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Hand your accountant a clean year

⏱ 60 min8 steps

Tax time is calmer when your accountant gets a sorted year instead of a shoebox of receipts. You'll ask your accountant for their categories, gather the year's downloads, and have Claude sort every line into them, with a list of questions for anything it can't place. This is tidying only. Your accountant decides what counts for tax. A year is a lot of rows, and stalling on one messy month is common. Take it a quarter at a time if that helps.

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  1. Ask your accountant how they want it

    Accountants each have their own way. One wants a spreadsheet with their categories, another wants the bank downloads as they are. Ask first, so you sort it the way they'll use it.

    This lesson is sorting and tidying, not tax advice. Tax rules depend on where your business is, and your accountant decides what goes where and what can be claimed. Claude doesn't, and you won't ask it to here.

    drafts and sorts; a person approves anything with a price, a date or your name on it. Your tax return has your name on it, so your accountant and you have the final word on every line.

    1. Open the or claude.ai and start a new chat.
    2. Copy the below.
    Write a short, friendly message to my accountant. Ask them: which categories they want my spending and income sorted into, what dates my business year runs, what format they'd like it in, like a spreadsheet, and what they'd like me to do with anything I can't sort. Say I'd like to use AI to help sort the lines from my bank and sales downloads, with account numbers and customer details taken out first, and ask if they're happy with that. Write [Accountant] for their name. Keep it under 120 words, in plain words.
    1. Paste it into the chat and send it.
    2. Fill in your accountant's name, and send the message yourself.
    3. Wait for their list of categories before Step 4.
    AI Short for artificial intelligence. Here it means a program like Claude that reads what you write and writes back in plain words. All wordsClaude app Claude on your phone or computer, where you chat with it by typing. claude.ai is the same thing in a web browser. All wordsprompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All words

    You should see:

    A short message to your accountant with four questions, a line about using AI, and an [Accountant] blank.

    That's not what I see
    I don't have an accountant.
    Do Steps 2 and 3 now, and stop there. Before tax time, ask a bookkeeper or an accountant near you which categories to use, then carry on from Step 4. Don't let Claude make up a list.
    My accountant sent a long list.
    That's good. Use their list word for word. Don't merge or rename any category.

  2. Gather the year's downloads

    A plumber might have one business bank account, a card and the job app's sales report. A retailer adds the register and the online store. An office might add a savings account, and a one-person service often has one account and a booking app.

    This part of the section is words, sheets and exports only. You don't connect Claude to your bank, card reader, or accounting or invoicing software in these lessons, even if a exists. Never paste or attach bank account numbers, card numbers, tax ID numbers, passwords or full statements.

    1. Sign in to your bank and card websites yourself.
    2. Download the business year's transactions as a , one for each account or card.
    3. Download the year's sales report from your register, booking or invoicing system as a CSV.
    4. If you kept the monthly ledgers from the lesson "Where did the money go this month?", put them with the downloads.
    connector A link between Claude and another app or service, like Google Calendar or Linear, so Claude can read from it or work in it. All wordsCSV A plain spreadsheet file with commas between the columns. Most sales, booking and job systems can download one. All wordsfile One document on your computer, like a letter or a photo. Files live inside folders. All words
    That's not what I see
    My bank only lets me download a few months at a time.
    Download each piece and keep them as separate files. Keep it to 20 files or fewer, since that's the most you can add to one chat.
    My bank only offers PDF statements.
    Don't attach them. Statements show your account number. Ask your bank's help pages about downloading transactions as a CSV, or give the statements to your accountant directly, the way they ask.

  3. Take the private details out

    Do this for each file. Keep the original downloads as they are, in their own . Your accountant may want those, and they go straight to your accountant the way they ask, never through Claude.

    1. In , make a folder called Originals for my accountant and put the downloads in it.
    2. Open that folder and drag one file onto the Numbers icon in the Dock. The file in the folder stays as it is.
    3. Hold Command (Ctrl in Excel) and click the letter at the top of each column that holds an account number, a card number, a long reference number, or a customer's name, email, phone number or address.
    4. Move the pointer over one of those letters, click the arrow that appears, then chooseRight-click one of those letters, then choose Delete Selected ColumnsDelete.
    5. If there are rows above the column names with your account number, your name or a balance summary, delete them too. Hold Command (Ctrl in Excel), click those row numbers, click the arrow that appearsright-click one of them, then choose Delete Selected RowsDelete.
    6. If a row names a person, like a wage, a refund, a payment from a customer, or a description column with a person's name, click that cell and type a plain word over the name, like Wages, Refund or Customer. If the same name comes up many times, click View in the toolbar, choose Show Find & Replace, then click the pop-up menu to the left of the top field and choose Find & Replace.
    7. Choose File > Export To > CSV, click Save, and name it after the account, like Year card for Claude.
    8. Pick Desktop from the Where menu, and click Export.

