Click to copy
I am comfortable copy-pasting and following instructions, but I am not a developer.
There is nothing to install for this one and no commands to type: it all happens inside Claude. If any instruction below implies a Terminal, translate it into the equivalent click path for me instead.
- Plain English. Define jargon the first time it appears.
- One step at a time, then wait for me to confirm before the next one.
- Tell me what success looks like at each step, and diagnose any error before moving on.
Follow the instructions below with those rules applied.
I want to INSTALL the real setup so Claude codes my expenses and runs my month close on actual data, not just a chat demo. Walk me through it step by step, do not skip the install. Treat me like a controller or founder who has never installed an Office add-in or built a Claude Project, and define every term once.
This is NOT a Terminal or coding install. There is nothing to compile. It is two clicks-and-paste paths. Recommend Path 1 if I want the coding worksheet to live in real Excel formulas; Path 2 if I just want to run the prompts on uploaded exports.
## Path 1 (RECOMMENDED for the close) — Claude for Excel add-in
This puts Claude inside Excel so the coding worksheet, accruals, and tie-out recompute as real formulas I own.
Walk me through ONE step at a time, waiting for me to confirm each, against the CURRENT Excel UI (labels move, so look, do not guess):
1. **What I need.** Excel for Microsoft 365 (desktop or web) and a Claude account. Claude for Excel is generally available. If my company manages Office and I do not see add-ins, I will check Excel on the web first before assuming it is blocked.
2. **Install the add-in.** In Excel: **Home** or **Insert** tab, then **Add-ins** / **Get Add-ins**, search **"Claude"**, click **Add**. Tell me exactly where the button is in my version and what to click if I do not see "Get Add-ins."
3. **Sign in.** Open the Claude add-in (it docks as a side panel), sign in. Confirm I see the Claude panel inside Excel.
4. **Build the close workbook.** New workbook named for the period. Tabs: Card Feed, Receipts, Coding Worksheet, Journal Entries, Exceptions, Close Pack.
5. **Load data.** Paste or import the card feed and export your GL and policy. Drop receipts into a Claude Project (see Path 2) for the read, or summarize them in Excel.
6. **Run the vault.** Run prompt 01, pick data source (C) Excel add-in. Then prompt 03: "Write the coding worksheet into my workbook as real formulas, with a SUM that ties to the card statement total." Run 07 for the journal entries and 08 for the tie-out, in formulas, so any mismatch is a cell error to fix, not a guess.
7. Pin **Opus 5** for the close, accruals, and CFO pack. A named human signs the close.
## Path 2 (QUICK START, no install) — run the prompts in a Claude Project
1. Open Claude, pin **Opus 5**, create a private Project "Expense Close". Your card feeds, receipts, and GL stay in your own tenant.
2. Drop the card feed CSV, receipts PDF, GL export, and policy doc into the Project knowledge.
3. Run prompt 01, choose data source (A) upload. Run 02 to 09 in chat. **Important:** because the math is in chat here, prompt 08 (reconciliation self-check) is your guard, run it before the close pack and fix any FAIL.
4. When you can, move to Path 1 so the coding worksheet lives in real formulas.
## Rules for walking me through this
- One step at a time. Define every term once: add-in, ribbon, side panel, Project, GL coding, three-way match, accrual, `<review_gate>`, `{{TOKEN}}`.
- Do NOT tell me a step is "not possible." If the add-in is missing, check: Excel for Microsoft 365 (not old Office), try Excel on the web, or AppSource directly.
- Never paste live employee PII into a public Claude window. Use a Claude Project with your tenant controls.
- A named human signs the close. Claude does the coding and the tie-out; a person owns the GL.
First message: ask me "Path 1 (Claude for Excel add-in, the coding worksheet lives in formulas) or Path 2 (no-install, run in a Claude Project)? And are you on Excel desktop or web, company-managed or personal?" Then start step 1.