AI for Small Business (book): free prompts, checklist and resources

Name: AI for Small Business (working title; Spanish edition: IA para pymes)
Author: Jose Antonio Parra

The book

What it is and who it is for

"IA para pymes" is the working title of a book by Jose Antonio Parra, with Softnet Sistemas and AIPROCESSIA. It is being written and is forthcoming: there is no release date or price yet, and the chapters are drafts. The first edition is in Spanish; an English edition, written natively rather than translated, is planned once the Spanish book has been revised.

Who it is for

Owners and general managers of small businesses of 5 to 50 people, with no technical background. You do not need to code or know IT.

What it promises

Use AI to save hours and avoid costly mistakes, safely and within the law, without being technical.

How it is written

17 chapters and 5 appendices. Every chapter follows the same pattern: the case, the idea, how it is done, the costly mistake, try this, summary and sources.

By Jose Antonio Parra, with Softnet Sistemas (since 1996) and AIPROCESSIA. Client cases are told without names.

Contents

What is inside

Four parts and five appendices. This is the structure of the current draft; titles may change before the final edition.

Part I

What is already happening

Chapter 1. Your team is already using AI, whether you know it or not
Chapter 2. What it is and what it is not: why it sounds so sure and why it makes things up

Part II

Using it well: what each person does

Chapter 3. Asking well: the five-part method
Chapter 4. Documents: summarize, extract and compare
Chapter 5. Checking before you trust
Chapter 6. What never goes into a chat

Part III

AI in every department

Chapter 7. Administration: invoices, spreadsheets and contracts
Chapter 8. Operations and the job site: reports, bid comparisons and suppliers
Chapter 9. Estimating and sales: tender documents, proposals and bids
Chapter 10. Assistants and agents that answer and coordinate for you
Chapter 11. Ask your data: the ERP that answers back

Part IV

Directing AI: what the owner decides

Chapter 12. Choosing a tool and a plan without overpaying
Chapter 13. A usage policy and someone responsible
Chapter 14. What the law says (EU AI Act, data protection, labor law)
Chapter 15. Cybersecurity when scammers use AI too
Chapter 16. Measuring return: baselines and pilots
Chapter 17. When not to use AI, and where to start on Monday

Appendices

A. Ready-to-copy prompts
B. Usage policy template
C. Checklist before you trust an answer
D. Glossary
E. Sources

Appendix	On this page	In the file pack
A. Prompts	6 of the 14 prompts, with a copy button	All 14, as a PDF and as an editable Word file
B. Usage policy	Has its own page (free template)	Requested on its own page, with its own download
C. Checklist	In full	As a PDF, ready to print (one sheet)
D. Glossary	A selection of 21 terms	Complete, in the book
E. Sources	The sources, with links	—

Appendix A

Ready-to-copy prompts

Every prompt has the five parts of the book's method: role, task, context, format and limits. Paste them into Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or whichever assistant you use. The examples were written around Spanish businesses and adapted here for English readers.

All names, companies and data are made up. Replace what is in square brackets and the sample details with your own.
Paste only what is allowed to leave your company. For customer or personal data, use a company account and anonymized data; never paste passwords, full banking details or health data.
What comes back is a draft. Check it with the checklist below. You are the one who sends or signs it.

Writing an email

Chasing a late delivery

Chapter 3

RoleI'm Maria Ibanez, purchasing manager at Example Builders LLC, a 30-person construction company.

TaskWrite an email to our supplier Sample Concrete Inc. about the late delivery of the concrete for the slab.

ContextThe delivery note is no. 452. The delivery was due on Monday, November 2 and arrived on Saturday, November 7, five days late. We have worked with them for two years and this is the first time they have let us down. The delay forced us to stand the crew down for two days. I need written confirmation of the date of the next delivery before Wednesday.

FormatSubject line and body, about 120 words, three short paragraphs, signed by me.

LimitsFirm but friendly; do not threaten penalties; do not invent dates, amounts or facts that are not in this request. If something is missing, ask me before you write.

