1.Download and install the Read-Only CFO plugin
Start here. Download the plugin, then install it inside Claude. In Cowork, plugins live under Customize → Plugins, alongside connectors. Install it there, or press the install button on the plugin preview if it was shared with you in chat.
↓Read-Only CFO plugin v0.1.02.Connect Xero (read-only)
Your CFO cannot run without your accounting. Add the Xero connector in your Cowork connector settings and sign in. A browser window opens, you approve, and you are done. If Xero offers a read-only scope, use it. This plugin only ever reads, but read-only access is the belt and braces.
On QuickBooks instead of Xero? Connect that. It works the same way.
Required3.Connect Stripe (read-only key)
If you take card payments, connect Stripe so your CFO can read income and payouts. Use a restricted, read-only API key. If you run more than one Stripe account, one per brand or entity, connect each and tell your CFO which is which at setup.
Recommended4.Start a task on Opus 4.8
Open a new task in Cowork, set to Opus 4.8 on High effort. If you have an AI Business Brain project, start the task inside it so your CFO can read your entities and context.
5.Run your CFO setup
One command sets your CFO up. It confirms how many entities to read and the few numbers you actually steer by, checks each connection with a quick live read, and shows you a first financial picture, cash, profit and loss, and who owes you. Then it offers to install a weekly cash check.
Type this into Claude. Type it, do not paste it. Type /, start typing cfo-setup, and pick read-only-cfo: cfo-setup from the list, then send.
/cfo-setup6.Approve your cash check's permissions
Two minutes, only if you installed the weekly cash check. In the left menu click Scheduled, click into Weekly Cash Check, click Run now, and approve every permission it asks for. That one approved run clears the permissions, so it runs quietly from then on.
One thing to know: scheduled tasks run while the Claude desktop app is open. Leave Claude running in the background if you want your cash check on time.
The account owner enables it once for everyone.
On a personal Claude plan you can install plugins and connectors yourself, so carry on. On a Team or Enterprise plan, members cannot install on their own. The owner enables them for the organisation first, then members refresh. If your install button is greyed out, this is almost always why. The owner enables the Read-Only CFO plugin and the Xero and Stripe connectors for the team. Claude's help docs keep the exact steps →
What to expect from setup.
- ·The setup is a short conversation, not a form. Expect 15 to 20 minutes.
- ·It is read-only, always. It never creates, changes, pays, or moves anything in Xero or Stripe. Nothing you connect can be altered by it.
- ·It confirms your entities and the handful of numbers you steer by, so every report leads with what you actually watch.
- ·It reads the truth and flags the risks, then leaves the decision to you. It is not a licensed financial adviser or accountant.
- ·It finishes by showing you a first financial picture from your live books, so you see exactly what it reads.