# AgentShed > Practical playbooks for sole traders and micro-businesses: a task, a tool, the steps, the cost in USD and GBP, and what tends to break. Published by Milo Cosemans in the UK. Playbooks that have not been run end to end say so in the test log. AgentShed is written for sole traders, freelancers, and micro-businesses. Each playbook is one task with one primary tool. Prices in GBP are planning conversions, not quotes. ## Start here - [Start here: where agents actually help](https://agentshed.io/start-here): what to hand over, what to keep, and which boring tool to turn on first. - [Finder](https://agentshed.io/finder): pick a task, a budget, and how technical you want to be. - [How we test](https://agentshed.io/about): methodology, editorial policy, and affiliate disclosure. - [Changelog](https://agentshed.io/changelog): re-tests and the current pending list. ## Playbooks - [A client folder layout in Google Drive](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-client-folder-layout): Create a short Drive tree and move files yourself. ChatGPT may suggest names from a list you type. You need permission to move a file. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-client-folder-layout.md - [A Grok research brief for supplier quotes](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/grok-supplier-research): Ask Grok for suppliers and prices only when a page states them, with the URL. Open every link before a figure reaches a customer quote. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/grok-supplier-research.md - [A Monday admin digest with n8n](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/n8n-weekly-admin-digest): One Monday email: mail that needs a reply, the week ahead, and invoices you marked overdue. n8n Cloud if you will not host a server. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/n8n-weekly-admin-digest.md - [A month of social posts planned in a sheet](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/sheets-social-post-calendar): Put the date, the network, and a true caption in a private sheet, then publish it yourself. Buffer is the queue, if you want one. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/sheets-social-post-calendar.md - [A one-page lead brief from pages you opened](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-lead-research-brief): Build a short brief on a company from its site and Companies House, then delete any line without a page. Not a supplier price list. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-lead-research-brief.md - [A scheduling agent that does not touch the calendar](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-meeting-scheduling): Offer real gaps with a Google Calendar booking page, and let ChatGPT draft only the email that sends the link. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-meeting-scheduling.md - [AI email assistant in Gmail with Gemini](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/gemini-gmail-email-assistant): Draft replies inside Gmail with Help me write, only if your plan includes it. A free UK personal Gmail should not assume the button is there. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/gemini-gmail-email-assistant.md - [AI receptionist for a small business with Smith.ai](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/smith-ai-small-business-receptionist): A Smith.ai receptionist that takes a name, number, and job on the free 25-call plan. No prices, and only if UK callers can dial the number. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/smith-ai-small-business-receptionist.md - [Appointment booking with a Calendly link](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/calendly-appointment-booking): Offer one type of meeting on Calendly's free plan, and let an email draft carry the link. The agent does not write the diary. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/calendly-appointment-booking.md - [Capture leads in a sheet with a two-step Zap](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/zapier-lead-capture): A short enquiry form lands in a Google Sheet on Zapier's free plan. You reply the same day. Marketing mail only follows an unticked box the person chose. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/zapier-lead-capture.md - [Chase overdue invoices with Make drafts](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/make-invoice-chasing): Turn on your accounting software's own reminder first. If you need a different voice, Make creates Gmail drafts you send yourself. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/make-invoice-chasing.md - [Customer replies from a written FAQ, drafted in ChatGPT](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-customer-faq-replies): Put your real prices, booking rules, and refund rules in a ChatGPT Project. It drafts. You send. Gaps get a human answer, not an invention. