When a client uploads the wrong document to a task, you usually do not find out until you open it and start working. AI File Validation checks each file a client uploads to a Client Task against what you actually requested: the right document type, and, when the project has an expected time period, the right dates too. If something looks off, like a W-2 attached to a bank statement request, or last year's statement instead of this year's, the client sees an advisory in the portal and can choose to replace the file straight away. Financial Cents flags an upload when it is confident there is a mismatch. Clients can keep a file if the warning does not apply.
Turn on AI File Validation
AI File Validation lives alongside Financial Cents' other AI agents.
Navigate to Settings > AI Agents.
Click the File Validate tab.
Toggle AI File Validation Agent on. Changes save automatically.
ℹ️ Heads up! Settings > AI Agents is visible only to users with Manage AI Document Settings permission. Team members without that permission will not see it in the sidebar.
The File Validate tab also shows 2 validation message examples, so you know what your clients will see before you turn the agent on.
How Financial Cents decides something looks off
Financial Cents checks the document type first. A file that clearly does not match the request, like a personal photo uploaded for a W-9, or a pay stub uploaded for a bank statement, is flagged right away, regardless of its date.
When the document type is right, Financial Cents also checks the date, but only when your project has an explicit expected date range to check against. If the date on the document falls outside that range, the upload is flagged as a period mismatch instead of a document mismatch.
💡 Pro Tip! Set the project's accounting period and date so Financial Cents can determine which period you are requesting. If it cannot determine a date range, it skips the date check.
Financial Cents would rather stay quiet than flag a document that is actually correct. When it is not confident there is a real mismatch, it does not surface anything to the client at all.
What your client sees
While a file is being checked, the client sees an inline Analysing your document... indicator next to the file name.
Once the check finishes, one of 2 things happens:
Nothing looks wrong. The client briefly sees a checkmark next to the file, and no message is shown. Financial Cents never sends a "this looks correct" note to the client, so a good upload never carries any explanation.
Something looks off. The client sees a short, plain-language advisory explaining what looks wrong (for example, "This may be the wrong document. This looks like a W-2, but a bank statement was requested."), along with 2 buttons:
Keep File: dismisses the advisory without changing the file. Use this when the client is confident the upload is correct.
Replace File: lets the client swap in a different file on the same task, in place. The client stays on the same task and selects the replacement upload.
Where AI File Validation runs
AI File Validation only checks files clients upload to a Client Task in the Client Portal. It does not check:
Files uploaded to Client Files (a client's general file storage, outside of a task)
Files your own team uploads or attaches to a client task
Attachments sent through client chat or email
You can also use AI File Renaming to organize the names of client uploads.
Review a file the client chose to keep
If a client selects Keep File after a warning, your team can still review the upload. In the project's Client Tasks, hover over the file's warning icon to see that the client kept a file flagged by validation. After reviewing it, click Dismiss to clear the firm-side notice. Dismissing the notice does not remove or replace the file.
Supported file types and size limit
AI File Validation can read PDF, Word, Excel, CSV, and TXT files, along with JPG and PNG images, up to 25 MB. Files that cannot be read or exceed the validation size limit do not receive a validation advisory. Files flagged by virus scanning are also excluded from validation. A missing advisory is not a guarantee that the document is correct.
If your firm turns off all AI agents
The master AI Agents switch on the Manage AI Agents tab (also under Settings > AI Agents) turns off every AI agent for your firm at once, including AI File Validation. If that switch is off, turning on AI File Validation Agent on the File Validate tab will not have any effect until the master switch is back on.
Need more help? Click the chat bubble in the bottom right corner of your screen to connect with our support team.