By industryAI for Finance Teams
What you’ll be able to do: Month-end, P&L reviews and expense sorting in a fraction of the time, with an approval step.
- Who it’s for
- Controllers, finance managers and AP/AR staff.
- Time needed
- About 3 hours of hands-on practice: 19 modules of 2 to 15 minutes each.
- Cost
- Free. No credit card, no trial, and no sign-up needed to start.
- Level
- Beginner to Advanced
- Prerequisites
- None for the practice: a web browser on a desktop or laptop. To repeat the modules in your own tools: a ChatGPT account, an n8n account, an OpenAI API key, a Google account and a Docparser account.
- Format
- Self-paced and online. Each module runs in a practice copy of the real tool that checks every step, then a checklist walks you through doing it for real.
- Tools you practice in
- ChatGPT, Foxit, Claude, n8n, Lovable, Run Solo Studio and Docparser.
AI for Finance Teams is a free, hands-on AI course for controllers, finance managers and AP/AR staff: 19 short modules (about 3 hours in all) where you do each step yourself in a safe practice copy of ChatGPT, Foxit, Claude, n8n and other tools, which checks your work. No coding, no cost, and you can start without signing up.
The business case
The problem
Month-end is where small mistakes hide: reconciliations, P&L reviews from raw transactions, receipts and vendor invoices retyped into spreadsheets, and late invoices nobody chases.
The payoff
Month-end, P&L reviews, expense sorting and invoice capture in a fraction of the time, with a person approving before anything is paid or sent.
What you’ll build
- Module 2: You are Jordan, who manages rentals at Lakeside Property Management (a made-up company). A tenant has emailed her new bank details and a complaint about a leaking dishwasher. You switch off model training, swap her name, unit and bank numbers for placeholders like [TENANT] and [NEW BANK DETAILS], and get a friendly reply drafted.
- Module 3: A ChatGPT project for your firm with your rules in its instructions, and two tested jobs: a client reply that offers a call for the tax question and refuses an emailed bank login, and call notes turned into an action table with owners and dates.
- Module 4: A cleaned six-month P&L for Copper Pot Kitchen, a made-up 60-seat restaurant that Millbrook Accounting keeps the books for: a monthly summary with sales, costs, net profit and margin, plus food, labor and operating costs as a percent of sales in January and in June.
- Module 5: A September reconciliation for Harbor Lane Studio, a made-up small design studio. Both files start the month at $48,210.37. The bank ends at $55,205.65 and the books at $50,835.15.
- Module 6: A sales review for Maple Hollow Garden Center, a made-up small business with six months of sales in one CSV file: 1,248 orders across 7 columns (order_id, date, category, product, channel, units, revenue).
- Module 8: You help Dana Reyes, operations manager at Bright Path Marketing, a made-up agency, check version 2 of a software subscription agreement that the vendor called "small cleanups".
- Module 9: You help Jordan Ellis, operations manager at Bright Path Marketing, a made-up agency, return a new client's New Vendor Setup Form so the first $4,800 invoice can be paid.
- Module 11: A working n8n workflow: a chat window you can drop a receipt photo into, an AI agent that reads it, and a Google Sheet called Invoices with the columns Date, Category, Vendor and Amount.
- Module 13: You keep the books at Cobalt Street Architects, a made-up firm. The workflow already catches invoice emails and turns each PDF into text. You add an Information Extractor that pulls out the vendor, invoice number, dates and total without guessing, log every invoice with Google Sheets Append row in sheet, and add an If node: total greater than 1000.
- Module 17: You help Dana Ortiz, a made-up solo consultant whose three clients owe her $7,450. You import W2 into n8n, fill in its CONFIG node, connect Notion and email, set it to run on weekdays at 9 in her time zone and run a test.
- Module 18: You help Jordan, the office manager at Maple Lane Accounting, a made-up firm, stop retyping vendor invoices.
