AI Back Office for Small Business
Updated
For owners, office managers and bookkeepers who do the back office themselves. The modules follow the money from the first client form to month-end: collect client details in one form, pull receipts and invoices out of the inbox with an approval step, stop a fake bank-change request, track purchase orders and live pipeline numbers, then chase overdue invoices and reconcile the bank account.
Work through them in order: each step builds on the one before it, and every module runs in a practice copy of Jotform, n8n, Claude, SunSed, Coefficient, ChatGPT and Foxit right in your browser. It is free, and no experience is needed.
Intermediate 11 modules about 109 minutes Free Start the path free
The path: 11 steps
- Step 1: Get Every New Client's Details in One Place using Jotform AI✓ Done Intermediate
Describe a client intake form to Jotform AI, fix it with Form Copilot, add a show/hide rule in plain words, and copy the link to send to new clients.
Free · about 6 minutes · Next up: AI Receipt Extractor: Receipts to Google Sheets with n8n
- Step 2: AI Receipt Extractor: Receipts to Google Sheets with n8n✓ Done Intermediate
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.
Free · about 12 minutes · Watch the video · Next up: Invoices from Your Inbox to Google Sheets, with Approval
- Step 3: Invoices from Your Inbox to Google Sheets, with Approval✓ Done Advanced
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.
Free · about 14 minutes · Watch the video · Read the guide · Next up: Stop a Fake Vendor Bank-Change Request Before You Pay using Claude
- Step 4: Stop a Fake Vendor Bank-Change Request Before You Pay using Claude✓ Done Beginner
An urgent "new bank details" email and a voicemail that sounds like your boss. Check them with Claude, use three verify-before-you-pay rules, and write a one-page bank change policy and a staff alert.
Free · about 7 minutes · Next up: SunSed: Build a Purchase Order Tracker App by Describing It
- Step 5: SunSed: Build a Purchase Order Tracker App by Describing It✓ Done Beginner
A business case for small offices that track purchase orders in email and spreadsheets: price the cost of a missed late vendor, then describe a purchase order tracker to SunSed in plain words, add made-up sample…
Free · about 12 minutes · Next up: Coefficient: Pull Live Pipeline Data into Google Sheets and Auto-Refresh It Daily
- Step 6: Coefficient: Pull Live Pipeline Data into Google Sheets and Auto-Refresh It Daily✓ Done Beginner
A business case for sales managers who copy the team pipeline into the weekly report by hand: price the Monday copy-and-paste, then use Coefficient to pull the pipeline into Google Sheets, pick the columns and keep it…
Free · about 12 minutes · Next up: Get a Morning Invoice Summary in Slack using ChatGPT Dots
- Step 7: Get a Morning Invoice Summary in Slack using ChatGPT Dots✓ Done Intermediate
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.
Free · about 4 minutes · Next up: Collect Overdue Invoices Faster using ChatGPT
- Step 8: Collect Overdue Invoices Faster using ChatGPT✓ Done Beginner
Upload your aging report, have ChatGPT build this week’s chase list (oldest and biggest first, disputes held back), check it against the file, then draft a friendly, firm or final reminder for each client.
Free · about 12 minutes · Next up: Month-End Bank Reconciliation with ChatGPT: 20 Minutes, Not 3 Hours
- Step 9: Month-End Bank Reconciliation with ChatGPT: 20 Minutes, Not 3 Hours✓ Done Beginner
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.
Free · about 12 minutes · Next up: AI Contract Review in 10 Minutes using Foxit AI
- Step 10: AI Contract Review in 10 Minutes using Foxit AI✓ Done Beginner
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…
Free · about 10 minutes · Next up: Foxit PDF Editor: Fill and Sign a Form without Printing
- Step 11: Foxit PDF Editor: Fill and Sign a Form without Printing✓ Done Beginner
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.
Free · about 8 minutes · Last step
Frequently asked questions
- What back-office work can AI automate for a small business?
- The repeat data work: collecting client details, reading receipts and invoices, logging them in a sheet, drafting payment reminders and matching bank lines at month-end. AI reads and drafts, and you keep an approval step for anything that moves money.
- Can AI process invoices automatically?
- Yes, with a person approving. The invoice module watches an inbox, pulls the vendor, amount and due date from each invoice into Google Sheets, and waits for an approval before anything is marked to pay.
- How can AI help me collect overdue invoices?
- Give ChatGPT your aging list and it drafts a polite, specific reminder for each client based on how late the invoice is. Pair it with a morning invoice digest so nothing slips past its due date.
- Do I need to know how to code?
- No. Most modules are point and click. The two n8n workflows are the most technical, and you build each step in a practice copy first.
Related
How every module works
Each step is shown on the left, with a cursor pointing to exactly where to click. You do the same thing on the right, in a practice copy of the real tool. Get it right and it moves on. Nothing touches your real accounts until you're ready to build it for real.
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