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-customer-faq-replies.md - [Data entry from PDFs and forms with Claude](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/claude-pdf-data-entry): Read a PDF or a form into a sheet with Claude, leave a blank when a figure is unclear, and keep the original. Not a statutory record. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/claude-pdf-data-entry.md - [Draft a weekly client report in Claude](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/claude-weekly-client-report): Paste figures you already trust into Claude and send the prose yourself. Free is $0. Pro is $17 a year-billed month or $20 monthly, before tax. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/claude-weekly-client-report.md - [Draft the public FAQ page from questions you already answer](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-faq-page-draft): Turn questions customers already ask into a page you publish. ChatGPT arranges your rules. It does not invent the refund. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-faq-page-draft.md - [Email triage for a small Gmail inbox with ChatGPT](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/gmail-chatgpt-email-triage): Label a small Gmail inbox, filter the noise, and draft replies in a ChatGPT Project. You still send every message yourself. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/gmail-chatgpt-email-triage.md - [File receipt photos in Drive, without posting the books](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-receipt-photo-filing): Put each receipt photo in a month folder and log one checked line. ChatGPT only suggests the filename. You do not upload the photo. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-receipt-photo-filing.md - [Google Meet notes turned into tasks](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/gemini-meet-notes-to-tasks): Use Take notes for me only on an eligible Google plan, then copy the actions you accept. The US card prices are not a UK quote. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/gemini-meet-notes-to-tasks.md - [Google review replies drafted in ChatGPT](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-google-review-replies): Draft a public reply from the review the customer wrote, then post it yourself in Google Business Profile. No auto-reply and no invented discount. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-google-review-replies.md - [Meeting notes turned into tasks with Fathom](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/fathom-meeting-notes-to-tasks): Record a call with Fathom's free summary, tell the other person, and write the tasks yourself in a sheet. Do not publish the transcript. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/fathom-meeting-notes-to-tasks.md - [Missed-call answering for trades with Lindy](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/lindy-missed-call-receptionist): A Lindy agent that takes a missed-call message for a trade: name, number, address, and the job. No prices, and only if the number is dialable in the UK. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/lindy-missed-call-receptionist.md - [Outlook inbox triage with rules and a ChatGPT draft](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/outlook-chatgpt-inbox-triage): File Outlook mail with rules, then paste a ChatGPT draft you send yourself. The Gmail guides are a different mailbox. Not live-tested. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/outlook-chatgpt-inbox-triage.md - [Repurpose one work note into social posts with Claude](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/claude-social-repurposing): Turn a true note about finished work into a Google Business post, an Instagram caption, and a LinkedIn post. You approve every one. Nothing auto-posts. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/claude-social-repurposing.md - [Smith.ai answering service: what a call costs](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/smith-ai-answering-service): How Smith.ai's answering bill is built: 25 free calls, then Pro from $150 for 75, spam, and 30 days' notice. No live test yet. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/smith-ai-answering-service.md - [Social posts queued in Buffer](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/buffer-social-scheduler): Draft posts from one true note, queue up to three channels on Buffer's free plan, and approve every one. Nothing publishes itself. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/buffer-social-scheduler.md - [Trade quote drafts with ChatGPT](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-trade-quote-draft): Fill a trade estimate from your site notes and supplier pages you have opened. ChatGPT lays out the lines. You check every figure and you send it. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/chatgpt-trade-quote-draft.md - [Turn receipt photos into checked bookkeeping rows](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/claude-receipts-to-bookkeeping): Once a week, ask Claude to read receipt photos into rows you check, then type the checked rows into your bookkeeping software yourself. