Introduction to Zato

Zato is an end-to-end compliance automation platform built for accounting firms. Its objective is to reduce the operational burden of compliance work by streamlining workflows and reducing manual preparation time by up to 80%.

The platform is designed for New Zealand and Australian accounting firms preparing annual financial statements and tax returns for SME clients. Zato takes the repetitive, rules-based parts of compliance work and automates them, giving your team more time for advisory work and client relationships.

What Zato does

• Engages clients with branded questionnaires and Terms of Engagement

• Gathers data from Xero, Inland Revenue Department (IRD), and Companies Office via available integrations

• Scrutinises General Ledger (GL) transactions against your firm's rules and materiality thresholds

• Compiles 40+ workpapers automatically using structured data and intelligent extraction

• Manages internal and client queries in a single tracked workflow

• Handles review, approval, and director sign-off workflows

• Pushes journals to Xero on demand via Sync with Partner

What this guide covers

• Accessing and logging into the platform securely

• Setting up your firm profile, users, and clients

• Applying smart rules for GL Scrutiny

• Dispatching digital questionnaires to clients

• Reviewing and actioning client queries

• Managing and running automated workflows end to end

• Understanding what each workpaper does and how it populates