Private AI

For tax and bookkeeping offices

Like ChatGPT for your tax office, but client files never leave it.

Your staff ask in plain English: what you charge, who handles IRS letters, what a new client needs to bring. It answers from your office's own files and names the file it used. Nothing goes to ChatGPT or any other company.

$3,000 to set up, plus one office computer if you need it (about $1,150 to $2,200). Half to start, which books your setup date. The other half when it's working the way your office wants.

Get it set up: $1,500 to start Book a 20-minute call

Set up by Raj Lakhani, a software developer in Hermosa Beach. Prefer email? rajanlakhani@gmail.com

Real answer from my test on a made-up tax office

A client has a W-2 job and two rental houses. What's the price for their tax return?

Base individual return (Form 1040 with California state return): $350. Rental property (Schedule E) adds $150 each. Two rentals = 2 × $150 = $300. Total: $350 + $300 = $650.

File it used: fee schedule

The office, people and files are made up. I shortened the answer slightly.

For example

What your staff could ask it

It answers from whatever files your staff put on it. Questions like these:

  • "What did we decide on the Garcia home-office deduction last year, and which workpaper shows it?"
  • "Who handles IRS letters here, and what do we charge for it?"
  • "What does our security plan say to do if a laptop is stolen?"

Why private matters

Client tax information stays in your office

Sharing a client's tax return information without their consent is a federal crime under IRC 7216. CNBC

In June 2026, the IRS told tax professionals not to upload client data to public AI tools, and to check any AI vendor first. Thomson Reuters

The FTC Safeguards Rule already asks your office for a written security plan. A private AI is one more office computer in that plan, and only the people you add can sign in. FTC rule

When the AI runs on a computer in your office, no AI company ever receives your clients' information.

The difference

Where do your files go?

With ChatGPT, whatever your staff type travels over the internet to another company's computers. With a private AI, your files, questions and answers stay on one computer in your office.

Cloud AI ChatGPT and similar

YOUR OFFICE client files AI company's computers

Files and questions leave your office.

Private AI Set up in your office

YOUR OFFICE client files AI office computer your staff Nothing goes out to the internet

Files, questions and answers stay on one computer in your office.

How it works

Four steps, all inside your office

  1. One computer in your office

    I set up the AI on one desktop computer that stays in your office. Your staff copy your files onto it, so I never need to see them.

  2. Your staff ask

    Each person signs in to a chat window on their own computer and types a question, the same way they would use ChatGPT. Only people you add can sign in.

  3. It answers from your files

    The AI on the office computer finds the answer in your files, writes it in plain English, and names the files it used. It does not use the internet.

  4. A person checks

    Anyone can open the named file and confirm the answer before it goes to a client.

The proof

I tested it before offering it

I made up a small bookkeeping and tax office with five everyday files: engagement terms, a fee schedule, a client document checklist, an IRS letter procedure and a staff list. Then I asked 8 questions a staff member would ask, and ran the set 3 times.

24 of 24answers right, across 3 runs
About 4 secondsfor a typical answer on my test computer. I check the speed on yours before the second half is due.
Never guessedWhen the answer was not in the files, it said so.

These were short, clean files. Your real files, such as long PDFs and scans, are what the setup and tuning are for.

What it costs

One setup price. Monthly upkeep is optional.

To startBooks your setup date.
$1,500
When it's workingThe way your office wants it.
$1,500
Monthly upkeep, if you want itI update the AI and re-test it so it stays right. Your staff add new files themselves, and I show them how.
$200/mo

You also need one computer for it, about $1,150 to $2,200 in stores, unless you already have one that is fast enough. I tell you exactly which one to buy.

You pay the second half only when it's working.

It has to work the way your office wants, at a speed your staff are happy with. I keep tuning it until it does, and you pay nothing more until then.

Raj Lakhani

Get it set up: $1,500 to start Book a 20-minute call

The deposit is non-refundable once your setup date is booked.

After you pay

What happens next

  1. Right away
    You get a receipt by email.

    Within one business day, I email you to set up a short call.

  2. That week
    A 20-minute call.

    We pick the setup day and which folders go on it. If you need a computer, I tell you exactly which one to buy.

  3. Setup day
    I set it up on your office computer.

    Your staff copy the files onto it, so I never need to see them.

  4. Try-out day
    We try it together.

    Your staff ask it real questions while I watch. When it's working the way you want, I send the second $1,500 invoice and walk your staff through it. If something is off, I fix it and we try again.

Questions

Common questions

Does it prepare returns or look up tax law?

No. It finds what your own files say: fee schedules, procedures, checklists, notes. Your tax software and your people still do the returns.

Does this take care of IRC 7216?

It takes the AI company out of the picture: client return information is never sent to one. The consent rules for your office stay as they are, so ask your own advisor about consent wording.

Who can see client files?

Only the people in your office you add. Your staff copy the files onto the office computer, so I never need to see them.

Isn't this just ChatGPT?

It works the same way: you type a question and get an answer. Two things differ. It runs on a computer you own, so nothing you type leaves. And it answers from your own files and names the file, instead of from the internet. When the answer is not in your files, it says so.

What computer do I need?

One store-bought computer, about $1,150 to $2,200: a desktop with a strong graphics card, or a Mac mini with plenty of memory. I tell you exactly which one to buy, or check whether one you have is fast enough.

Other kinds of offices

Made for your kind of office

Want a private AI in your tax office?

Start the setup today, or book a call first. I'm Raj Lakhani, a software developer in Hermosa Beach, and I reply to every email myself.

Get it set up: $1,500 to start Book a 20-minute call