Example: a 6-person Leeds bookkeeping firm

Your setup guide: Copilot in Outlook for Aire Ledger

Steps checked against Microsoft’s and OpenAI’s official help pages on 18 October 2026. Menus can change; if a step looks different, follow the linked help article.

1. Sign in and choose your plan. The two people who send chasers sign in to Outlook with their usual work Microsoft 365 account, not a personal Microsoft account. Whether Copilot appears in Outlook depends on your Microsoft 365 plan and any Copilot add-on. Microsoft’s advice if you can’t see it is to check with whoever manages your Microsoft 365 account (Microsoft help). With a budget of about £100 a month for six people, don’t add Copilot for everyone on day one. Trial it with these two people first, and see current pricing before buying more. No Copilot in Outlook? Use the alternative, ChatGPT, on its free plan for the trial (step 2 covers the privacy setting).
2. Check the privacy position before any client email goes in. When you use Copilot with your work account, Microsoft says your prompts and responses are covered by its Data Protection Addendum, and that they aren’t used to train its foundation models (Microsoft: enterprise data protection). If you use ChatGPT instead, go to Settings → Data controls and turn off Improve the model for everyone (OpenAI help). OpenAI notes that rating a reply with thumbs up or down can still send that conversation for training, so skip the ratings.
3. Connect it to what you already use. You’re on Windows laptops and iPhones. Microsoft’s help article covers Copilot drafting in the new Outlook for Windows, classic Outlook, Outlook on the web and Outlook for iOS. In the new Outlook and on the web, Draft with Copilot doesn’t work with plain-text emails, so set Settings → Mail → Compose and reply to HTML. Copilot doesn’t need to connect to Xero for this. Take the list of missing items from Xero yourself, and only type in the item types, not the figures.
4. Save your three chaser prompts where the team can find them. Put them in one shared Word document or OneNote page called “Chaser prompts”: first reminder, second reminder (firmer) and final reminder. The prompt in step 5 is the first one. For the other two, change the tone line.
5. Your first run. In the new Outlook, select Home → New mail, then the Copilot icon in the toolbar, then Draft. Paste this prompt, fill in the brackets and select the Generate arrow (Microsoft help):

   Write a short, friendly but firm email to a bookkeeping client.
   We are Aire Ledger Bookkeeping. We need their records to prepare their
   [VAT return / year-end accounts].
   Still missing: [e.g. March bank statement; receipts for purchases over £50 in Q1].
   Please ask them to send these by [date]. Our own deadline is [date].
   Tone: warm, plain British English, no jargon. Under 120 words.
   End with one clear action: reply to this email with the documents attached.
   Don't mention penalties, fines or amounts, and don't add any dates or
   figures I haven't given you.
   Sign off as [your first name], Aire Ledger Bookkeeping.

6. Check the draft. Here’s what good looks like. The email is under about 120 words. It lists exactly the items you gave it, and both dates match yours. It ends with one clear action, and there are no penalty threats or figures you didn’t provide. If it’s too long or too stiff, use Copilot’s tone and length options or regenerate it. When you’re happy, select Keep it, then read it once more before you send. The person sending is responsible for every date in it.
7. Make it a habit. Do it every Monday morning, as part of your weekly chase list, with the same two people. Once the prompts are saved, each chaser should take about 2–5 minutes instead of writing from scratch ESTIMATE. Note the time for the first two weeks for your baseline (see the 30-day plan).
8. Common pitfalls.
   • Copilot icon missing: check the email is HTML, not plain text (step 3), then check your plan.
   • Made-up deadlines: AI tools sometimes add a “helpful” date or an HMRC penalty. The prompt tells it not to, but always check.
   • Too much client data in ChatGPT: if you use the ChatGPT alternative, use the bracket placeholders and paste the result into Outlook. Never paste bank details, UTRs or NI numbers.
   • Everyone writing their own prompts: one shared document keeps the tone consistent across the firm.

Your setup guide: Otter.ai for Aire Ledger’s Teams calls

Steps checked against Otter’s official help centre and privacy policy on 18 October 2026, and prices on 17 October 2026. Menus can change; if a step looks different, follow the linked help article.

