“How much can I take out this month without getting caught short?”
Most owners look at the balance, guess, and leave “something for the direct debits”.
For UK sole traders and limited company directors
Your bank balance is lying to you.
Some of that money is VAT. Some is tax you haven't paid yet. Some is next month's bills. Can I Afford It? turns ChatGPT or Claude into your own UK Finance Director, so you can see what's actually yours and get a straight answer before you pay yourself, buy the van or hire.
GOGO WITH CONDITIONSNOT YET
£27 inc. VAT · 30-day money-back guarantee · Works with the free versions of ChatGPT and Claude
Business account£23,480
- VAT collected, not yet paid−£4,200
- Corporation tax building up−£6,100
- PAYE and pension due on the 22nd−£1,300
- Bills due in the next 30 days−£3,900
- Safety buffer (1 month of fixed costs)−£4,500
- Yours to decide with£3,480
Sound familiar?
The money questions nobody answers for you on a Tuesday afternoon
Your accountant looks back at last year. These decisions happen this week.
“Why is my tax bill nearly double what I expected?”
Payments on account catch people out every year. Know the number months before HMRC tells you.
“Can I actually afford to take someone on?”
A £30,000 hire costs around £34,500 once employer NI and pension are added. Then there's kit, recruitment and holiday cover.
“Van, kit, new laptop: cash or finance?”
Tax relief lowers your bill later. It doesn't put cash back in your account on the day you pay.
“The company has £20k in the bank. Can I take a dividend?”
Only from profits after tax, and a bank balance isn't profit. Getting this wrong can leave you owing the money back.
“Am I about to run short?”
See the lowest point in the next 13 weeks, and which week it hits, while you still have time to act.
How it works
Set it up once. Then ask whenever a decision comes up.
Set up your Finance Director once
Paste the Master Prompt into a ChatGPT or Claude project and add the UK Rules Card for 2026/27. The step-by-step guide covers both, including the privacy settings to switch on first.
Add your numbers
Download a bank statement CSV from Starling, Tide, Monzo, Revolut or your high-street bank, or export a few reports from Xero or QuickBooks. You can also type rough figures in.
Ask the question
Pick the prompt that matches your decision. You get a verdict, the number, the workings, and a clear flag when it's something to check with your accountant first.
What an answer looks like
No “it depends”. A verdict, the number, and the workings.
Here's the format every decision comes back in. This one is from the hiring module.
You paste
Can I afford to hire a full-time [role] on £28,000 from [1 November]? I've uploaded 3 months of bank statements. Work out the true yearly cost, the extra sales I'd need each month to cover it, and whether I can keep paying them for 6 months if those sales are slow.
Your AI Finance Director checks first
Statement read: 1 Jun – 31 Aug, 214 transactions. Opening £18,240 + in £61,380 − out £56,130 = closing £23,490. Difference £0.00 ✓
🟠 GO WITH CONDITIONS
You can afford this hire once your £6,100 corporation tax is paid in January, if you can win about £3,400 more sales a month.
- Ongoing cost is about £28,650 a year, plus £3,700 for kit and recruitment in year one. That's because Employment Allowance covers the employer NI once you have a second employee.
- At your 70% gross margin, you need about £3,400 more sales each month to cover the ongoing cost.
- Your Real Balance would cover 4 months if the new sales are slow. Your buffer target is 6.
| Salary | £28,000 |
| Employer NI (15% above £5,000) | £3,450 |
| Employment Allowance (you'll no longer be a one-director payroll) | −£3,450 |
| Employer pension (3% of £6,240–£28,000) | £653 |
| Kit, software, recruitment (your estimate) | £3,700 |
| First-year cost | £32,353 |
Red flag: this is your first employee. Get payroll, the workplace pension and the Employment Allowance claim set up with your accountant before they start.
Information, not advice. Check big decisions with your accountant.
Illustrative example with made-up figures. Your answers depend on your own numbers.
What's inside
Every “can I afford it?” decision, in one pack
60+ tested prompts written by a UK accountancy practice, organised by the decision you're making.
- StartSet up your AI Finance DirectorChatGPT and Claude set-up, privacy settings, and how to get your numbers out of your bank or Xero/QuickBooks.
- 1What's actually mine?Your Real Balance after VAT, tax, payroll, bills and a safety buffer.
- 2Can I pay myself?Sole trader drawings. Salary and dividends for directors, checked against profits.
- 3Can I buy this?Cash, finance or lease, tax relief timing, and whether it pays for itself.
- 4Can I afford to hire?True cost, the extra sales you need, and how long you can carry them.
- 5Am I about to run short?A 13-week cash look-ahead built from your bank statement.
