Had a 45-minute Zoom call with a supplier? Paste the transcript into ChatGPT:
"Summarise this meeting transcript in bullet points. Include: key decisions made, action items (with who is responsible and deadlines), any pricing or numbers discussed, and any unresolved questions. Keep it under 200 words."
You get a clean summary in 10 seconds. Forward it to the team. Move on.
Need to choose between three accounting tools?
"Compare Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks for a NZ sole trader with 15-20 transactions per month, no payroll, and basic GST requirements. Focus on: monthly price in NZD, ease of use for a non-accountant, and GST filing support. Which is cheapest for a simple business?"
ChatGPT will give you a comparison. It won't be perfect — verify the pricing yourself — but it saves you 30 minutes of googling and gives you a starting point.
"I'm a cafe owner in Wellington considering offering gluten-free options. What are the main considerations? Include: kitchen cross-contamination risks, supplier options in NZ, labelling requirements under NZ food safety law, and whether it's likely to increase revenue. Be practical, not theoretical."
This gives you a starting point for a decision you'd otherwise spend an hour researching.
ChatGPT will confidently state things that aren't true. It might:
Rule: If ChatGPT states a specific number, statistic, or legal fact and you didn't provide it, verify it independently before using it.
ChatGPT doesn't know your customers, your prices, your margins, your history, or your actual data. If you need an answer that requires your business data, you have to provide it:
Bad: "How much should I charge for a wedding cake?"
Good: "I'm a baker in Auckland. My ingredient costs for a 3-tier wedding cake are about $180, it takes me 12 hours of labour, and I pay myself $30/hour. Overhead is $50 per cake. What should I charge to make a 40% margin? Show the math."
ChatGPT will get GST calculations wrong. It will confuse NZ tax law with Australian or US tax law. It will suggest deductions that don't exist in NZ. Never use ChatGPT for tax advice. Use a real accountant.
Key Takeaways
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