You don’t need a new system to get value from AI in your business. The best place to start is the work you already do every week, one task at a time.

Accounting: preparation, not posting

AI is good at reading invoices and receipts, pulling out the supplier, amount, date and VAT, and suggesting an account. It can compare bank statements with your books and point out what doesn’t match.

Some accounting systems now connect directly to Claude, for example QuickBooks (in beta). If yours doesn’t, exporting a CSV file and working with that is often enough.

The rule: AI prepares, you or your accountant approve.

Payroll: a check before pay day

Payroll is where mistakes cost the most. Have AI compare timesheets with payslips, find changes from last month, like overtime, holidays or new starters, and summarise them before anyone is paid. It should never pay out on its own.

Project management: less admin

With a connector to Asana, monday.com, Linear or Jira, Claude can create tasks from meeting notes, summarise status at the end of the week and flag what’s overdue. A connector to Slack or Microsoft 365 does the same from chat and email.

Three tips before you start

  1. Pick one task that takes at least an hour a week. Measure the time before and after.
  2. Start with reading. Give read access first, and write access once you trust the results.
  3. Require approval for anything that costs money. On Team and Enterprise each action can be set to Needs approval, so nothing is sent or paid until a person presses the button.

Once the process has settled, write it down as a skill, so it’s done the same way every time, no matter who asks.

References