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