Agentive vs. DataSnipper: Audit Automation Showdown

Audit automation is no longer optional for firms facing staffing constraints, rising review expectations, and increasing client demands. Agentive and DataSnipper are two leading platforms addressing these pressures, but they solve different problems in different ways.

This post compares Agentive and DataSnipper through the lens of real audit workflows. It explores how Agentive centralizes client requests and automates testing in a standalone AI workspace, while DataSnipper enhances Excel-based audits with document extraction, cross-referencing, and strong audit trails. We cover differences in usability, pricing structure, security posture, and ideal firm fit, with practical guidance on when each platform makes sense.

The goal is not to name a winner, but to help your firm align the right tool with your operational bottlenecks, team readiness, and appetite for change.

Why are firms rethinking audit automation right now?

Audit teams are under pressure from every angle. Staffing remains tight, review expectations keep rising, and clients expect faster turnarounds with fewer follow-ups. At the same time, most firms are still running audits on a familiar but fragile stack of Excel files, shared folders, and email-based PBC lists.

That combination creates real risk. Missed documents, inconsistent testing, review bottlenecks, and frustrated staff. Audit automation tools promise relief, but not all tools solve the same problems in the same way.

In this post, we break down Agentive vs. DataSnipper. Both are powerful audit automation platforms, but they take very different approaches. The goal is not to crown a winner. It is to help you decide which tool better fits your firm’s workflows, team structure, and appetite for change.

What problem are we actually trying to solve?

Before comparing features, it helps to clarify the underlying problem.

Most audit inefficiency comes from two places. First is evidence handling. Extracting data from PDFs, tying numbers back to source documents, and documenting review steps takes enormous time. Second is engagement coordination. Managing PBC requests, validating client uploads, and tracking what is done versus outstanding often lives outside the audit file in spreadsheets or email threads.

DataSnipper focuses heavily on the first problem. Agentive focuses heavily on the second, and increasingly on automating the testing itself. Your firm may struggle more with one than the other.

How does Agentive approach audit automation for accounting firms?

Agentive is best described as a cloud-based audit workspace built around client requests and automated testing. Instead of living inside Excel, it acts as a central hub where auditors request documents, clients upload evidence, and AI agents automatically validate and test that evidence.

The standout feature is Agentive Requests. Auditors create structured request lists, and when a client uploads a document, Agentive immediately checks whether it meets the requirements. If the document is incomplete, incorrect, or missing key attributes, the system prompts the client to fix it. This dramatically reduces back-and-forth and cleanup later in the audit.

Once evidence is accepted, Agentive’s AI can perform predefined audit procedures. That includes things like sampling, recalculations, duplicate detection, and anomaly checks. The results are automatically documented, with links back to the source files. In practice, this feels like having an AI junior auditor handle the initial testing.

Agentive also includes dashboards for engagement status, activity logs, and summaries that help managers see progress across audits. Outputs can be exported to Excel for firms that still rely on spreadsheet-based workpapers.

This approach works best for firms that want to centralize audits, reduce client friction, and standardize testing across engagements.

How does DataSnipper approach audit automation for accounting firms?

DataSnipper takes a very different path. It lives directly inside Microsoft Excel as an add-in. Rather than replacing your audit file, it enhances it.

The core value of DataSnipper is document automation. Auditors can extract numbers, dates, and text from PDFs and images, and link them directly to Excel cells. Every value can be traced back to its source with a visual reference, which reviewers love.

DataSnipper shines in tests of details, walkthroughs, confirmations, and financial statement tie-outs. Features like document matching, automated cross-referencing, and the Financial Statement Suite eliminate hours of manual ticking and tying. Recent additions include AI agents that help search documents, answer questions, and automate repetitive checks within Excel.

DataSnipper also offers UpLink, a client-document-request module. UpLink helps collect and organize PBC documents, but its strength is still in feeding those documents back into Excel for testing rather than managing the entire engagement lifecycle.

For firms deeply invested in Excel-based audits, DataSnipper feels like a natural extension rather than a workflow overhaul.

What are the key differences firms should weigh?

The biggest difference is where the work happens.

Agentive pulls audit work into a standalone platform. Requests, evidence, testing, and status tracking all live in one place. Excel becomes an output, not the primary workspace.

DataSnipper keeps Excel at the center. It automates what auditors already do in spreadsheets, making documentation faster and cleaner without forcing a new system.

There is also a difference in automation philosophy. Agentive leans into agent-like behavior. The system validates evidence, runs tests, and proactively flags issues. DataSnipper focuses on accelerating human-led procedures. It makes auditors faster and more accurate, while keeping them in the driver’s seat.

Adoption friction matters too. DataSnipper usually has a lower barrier to entry because staff already know Excel. Agentive requires more change management, but the payoff can be larger if your firm standardizes around it.

How do pricing and costs compare?

Pricing for both platforms is quote-based and varies by firm size and feature set.

DataSnipper is typically licensed per user. Public estimates suggest entry-level plans around $64 per user per month on annual billing, with advanced tiers closer to $175 per user per month on annual billing. Monthly billing, where available, is higher. Advanced features like financial statement automation and AI agents usually sit in higher tiers.

Agentive does not publish standard pricing. Based on market patterns, firms often see platform pricing in the low four figures per month, depending on the number of users and automation scope. Agentive typically offers a free trial and custom onboarding, which helps firms validate ROI before committing.

For small teams, DataSnipper is often easier to justify on a per-seat basis. For firms running many similar audits, Agentive’s broader automation can offset higher platform costs.

What about security and compliance?

Both platforms are built for audit-grade security.

DataSnipper runs on Microsoft Azure and is SOC 2 Type II compliant. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and customer data is not used to train AI models. Many firms are comfortable with DataSnipper because it aligns closely with existing Microsoft security frameworks.

Agentive is also SOC 2 compliant and uses enterprise-grade encryption and access controls. It emphasizes audit trails and transparency for AI-driven actions. Agentive positions governance as a core design principle, especially as automation becomes more autonomous.

From a compliance standpoint, both tools meet the baseline expectations most accounting firms have today.

Which platform is the better fit for your firm?

If your firm lives in Excel and wants faster, cleaner audits without changing core workflows, DataSnipper is usually the better fit. It works especially well for small to mid-size firms that want immediate efficiency gains with minimal disruption.

If your firm struggles with PBC management, inconsistent testing, or scaling audits with limited staff, Agentive may deliver more value. It is particularly compelling for firms willing to standardize processes and adopt a centralized audit workspace.

Many firms will find that these tools are not mutually exclusive. DataSnipper can power deep Excel-based testing, while Agentive handles client coordination and automated procedures. The right answer depends on where your biggest bottleneck lives today.

If you are evaluating either tool, the extension season from April through October is the smartest window to test, pilot, and implement changes without the pressure of peak deadlines.

What’s the final takeaway?

Audit automation is no longer about flashy AI features. It is about reducing friction, improving consistency, and protecting your team’s time. Agentive and DataSnipper both move firms in that direction, but along different paths.

Choosing the right platform starts with an honest look at your workflows, not vendor demos. That is where an outside perspective often helps.

Contact Genwise today to get expert advice tailored to your business and confidently move forward with the right platform.