Guides · Updated 2026-10-17
ChatGPT prompts for small business UK: 27 to copy
These ChatGPT prompts for small business in the UK are built around UK rules: VAT and invoice wording, HMRC letters and scam checks, UK GDPR data requests, consumer refunds, late payment interest, employment paperwork and marketing consent. Each rule mentioned links to GOV.UK or the ICO, checked on 17 October 2026. Fill in the [brackets], press Copy prompt, paste into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, and check the draft before you use it.
AI tools are not tax or legal advisers. Use them to draft and explain, then check anything that matters against the source or with your accountant. Remove names, addresses, UTRs, National Insurance numbers and bank details before you paste anything in.
For everyday admin (emails, rotas, policies), see ChatGPT for small business admin. For trades, see ChatGPT prompts for tradesmen. Every prompt in our library also has its own page in the prompt library.
Jump to: VAT and invoices · HMRC letters and tax · GDPR and data requests · Customers, refunds and complaints · Staff · Marketing within the rules.
VAT and invoices
GOV.UK lists what every invoice must include, such as a unique number, your business and customer details, a description, the supply date and the total (GOV.UK). If you're VAT registered, invoices must also show your VAT number and the VAT separately; the standard rate is currently 20% and the reduced rate 5% (GOV.UK).
1. Check an invoice has everything it needs
Check this invoice against GOV.UK's list of what an invoice must include: a unique identification number, my business name, address and contact details, the customer's name and address, a clear description, the supply date, the invoice date, the amounts, VAT if applicable and the total owed. [Paste invoice text, with bank details removed.] List anything missing. Don't invent rules beyond that list.
2. Explain VAT on a quote to a customer
Write a short, plain-English line for my quotes explaining VAT to customers: my prices are [including / excluding] VAT at [20%%/5%%], with the VAT shown separately on the invoice, and my VAT number is [number]. Under 60 words, British spelling.
3. Reply to "can you do it without VAT for cash?"
A customer has asked if I'll knock off the VAT if they pay cash. Write a short, polite reply saying no: as a VAT-registered business I have to charge VAT on the work, and I'm happy to [offer: a simpler spec, a payment plan] instead. Friendly, not preachy, British spelling, under 80 words.
4. Tell customers you've registered for VAT
Write a short email to regular customers explaining that my business has registered for VAT from [date], so prices will [include VAT at 20%% from that date / change as follows: list]. Thank them, and say quotes already sent will be [honoured / updated]. British spelling, under 150 words.
Not sure whether you need to register? See should I register for VAT? and the VAT threshold checker.
5. Credit note for a refund or mistake
Write the wording for a credit note cancelling [part / all] of invoice [number] dated [date], for [reason]. Show the original amount, the amount credited, VAT on the credit if applicable, and the new balance. Plain English, British spelling.
HMRC letters and tax
AI tools can explain a letter, but they can be wrong about tax, so treat the explanation as a starting point and check with HMRC or your accountant. HMRC says it will only email you about a tax rebate, or ask for personal or payment information, from an address ending in hmrc.gov.uk, and never by text: forward suspicious emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599 (GOV.UK).
6. Explain an HMRC letter in plain English
Explain this HMRC letter to me in plain English: [paste the letter with my UTR, National Insurance number and address removed]. Tell me: what it's about, whether it asks me to do anything, any deadline it gives, and what I should check with HMRC or my accountant. Don't guess figures that aren't in the letter.
7. Is this message really from HMRC?
Here's a message claiming to be from HMRC: [paste text or email, including the sender address]. List the warning signs a scam might show, compared with HMRC's guidance that rebate or payment-detail emails only come from addresses ending in hmrc.gov.uk and never by text. Tell me to check through my HMRC online account or GOV.UK rather than any link in the message.
Report suspicious messages: emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk, texts to 60599 (GOV.UK).
8. Reply to an HMRC compliance check letter
Help me draft a polite, factual reply to an HMRC letter about [subject] (reference [ref]). Here's the letter: [paste, with personal identifiers removed]. Here are the facts and documents I have: [list]. The reply should answer only what's asked, list the documents enclosed, and ask for more time until [date] if I need it. Don't admit anything I haven't told you. British spelling.
