How the Costpoint AI Assistant Works
Users interact with Ask Dela through conversational text or supported voice commands. Instead of navigating through multiple applications or manually locating individual records, a user can ask a question in natural language and receive a response based on information available in Costpoint.
The assistant also supports conversational follow-up questions. A user can begin with a question about a project or contract and then ask for additional information without restating the entire subject. Ask Dela can provide links to relevant applications, subtasks, and records when supported.
Costpoint administrators can enable Dela through system settings. Access follows Costpoint's established security model, meaning the assistant works within the data and organizational permissions already assigned to the user.
Key Capabilities of the Costpoint AI Assistant
The assistant combines information retrieval with task-oriented capabilities. Its practical functions can include:
- Natural-language queries: Users can ask questions about supported Costpoint records using conversational language.
- Project and contract information: The assistant can retrieve details such as project status, contract information, pending sales orders, and other available data.
- Time and expense support: Users can enter time, sign timesheets, and submit expenses through supported workflows.
- Document interaction: Supported documents such as contracts and receipts can be uploaded for applicable workflows.
- Task assistance: Depending on the enabled functionality, the assistant can support activities such as drafting emails, preparing expense reports, and initiating supported workflows.
- Smart summaries: Costpoint's broader Dela capabilities can generate AI-powered summaries of supported contracts and business information.
Costpoint AI Assistant for Finance
Finance teams can use the assistant to retrieve information that supports daily accounting and project-finance decisions. For example, a finance user can ask about open vouchers, pending sales orders, project information, or other records available through their Costpoint permissions.
The assistant can also complement transaction workflows. During invoice processing, finance automation can cover invoice capture, extraction, validation, matching, GL coding, approval, and posting. The Costpoint AI Assistant can provide conversational access to relevant information while specialized finance automation can handle transaction-processing workflows.
Costpoint's chart of accounts is another important part of this environment because government contractors frequently need structured coding for contracts, projects, direct costs, indirect costs, and organizational dimensions. AI-assisted workflows can use this accounting context when supporting transaction review and financial operations.
AI Across Costpoint Finance Workflows
The Costpoint AI Assistant is one component of a broader finance-automation architecture. Organizations can combine Costpoint's embedded AI with external finance technologies when processes extend beyond the ERP.
For example, the Hyperbots Platform uses agentic AI for finance and accounting tasks, including document processing and ERP integration. This type of technology can complement Costpoint by extending AI-driven processing across connected finance applications.
A broader Procure-to-Pay Software environment can also connect purchase requisitions, invoices, accruals, vendors, approvals, and payments. These capabilities are useful when finance teams want AI to support the complete procure-to-pay lifecycle rather than only conversational information retrieval.
For executive-level financial analysis, a HyperLM Finance Chatbot can provide an AI workspace for analyzing financial data, generating insights, and supporting faster financial decisions. This differs from the Costpoint AI Assistant's role as an embedded assistant within the ERP.
Accounts Receivable and Payments
Costpoint AI capabilities can also support finance teams working with receivables and transaction information. In particular, cash application workflows can use customer payment details, remittances, invoice records, and deduction information to match receipts and post them to the appropriate accounts.
AI-enabled payments workflows can similarly support approval routing, transaction review, and cash-flow management. The assistant can provide information and task support, while dedicated payment workflows execute the underlying financial process according to established controls.
Procurement teams can also benefit from connected procurement workflows that link purchase requests, purchase orders, vendor information, receipts, invoices, and accounting records. This helps maintain continuity between operational purchasing and downstream financial activity.
AI Architecture and Reconciliation
Modern finance AI combines conversational interfaces with specialized models, document intelligence, workflow orchestration, and finance-specific agents. ai agents can extend this architecture by coordinating activities across accounts payable, accounts receivable, reconciliation, invoice processing, and other finance workflows.
AI Reconciliation describes the use of AI to compare financial records, identify matching relationships, surface exceptions, and support reconciliation activities. This capability can complement Costpoint by helping finance teams analyze transaction relationships across connected systems.
The assistant itself is primarily an interaction layer, while specialized AI agents and workflow systems can perform broader transaction-processing functions. Keeping these roles distinct helps organizations design a more structured finance AI environment.
Security, Governance, and Best Practices
Security is central to the Costpoint AI Assistant because financial and government-contracting information can be highly controlled. Deltek documentation states that Ask Dela inherits Costpoint user organization and security permissions, so users receive information according to the access they already have in the system.
Virtual Assistant Accounting provides a broader model for using conversational AI in finance, where users can interact with accounting information through natural-language requests. In Costpoint, that interaction should remain aligned with established accounting permissions, approval procedures, and data controls.
AI Transparency is also important when an assistant generates answers, summaries, or recommendations. Finance teams should understand the source context of AI-generated information and maintain appropriate human review for material accounting, compliance, and reporting decisions.
Summary
The Costpoint AI Assistant is now known as Ask Dela, Deltek Costpoint's AI digital assistant under the broader Dela brand. It provides natural-language access to supported Costpoint information and tasks, including project and contract inquiries, time and expense activities, document-supported workflows, and financial information retrieval. For finance teams, it can serve as a conversational layer across Costpoint while complementary AI agents, reconciliation tools, document automation, procurement, and payment workflows extend automation across the broader finance operation.