1. Sign up and choose your plan. The person who runs the most client review calls creates a free Basic account at otter.ai, using their work Microsoft 365 email. Basic includes 300 transcription minutes a month (as listed on 17 Oct 2026). At about 8 calls a week you’ll use that up quickly, so treat Basic as a 1–2 week trial. If it works, move only the people who run client calls to Pro, at US$8.33 per user a month billed annually, or US$16.99 monthly (as listed on 17 Oct 2026; UK VAT may be added). For two or three people that sits well inside your budget of about £100 a month. Don’t buy seats for all six people. (Otter pricing)
2. Change these settings first (privacy). In Account Settings → Meetings, set Default-join settings to Meetings I manually select, so nothing is recorded by accident. On data location, Otter says it stores data on AWS in the US West region (Otter help). We found no UK storage option, so record this as an international transfer (see the GDPR notes). On model training, Otter’s privacy policy (effective 16 June 2026) says it shares data with data-labelling providers to create training data for its features. We couldn’t find a setting in its help centre to switch this off. Before recording client calls, email Otter to ask whether your recordings are excluded on the plan you choose. If the answer isn’t acceptable for client calls, use the trial on internal meetings only.
3. Connect it to Outlook and Teams. In Otter, open Apps in the left menu. Under Connect calendars & contacts, click Add next to Microsoft and allow access (Otter help). Otter syncs only your primary calendar, so shared or team calendars won’t appear (calendar help). If Microsoft asks for admin approval, whoever manages your Microsoft 365 account needs to grant Otter the calendar permissions. Otter recommends sorting that out before you connect. Next, complete Otter’s extra setup steps for Microsoft Teams, which are linked from its Notetaker overview. Your own Teams settings must also allow guests. The notetaker joins Teams calls as a guest. That means a meeting that makes guests sign in will block it, and if the meeting uses a lobby, someone has to admit it (troubleshooting).
4. Tell clients before you record. The notetaker shows in the call as “[Your name]’s Notetaker (Otter.ai)”, and it can’t join invisibly (Notetaker overview). Add the line from the template below to your Teams invites, and say it again at the start of the call.
5. Your first run. Use an internal team meeting first. On your Otter home page, switch the toggle on for that meeting (managing events). Make calendar changes at least 30 minutes before the meeting so they sync. Afterwards, copy Otter’s summary into this file-note template:

   INVITE LINE (paste into the Teams invite):
   This call will be transcribed by Otter.ai so we can keep accurate notes.
   Reply to this email if you'd rather it wasn't, and we'll take notes by hand.
   
   CLIENT FILE NOTE: [Client name], review call [date]
   Attendees: [names]
   Notes taken with: Otter.ai, checked by [your initials]
   Summary (3-5 bullet points, in plain English):
   - ...
   Decisions:
   - ...
   Actions (owner + due date for every action):
   - [Who] to [do what] by [date]
   Anything to check before filing: [figures, dates, names]
   Recording deleted on: [date]

6. Check the summary. Here’s what good looks like. Every action has an owner and a date. Names, company names and any figures match what was said. Nothing is attributed to the wrong person. For your first three client calls, compare Otter’s summary with your own quick notes. If it keeps getting names or jargon wrong, add them to Otter’s vocabulary if your plan offers one. Treat the summary as a first draft, not the record.
7. Make it a habit. The person who ran the call files the note the same day, straight after the call. Checking and filing should take about 5–10 minutes instead of 20–30 ESTIMATE. On Friday afternoons, delete recordings you no longer need once the notes are filed (see the GDPR notes on retention).
8. Common pitfalls.
   • Auto-join on everything: this would also catch HR or personal conversations. Keep Meetings I manually select.
   • Client Teams settings block the bot: if a client’s meeting requires sign-in, take notes by hand or use Otter’s desktop app for recording without a bot (Notetaker overview). Still ask the client first.
   • Personal accounts: if staff sign up individually, the notes live in their accounts. Use one work account per person, and agree a retention period.
   • Calendar changes too late: changes made less than 30 minutes before a call may not sync in time.
9. More detail: our guide How to take AI meeting notes.