📋 The 10 Prompts That Do Your Admin

Admin is relentless, and it lands on the person doing the paid work too. You.

Ten jobs eat most of it. One prompt each. Fill in the brackets, answer its questions.

1. The new enquiry

Nick this one:

You're turning a new enquiry into a booked job or a clean no.

The enquiry: [paste it]. What I charge: [e.g. "£45 an hour, booked till March"]

Give me:
1. What they're asking, and what they've left out.
2. The three questions I need before I can quote.
3. The reply, final version only, ready to paste.

Rules: warm, under 120 words, British English. Never invent prices or availability. Ask me up to three questions before you start.

2. The quote

Nick this one:

You're writing a quote I've been putting off.

The job: [e.g. "repaint a three-bed terrace inside"]. My terms: [e.g. "£280 a day, 50% up front"]

Give me:
1. Scope, what's in, what isn't, price, payment terms.
2. The two things most likely to cause an argument later, written into the scope.
3. Then build it as a document I can download and send.

Rules: British English, no sales fluff, only the prices I gave you. Ask me anything you need to know first.

3. The invoice chase

Nick this one:

You're writing a payment chase. Routine, not emotional.

Owed: [e.g. "invoice 0142, £240, five weeks overdue"]. History: [e.g. "one nudge a fortnight ago, no reply"]

Give me:
1. The chase, with the amount, the invoice number and a payment date a week from now.
2. One line offering to resend it or take payment another way.
3. Final version only, ready to paste.

Rules: firm, warm, under 100 words, British English. No "just circling back". Check with me before you guess.

4. The no

Nick this one:

You're helping me say no without three paragraphs of apology.

The ask: [paste it]. My real reason, background only: [e.g. "budget is half my rate and they want it in a week"]

Give me:
1. A reply that says no in the first two sentences.
2. A referral line, only if I say I want one.
3. Final version only, under 80 words.

Rules: warm, British English, no invented excuses, no loopholes. If you're missing something, ask me rather than guessing.

5. The official letter

Nick this one:

You're reading an official letter so I don't have to read it three times.

Here it is: [paste it, or attach a photo]

Give me:
1. What it says, in three plain sentences.
2. What it needs from me, and by when.
3. What happens if I do nothing.
4. One line for my calendar: the action and the date.

Rules: British English. If anything is ambiguous, say so rather than guess. Ask me what you need before you start, rather than filling the gaps yourself.

6. After a call

Nick this one:

You're turning a rambling call into something I can act on.

My notes: [paste them, a voice-note ramble is fine]. Who with: [e.g. "new client, nothing agreed in writing"]

Give me:
1. Decisions made.
2. Actions, who owns each, and a question mark where nobody was named.
3. A follow-up email confirming both, final version only.

Rules: British English, invent nothing, and list anything left hanging as an open question. Anything you'd have to guess, ask me first.

7. The receipts pile

Nick this one:

You're sorting my receipts so I stop dreading it.

Here they are: [attach photos, or type them: "£14.60 fuel 3rd, £89 tools 7th"]. My categories: [e.g. "materials, fuel, tools, software"]

Give me:
1. Every receipt sorted, with date, supplier and amount.
2. Anything listed twice, or that looks personal not business.
3. Then build it as a downloadable spreadsheet, a row per receipt, totalled by category.

Rules: British English, no tax advice, flag anything unreadable rather than guess. Ask me anything you need to know first.

8. The repeat answer

Nick this one:

You're building a standard answer to a question I get constantly.

The question: [e.g. "do you take small jobs?"]. How I answer it now: [ramble, it needn't be tidy]

Give me:
1. A short version for a message.
2. A longer version for email.
3. Then a short prompt I can save and re-run for each new enquiry.

Rules: British English, sound like a person not a policy. Check with me before you guess.

9. Month end

Nick this one:

You're doing my month end so I know where I actually am.

Came in: [e.g. "three invoices paid, £1,840"]. Owed to me: [invoice numbers, amounts, how overdue]. Went out: [category totals from my banking app]

Give me:
1. In, out and the difference, in three lines.
2. Unpaid invoices oldest first, with this week's chase flagged.
3. Then build it as a downloadable spreadsheet I can update monthly.

Rules: British English, only my numbers, no financial advice. If you're missing something, ask me rather than guessing.

10. The handover note

Nick this one:

You're writing a handover note for whoever I occasionally pay.

The job: [e.g. "sending the Thursday newsletter"]. How I do it now: [talk me through it badly, out of order]

Give me:
1. The steps in order, plain enough for a first-timer.
2. The three places it goes wrong.
3. Then give me it as a document I can download and send them.

Rules: British English, no jargon. If a step is missing, ask rather than fill the gap. Ask me what you need before you start, rather than filling the gaps yourself.

The small print

It doesn’t know your facts, so the brackets aren’t decoration. Cover account numbers before you photograph a letter. Anything with money or legal weight still needs your eyes on the original.

Four of these build a real file, which eats your allowance quicker than chatting.

Tonight

Do number three. Everyone is owed money by somebody.

That’s ten jobs, one at a time. The Claude Kickstart sets Claude up around your trade and hands five of them over properly, sounding like you. £47, one weekend.