For a compliance check, get your accountant to read the reply before you send it.
9. Ask HMRC for a payment plan
Write a short, clear letter or message to HMRC asking to pay my [Self Assessment / VAT] bill of [£amount], due [date], in instalments. Explain briefly why ([reason]), what I can pay each month ([£amount]) and from when. Polite, factual, British spelling, under 180 words.
GOV.UK explains how to set up a payment plan for tax bills.
10. Monthly tax savings plan
My profits this year look like [£amount] from [type of business]. Using the self-employed tax figures I paste here [paste figures from the self-employed tax calculator], suggest how much to set aside each month in a separate account, and list the dates I'll need it by. Don't calculate tax yourself; use only my figures.
Get the figures from our self-employed tax calculator and payments on account calculator first.
GDPR and data requests
The ICO says you must respond to a subject access request without undue delay and within one month of receiving it, and in most cases you can't charge a fee; you can extend by up to two months for complex requests if you tell the person within the first month (ICO).
11. Reply to a subject access request
A customer has asked for a copy of the personal data we hold about them: [paste request, without their details]. Write a polite acknowledgement saying we received it on [date], will respond within one month, and [ask for ID if we genuinely need it to confirm who they are]. British spelling, under 120 words.
12. List where you hold someone's data
Help me find every place my business might hold personal data about a customer, so I can answer a subject access request. My business uses: [list: email, phone, WhatsApp, job app, accounting software, paper job sheets, CCTV, website forms]. Give me a checklist with what to search in each. British spelling.
13. Privacy notice for a small business website
Write a short, plain-English privacy notice for my [type of business] website. We collect: [list data and where from]. We use it to: [list]. We share it with: [list: accountant, job app, email provider]. We keep it for: [periods]. People can contact [email] to see, correct or delete their data, or complain to the ICO. Don't add uses I haven't listed. British spelling.
Check it against the ICO's guidance for small organisations before you publish it.
14. Reply to a request to delete data
A former customer has asked us to delete their personal data: [paste request]. Write a polite reply confirming what we'll delete and when, and what we have to keep and why ([e.g. invoices for tax records, kept for [years]]). Plain English, British spelling, under 150 words.
15. Staff guidance: what not to paste into AI tools
Write a one-page guide for my staff on using AI tools like ChatGPT at work. Cover: never paste customers' names, addresses, bank details, health information or passwords; use placeholders; check every output before it's sent; which tools we allow ([list]); and who to ask. Plain English, British spelling, under 300 words.
For a fuller policy, use our AI policy template for UK small businesses.
Customers, refunds and complaints
16. Reply to a cancellation within 14 days
A customer who ordered [item] [online / by phone] on [date] wants to cancel. Write a polite reply confirming the cancellation, explaining how to return the item and that we'll refund within 14 days of receiving it back. British spelling, under 120 words.
For online, phone, mail order and doorstep sales, GOV.UK says customers can cancel within 14 days of receiving the item, have another 14 days to return it, and you must refund within 14 days of getting it back (GOV.UK).
17. Reply to a complaint about a faulty product
A customer says [item] they bought on [date] is faulty: [paste complaint]. Write a calm reply apologising, asking for [photos / the item back], and setting out what we'll do ([repair / replace / refund]) and by when. Not defensive, don't admit anything I haven't confirmed, British spelling, under 150 words.
18. Terms and conditions in plain English
Rewrite these terms and conditions in plain English without changing what they mean: [paste terms]. Keep the headings, flag any clause that looks unfair to consumers for me to check with an adviser, and don't add new terms. British spelling.
Starting from scratch? Our free terms and conditions template is written for trades.
19. Price rise letter to customers
Write a short, honest letter telling customers our prices go up by [%% or amount] from [date], with [weeks] notice, because [honest reason]. Thank them and say how to contact us with questions. No hype, British spelling, under 150 words.
20. Chase a late payment from another business
Write a firm, professional email to [business] about unpaid invoice [number] for [£amount], due on [date]. Say that under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 I can claim statutory interest and a fixed sum of [£40/£70/£100], and will do so if it isn't paid by [date]. British spelling, under 150 words.
