GEN METRICSH2B · Session 1

H2B Consulting · Session 1 · Mon 16 Nov 2026

Build your Tuesday check

Today Jess builds it, in H2B’s own Claude account. I’ll explain each idea, then Jess does it on her screen.

By 11:30 you’ll have

  1. Your project, set up by you
  2. One real week checked
  3. Three fixes you made yourself

    Six ideas · Five labs · What happens next

    Principles · 12 minutes

    Six ideas

    Principle 1 of 6

    Claude only knows what you give it

    Context is everything. Ask a blank chat whether Marcus’s week is right and it can only guess. It has never seen your roster.

    Principle 2 of 6

    A Project is three things

    Instructions: how you want the job done. Reference files: what it needs to know. Chats: one per run. The first two stay. Chats come and go.

    • Instructions
    • Reference files
    • Chats

    Principle 3 of 6

    Write down what you check by eye

    Rules beat memory. You already check every timesheet the same way. Written down, Claude checks it the same way every Tuesday.

    Principle 4 of 6

    Show an example

    One example of a layout teaches more than a page of explanation. That’s why the invoice summary layout is a real, blank sheet, not a description.

    Principle 5 of 6

    Claude flags, you decide

    Drafts only. Nothing sends or saves itself. PTO, sick and holiday are listed for payroll, never applied. You copy, you send, you save.

    Principle 6 of 6

    Fix the file, not the chat

    When it gets something wrong, a fix in the chat is forgotten next week. A fix in the instructions or a reference file sticks.

    Lab 1 · 8 minutes

    Create the project and paste the instructions

    Lab 1 · Your turn

    Create the project

    The kit is today’s folder of files: Instructions.md and the six reference files.

    1. Open claude.ai and click Projects.

    2. Click New project.

    3. Name it: H2B timesheet check

    4. Open the project instructions box (on the project page, next to Instructions).

    5. Open Instructions.md from the kit, copy all of it, paste it in, save.

    The project name

    H2B timesheet check

    Button names on your screen may differ slightly.

    Lab 1 · What you should see

    Your rules, in plain English

    Let’s read them together. Every line is something Jess already does.

    Lab 1 · What just happened

    You wrote down how you check

    The instructions are the first of the three parts of a Project. They’re your checks, written down, so they run the same way every Tuesday.

    • P2A Project is three things
    • P3Write down what you check by eye

    Lab 2 · 7 minutes

    Add the six reference files

    Lab 2 · Your turn

    Add the six reference files

    1. On the project page, find the files panel and click + to add files.

    2. Add these six from the kit: Roster.xlsx, Client holidays.xlsx, Pay calendar.xlsx, Reminder wording.md, Layout notes.md, Invoice summary layout.xlsx

    3. Wait until all six show in the project.

    4. Start a new chat in the project and type:

    Type exactly

    Before we start: which reference files can you see, and what is each one for?

    Button names on your screen may differ slightly.

    Lab 2 · What you should see

    It names all six, and what each is for

    If one is missing from the list, it isn’t in the project. Add it and ask again.

    Lab 2 · What just happened

    You gave it the context

    The roster, the holidays, the pay calendar, your wording, the layouts. Without these it could only guess. With them it checks.

    • P1Claude only knows what you give it
    • P4Show an example

    Lab 3 · 20 minutes

    Run a real week

    Lab 3 · Your turn

    Run a real week

    1. Start a new chat in the project.

    2. Drop in the eight example timesheets you saved in Box for the week ending Sat 10/31 (drag them onto the chat box, or click + and upload).

    3. Type:

    4. Before you read the answer: what would you query?

    Type exactly

    Tuesday check for the week ending Sat 10/31, please.

    Lab 3 · What you should see

    Who’s in, what needs a look, who’s missingThen the drafts, and a file to save

    Your answer will have different names and numbers. The shape should look like this.

    Download Check w-e 10-31.xlsx from the chat and save it in Box. You’ll use it in Lab 5.

    Lab 3 · What just happened

    Your checks ran on a real week

    The rules you read in Lab 1 just ran on the eight example timesheets. It flagged, it drafted, it listed. You decide what happens next.

