1
Who you are
These answers become the standing brief every workflow we build reads first, so the system works like someone who actually knows your shop.
What's the business called, and what do you do? A sentence or two.
Your own words beat anything we'd write.
Who are your customers or clients?
The system should know who it's ultimately working for.
Who works there, and who touches the paperwork?
First names and roles are plenty. So we know whose plate we're clearing.
When the system drafts something, how should it sound?
Formal? Friendly? Short and plain? It'll write the way you'd write.
Anything else we should know about how your shop runs?
Busy seasons, oddball routines, "we still use paper for X." The quirks are where the savings hide.
2
The workflow that eats your time
Pick ONE task, the one your staff dreads most. We'd rather nail one than dabble in five.
Describe the task in your own words, start to finish.
Don't clean it up. The messy version is the accurate version.
What kicks it off?
An email arrives, a client drops off papers, the pay period ends...
Who touches it, and in what order?
The human hand-offs survive. We automate the grinding, not the judgment.
What software or tools does it end up in?
QuickBooks, Excel, a tax program, a filing cabinet. All fine answers. We build around what you already use.
How often does it happen, and how much of it is there?
Per day or week: how many documents, rows, clients, or checks.
Roughly how many hours a week does it eat, and whose hours?
This number is how we'll both know, later, whether the system actually paid for itself.
What does "done" look like?
The finish line has to be exact. "Filed in the right folder and logged" beats "handled."
Where does it go wrong today?
The mistakes, the pile-ups, the thing that ruins a Friday. The failure points get the strongest guardrails.
3
Your boundaries
Most people selling AI never ask these questions. They're our favorite ones.
What in this work is sensitive?
Client SSNs, payroll numbers, health info, account numbers. Sensitive data gets a private setup built for you, never a shared platform.
What should the system NEVER do on its own, without a person's sign-off?
Whatever you write here becomes a hard wall in the build. The most important question on the form.
Who reviews and approves the system's work?
Every workflow we ship has a human checkpoint. This is that human.
Are there rules you operate under?
Tax confidentiality, HIPAA, bank or insurance rules. "I'm not sure" is a fine answer; we'll figure it out together.
Where does your data need to stay?
On your own machines, in the US, no preference. We'd rather over-respect this than under-ask it.
Answer as much or as little as you like — length is not a problem here.