← All use cases · Law, accounting & agencies

Build a payroll-comparison check on the Xero API with Claude and Cursor, then grow it into an in-house operating system

who Liam McNamara, co-founder of Project Alfred in Adelaide, South Australia (a team of six; an outsourced finance function for tech companies and not-for-profits, from bookkeeping, payroll and accounts payable to advisory and compliance), on a panel at The Firm's AI in Practice Summit

The problem

Xero doesn't let you easily compare two payrolls, and with mostly salaried staff each pay run should usually look like the last one. He says a lot of checks were done by hand because no Xero report could do them.

What happened

The payroll tool grew into an internal operating system meant to sit beside anyone on the team at any part of their day. He says the hardest parts were working out how Xero's API tables link to each other and reconciling his app back to Xero, and that building on Xero got much easier when Claude Opus 4.6 came out in early 2026. No time savings are given, and how widely the team uses it isn't stated. (The session transcript spells the firm "Project Everence"; The Firm's own write-up and the firm's website say Project Alfred.) Owner-told.

Quoted in the source: Liam McNamara, co-founder, Project Alfred. Source: The Firm, AI in Practice Summit: Real Firms, Real Builds (panel with Liam McNamara of Project Alfred) (2026-06-03) · Added 2026-10-19.

How to set it up yourself

1. What Project Alfred does: co-founder Liam McNamara builds internal apps on top of Xero for his six-person team, starting with a check that compares a pay run with the previous one. He uses Claude as the project manager (clickable prototype, then a staged plan in a markdown file) and Cursor to write the code. The firm is on Claude's Team plan.
2. Pick one check your team does by hand that no Xero report covers, such as this pay run against the last one. Ask Claude for a clickable JavaScript prototype of the screen with made-up data, using the prompt below, and change it until the idea works. If you have never built anything, his tip is to start with Google Apps Script on top of Google Sheets: a web interface with no database or hosting to manage.
3. Have Claude write a staged development plan as a markdown file, open it in Cursor as the starting plan, and build one stage at a time. Map how the Xero API tables link before you write code; you still need to know how Xero works to judge whether the result is right.
4. Before anyone relies on a number, reconcile the app's figures back to Xero for a few real pay runs or bill batches. Only then add the next module, such as accounts payable or contact notes.

Copy-paste prompt

I want to build an internal tool on the Xero API for my accounting firm. The manual check it replaces: {MANUAL CHECK, e.g. comparing this pay run with the last one}. The Xero data it needs: {XERO DATA}. 1) Build a clickable JavaScript prototype of the screen using made-up sample data labelled SAMPLE. 2) Write a staged development plan as a markdown file I can open in Cursor, with the data each stage uses and a final stage that reconciles the tool's figures back to Xero. Never invent Xero API endpoints, fields or table links; mark anything you're unsure of as [CHECK API DOCS].

Tools used

Some tool links may be affiliate links. Disclosure

Checked prices: Claude: from $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly) (verified 2026-10-18) · Xero: from $27/mo (intro discounts may apply) (verified 2026-10-17)

Related for Law, accounting & agencies

Law, accounting & agenciesSlow lead repliesNew

Have Claude review every intake decision so declined leads get a second look

A Claude project with the firm's screening criteria reviews each intake decision and rates the call.

ClaudeSASmart Advocate

tools from $17/moUsefulSaveI want this

via Maximum Lawyer podcast

Law, accounting & agenciesOperations

Run a solo bookkeeping practice with a ChatGPT calendar agent, research agents and an AI policy

A ChatGPT agent reviews her Outlook calendar each morning and reports gaps; Perplexity's Comet browser does research and data extraction;…

ChatGPTPerplexityGamma

tools from $0UsefulSaveI want this

via AccountingWEB · 2026-04-15

Law, accounting & agenciesOperations

Use AI to build the firm's workflows and reusable prompts, not to handle client data

Hannafin uses AI mainly to build workflows and automations rather than to touch client data; another owner keeps a library of saved ChatG…

ChatGPTClaudeMicrosoft Copilot

tools from $0UsefulSaveI want this

via Journal of Accountancy · 2026-08-01

Running something like this in your business? Submit your use case and we'll credit you with a link.