AI use cases · small businesses
AI for the admin your business does every week.
The repetitive, rule-based jobs that fill a small business week, grouped by who usually does them. Each one is an example of what can be built around the software you already use, with a person approving any payment, refund or message to a customer.
The £499 assessment: one team · two-hour systems walkthrough · written report with priced recommendations · follow-up call. We agree it on the free call.
How to read this list.
These are examples, not a fixed menu. Whether a task is worth automating depends on how often it happens, the systems involved and how your team works today. Finding that out is what the £499 assessment is for.
Every task follows the same rule: the system prepares the work, and a person decides. Nothing is paid or refunded unless a person approves it. Nothing is sent to a customer unless a person approves it or it follows a rule you have agreed in writing.
Finance admin and credit control
Keeping on top of who owes what, and what cash is coming in, without the manual checking.
Payment reminders, drafted by stage
Drafts courteous payment reminders from your aged debtors list, in your wording, and holds each one until a person approves it.
Payment and remittance matching
Matches incoming payments and remittance advice to open invoices, and lists anything it cannot match for a person to check.
Failed payment checks
Spots failed card payments and Direct Debits, and prepares a polite note to the customer for your team to approve before it goes.
Disputes and promises to pay
Picks out queries, disputes and promises to pay from customer replies and logs them against the account, so a person can decide the next step.
Account terms alerts
Flags accounts that have gone past their agreed terms or are near their credit limit, so a person can decide what to do.
13-week cash flow forecast refresh
Rolls your 13-week cash flow forecast forward each week from the ledger and bank, and highlights what changed for you to review.
The £499 assessment looks at how your finance admin and credit control actually run, and prices what is worth building.
Bookkeeping and purchase ledger
Getting supplier invoices, receipts and bank lines into the books accurately, with less keying.
Supplier invoice capture
Reads supplier invoices from the inbox, picks out the key details and suggests the coding, as draft bills for your bookkeeper to approve.
Invoice checks against what was agreed
Compares each supplier invoice with the purchase order, delivery note or agreed price, and flags differences before anything is approved for payment.
Supplier statement reconciliation
Compares supplier statements with your purchase ledger and lists the differences, with the likely reason, for a person to resolve.
Missing receipt reminders
Reminds staff about missing receipts and expense details automatically, so you only review the exceptions.
Bank reconciliation prep
Groups unreconciled bank lines with likely matches and the paperwork that is missing, so reconciling becomes a review rather than a search.
Payment run preparation
Prepares a proposed supplier payment list from approved invoices that are due, for a person to check and release. The system never releases money itself.
The £499 assessment looks at how your bookkeeping and purchase ledger work actually runs, and prices what is worth building.
Customer service
Answering customers clearly and consistently, while your team keeps control of every reply.
Inbox sorting and routing
Sorts incoming customer emails by topic and urgency, and routes each one to the right person or queue.
Replies in your brand voice
Drafts replies in your tone, based on your own policies and order records, for your team to edit or approve before sending.
“Where is my order?” updates
Looks up the order and courier tracking and drafts a factual update for your team to send.
Returns and refund requests
Gathers the order, the reason for the return and the relevant policy in one place, so a person can approve the refund or exchange.
Complaint logging and routing
Logs each complaint with the customer’s history attached and routes it to the right owner. Every response is written or approved by a person.
Answers for staff from your own policies
Answers staff questions from your own policies and FAQs, with a link to the source document so they can check it.
The £499 assessment looks at how your customer service work actually runs, and prices what is worth building.
Operations and logistics
Keeping stock, suppliers and deliveries moving, and seeing problems before customers do.
Supplier shipment follow-ups
Checks expected delivery dates against supplier confirmations and drafts follow-ups on late shipments, for a person to send.
Courier claims packs
Collects the tracking history, order details and photos for lost or damaged parcels into a claim pack, ready for a person to submit.
Delivery exception list
Watches courier updates for failed or delayed deliveries and lists the orders that need action that day.