- 6What should I set aside?Monthly tax and VAT pots, and your January bill worked out early.
- 7Quick answers and decision memos60-second checks, and one-page memos for a partner, co-director or bank.
Master PromptUK Rules Card 2026/27Business Profile templateSafe Upload checklistRed flags on every prompt
Built for how you're set up
Sole trader or limited company, the rules are different
So the prompts are too. Pick yours.
- How much you can safely draw this month, after tax on your profit so far
- Your January bill worked out early, payments on account included
- A monthly tax-pot percentage that copes with up and down months
- VAT sitting in your account (standard or Flat Rate Scheme)
- Making Tax Digital quarterly dates if you're over the threshold
- Van, tools and equipment: cash basis tax relief explained with your numbers
- Salary plus dividends, capped at the lower of your cash and your distributable profits
- 2026/27 director salary: £12,570 vs £6,708 vs £5,000, and whether Employment Allowance applies
- Dividend tax at the new 10.75% and 35.75% rates, set aside on the personal side
- Director's loan account check before it becomes a 35.75% tax charge
- Corporation tax building up, including the £50k–£250k marginal band
- Hiring costs with employer NI at 15% above £5,000
Why not just ask ChatGPT?
You can. It just doesn't know what an accountant knows.
Asking ChatGPT on its own
- Often uses old tax rates. Dividend tax and employer NI both changed recently.
- Treats your bank balance as spendable, VAT and all
- Suggests a dividend without checking your profits
- Does sums in its head and misreads PDF statements
- Never tells you when to stop and call your accountant
With your AI Finance Director
- Uses the 2026/27 UK Rules Card we check and update
- Starts every answer from your Real Balance
- Caps dividends at the lower of cash and distributable profits
- Reconciles your statement to the penny before answering
- Flags the decisions that need a professional, every time
“I see the same money mistakes every January. The balance looked healthy, then VAT, tax and payments on account wiped it out. I built this so you can ask those questions before they cost you.”
Lewis Smith, founder of Kodiak Financial, an accountancy practice in Leeds looking after around 300 UK sole traders and limited companies.
Get instant access
Your own Finance Director for less than a takeaway
One payment. Log straight in, get a quick answer in minutes with the fast-start prompt, and do the full set-up in one sitting.
- 60+ prompts across 8 modules, sole trader and limited company versions
- The Master Prompt, UK Rules Card 2026/27 and Business Profile template
- Step-by-step set-up for ChatGPT and Claude, privacy first
- Red flags on every prompt, so you know when to call your accountant
- Rules Card updates for the 2026/27 tax year
Not ready yet?
Start with the free 5-minute Real Balance check
One prompt from the pack, free. Paste it into ChatGPT or Claude with your bank balance and bills, and see what's actually yours today.
Questions
Before you buy
I already have an accountant. Why do I need this?
Keep them. Your accountant does your accounts and returns, usually after the year has ended. This helps with day-to-day decisions, like whether to buy the van this week. When a question needs a professional, it tells you, so you go to your accountant with better questions.
Doesn't AI get tax wrong?
It can if you just ask it. That's why the Master Prompt loads the 2026/27 UK figures, makes the AI reconcile your statement and show its workings, and makes it flag anything that needs checking. Use it to make decisions, not to file tax returns. AI can still make mistakes, so check key figures before you act.
Is it safe to upload my bank statements?
You use your own ChatGPT or Claude account, so we never see your data. Before your first upload, the set-up guide shows you how to switch off “use my data for training”, how to remove account numbers, and when to use a temporary or incognito chat. You can also type in rough figures instead of uploading anything.
I'm not techy. Will I manage?
If you can copy and paste, yes. Each prompt has a Copy button. You paste it into ChatGPT or Claude and fill in the bits in [square brackets].
Do I need to pay for ChatGPT or Claude?
No. The free versions work. The free ChatGPT plan limits you to a few file uploads a day, so the guide shows you how to combine statements into one file. Paid plans handle more uploads and bigger files.
I don't use Xero or QuickBooks, just a banking app.
That's fine. Most prompts work from a bank statement download (CSV is best), or from figures you type in.
Is this financial advice?
No. It's general information that helps you understand your own numbers. Buying it doesn't make you a Kodiak Financial client. For advice on your own situation, speak to a qualified accountant, and the prompts tell you when.
What if it's not for me?
Email us within 30 days and we'll refund you in full, no questions asked. Your access is removed when the refund is processed.
Stop running your business on gut feel and your bank app.
Find out what's actually yours today, and get a straight answer to the next “can I afford it?”
Get instant access · £27