OrangeOp
Field guide · Small business

7 back-office tasks small businesses can hand to AI this week

Get paid faster, know where your cash is, answer reviews properly, get processes out of your head and leave every meeting with a clear to-do list. Each task below has a prompt you can paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or any other AI. Everything it writes is a draft for you to review.

By OrangeOp · Updated · 6 min read

OrangeOp field guide: 7 back-office tasks to hand to AI this week, with a copy-paste prompt for each.
Save the image, or copy the prompts below as text.

The 7 tasks

1. Chase overdue invoices

Get paid

Rank by risk, then reminders that escalate step by step: friendly, firm, final.

Copy this prompt
Here are my unpaid invoices [paste: client, amount, due date]. Rank them by risk and draft a reminder for each: friendly if under 14 days late, firm after 30, final after 60. Don't send anything.

2. A weekly cash check-in

Cash

Money in, money out, biggest payments and spend by category from a bank CSV.

Copy this prompt
I've uploaded last month's bank CSV. Give me a one-page check-in: money in, money out, the 5 biggest payments, spend by category, and anything unusual. Use code for the totals.

3. Reply to reviews

Reputation

On-brand replies, and flag the ones that need you personally.

Copy this prompt
Draft replies to these reviews [paste] in a warm, short tone, signed [name]. Flag any review that mentions safety, a refund or a legal threat for me to answer personally.

4. Write an SOP from a voice note

Process

Turn a messy explanation into steps plus a one-page staff checklist.

Copy this prompt
Here's a transcript of me explaining how we [task] [paste]. Turn it into a numbered procedure and a one-page checklist for staff. List any step I skipped or left unclear as a question.

5. Meeting actions

Meetings

Decisions, action items with owner and date, and the follow-up email.

Copy this prompt
From these meeting notes [paste], list the decisions, the action items (owner + date) and draft the follow-up email. If an owner or date wasn't said, write "not agreed". Don't invent them.

6. Sort your expenses

Bookkeeping

A categorised ledger and a review list for your accountant.

Copy this prompt
Categorise these transactions [upload CSV] into my categories [list]. Then list for review: possibly personal, possible duplicates, large one-offs, uncategorised, and recurring subscriptions.

7. Build a quote

Sales

Consistent quotes from your price list, with good/better/best options.

Copy this prompt
Using my price list [paste], build a quote for [job]: line items, good/better/best options, tax, deposit, what's included and excluded, plus a short cover email.

A 7-day plan: one small win a day

  1. Day 1: write a short "About us" note (what you sell, who your customers are, your tone, your sign-off) and put it in a Project or at the start of each chat.
  2. Day 2: chase your unpaid invoices (task 1).
  3. Day 3: run the cash check-in on last month's bank CSV (task 2).
  4. Day 4: reply to your last 10 reviews (task 3). Is there one thing customers keep mentioning?
  5. Day 5: get the task you're asked about most out of your head (task 4).
  6. Day 6: run meeting actions after your next call (task 5).
  7. Day 7: which task saved the most time? Make it a weekly habit.

Safe-use basics

  • Don't paste passwords, full card numbers or ID documents into any AI chat.
  • Check your plan's data settings so you know how your chats are handled.
  • Share only the customer data the task needs; use initials where you can.
  • Read every draft before it goes out. A cash check-in explains numbers; it isn't accounting or tax advice.

More free guides

Everything here writes drafts: you review and send. No income or ranking promises. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI or Google.