Stock reorder alerts
Flags low-stock lines against your reorder rules and prepares a draft purchase order for approval.
Purchase order confirmations
Matches supplier order confirmations to your purchase orders and flags any change to price, quantity or date.
Weekly operations pack
Pulls sales, stock and fulfilment figures into a weekly pack in a fixed format, ready for review before it circulates.
The £499 assessment looks at how your operations and logistics work actually runs, and prices what is worth building.
Sales and follow-up
Turning enquiries into quotes and orders without leads going cold in the inbox.
Enquiry logging and routing
Logs new enquiries from email and web forms in your CRM or spreadsheet, and routes each one to the right person.
Quote drafting
Drafts quotations from your price list and past jobs, for a person to check before they go to the customer.
Quote follow-up reminders
Lists quotes that have had no reply and drafts a short follow-up for you to approve and send.
Call follow-up emails
Turns your call notes into a follow-up email and a list of next steps, ready for you to check and send.
Customer record upkeep
Suggests updates to customer records from emails and orders, and flags duplicates or missing details for a person to confirm.
Sales orders and pro formas
Prepares sales orders and pro forma invoices from accepted quotes, for your team to check before they are sent.
The £499 assessment looks at how your sales admin and follow-up actually run, and prices what is worth building.
Owner and inbox admin
The admin that lands on the owner’s desk, sorted before you start the day.
Morning briefing
Puts the day’s meetings, urgent emails, due tasks and anything waiting on you into one short note each morning.
Daily cash summary
Pulls bank balances, money in and money out into a short daily summary, so you start the day knowing where cash stands.
Inbox triage
Sorts your inbox into what needs you, what can wait and what someone else should handle, and drafts replies to routine messages for you to approve.
Meeting actions
Turns meeting notes into a list of actions with owners and dates, in the tool your team already uses.
Renewals and deadlines
Keeps one list of contract renewals, insurance, licences and filing dates, with reminders before each notice period.
Documents from your templates
Fills letters, contracts and forms from your approved templates, for a person to check before they are signed or sent.
The £499 assessment looks at the admin that lands on your desk, and prices what is worth building.
How it works
Three steps, each priced before you commit.
AI assessment: £499, fixed
We walk through one team’s work and systems with you, then send a written report: what is worth automating, what it would take and what each build would cost. If something is not worth automating, the report says so. We agree it on a free 30-minute call.
Fixed-scope build
One workflow, built around the tools you already use, with the checks and approvals agreed up front. The assessment report prices each build, and the scope and price are fixed in writing before any work starts.
Monthly support, optional
Keeps a workflow Clerq has built running after handover. The monthly figure is agreed in writing before support starts.
You can stop after the assessment. There is no obligation to commission a build.
Questions
Asked before we start.
Which of these tasks would suit my business?
It depends on how often the work happens, the systems involved and where the time goes today. The £499 assessment looks at one team’s actual work and sets out which tasks are worth building, which are not, and what each would cost.
Will AI send messages or make payments without us?
No. Payments and refunds are always approved and released by a person. Messages to customers are drafted for a person to approve, unless you agree a written rule for a routine message.
Do we need new software?
Usually not. Clerq builds around the tools you already use. How much can happen inside a particular system depends on how it connects, which we confirm during the assessment.
Is my business too small for this?
Sometimes AI is not worth it yet. If a process is unclear or rarely happens, automating it seldom makes sense, and the assessment will say so. The tasks on this page suit work that repeats and follows rules.
What does it cost?
The assessment is £499, fixed. The report prices each recommended build, and the scope and price are agreed in writing before any work starts. Software subscriptions and AI usage are quoted separately.
Do you work outside London?
Yes. Clerq is based in London and works remotely with small businesses across the UK and beyond, wherever remote delivery works.
Next step
Find out what is worth automating, for £499.
For £499 we walk through one team’s work and systems with you, then send a written report: what is worth automating, what it would take and what each piece would cost to build. If something is not worth automating, the report says so.
Prefer email? stephen@aiclerq.com