    On Windows, in Excel:

    • To make the folder, right-click inside your Downloads folder in File Explorer, choose New > Folder, and name it Originals for my accountant.
    • To open a file, double-click it in that folder. If it doesn't open in Excel, open Excel, choose File > Open, click Browse, and pick it from the folder.
    • To change a name that comes up many times, press Ctrl+H. Type the name in Find what and the plain word in Replace with, then click Replace All.
    • To save it, choose File > Save As, click Browse, pick Desktop, and name it after the account, like Year card for Claude. Choose CSV (Comma delimited) from Save as type, then click Save. Always use Save As here, never Save, so the original in the folder stays as it is.
    folder A place on your computer that holds files and other folders, like a drawer in a filing cabinet. All wordsFinder The Mac app for looking through your files and folders. Its icon is a blue smiling face. All words
    That's not what I see
    There are lots of files.
    Do one, check it, then do the rest the same way. It gets quicker after the second.
    Everything opened in one column.
    Click anywhere in the table. In the **Format** sidebar, click the **Table** tab, then click **Adjust Import Settings**. Click the **Delimited** tab, check **Comma** next to **Separate Values Using**, then click **Update Table**. Do this before you change anything else in the table. On Windows, in Excel: click the **A** at the top of the first column, choose **Data > Text to Columns**, pick **Delimited**, click **Next**, check **Comma**, click **Next**, then click **Finish**.
    I don't have Excel.
    Google Sheets is free, in your web at sheets.google.com. Start a blank spreadsheet, choose **File > Import**, upload the file and import it. Right-click a column letter or row number and choose **Delete column** or **Delete row**. To save, choose **File > Download > Comma-separated values**.browser The app you use to visit websites, like Safari or Chrome. All words
    Excel changed some of my numbers.
    Excel drops zeros at the start of a number and rounds very long ones. Close it without saving, and open the original file another way. In Excel, choose **Data > From Text/CSV**, pick the file, click **Import**, then click **Transform Data**. Click the top of each column with reference or invoice numbers, and on the **Home** tab choose **Data Type**, then **Text**. Click **Replace current**, then **Close & Load**.

  4. Start a new chat and attach the files

    This prompt sets the rules for the sort, gives Claude your accountant's categories, and has it tell you what the files cover before it sorts anything.

    1. Open the Claude app or claude.ai and start a new chat.
    2. Click the + button in the lower-left corner of the message box, then Add files or photos, and pick the files you saved. You can also drag them into the chat. One chat takes up to 20 files.
    3. Check each name ends in for Claude before you click Open.
    4. Copy the prompt below.
    I've attached my business's transactions for [the business year] from [which accounts and reports]. You'll help me sort them for my accountant in this chat. The rules: this is sorting and tidying only. Don't give tax advice, and don't say whether anything can be claimed or deducted. My accountant decides that. Use only my accountant's categories: [paste their list, or write FILL IN]. Use only what's in the files. Don't estimate or invent any number. When you give a number, say which file and row it came from. If a line doesn't clearly fit a category, put it under ASK MY ACCOUNTANT. Never ask me for bank, card or account details. First, tell me what the files hold: for each file, its first and last date, how many rows, and any month with no rows.
    1. Paste it into the chat. Replace the parts in square brackets with the year, the accounts and reports, and your accountant's categories.
    2. Send it.
    3. Check the dates against each file in NumbersExcel. For the number of rows, scroll to the bottom of each table and take one off the last row number, for the column names.

    You should see:

    For each file, its first and last date, how many rows it has, and any month that's missing.

    That's not what I see
    A month is missing.
    Download that month again from your bank's website, take the private details out as in Step 3, and attach it.
    Claude says it can't open a file.
    Open the file in NumbersExcel, select the whole table, copy it, and paste it into the chat instead, one file at a time.