- Module 19: A checked and cleaned gift export for Hillside Literacy Project, a made-up nonprofit: 1,212 rows in, 5 duplicate online gifts removed, 14 pledges ($18,750) marked “Pledge - not received” and kept out of every total, 1,193 gifts received.
- Module 1 · Stepthrough · Beginner · ~2 min
Start Here: How Stepthrough Works
Try the practice in under two minutes: watch a step, click, type, get unstuck with Do it for me, and finish.
- Module 2 · ChatGPT · Beginner · ~7 min
Use AI at Work Without Leaking Client Data using ChatGPT
Turn off model training, strip a tenant's bank details and address out of a prompt, then catch the two promises ChatGPT made up before the reply goes out.
- Module 3 · ChatGPT · Beginner · ~9 min
ChatGPT: Your AI Assistant for a Bookkeeping Practice (Client Emails and Call Notes, with Your Rules)
Set ChatGPT up as an AI assistant for a bookkeeping firm: your rules in a project once, then a client email that routes the tax question to a call and refuses a bank login, and call notes turned into dated action items.
- Module 4 · ChatGPT · Beginner · ~11 min
Analyze a Client's P&L Export
Upload a client's Profit and Loss Detail export to ChatGPT, catch duplicate bank-feed entries and uncategorized rows first, then get a monthly P&L summary, a chart and three takeaways for the client review.
- Module 5 · ChatGPT · Beginner · ~12 min
ChatGPT: Month-End Bank Reconciliation in 20 Minutes, Not 3 Hours
Upload the bank statement and the books, let ChatGPT match every row and list the exceptions, then check the answer and paste a reconciliation summary into the month-end file.
- Module 6 · ChatGPT · Beginner · ~10 min
Analyze a Spreadsheet
Upload a CSV of sales to ChatGPT, have it check the data first, ask your questions, get a chart you can download, and finish with the three takeaways that matter.
- Module 7 · Foxit · Beginner · ~10 min
Review a Client Contract in 10 Minutes using Foxit AI
Skimmed contracts hide auto-renewals, late fees and liability caps. Upload one to Foxit Workspace, get a plain-English summary and every renewal and exit date, check them against the PDF, and hand your boss a one-page watch list.
- Module 8 · Foxit · Beginner · ~8 min
Foxit PDF Editor: Catch Every Change in a Revised Contract
A vendor sends "version 2, just small cleanups". Compare both PDFs in Foxit PDF Editor, see every changed fee, date and clause, and reply with a list.
- Module 9 · Foxit · Beginner · ~8 min
Foxit PDF Editor: Fill and Sign a Form without Printing
A client will not pay until their vendor form comes back signed. Fill in a flat PDF, tick the boxes, sign and date it in Foxit PDF Editor, no printer.
- Module 10 · Claude · Intermediate · ~8 min
Use case: messy export to clean Excel workbook
Upload a messy sales export to Claude and get back a clean Excel workbook with a Data tab, a Summary tab built with formulas, and a chart, thanks to Claude's built-in Excel skill.
- Module 11 · n8n · Intermediate · ~12 min
AI Receipt Extractor
Drop a photo of a receipt into an n8n chat. An AI agent reads it, pulls out the date, vendor and amount, picks a category, and adds a row to Google Sheets.
- Module 12 · n8n · Intermediate · ~12 min
AI Expense Categorizer Agent
Build an AI agent for Maple Street Bookkeeping that sorts business expenses into categories, writes a short note for each and saves them to Google Sheets — chat trigger, AI Agent, system prompt, model, memory, and the Sheets tool.
- Module 13 · n8n · Advanced · ~14 min
Invoices from Your Inbox to Google Sheets, with Approval
Build an n8n workflow that reads each vendor invoice PDF from Gmail with AI, logs the vendor, invoice number and total in Google Sheets, and emails the owner an Approve button for anything over $1,000.