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/claude-receipts-to-bookkeeping.md - [Website support chat with Tidio](https://agentshed.io/playbooks/tidio-website-support-chat): Put Tidio's free widget on a small site only after the FAQ page exists. Leave Lyro off until that page is loaded. A person handles the gaps. Plain markdown: https://agentshed.io/playbooks/tidio-website-support-chat.md ## Comparisons - [Best AI email assistant for a small business: ChatGPT vs Gemini](https://agentshed.io/compare/chatgpt-vs-gemini-email-assistant): ChatGPT beside Gmail, or Gemini inside it. Both draft. You send. Gemini's button depends on the plan and the country. No bake-off was run. - [Best AI receptionist for a small business: Lindy vs Smith.ai](https://agentshed.io/compare/lindy-vs-smith-ai-receptionist): Lindy or Smith.ai for a small-business phone: a tool you configure, or a hosted call bundle. No bake-off, and no winner from a score. - [ChatGPT vs Claude for customer replies](https://agentshed.io/compare/chatgpt-vs-claude-customer-replies): How to choose between ChatGPT and Claude when drafting customer replies from a written FAQ. You still send the email. No quality score was measured. - [Make vs n8n for a Monday admin digest](https://agentshed.io/compare/make-vs-n8n-weekly-digest): Make or n8n for one Monday email about mail, the calendar, and overdue invoices. Hosted free tier against a tool you can later self-host. - [Zapier vs Make vs n8n for a sole trader](https://agentshed.io/compare/zapier-vs-make-vs-n8n): Which hosted or self-hosted automation tool fits a one-person business chasing invoices and moving form rows, based on published prices and limits. - [Zapier vs n8n for beginners](https://agentshed.io/compare/zapier-vs-n8n-for-beginners): A beginner choosing Zapier or n8n: a guided two-step Zap, or a canvas you may later host. Published limits only. No bake-off. ## Tasks - [Automate email triage](https://agentshed.io/tasks/email-triage): Sort a small inbox so customer mail stays visible, then draft replies in an agent without giving it permission to send. - [AI receptionist and missed calls](https://agentshed.io/tasks/receptionist): Take a name, number, and job from a missed call without letting an agent quote a price or invent a visit time. - [Automate invoice chasing](https://agentshed.io/tasks/invoice-chasing): Chase overdue invoices with drafts you approve. Start with the reminder already inside your accounting software. - [Meeting and job scheduling](https://agentshed.io/tasks/scheduling): Stop the Tuesday-or-Wednesday email thread with a booking page, and use an agent only to draft the reply that sends the link. - [Receipts into bookkeeping](https://agentshed.io/tasks/bookkeeping): Turn a pile of receipt photos into checked rows you type into the books. The agent reads. You decide. - [Customer FAQ replies](https://agentshed.io/tasks/customer-replies): Draft customer replies from a written policy page, and refuse to invent a refund rule that is not on it. - [Social post repurposing](https://agentshed.io/tasks/social-posting): Turn one true note about finished work into a Google post, an Instagram caption, and a short LinkedIn post you approve. - [Lead capture to a CRM](https://agentshed.io/tasks/lead-capture): Catch enquiries in a form, land them in a sheet, and reply yourself. Marketing mail only goes to people who opted in. - [Weekly admin digest](https://agentshed.io/tasks/admin-digest): Get one Monday email that lists the mail, the week ahead, and the invoices you have marked overdue. - [Research for quotes and suppliers](https://agentshed.io/tasks/research): Brief an agent to find suppliers and published prices, then open every link before a number reaches a customer. - [Quote and estimate drafts](https://agentshed.io/tasks/quoting): Turn site notes and opened supplier pages into a trade estimate you check and send. The draft does not invent a price. - [Google review replies](https://agentshed.io/tasks/review-replies): Draft a reply to a Google review from the words the customer wrote, then post it yourself. No overnight auto-reply. - [Meeting notes into tasks](https://agentshed.io/tasks/meeting-notes): Record a call, keep the summary, and turn it into tasks you will do. Tell the other person a notetaker is present. - [Data entry from PDFs and forms](https://agentshed.io/tasks/data-entry): Read a PDF or a form into a sheet, leave a blank where the figure is unclear, and keep the original. Not a tax filing. - [File organisation](https://agentshed.io/tasks/file-organisation): Give client work a short folder tree in Drive and move the files yourself. A model may suggest a name. It does not get the documents. - [Weekly client report](https://agentshed.io/tasks/weekly-report): Turn figures you already trust into a short client email. The model must not add a number, and you still press send. ## Optional - [Full text of every playbook](https://agentshed.io/llms-full.txt) - [RSS](https://agentshed.io/feed.xml) - [Privacy](https://agentshed.io/privacy)