  5. Have Claude sort every line

    This prompt puts each line in one of your accountant's categories, and sets aside anything that doesn't clearly fit.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Sort every line into my accountant's categories. Make a table with these columns: date, who, amount, money in or out, category, and file and row. Put anything you're unsure about under ASK MY ACCOUNTANT, with one short line saying why. Don't put a line in a category because it seems close.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Read down the ASK MY ACCOUNTANT list, and add anything you know about each line, like this was the van repair.

    You should see:

    A table of every line with its category, and ASK MY ACCOUNTANT on the ones Claude couldn't place, each with a short reason.

    That's not what I see
    There are too many rows for one answer.
    Reply: Do it one quarter at a time, starting with [the first three months]. Then ask for the next quarter when you've read the first. A year is a lot for one chat. Starting a new chat for each quarter also works.
    Claude made up a category that isn't on my accountant's list.
    Reply: Use only my accountant's categories. Put that line under ASK MY ACCOUNTANT instead.

  6. Find doubles and transfers

    The same money can show up twice: a card bill paid from the bank, or money moved to your own savings account. This prompt finds those, and leaves them in for you to decide.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Now list four things. Any payment that shows up in two files, like a bill paid by card that also shows on the bank. Any sales total that also shows as a deposit on the bank. Any money moved between my own accounts. Any line with no date or no amount. For each one, give the files and rows. Don't delete anything. Mark them, and I'll decide.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Decide for each one whether it stays in the totals, and tell Claude which to leave out.

    You should see:

    Four short lists, each line with its files and rows, and nothing deleted.

    That's not what I see
    I'm not sure whether something is a double.
    Leave it in, and add it to the ASK MY ACCOUNTANT list. Your accountant would rather see it twice than miss it.

  7. Check the totals

    This prompt adds up each category with the sums written out, so you can check them.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    First, for each file, give the total of its amount column as it stands, before anything is left out. Then give me the total for each category, with money in and money out apart, and the total under ASK MY ACCOUNTANT. Leave out the lines I told you to leave out. Show every sum, and say which rows each total covers.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Check each file's total in NumbersExcel. Open the file, click the letter at the top of the amount column, and read the sum at the bottom of the window., next to Sum. Compare it with the file total Claude gave first, before anything was left out.
    3. Check two or three category totals on a calculator.
    4. Pick five rows from Claude's table, and find each one in the file.

    You should see:

    A total for each file as it stands, then a total for each category, money in and out apart, with the sums written out and the rows each one covers.

    That's not what I see
    The totals don't match my files.
    Reply: List the rows you left out and why. Doubles and transfers you chose to leave out explain most gaps. If they don't, ask your accountant before you send anything.

  8. Make the hand-over sheet

    This prompt puts everything your accountant needs on one page, with a note at the top saying how it was made.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Put this on one page for my accountant, called [business name] year [the business year]. At the top, write: Sorted with AI help from my bank and sales downloads. Please check. You decide the categories for tax. Then list which files it covers and their dates. Then the totals for each category, money in and out apart. Then the ASK MY ACCOUNTANT list, each with date, who, amount and the reason. Then the doubles and transfers I chose to leave out. Then the full table as a plain table I can paste into a spreadsheet, with a tab between each column.
    1. Paste it into the same chat. Replace the parts in square brackets with your business name and the year.
    2. Send it.
    3. Open Numbers, choose File > New, then double-click Blank. Click the top-left cell, and press Command-VCtrl+V to paste the table.
    4. Save it as Year for my accountant, and read every line before you send it.

    On Windows, open Excel and click Blank workbook instead of opening Numbers. If Excel is already open, press Ctrl+N. Then paste and save the same way.

    You should see:

    One page with the note at the top, the files, the category totals, your questions, what you left out, and the full table.

    That's not what I see
    It all pastes into one column.
    Reply: Give me the table again in a code block, with a tab between each column. Click the copy button on the block, then paste again. Or reply: Make it as an Excel file I can download. Then open it in NumbersExcel.
    I don't see a template chooser.
    Hold **Option** and choose **File > New**. On Windows, Excel doesn't need one: press Ctrl+N for a blank workbook.
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Your challenge

Send the message to your accountant this week and ask for their categories. When they reply, sort one quarter of this year with Claude, check its totals in your spreadsheet, and send your accountant the sheet with your questions.

Last checked 2026-10-20

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