Summarizing and extracting from a document

Summarizing a contract for the person who will carry it out

Chapter 4

RoleI'm a partner at Example Advisory LLP, a 12-person accounting and advisory firm.

TaskSummarize the attached contract for the team director who will carry it out.

ContextIt is a fictional services contract with a client. The director will read it before Monday's meeting and needs to know what the deadlines are, what we must deliver before we start, and what the risks are for us.

FormatOne page at most, in three sections: deadlines, obligations and risks. Give the clause number each point comes from.

LimitsDo not invent anything; if something is not in the contract, write "not stated". Do not interpret clauses or give a legal opinion.

Then open the original and check three clauses.

Turning three quotes into a table

Chapter 4

RoleI'm the purchasing manager at a packaging factory.

TaskExtract the data from the three attached quotes.

ContextThey are quotes from three different suppliers for the same cardboard order. I want to compare them in a spreadsheet.

FormatA table with one row per quote and these columns: supplier, quote date, price before tax, payment terms, delivery time, quote validity and source document.

LimitsCopy what each document says, without correcting or calculating anything. If a detail is not stated, write "not stated" in that cell; do not leave it empty or guess it.

Spreadsheets and questions beforehand

A formula to spot overdue invoices

Chapter 7

I have a sheet with these columns (A: customer, B: invoice number, C: issue date, D: payment term in days, E: amount, F: payment date, empty if not paid). Give me the formula for column G that tells me whether an invoice is overdue and unpaid, for [Excel or the spreadsheet program you use], and explain what each part does. It should also work when I add rows.

Test the formula with five sample rows whose answer you write down first.

Have the assistant ask first

Chapter 3

Before you write anything, ask me the questions you need. One at a time.

Add it at the end of any request when you don't know what context to give.

Make it say where each fact comes from

Chapter 5

For each fact, tell me which page or paragraph says it. If it isn't there, write "not stated".

It only works on a document you have given it.

There are 8 more prompts (invoices in a PDF, comparing contracts, site reports, tender documents and proposals…). They are in the file pack below. ↓

Appendix C

Checklist before you trust an answer

One page to keep at hand. An AI assistant sounds exactly the same when it is right and when it is wrong: tone is no signal.

1. Before you ask: what data are you about to paste?

Fine: anything public, and anything that does not identify anyone.
With care: a company account and anonymized data, unless there is a written contract with the provider.
Never: keys and passwords, full banking details, and health or other special-category data about identifiable people. No exceptions.
If you have already pasted something you should not have: stop, write down what and where, change the password if it was one, tell whoever is responsible for data protection, and say so without fear.

2. When the answer arrives: the color of the task

Green: writing or rewording a text that you will read before using it. Read it like a colleague's draft.
Amber: summarizing, extracting or comparing documents. Cross-check it against the original.
Red: figures, calculations, rules, deadlines and quotations. Check them against another source. Red does not mean "forbidden".
If you are unsure of the color, treat it as amber. If you wince at what a wrong answer would cost, go up a color. Your company's numbers come from your management software, not from the assistant's arithmetic.

3. The six checks

Source. Did I open it myself? A source that only the assistant cites does not count.
Figures. Did I recalculate them outside the AI? Compare with a number you already know, look at one row in the original, ask for the total another way, and distrust what is blank or too round.
Dates. Are they correct and still current?
Names. Do they exist and are they spelled right? That a study exists does not prove it says what the assistant claims: open it.
Rules. Does the rule exist and is it the one in force? Look at the official source and read the article.
Common sense. Does it fit what I know about my work? An absolute claim ("the only", "always", "none") is disproved by a single example: go and find it.
If you only remember three: source, figures and rules.

4. Before it goes out

What happens if this goes wrong? The more the mistake costs, the more checking.
If it leaves the company or decides money, a second person looks at it.
Whoever signs is responsible.
What you could not check is pending, not correct.

5. What does not count as a check

Asking the same assistant "are you sure?"
The citation or link the AI gives you: it is a lead to go and look at, not proof.
Two tools agreeing: they can be wrong at the same time. Cross-review is optional, comes after checking each fact, and the source decides.