Statutory interest is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, for business-to-business debts (GOV.UK). The late payment interest calculator works out the figures.
Staff
21. Written statement of employment
Draft a principal written statement of employment for [job title] at [business], starting [date]: pay [£ per hour and pay day], hours [hours and days], place of work, holiday entitlement [days], sick pay [policy], notice periods, and probation [length]. Plain English, British spelling. Mark anything I haven't given you as [to complete].
GOV.UK says employers must give the principal statement on the first day of employment and the wider written statement within 2 months (GOV.UK). Check the full list of what it must include there.
22. Rota that follows the rest-break rules
Make a weekly rota for [staff names and availability] covering [opening hours and minimum staff]. Give a 20-minute break to anyone working more than 6 hours, and at least 11 hours between one shift ending and the next starting. Show it as a table and flag anything that doesn't fit.
Those are GOV.UK's usual rest break rules for workers aged 18 and over (GOV.UK).
23. Job advert
Write a job advert for a [part-time / full-time] [job title] at my [type of business] in [town]. Pay: [£ per hour]. Hours: [hours]. Say what the job involves, what we're looking for, and how to apply. Honest, no hype, no requirements that could put off people for reasons unrelated to the job. British spelling, under 200 words.
Check pay against the National Minimum Wage rates (from April 2026, £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over), and see the cost of employing someone calculator.
24. Letter confirming a pay rise
Write a short letter to [employee name] confirming their pay will rise from [£old] to [£new] per [hour / year] from [date], thanking them for [specific work]. Warm, plain, British spelling, under 120 words.
Marketing within the rules
25. Marketing email to past customers
Write a short marketing email to past customers about [offer or news]. Include a clear unsubscribe line. No false deadlines or exaggerated claims. British spelling, under 150 words.
The ICO says you need consent to send marketing emails or texts to individuals, apart from the limited soft opt-in for your own previous customers who were given a simple way to opt out when you took their details and in every message (ICO).
26. Ask for a review fairly
Write a short message asking a customer for an honest Google review here: [link]. Make it easy to say no. No discount, gift or prize for reviewing, and don't ask only happy customers. Under 250 characters, British spelling.
Fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews are banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (GOV.UK).
27. Google Business Profile post
Write a Google Business Profile post for my [type of business] in [town] about [news, offer or recent work]. Two or three sentences, one useful tip for customers, and how to contact us: [phone or link]. Under 100 words, British spelling, no exaggerated claims.
More prompts and tools
- The prompt library has single-prompt pages with a copy button and tool suggestions, grouped by job.
- Trade and business-type sets: cafés and restaurants, salons, retail shops, online shops, consultants and freelancers and builders.
- Which assistant to use? See ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Copilot and free vs paid ChatGPT.
- Free UK calculators: VAT calculator, self-employed tax calculator and late payment interest calculator.
Get one useful AI tool in your inbox each weekday
Free, plain English, five minutes to read. Unsubscribe any time.
See our privacy notice.
FAQ
What are the best ChatGPT prompts for a UK small business?
The ones for writing that has UK rules attached: invoices and VAT wording, replies to HMRC, data requests under UK GDPR, refunds and cancellations, late payment letters and staff paperwork. Give the AI the facts, say what the rule is (or paste it from GOV.UK), and check the result.
Can ChatGPT explain an HMRC letter?
It can put a letter into plain English and list what it asks you to do, but it can be wrong about tax. Remove your UTR, National Insurance number and address first, and check anything important with HMRC or your accountant.
How do I know if an HMRC email or text is real?
HMRC says it will only email you about a tax rebate or ask for personal or payment information from an address ending in hmrc.gov.uk, and won't do so by text. Forward suspicious emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599.
How long do I have to answer a subject access request?
Without undue delay and within one month of receiving it, according to the ICO. You can extend by up to two months for complex requests if you tell the person within the first month.
Is it safe to use ChatGPT with customer data?
Only paste what the task needs, use placeholders for names and addresses, and check your tool's data settings. Customer names and contact details are personal data under UK GDPR.
Do I need the paid version of ChatGPT?
No. The free plans of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini handle every prompt here.