I posted five automations I run at the restaurants: labor checks, invoice audits, review replies. The questions since have mostly been one question: where do I start if I've never touched any of this?
This is where. Square One is a three-page checklist that takes you from a cold start — no account, no app, no idea what the words mean — to ready to build your first automation. Six checkboxes, about 30 minutes, most of it waiting on downloads.
What's in it
Setting up Claude on the right plan, with the actual costs
The desktop app, and why the working features live there
The entire vocabulary you need: four words
Connecting your email so the AI can see the paperwork your business already produces
Three first prompts that earn their keep, built for restaurant operators
A readiness gate: three yeses and square one is behind you
What comes after
The Restaurant Automation Playbook: a full walkthrough of building a review responder that drafts every reply in your voice and waits for your approval. It takes an afternoon, and it's built on the same seven steps I use for everything that runs in my operation. Coming to this list next.
All problems in restaurants can be solved. The paperwork ones are cheap.