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๐Ÿญ AI-Run Businesses ยท Printable checklist ยท USE CASy

A small food business replaced a retiring administrator with an AI agent

โฑ๏ธ 1-3 weeks to get reliable ยท ๐ŸŽฏ Medium ยท ๐Ÿ’ต AI subscription from about USD 20-30/month; the original used the Claude API (pay as you go)

๐Ÿงฐ Before you start

๐Ÿชœ Steps (tick as you go)

  1. โ˜
    1. Start with one job

    Pick bank-to-invoice matching first. Don't try to replace all admin on day one.

  2. โ˜
    2. Make a shared folder

    Create a folder (e.g. 'Admin Inbox') where you drop bank exports and supplier emails/PDFs.

  3. โ˜
    3. Give the AI the rules

    Paste the 'Admin assistant' prompt below with your supplier names and categories.

  4. โ˜
    4. Run it on last month

    Test it on a month you've already done by hand and compare the results.

  5. โ˜
    5. Fix the misses

    Tell it why any match was wrong. Add new rules (e.g. '[electricity company] = Utilities').

  6. โ˜
    6. Go live weekly

    Each week drop in new files and ask it to process them. Review only the 'problem items' list.

  7. โ˜
    7. Add the next jobOptional extra

    Once matching is reliable, add supplier invoice entry, then payroll checks.

๐Ÿ’ฌ Prompts to copy

๐Ÿ’ฌ Admin assistant
You are my admin assistant. Each week I'll give you a bank export and supplier invoices.
1. Match each bank line to an invoice (same supplier, amount and roughly the same date).
2. Give each match a confidence score: High / Medium / Low.
3. Put matched items in a table: date, supplier, amount (MYR), invoice number, category.
4. Put anything Low or unmatched in a separate 'Problem items' list with your best guess and why.
Never post anything to the accounts system or pay anything without my approval.
Category rules: [e.g. electricity supplier = Utilities; Facebook ads = Marketing].
๐Ÿ’ฌ Monthly check
Compare this month's matched totals by category with last month's. List anything that changed by more than [20%] and suggest why.

๐Ÿ”— Links

From https://usecasy.com/use-case/marias-pasta-admin/ ยท Guide checked 15 October 2026 ยท Prices are rough and shown in USD unless stated (MYR where relevant).