Set Up Claude's Small Business Plugin (Step by Step)

The Small Business plugin puts Claude to work inside the tools you already use. Your accounting, payments, CRM, email, calendar, design, and contracts. It is one toggle that installs a bundle of ready-made connectors and skills, so the app connections and the tasks come together.

This guide gets you set up and running in about 15 minutes. No IT help needed.

What you need first

• The Claude desktop app, not just the website. Download it from claude.ai if you have not already.

• A paid plan: Pro, Max, or Team. The plugin will not run on the free plan.

  
  

What it connects to

QuickBooks, PayPal, Stripe, Square, HubSpot, Gmail and Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Canva, DocuSign, and Slack. You only connect the ones you actually use.

Step 1: Install the plugin

1. Open the Claude desktop app and go to Cowork.

2. In the left sidebar, click Customize.

3. Under Plugins, click the plus, or click Browse plugins.

4. Find Small Business and click Install.

   
   

That is the plugin on. Now you connect your apps.

Step 2: Let Claude walk you through your first two

You do not have to connect everything at once. The easiest start:

1. Open a new chat.

2. Type: "Get me started."

3. Claude walks you through your first two connectors, usually QuickBooks and Gmail. It shows you exactly what you are approving before you approve it, then runs a quick task so you see it work.

   
   

When an app asks you to log in and approve access, that is the normal one-time consent. You log in once, approve, and you are done.

Step 3: Connect the rest of your tools

Add the others whenever you are ready.

1. Go to Settings, then Connectors.

2. You will see the full list of apps.

3. Click Connect on the ones you use, log in, and approve.

   
   

Each app only asks for the access the tasks actually need. Claude is not getting full control of your bank or your PayPal. It is scoped to the job.

Step 4: Run your first real task

Try one of these in a new chat:

• "Show me my overdue invoices and draft a friendly reminder for each one."

• "Give me a quick Monday brief: cash position, sales this week, and what needs my attention."

• "Read my latest customer email and draft a reply in my voice."

Read what it produces, tweak if needed, and send it yourself.

Quick tips for using it well

• Start in draft mode. Let Claude write the invoice reminder or the email, then you read it and hit send. Build trust on a few tasks before you let it send or pay anything on its own.

• Connect only what you need. Three or four apps is plenty to start. Email, calendar, and your accounting or payment tool cover most of the daily grind.

• Ask in plain English. You do not need special commands. "Chase my unpaid invoices" works. Talk to it like you would a new assistant.

• Give it your context once. Tell it your business, your tone, and your standard terms (or set this in your account description) so its drafts sound like you, not a robot.

• Do one thing at a time. "Pull the invoices, then draft the reminders" beats one giant request. Small steps are more reliable.

• Keep a human in the loop on anything money or legal. Always read before a payment goes out or a contract is sent.

• When something looks off, tell it. "That reminder is too stiff, make it friendlier" gets you there fast. It learns the task as you go.

  
  

A few things it can do day to day

• Chase overdue invoices and log the follow-ups.

• Pull a Monday or end-of-week brief on cash, sales, and to-dos.

• Draft replies to customer emails in your voice.

• Plan your week from your calendar and jobs.

• Prep your month-end numbers for your accountant.

• Spin up a marketing campaign and on-brand designs in Canva.

  
  

Start small

Pick one job that eats your time every week, like invoice chasing, and let the plugin handle just that for a week. Once it is saving you real time, add the next one. Trying to automate everything on day one is how people get overwhelmed and give up.