Practice case. Prairie Ledger CPA is a made-up firm. All names, records and numbers are fictional.

Cheat Sheets: Prairie Ledger CPA

PRACTICE RUN. Each sheet fits on one page when printed.

Cheat sheet 1: Everyone

How to ask Claude for something Tell it four things: the situation, the task, the material, and the format you want.

Five good requests 1. "Here is our internal procedure for month-end. Rewrite it as a numbered checklist of no more than 10 steps." 2. "Summarize this cleaned engagement letter in 5 bullet points a new staff member could follow." 3. "Here is a draft email to a client. Make it shorter and friendlier. Keep every fact the same." 4. "Turn these meeting notes into a list of who does what, by when." 5. "Here is a CRA public guide. List the 3 points most relevant to a small bookkeeping client, with the page each comes from."

Three things to always check 1. Every fact, number and date is correct. 2. Nothing was added that you did not give it. 3. No client details are in it that should not be there.

Never enter: SINs, bank or card numbers, passwords. Firm accounts only. Ask: Priya, [champion accountant] or Dana.

Cheat sheet 2: Accountants, Client Answers

Steps 1. Open the Client Answers Project. 2. Paste the client's email. Remove SINs and bank details first. 3. Read the draft. Fill every [ACCOUNTANT TO FILL]. 4. Answer anything marked [NOT IN LIBRARY] or STOP FLAG yourself. 5. Copy into Outlook and send.

Five good requests 1. Paste the client email as is (after cleaning). 2. "Make this reply shorter." 3. "This client is upset. Keep the same answer, make the tone warmer." 4. "The client asked two questions. Answer both in order." 5. "Write a one-line acknowledgement. I will answer in full tomorrow."

Three things to always check 1. Every placeholder is filled with the right client fact. 2. Nothing in the reply goes beyond the approved answer. 3. Nothing promises a result ("you will get a refund").

Same new question twice? Send it to the champion to add to the library.

Cheat sheet 3: Bookkeepers, Coding Check and Karbon

Coding Check steps 1. Export the client's transactions for the month from QuickBooks Online. 2. Export the payee history for the last 3 months. 3. In the firm's Claude workspace, say "run the coding check for [client], [month]" and attach both files. 4. Review every flag. Recode in QuickBooks Online yourself if you agree. 5. Ask the client about every "Needs information" item.

Five good requests 1. "Run the coding check for [client], [month]." 2. "Explain flag 3 in more detail." 3. "Show me every transaction for this payee in the last 3 months." 4. "Draft a short email asking the client what these 2 'Needs information' items were." 5. "List the new payees this month."

Three things to always check 1. Each flag's reason is true when you look at the transaction. 2. Anything over $1,500 has a memo saying what was bought. 3. Nothing was recoded except by you.

Karbon: clients get requests and reminders automatically. Each month, open the "Call client" view and phone those clients.