For accountants, law firms and offices
An AI receptionist for professional offices that keeps billable hours billable
Hello answers your office phone, website chat and email 24/7, books meetings into your calendar and puts clients through to the right person with a text first saying who's calling. It handles the routine questions, like deadlines, documents and opening hours, so your team isn't interrupted. It never gives legal, tax or financial advice and never discusses a client's matter with anyone.
70,938
businesses in professional, scientific and technical services, February 2025
17,504
lawyers held a practising certificate at 30 June 2025
1,553
licensed financial advice providers, half of them with a single adviser
Source: Financial Markets Authority, media release 29 April 2026
56.6%
of a lawyer's working time is billable on average
Source: NZ Law Society and KPMG, Costs of Practice Report 2024
Facts checked 20 October 2026.
What clients ring about, and how Hello handles it
Booking a meeting
Hello checks the right person's calendar, books the meeting and sends the client a confirmation with links to reschedule or cancel. New enquiries get a first meeting; existing clients go to their usual adviser.
"Can I speak to my accountant?"
Hello puts the call through by name, role or topic, after texting that person the caller's name and reason. If they're with a client, Hello takes a message and emails it straight away.
Deadlines and dates
Clients ring about the dates IRD sets: 7 July for people filing their own return, 31 March for tax agent clients, the 28th for most GST, and provisional tax on 28 August, 15 January and 7 May. Hello answers from the dates you approve and books a time if they need help.
Sending documents
Hello tells clients how you want documents sent, gives your postal or drop-off details, and sends a link to your secure upload page if you have one.
Fees
Hello explains your fee basis in the words you give it, such as a fixed fee for a standard return or an hourly rate for advice, and says the adviser will confirm the cost in writing.
Calls you don't want
Sales calls and recruiters get a polite message-taking, not a transfer. You decide which callers go straight through and which are emailed to you.
What Hello does for professional offices
- Answers every call, chat and email, including the 15 January provisional tax rush when your office is closed
- Books meetings into each adviser's Google or Outlook calendar
- Puts calls through to up to 10 people, with a text alert first
- Takes detailed messages and emails them the moment the call ends
- Answers the questions you approve: hours, location, parking, deadlines, documents, fees
- Tags each call so you can see how many new enquiries came in each month
What Hello won't do
- Give legal, tax, accounting or financial advice, or an opinion on any product
- Confirm whether someone is a client or discuss their matter
- Promise fees or outcomes
How it plays out
Example: the July rush
Around 7 July, people who've left their return late ring to ask if you can help, and clients ring asking "is my return done?". Hello answers each one, takes the client's name and question, and emails a tidy list to the right accountant, so they can reply in one batch instead of picking up between every task.
Example: a new enquiry at 8pm
A business owner looking for a new accountant fills in your web chat after dinner. Hello answers their questions about what you do and what a first meeting covers, then books them in with a partner on Wednesday morning. You find it in your calendar when you arrive.
Example: a sole practitioner in court
You're in court all morning and your phone is off. Hello answers, books two first consultations, takes three messages and puts nobody through. At lunch you read five short summaries instead of listening to voicemail.
The rules that shape how Hello answers
Lawyers must keep client information confidential
Rule 8 of the client care rules requires lawyers to hold client information in strict confidence. Hello won't confirm or discuss a client's matter. Any caller asking about a file is asked for their details and passed to your team.
Source: Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008
Recommending a financial product counts as advice
Under the Financial Markets Conduct Act, recommending or giving an opinion on a financial product is financial advice, which only licensed providers can give. Explaining how a product works is not advice. Hello books the meeting and leaves every recommendation to your advisers.
Source: Financial Markets Authority, getting financial advice
Accountants need authorisation before client data trains AI
The 2024 update to the NZ Code of Ethics says chartered accountants need authorisation before using confidential information to train systems or build products. Ask any AI provider, including us, how client information is stored and used before you start.
Clients should know why you're taking their details
Privacy principle 3 says people should be told why their information is collected and who will see it. Hello can say this in one line when it takes a message or books a meeting.
What an interruption costs
Lawyers average 56.6% billable time, according to the Law Society's 2024 costs of practice report. Every routine call a fee earner takes eats into the rest. Hello Solo is NZ$149 + GST a month, about NZ$4.90 + GST a day, for a front desk that takes those calls instead.
Source: NZ Law Society and KPMG, Costs of Practice Report 2024
| Calls a day | Plan | Price | About per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to about 5 | Hello Solo | NZ$149 + GST a month | NZ$4.90 |
| 5 to 30 | Hello Team | NZ$299 + GST a month | NZ$9.83 |
| 30+ | Hello Scale | Quoted | n/a |
Getting set up
- 01Add each adviser to the phone tree with the topics they handle, so "GST question" goes to the right person.
- 02Write down the questions you never want Hello to answer. It will take a message instead.
- 03Add your key dates for the year. Hello answers from those, not from memory.
- 04Turn on caller recaps so clients get an email with the next steps after each call.
Questions from professional offices
Will Hello give tax or legal advice?
No. Hello answers practical questions, like opening hours, deadlines you've approved and how to send documents. Anything that needs professional judgement goes to your team as a message or a booked meeting.
Can it tell callers whether we act for someone?
No. Hello won't confirm whether someone is a client. It takes the caller's details and passes the question to your team.
Can different people get different calls?
Yes. Your phone tree holds up to 10 people, each with a name, title and the topics they handle. Hello puts callers through by name, role or topic.
Does Hello work with our practice software?
On Solo and Team plans Hello books into Google or Outlook calendars and emails everything else. Connecting practice management software is a custom job on the Scale plan.
What happens on 15 January when we're closed?
Hello answers as normal. It gives the provisional tax date you've approved, takes messages and books meetings for when you're back.
Where do client details go?
Call summaries and transcripts go to your team's inbox and your Hello account. Our privacy policy explains the service providers involved.
Written by Phil Dossett, co-founder of Leadica, the Auckland company that makes Hello. Facts checked 20 October 2026.
Sources
- Stats NZ business demography 2025, via Figure.NZ
- NZ Law Society, Snapshot of the Profession 2025
- Financial Markets Authority, media release 29 April 2026
- NZ Law Society and KPMG, Costs of Practice Report 2024
- Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008
- Financial Markets Authority, getting financial advice
- CA ANZ, 2024 update to the NZ Code of Ethics
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner, Principle 3
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