    • P3Write down what you check by eye
    • P5Claude flags, you decide

    When it goes wrong

    Four things that happen, and what to do

    1. Wrong project

      Check the project name above the chat box. If it isn’t there, open H2B timesheet check and start the chat again.

    2. A file didn’t upload

      Ask: which reference files can you see? Add the missing one, or drop the timesheet in again.

    3. It can’t make the Excel file

      Debi turns on code execution and file creation in the settings. Then ask again.

    4. The answer looks odd

      Ask: which files did you read? Then fix the file it misread.

    The question I’d always ask first

    Which files did you read?

    Lab 4 · 15 minutes

    Teach it by correcting it

    Lab 4 · Your turn

    Three fixes, three places

    Roster

    1. Open Roster.xlsx from the kit.

    2. Add the other name or address to that person’s row. Save.

    3. In the project files, remove the old Roster.xlsx (the × or bin on the file) and add the new one.

    4. New chat, same eight timesheets, same prompt. The flag should be gone.

    Same prompt as Lab 3

    Tuesday check for the week ending Sat 10/31, please.

    Instructions

    1. Open the project instructions (on the project page, next to Instructions).

    2. Add one line in plain English. Save.

    3. In the same chat, ask a question that tests it:

    “Bereavement leave goes under its own heading in For payroll, not under sick.”

    Suggested, or ask it your way

    If a timesheet says bereavement on a day, where would you list it?

    Reminder wording

    1. Open Reminder wording.md and change one phrase. Save.

    2. In the project files, remove the old one (the × or bin on the file) and add the new one.

    3. Ask for one draft again:

    Suggested, or ask it your way

    Please write the reminder again, using the new Reminder wording.

    Lab 4 · What you should see

    Each fix shows up straight away

    Lab 4 · What just happened

    You taught it, and it sticks

    Fix the file, not the chat. A new name is one row. A new rule is one line. New wording is one phrase.

    • P6Fix the file, not the chat

    Lab 5 · 12 minutes

    The summary pass

    Lab 5 · Your turn

    The summary pass

    1. Start a new chat in the project.

    2. Drop in the check file you saved in Lab 3: Check w-e 10-31.xlsx

    3. Type:

    4. Open your own October invoice summaries for the same two people in Box, side by side.

    Type exactly

    Summary pass for October for the first two people in the check file, please.

    Lab 5 · What you should see

    A draft in your layout, to check

    Compare it with your own summary, line by line, for the week it has.

    Lab 5 · What just happened

    Weekly checks become the month

    Each Tuesday’s check file adds up to the month. The summary pass drafts it in your layout. You check it and save it to Box, like today.

    • P4Show an example
    • P5Claude flags, you decide

    Next steps · 8 minutes

    What happens next

    Six ideas to keep

    The Tuesday check, in six lines

    1. P1

      Claude only knows what you give it. Context is everything.

    2. P2

      A Project is three things: instructions, reference files, and chats.

    3. P3

      Write down what you check by eye. Rules beat memory.

    4. P4

      Show an example. One example of a layout teaches more than a page of explanation.

    5. P5

      Claude flags, you decide. Drafts only, nothing sends or saves itself.

    6. P6

      When it gets something wrong, fix the file, not the chat. A fix in the chat is forgotten; a fix in the instructions or a reference file sticks.

    H2B timesheet check · Session 1 · 16 Nov 2026

    Take a screenshot

    What happens next

    Side by side, then it’s yours

    1. From Tue 17 Nov: Jess runs the Tuesday check alongside her usual routine.

    2. Side by side through the Fri 11 Dec pay run.

    3. Jess relies on it only once it matches her own numbers.

    4. Session 2, mid December: we go through the differences and tune it.

    Later, one step at a time. Each needs an admin approval.

    1. Google Sheets read directly
    2. Box
    3. Outlook
    4. Then a Tuesday schedule

    Questions in between: ask me. Settings and approvals: Debi.

    Close · 5 minutes

    Questions

    Thank you, Jess, Debi and Jen

    Questions, now or any time.

    Every person, client and number in the examples on this page is made up.