Dipping Your Toes in Claude
I’ve been a ChatGPT user since 2023. I’m not an AI junkie. And I don’t think AI is going to cripple the accounting industry.
But I do think as AI rapidly evolves, we’ll see it affect the industry’s competition, pricing, and available efficiency - all of which will affect all of us.
I think there are 2 ways to play it right now:
Dabble in it. Start figuring it out. Understand how it works. (Hint: it’s more than just a glorified Google search)
or
Wait until the AI dust settles and someone else figures it out, then do exactly what they did…or retire before you have to figure it out. (I’m serious.)
In my opinion, both are viable options. If AI excites you and you lie in bed at night thinking about it, go with #1. If you don’t have time or the thought of AI makes you miserable, go with #2 until your feelings change.
There’s more to building a business than chasing AI development. (Remember the days when we just chased tax bills on the house floor? Oh wait, we still do that too…?)
A few weeks back, I tested (and have since started migrating over to) Claude.
I know all AI models are rapidly developing, but I was impressed with:
Its skill and reasoning specifically in Excel
The ability to connect to platforms outside of itself (Canva, Google Drive, etc)
The lack of annoying tone ChatGPT had developed (let’s ignore the fact that I trained my GPT to begin with)
But one of the main reasons I moved to check out Claude was that ChatGPT couldn’t do tasks that it could do 4 months ago (i.e. reasonable compensation research on the BLS website). Claude seems to hallucinate and crash out at a much lower rate for higher level research and work.
I’m not saying Claude is the end-all-be-all, but for my needs right now, it seems superior.
Here’s a quick loan amortization schedule it made me for a client’s 2025 clean up:
And just yesterday, it built out payroll forecasting by employee (no sensitive data) for a client using last year’s QB payroll reports (again…no sensitive data), while I worked on something else.
That employee-level payroll forecast (reviewed by human-me) can then go into my cash flow forecast in Fathom for that client.
Again, I’m not an AI whiz, by any means, but the more I work in Claude / ChatGPT, the more I understand how they work and what they’re capable of. Then I can’t help but think of ways to use AI as I come across tasks in my normal work day.
**On the personal side, I gave Claude my DEXA scan results (it’s my own HIPAA data, I’m allowed) and it told me almost exactly what my doc told me 2 weeks prior - yikes. Then it helped me come up with a good weight lifting routine and protein consumption plan with an Excel tracking spreadsheet that I can print out and take with me to my workouts, which was outside the scope of my doc’s services.
Overwhelmed by AI and don’t know where to start?
If you haven’t touched AI and want to start somewhere, do this:
Listen to the first 30 min of ep586 of Jason on Firms podcast (really good current-situation of AI overview)
Pay for a month of Claude (don’t use the free version, you’ll think AI sucks if you do)
Try “Chat” and ask it to research something on the IRS website that you already know (i.e. depreciation of commercial property, deductibility of clothes for work 🤨, etc). Did it get it right?
Try “Cowork” and ask it to make a loan amortization schedule in excel (15 year, 7%, $20,000 purchase price). Check its math.
Permission to not touch “Code”
You don’t have to become an AI whiz this year, but it might not be a bad idea to throw $20 and 2 hours of your time towards it when tax season’s over.
I think using AI will become a foundational piece of building a highly profit-efficient solo firm.
…and efficiency means, making it home for dinner, more vacations, or Fridays off (or all of it)
Hope this helps!
Erica
What’s Happening in Aligned
Recently Added to the Video Library:
Anchor: Demo & Discussion [2.11.26]
Transitioning to Anchor [2.25.26] (Erica walked through how she did it last year)
Office Hours with Erica [3.24.26] (referral strategies, Fathom, cybersecurity, etc)
Engagement Letter Template > JUST ADDED HERE
Swipe it, customize it for your Fractional CFO and Bookkeeping engagements
Financial Cents: Demo + Discussion
Thur, Apr 9th - 12pm MT > RSVP Here
Demos requested by members and are not sponsored
Speed Networking for Side Hustlers
Tue, Apr 28th - 6pm MT > RSVP Here
Building a firm while working your W2? Meet others in the same boat!
Question of the Week > What’s something you’re looking forward to outside of work in April?
Current Discussions On > AR management as a service, multiple niches, 85% rule, time tracking, podcasts you’ve been listening to for years (turns out you can learn a lot about a person based on what they listen to 😉), and more!
Join the discussion with 170+ like-minded, non-scaling accountants / really cool humans in the link below. $75/mo, no commitment - come and go as you please :o)
Money back guarantee, if you get in there and don’t see the value. No questions asked.
More details in the link above.