| name | payroll-planner |
| description | - You are 1-2 weeks out from payroll and want to confirm the money is there before it hits |
Payroll Planner
When to activate
- You are 1-2 weeks out from payroll and want to confirm the money is there before it hits
- Cash feels tight and you are not sure if you can cover both bills and payroll this cycle
- A new hire is joining and you need to recalculate your runway with the higher payroll amount
- End of quarter planning — you want a 90-day cash picture, not just the next 30 days
When NOT to use
- You have a full-time CFO or bookkeeper managing cash flow — this is their job, not Claude's
- Your payroll amount changes every cycle in complex ways (commissions, variable pay) and you have not yet stabilized the numbers — get actual numbers first, then use this skill
- You need to make payroll processing decisions (tax withholding, benefits deductions) — use your payroll provider (Gusto, ADP, Paychex) for those, not Claude
Instructions
What to give Claude
You need five things. All of them you should know off the top of your head or in under 5 minutes from your bank and QuickBooks:
- Current bank balance (checking account your payroll pulls from)
- Next payroll date and the exact payroll amount
- Open invoices: who owes you money, how much, and when you realistically expect each to arrive
- Recurring bills due in the next 30 days: rent, software subscriptions, vendor payments — amounts and due dates
- Any known irregular expenses coming up: equipment purchase, insurance renewal, tax payment
Step 1: Build the 30-day cash timeline
Tell Claude all five numbers. Ask:
"Build me a 30-day cash view starting today. Show the balance going up when invoices arrive and going down when bills and payroll hit. Show me the lowest point."
Claude produces a day-by-day cash picture and marks the tightest day:
"Day 11 is your low point — $3,800 in the bank before the Peterson invoice clears on day 13. Payroll on day 15 is $18,500. You have $2,200 of cushion if Peterson pays on time. If they are 3 days late, you have a $14,300 gap."
Step 2: Rank overdue invoices by urgency
If you have any invoices past due or at risk of delay, ask Claude to rank them. Say:
"I have three overdue invoices. Tell me the order I should chase them in and what I should say."
Claude ranks by dollar impact on the payroll gap, not just days overdue. A $9,000 invoice 5 days late matters more than a $400 invoice 45 days late if payroll is in 2 weeks.
Claude also drafts the outreach: a direct collection call script for your highest-priority invoice, and shorter email follow-ups for the rest.
Step 3: Generate the payroll checklist
Ask Claude: "What do I need to do before payroll runs on the 15th?"
Claude generates a checklist matched to your payroll provider (Gusto, ADP, Paychex, QuickBooks Payroll). Typical items:
- Confirm employee hours submitted and approved
- Verify new hire information is entered (if applicable)
- Confirm bank account on file has sufficient funds by the processing cutoff
- Submit payroll by the provider's deadline (usually 2 business days before pay date)
- Download the payroll summary for your records
Step 4: Handle a shortfall
If the timeline shows a gap, do not guess at solutions. Tell Claude exactly what the shortfall is and ask for options. Claude will suggest specific actions ranked by speed and cost:
- Which specific invoice to call on first and what to say to get it paid this week
- Which bills can be delayed without penalty (most vendors allow 5-7 days with a call)
- Whether a business line of credit draw makes sense for this specific gap and amount
- What discretionary spend to hold until after payroll clears
Claude will not tell you to "explore financing options" in the abstract — it will say "hold the $1,400 software renewal until the 16th and call Peterson today. That closes your gap."
Monthly cadence
Run this skill once a month, the first Monday after the prior month closes. Takes 10 minutes and eliminates cash surprises. Combine with the Month-End Close skill for the full picture.
Example
You say: "Payroll is $18,500 on the 15th. Bank balance today is $22,000. I have three invoices: $8,000 from Atlas Group due the 10th, $4,500 from Reyes Construction due the 20th, $6,000 from Johnson that is 30 days overdue and they have not responded. Bills this month: $2,200 rent on the 1st (already paid), $800 in software due the 8th, $1,100 insurance due the 18th."
Claude outputs:
Cash timeline:
- Today: $22,000
- Day 8: -$800 software → $21,200
- Day 10: +$8,000 Atlas Group → $29,200 (if on time)
- Day 15: -$18,500 payroll → $10,700
- Day 18: -$1,100 insurance → $9,600
- Day 20: +$4,500 Reyes → $14,100
Tightest point: Day 14, the day before payroll. If Atlas Group pays on time, you have $21,200 going into payroll — comfortable. If Atlas delays by 5+ days, you drop to $13,200 before payroll hits, which still clears but leaves $5,300 after payroll before any other income. Watch Atlas closely.
Johnson ($6,000 overdue): call today. Claude drafts a 3-sentence call script: "Hi, this is [name] from [company]. I'm calling about the $6,000 invoice from [date] that's 30 days past due. Can you confirm the status and give me a payment date I can put in my records?"
Payroll is safe as long as Atlas pays by the 13th. No shortfall risk today — but Johnson is the buffer. Collect Johnson before the 13th and you have $27,200 going into payroll.
