# Limit what staff and bots can see in your books

> Researched. Small business · Intermediate · Invoicing & money. Updated 2026-11-02.

Canonical page: https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/limit-what-staff-and-bots-can-see-in-your-books/

## What it does
Set each person's and each AI connection's access to your books to the minimum the job needs, keep HR and payroll data out of shared bots, and review it monthly.

## Who it's for
Owners with a bookkeeper, staff or AI tools connected to their accounting, who want HR and pay data kept private.

## Tools
- QuickBooks Online user settings
- A list of everyone and everything with access
- ChatGPT or Claude to draft the access plan

## Steps
1. List every person, app and AI connection that can see your books, and what each actually needs to do.
2. Run the prompt below to get a minimum-access plan.
3. Set roles in QuickBooks. Intuit lists admin, standard, limited and reports-only roles, with custom roles in QuickBooks Online Advanced.
4. Keep payroll, HR and personnel files out of shared AI projects and team bot workspaces.
5. Connect AI tools under your own account, not a shared login, so you can disconnect them in one place.
6. Review the list monthly and remove anyone who left or no longer needs access.

## Copy-paste prompt
Adapt bracketed fields to your situation.
```text
Help me plan minimum access to my books. Use only my list.

People, apps and AI connections, and what each needs to do: [LIST]
My accounting plan: [e.g. QuickBooks Online Plus]
Sensitive data I want restricted: [e.g. payroll, employee files, owner draws]

For each, recommend the smallest access that does the job and one line why. Flag anyone who has more access than their job needs. Flag anything sensitive that should never go into a shared AI workspace.
```

## Guardrails
- What it touches: Chat input you provide (QuickBooks Online user settings; A list of everyone and everything with access).
- Needs your OK: Send, pay, publish, and account changes stay with you. Treat agent output as drafts first.
- Safety level: Read-only
- Giving everyone admin because it is easier.
- Former staff still listed as users.
- Uploading payroll exports into a team AI project.

## Tips
- Reports-only access covers most people who just need numbers.
- A shared login makes it impossible to tell who did what.
- Payroll is the data people most regret sharing widely.

## Estimates (labeled, not measured)
- Time saved: About 30 minutes to set up.
- Money saved: Not stated in sources.
- Tool cost: Custom roles need QuickBooks Online Advanced. Prices: Not stated in sources.

## Sources
Summaries use the public sources below, not independent verification.
- Intuit: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/set-up-users/user-types-in-quickbooks-online/01/186238 (User roles and access rights in QuickBooks Online: admin, standard and limited roles; reports-only and time-tracking roles; custom roles in QuickBooks Online Advanced (read 2026-11-02 from a search result summary of the page))
- Anthropic: https://privacy.claude.com/en/articles/12109829-how-do-i-change-my-model-improvement-privacy-settings (Change model improvement privacy settings: after turning it off, new chats and coding sessions are not used for future model training (read 2026-11-02 from a search result excerpt of the page))

## Get the free starter pack
Five beginner copy-paste AI setups, free by email: https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/starter-pack/?utm_source=ai-agent&utm_medium=markdown&utm_campaign=setup-limit-what-staff-and-bots-can-see-in-your-books

Related:
- [Connect ChatGPT to QuickBooks](https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/connect-chatgpt-to-quickbooks/index.md)
- [Keep finances private when using AI for books](https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/keep-finances-private-when-using-ai-for-bookkeeping/index.md)
- [Set guardrails before an AI agent gets access](https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/set-guardrails-before-giving-an-ai-agent-access/index.md)