The AI bookkeeping workspace for owner-operators.
Connect your accounts, let AI categorize transactions, catch deductions, and watch your P&L — then export tax-ready books. Built for the people who run the business and do the books.
What River does
Four workflows that cover the whole job
From raw bank activity to a clean file your accountant can use — pick the workflow that hurts most and start there.
Transaction Categorization
Stop untangling bank statements one line at a time
The AI does the first pass. You approve, correct, or move on.
Most owner-operators spend hours a month manually sorting transactions — the same merchants, the same categories, every single time. Rules and merchant memory mean you only touch each pattern once.
Connect your bank and card accounts via Plaid and River pulls in everything — up to two years of history. A hybrid pipeline runs your custom rules, merchant memory, and Plaid categories first, then asks the AI for anything left over. You review a focused queue, not a raw dump.
- Bank + card sync via Plaid — up to two years of history
- Custom rules by merchant, amount, direction, and account
- Merchant memory that improves every month
- AI model for low-confidence and unrecognized transactions
- Focused review queue with suggested categories and confidence scores
Deduction Finder
Catch the write-offs buried across your accounts
Every likely deductible expense flagged automatically, across every account.
Owner-operators with multiple accounts miss legitimate deductions every year — not because they're ineligible, but because write-offs are scattered across cards, checking accounts, and payment processors that no one ever reconciles in one place.
River automatically flags business and tax-deductible expenses as it categorizes your transactions. Write-offs scattered across multiple accounts surface in one place. Where the IRS typically expects documentation, River notes it — so nothing slips through at tax time.
- Automatic business-expense flags on categorized transactions
- Tax-deductible flags for likely Schedule C write-offs
- Multi-account coverage: bank, credit card, and payment processor
- IRS receipt reminders where documentation is expected
- Deduction summary included in the accountant handoff export
Live Profit & Loss
Know how the business is doing any day of the year
A running P&L that updates as you categorize — not as tax season arrives.
Most owner-operators don't see actual net profit until their accountant assembles it months after year-end. The business makes decisions blind — pricing, hiring, spending — without knowing if the margin supports it.
As you review transactions, River maintains a running profit and loss view — income, expenses, and net profit by category and month. Personal and transfer entries are excluded automatically. No manual assembly, no waiting until April to know where you stand.
- Live revenue, expense, and net profit by category
- Personal spend and transfers excluded automatically
- Monthly and year-to-date views
- Margin and trend visibility throughout the year
- Updates in real time as transactions are reviewed
Tax-Ready Export
Hand your accountant a clean file, not a shoebox
Business-only transactions grouped by Schedule C line, with notes and tags.
A clean, structured export cuts accountant prep time — and the prep fees that come with it. Most owner-operators pay for hours of categorization work at accountant rates that River can do in minutes.
When it's time to hand off, River exports a structured file: business-only transactions grouped by IRS Schedule C line, with categories, tags, notes, and a flagged deduction summary. Your accountant gets a working file they can act on — not raw statements they have to interpret from scratch.
- Business-only export — transfers and personal entries excluded
- Grouped by IRS Schedule C line
- Category, tag, and note fields on every transaction
- Flagged deduction summary and receipt checklist
- Clean CSV alongside a structured handoff summary
Schedule C summary
| Category | Schedule C line | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising | Line 8 | $24,100 |
| Contract labor | Line 11 | $18,400 |
| Supplies / COGS | Part III | $112,800 |
| Rent | Line 20b | $57,600 |
| Meals (50%) | Line 24b | $3,120 |
Business-only transactions, grouped by IRS Schedule C line.
Handoff notes for your accountant
- 9 expenses flagged as likely deductible — receipts attached where required
- Vehicle + equipment left for review (depreciation, Form 4562)
- Full categorized CSV exported alongside this summary
Who uses it
Built for every kind of owner-operator
If you run the business and do the books, River is built for you.
Freelancers & consultants
Expense tracking, deduction flags, and a P&L that shows what you actually earned after costs — without paying a bookkeeper.
Retail & product sellers
COGS categorization, inventory-related deductions, and multi-account coverage for card and marketplace payouts.
Food & beverage
Ingredient and supplier COGS, payroll, and delivery platform fees broken out so you see the real margin on every month.
Service businesses
Labor, supplies, and subcontractor costs tracked separately — a clean file ready for Schedule C at year-end.
E-commerce brands
Multiple payment processor and platform payouts reconciled into one categorized P&L without manual spreadsheet work.
Trades & home services
Vehicle, equipment, and materials expenses flagged for deductibility — and a handoff your accountant can act on.
How it works
Your data, your books, your call
Plaid-secured connection
Bank and card accounts connect through Plaid — the same infrastructure used by thousands of financial apps. River never stores your banking credentials.
You review every entry
The AI does the first pass but nothing becomes final until you approve it. You can correct, split, or skip any transaction before it lands in your books.
Not a replacement for your accountant
River handles categorization, deduction flagging, and export — so your accountant spends less time on data cleanup and more time advising you.
Your data stays yours
Your transactions and books are private to your account. River does not use your financial data to train AI models.
Common questions
How does River get my transactions?
You connect your bank and card accounts securely through Plaid. River syncs your history (up to two years on a new connection) and keeps new activity flowing in. You can also trigger a sync any time from the Home view.
Does the AI categorize everything, or do I stay in control?
Both. A hybrid pipeline does the first pass — your custom rules, merchant memory, Plaid categories, then an AI model for anything left over. You approve or correct each transaction before it becomes final, and high-confidence ones can be confirmed in a click.
Can it find tax deductions I might miss?
River automatically flags likely business and tax-deductible expenses based on the assigned category, so write-offs spread across multiple accounts surface in one place. It also notes where the IRS typically expects a receipt.
Does this replace my accountant?
No. It gives your accountant structured categories, notes, tags, and a clean CSV mapped to Schedule C lines — so they spend less time interpreting raw statements and more time advising you.
Do I need full accounting software too?
Not for the core job. River covers transaction categorization, deduction flags, a live P&L, and tax-ready export — the pieces most owner-operators actually need — without the overhead of a full accounting system.
Can I create my own categories and rules?
Yes. You can extend the built-in Chart of Accounts with custom categories and create rules based on merchant, amount, direction, and account. Teach the system once and repeat transactions categorize consistently every month.
Get your books in order
Connect your accounts and River does the first pass — categorized transactions, flagged deductions, a live P&L, and a tax-ready export. You stay in control of every entry.