- Module 14 · ChatGPT · Beginner · ~8 min
Custom GPT for Payment Reminders
See why generic prompts give generic results, then build a Custom GPT that follows your collections policy and writes polite, firm reminder emails for overdue invoices.
- Module 15 · ChatGPT · Intermediate · ~4 min
Get a Morning Invoice Summary in Slack using ChatGPT Dots
Set up a ChatGPT dot to check Gmail for new invoice emails and post one summary to Slack every weekday morning. A 7-step practice based on OpenAI's published screens.
- Module 16 · Lovable + n8n · Advanced · ~15 min
AI Expense Reimbursement Form
Build an expense reimbursement form in Lovable for Maple Street Bookkeeping and connect it to n8n — the AI agent checks each request against the policy, saves it to Google Sheets and emails the employee the status.
- Module 17 · Run Solo Studio · Intermediate · ~10 min
Run Solo Studio: Automate Unpaid-Invoice Reminders with the Solo Operator Stack
A business case for solo consultants who chase late invoices by hand: price the weekly check, then import Run Solo Studio's W2 workflow into n8n, point it at your Notion Finance database, set a weekday schedule, test it and get one morning email listing every overdue invoice.
- Module 18 · Docparser · Beginner · ~10 min
Docparser: Pull Invoice Data from PDFs into a Spreadsheet
A business case for bookkeepers and office managers who retype vendor invoices every week: have Docparser pull the vendor, invoice number, date and total out of each PDF, then download them all as one spreadsheet.
- Module 19 · ChatGPT · Beginner · ~11 min
Give Your Board Giving Numbers They Can Trust: Analyze a Donor Gift Export with ChatGPT
Upload your donor database’s gift export to ChatGPT, catch gifts that synced twice and pledges that were never received before anything is added up, then get giving by source, a chart and three takeaways for the board.
Prerequisites
- For the practice: a web browser. Each module runs in a copy of the real tool’s screens, so you need no account and no sign-up to start module 1.
- To do it for real: a ChatGPT account, an n8n account, an OpenAI API key, a Google account and a Docparser account. Each module says which one it uses.
Time to complete
About 3 hours of hands-on practice across 19 modules (585 steps in all). Modules take 2 to 15 minutes each, so you can do one in a sitting and come back for the next.
Questions about this course
Is AI for Finance Teams free?
Yes. All 19 modules of AI for Finance Teams are free, and you can start module 1 without signing up.
How long does AI for Finance Teams take?
About 3 hours of hands-on practice across 19 modules, beginner to advanced. Each module takes 2 to 15 minutes, so you can do one at a time.
Which tools will I practice in?
ChatGPT, Foxit, Claude, n8n, Lovable, Run Solo Studio and Docparser. You practice in a copy of each tool's real screens that checks every step, so nothing touches your real accounts, and no coding is needed.
Who is AI for Finance Teams for?
Controllers, finance managers and AP/AR staff.
Where do I start?
Start with module 1, Start Here: How Stepthrough Works. The modules are in order, so each one builds on the last.
What do I need before I start AI for Finance Teams?
Only a web browser for the practice: it runs in a copy of each tool's screens, so you need no account and no sign-up to start module 1. To repeat a module in your own tools afterwards, the modules list a ChatGPT account, an n8n account, an OpenAI API key, a Google account and a Docparser account.
What will I build in AI for Finance Teams?
A finished result in 12 of the 19 modules, for example: A ChatGPT project for your firm with your rules in its instructions, and two tested jobs: a client reply that offers a call for the tax question and refuses an emailed bank login, and call notes turned into an action table with owners and dates; A cleaned six-month P&L for Copper Pot Kitchen, a made-up 60-seat restaurant that Millbrook Accounting keeps the books for: a monthly summary with sales, costs, net profit and margin, plus food, labor and operating costs as a percent of sales in January and in June; A September reconciliation for Harbor Lane Studio, a made-up small design studio.