About J M Keehn
Founded over 35 years ago, J M Keehn is a boutique accounting and business management firm based in Los Angeles, California. The firm specializes in serving high-profile entertainment clients—from actors and producers to stunt professionals and writers—as well as select businesses like restaurants and medical practices.
“All of our clients have a lot of longevity. A lot of them have been with us longer than I have, and some as long as I’ve been here 25 years. They basically become like family.”
Christa Wells
Managing Partner, J M Keehn
This long-term approach is reflected in the firm’s highly personal service model, which blends full-service bookkeeping, tax preparation, and day-to-day business management. The team often goes beyond traditional financial services to help clients with unique needs that don’t always fit neatly into standard accounting software.
The Challenge
The firm’s specialization in handling entertainment clients brought operational complexities as they scaled. Their team managed a growing number of personal and business accounts requiring unique categorizations and reporting workflows. However, they faced significant hurdles in maintaining efficiency and profitability.
Key Challenges
Before implementing Docyt, the team at JMK were overwhelmed by time-consuming manual processes that severely limited their capacity for growth:
Manual workloads
Two team members spent 40 hours each, every week, manually entering bills. In addition, the managing partner at JMK, dedicated several hours weekly just to reviewing and verifying the entries.
Limited capacity to scale
As the client base expanded, it became increasingly difficult to grow without hiring more staff, which would involve more time for training and getting them up to speed on the unique accounting processes and workflows of each client.
Legacy systems
Using legacy tools like Agilink, QuickBooks Desktop and spreadsheets proved inadequate, creating process bottlenecks and limiting the visibility needed to manage growing a client base effectively.
Slower client response times
Manual workflows delayed response times and made it harder to deliver the level of service clients expected, ultimately impacting the client experience and satisfaction.
Labor-intensive tax preparation
Preparing clean financial statements for tax filings often demanded significant manual cleanup and corrections.
“We had two people fully devoted to entering bills, and I had to constantly double-check their work. It was a huge drain on time and costs”
Christa Wells
Managing Partner, J M Keehn
The Solution
In October 2024, J M Keehn partnered with Docyt to modernize workflows and bring AI-powered automation to manual, repetitive processes. After trying countless legacy accounting platforms over the past 20 years, the team was ready for something fundamentally different–technology that could help them stay ahead of the curve and unlock scalable growth.
How Docyt Helped
AI-powered categorization and reconciliation
Automatically categorized transactions by show name, expense type, and client – reducing manual oversight, and ensuring consistent, accurate coding across every account.
Automated AP workflows
Streamlined the entire accounts payable by automating bill entry, approval flagging, and routing—while maintaining a clear accessible audit trail for every transaction.
Real-time dashboards
Provided a centralized view of all client accounts, enabling the team to instantly see which bank feeds are connected, which transactions and documents are outstanding, and where to prioritize their attention, without the need to dig into each account one by one.
“The dashboard is my favorite feature. It saves a ton of time because now the team can look in one place to see what’s ready to act on. We’re not wasting hours going into individual accounts.”
Christa Wells
Managing Partner, J M Keehn
Scalable operations
Eliminated manual bottlenecks across key workflows, allowing the firm to expand efficiently and onboard new clients without the need to increase headcount or overburden existing staff.
Proactive support and continuous improvement
Docyt’s team and product engineers proved highly responsive, working closely with J M Keehn to customize workflows and resolve any issues quickly.. Christa described the experience as both collaborative and supportive, with a level of partnership that helped her team feel confident adopting new technology..
“We’ve been through a bazillion programs…and with Docyt, we finally found something completely different. The rise of AI made this a huge asset for a business management firm.”
Christa Wells
Managing Partner, J M Keehn
The Results
From Manual Entry to Strategic Support
“We save about 25 hours a week now that the team isn’t manually entering bills—that time is now spent on more strategic work and supporting our clients,” Christa shares.
With Docyt automating bill entry, flagging, and routing, the work has evolved—from tedious data input to high-value activities. Instead of spending hours on manual entry, the team now contributes to faster turnaround times, cleaner workflows, and an improved client experience.
Reduced Financial Review Time by 10–15 Hours/Week
With Docyt, I probably save between 10 and 15 hours a week just reviewing people’s work to make sure it’s done correctly,” says Christa. Docyt’s AI-powered categorization and reconciliation tools dramatically reduced the time spent verifying bookkeeping accuracy. Now, instead of double-checking transactions line by line, Christa can focus on helping the CPA prepare tax returns and advising clients on strategic decisions.
Improved Client Response Times and Accuracy
Since adopting Docyt, J M Keehn has been able to respond to client requests faster and provide more accurate, timely financial reporting. “Our clients feel more supported now, and the faster response times reflect our commitment to their needs,” Christa explains. This responsiveness has strengthened client relationships and enhanced the firm’s reputation for reliable service.
Grew Client Base While Staying Lean
Since adopting Docyt to automate their accounting workflows, J M Keehn significantly scaled their client base in a single year. “It’s helped us grow while keeping our team lean,” says Christa. Even as new clients came on board, the firm maintained its existing staff and pivoted team members into more strategic roles, focusing on advisory work and strengthening client relationships. This shift has improved profitability while ensuring clients continue to receive the high-touch service they expect.
Cleanest Financial Statements Yet
When it came time to prepare tax returns, Docyt’s automation delivered an unexpected bonus: dramatically cleaner financials. Statements required minimal adjustments, saving hours of manual cleanup and reducing the risk of errors.
“These were the cleanest statements we’ve ever seen. It made tax prep so much easier,” Christa notes.
