, three-way matching against POs and goods receipts, GST and TDS per invoice, MSME due dates from the acceptance date, an exceptions queue and GSTR-2B reconciliation.
Sadu - UAE VAT Compliance Platform from ERP Data to a Filed VAT201
Designed and built a clickable VAT compliance platform for a Dubai tax technology company serving mid-size UAE businesses and their tax agents: one queue for everything that blocks a clean return, Peppol e-invoices traced hop by hop through an Accredited Service Provider, and the VAT201 built box by box with drill-down to the source lines.
Birchbark - Expense Management with GST/HST and QST Recovery Built In
Designed and built a clickable expense management platform for a Canadian consulting engineering firm: approvers decide claims line by line with policy flags, finance audits flagged and sampled claims, GST/HST and QST are read from each receipt for input tax credits, and approved claims are reimbursed in EFT payment runs.
Kladde - AI Bookkeeping for German Freelancers and Small Firms
Designed and built a clickable AI bookkeeping product for German freelancers, sole traders and small GmbHs: a bank feed with a suggested booking and confidence score on every payment, a receipt inbox that validates e-invoices and checks §14 UStG fields, and a VAT advance return previewed box by box and submitted through ELSTER.
Tongkang - Audit Workpaper Platform from Acceptance to Locked Archive
Designed and built a clickable audit workpaper platform for a mid-tier Singapore public accounting corporation: a firm dashboard of engagements, hours and review notes, an engagement overview with materiality and blockers, a binder indexed A to W, and workpapers with tick marks, cross-references, review notes and dated sign-offs.
Fortnight - Payroll Tax and Filing Workbench for an Australian Payroll Bureau
Designed and built a clickable filing workbench for a Brisbane payroll bureau that runs payroll for about 380 Australian employers: a pay run board with cut-off timers, a pay run review with automated checks and a four-eyes rule, STP Phase 2 lodgments with plain-English ATO guidance, and state payroll tax returns with group apportionment.
The rules involved
The rules this kind of software usually has to follow. Guidance, not legal advice.
- 01
Tax and e-invoicing rules
VAT, GST and sales tax laws, and e-invoicing mandates that set formats, timing and what must be reported.
- 02
Bookkeeping and retention
Rules on how records are kept, how long, and how changes are traced, such as Germany's GoBD.
- 03
Audit standards
Auditing and quality management standards that set how workpapers are reviewed and archived.
- 04
Data protection
Payroll and expense data includes personal and sometimes sensitive data under the GDPR and similar laws.
- 05
Security assurance
Customers often ask accounting software vendors for a SOC 2 report or ISO 27001 certificate.
Framework guides
Rules our accounting and tax builds cite most
- GDPR2
- Accountants Act 20041
- ACRA Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics1
- AICPA SOC1
- AO and HGB retention1
- CGST Act 20171
- Charter of the French Language1
- Companies Act 19671
- CPA Standard 0051
Two ways to work with OceanLab
Project build
We design and build the system as one project. It starts with a clickable prototype your team tries before any production code is written. Pay per milestone (outcome-based) or hourly at $30-50/hr, depending on role and seniority.
Embedded engineers
Our engineers join your team on a flexible monthly retainer. Part-time is fine and it runs month to month, with hours that overlap the US, UK and Europe, the Middle East, and Australia and Asia. Outcome-based or $30-50/hr.
Guides and tools
Accounting and tax software questions
How do you keep up with tax rule changes?
Tax rules live as versioned configuration with their effective dates, so a rule change is a tested release and old periods are still calculated under the old rules.
Can AI do the bookkeeping?
It can categorise transactions and read documents well, and learns from corrections. A person still confirms, and the system keeps the reason for every change.
Do you integrate with our ERP?
Yes. We pull data through the ERP's APIs or exports, map it to the return or ledger, and reconcile so nothing is counted twice or missed.