Appendix D

Glossary (selection)

Each term, in the same words the book uses.

agent: An assistant that also acts: it sends, looks things up, runs tasks.
AI literacy: Training for the staff who use AI. Article 4 of the EU AI Act asks companies to take measures to support it, without guaranteeing any particular level for anyone.
high risk (Annex III): An AI system that, because of what it decides about people (for example, selecting or assessing staff), falls within an area listed in Annex III of the EU AI Act. It does not depend on how powerful the system is.
anonymize: Remove everything that could identify someone, with no way back.
AI assistant: A chat-style tool that answers you (ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Gemini).
knowledge base: The company documents an assistant draws its answers from.
two-factor authentication: Two-step verification: besides the password, a second proof, such as a code on your phone.
made-up answer: When the AI produces something false that looks true (often called a hallucination).
baseline: The measurement you take before a pilot starts.
"not stated": What the assistant should write when a fact is not in the document.
prompt: What you type to the assistant.
phishing: A deceptive message meant to make you do something: pay, give away a password or open a file.
pilot: A small, measured trial.
prompt template: A saved prompt with blanks in square brackets.
usage policy: An internal document on how AI is used in the company.
ransomware: Software that encrypts a company's files, including connected backups, and demands a ransom to give them back.
EU AI Act: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744.
deployer: The company that uses an AI system (the Act's term); not the same as the company's own AI lead.
pseudonymize: Replace identifiers with codes and a lookup table; under the GDPR the data are still personal data.
read-only: Permission to read without being able to write or delete.
deepfake: Image, audio or video generated or manipulated with AI that looks real, to impersonate someone.

Free download

Get the file pack

We email you a personal download link. When you confirm it, you download a zip with all 14 prompts as a PDF and as an editable Word file, plus the checklist as a PDF, in English and Spanish.

Information about your data

Controller: Softnet Sistemas SL, tax ID B53330437, Av. del Euro, nave 32, 03114 Alicante (Spain). Contact: info@aiprocessia.com.
Purpose: To send you the download link and the files (performance of what you request). If you tick the second box, also to send you marketing emails (your consent, which you can withdraw at any time).
Retention: Your email address until you ask for it to be erased or you unsubscribe; if you never confirm the link, it is deleted.
Recipients: Hosting and email-delivery providers acting as processors.
Rights: Access, rectification, erasure, objection, restriction and portability by writing to info@aiprocessia.com, and the right to complain to the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD).

While the book is on its way

What is already published

Three things you can use today, along the same lines as the book.

AI literacy: free video, quiz and certificate

So your team knows what it is handling. A certificate of completion, not an official qualification.

See the certificate →

AI use policy in one page

The free template to set what can be done with AI in your company.

See the template →

The EU AI Act and the automations it affects

A blog article on what already applies to a small business.

Read the article →

Frequently asked questions

What people usually ask

When will the book come out?

It is forthcoming. There is no release date or price yet; we will announce them here once they exist. "AI for Small Business" is the working title for the English edition, which is planned after the Spanish book, "IA para pymes", has been revised. The chapters are still drafts.

Who is the book for?

For the owner or general manager of a small business of 5 to 50 people, with no technical background, who wants to use AI to save hours and avoid costly mistakes, safely and within the law. The first edition is written in Spanish for Spanish and EU readers.

Can I use the prompts and the checklist now, without waiting for the book?

Yes. They are on this page, free to use, and work with Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or whichever assistant you use. All names and data in the examples are made up: replace what is in square brackets with your own details.

What do I get when I ask for the files?

An email with a personal link to confirm your address. Once you confirm it, you download a zip with all 14 prompts as a PDF and as an editable Word file, plus the printable checklist as a PDF, in English and Spanish. The AI use policy template has its own page, with its own download.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is educational material for small businesses: the templates are guidance and do not by themselves guarantee compliance with any rule. For your own case, talk to your adviser.

Updated November 10, 2026 · José A. Parra