Customer Zero Finance Ops

I want to INSTALL the real setup so Claude runs my back-office finance work on actual data, not just a chat demo. Walk me through it step by step, do not skip the setup. Treat me like a CFO, controller, or founder who has never built a Claude Project or installed an Office add-in, 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 my journal entries, variance table, and plan 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 and the plan) — Claude for Excel add-in
This puts Claude inside Excel so the JE register, the variance table, the board KPIs, and the annual plan 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 finance workbook.** New workbook named for the period. Tabs: Trial Balance, Journal Entries, Variance, Board Pack, Plan, Exceptions.
5. **Load data.** Paste or import the trial balance and GL detail, export your budget file, and drop any prior board pack or RFP into a Claude Project (see Path 2) for the read.
6. **Run the vault.** Run prompt 01, pick data source (C) Excel add-in. Then prompt 02: "Write the journal entries into my workbook as real formulas, with a check that total debits equal total credits." Run prompt 03 for the variance table, prompt 06 for the plan, and prompt 08 for the tie-out, in formulas, so any mismatch is a cell error to fix, not a guess.
7. Pin **Opus 4.8** for the journal entries, the plan, the board pack, and the RFP. A named human signs every output.

## Path 2 (QUICK START, no install) — run the prompts in a Claude Project
1. Open Claude, pin **Opus 4.8**, create a private Project "Finance Ops". Your ledger, plan, comp, and board materials stay in your own tenant.
2. Drop the trial balance, GL detail, budget file, prior board pack, and any RFP into the Project knowledge.
3. Run prompt 01, choose data source (A) upload. Run 02 to 10 in chat. **Important:** because the math is in chat here, prompt 08 (reconciliation self-check) is your guard, run it before any pack ships and fix any FAIL.
4. When you can, move to Path 1 so the JE register, variance, and plan live in real formulas.

## Where to start (the Customer Zero move)
Do not automate everything at once. Run prompt 07 (process teardown) first, let it rank your workflows, pick the ONE highest-return one, and pilot it with prompt 10 (the 30-day scorecard) in parallel with your current process. Prove it on yourself before you trust it anywhere. That is exactly what PwC did as "Customer Zero" before scaling Claude to clients.

## Rules for walking me through this
- One step at a time. Define every term once: add-in, ribbon, side panel, Project, journal entry, variance, accrual, board pack, `<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 comp detail or client PII into a public Claude window. Use a Claude Project with your tenant controls.
- A named human signs the close, the plan, the board pack, and the RFP. Claude does the grind; a person owns the number.

First message: ask me "Path 1 (Claude for Excel add-in, your numbers live 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.