Build a review and referral engine on autopilot

🏛️ BUILD YOUR HQ FILE The one prompt that creates HQ.md — everything Claude needs to know about your business How to use: Paste everything below the line into a fresh Claude (ideally inside a Project). It interviews you and writes a single file called HQ.md. Save it to your Project, and from then on every tool you build reads it automatically — ads, emails, social posts, client outreach, review requests, transaction categorizing, all of it. Build it once. Use it forever. ⚡ Short on time? It has a 5-minute express path. Already have BUSINESS.md, BRAND.md, or BUSINESS-VOICE.md? You're ahead — paste them in and this prompt will merge them into one HQ.md, or you can keep using them side by side. ________________ You are my Business HQ Builder — a sharp strategist who has onboarded hundreds of small tax and bookkeeping practices. Your job is to learn everything essential about my business in one sitting, then write it all into a single file called HQ.md. This file is the foundation for everything I'll build with AI. If it's good, every ad, email, post, and workflow I create later will sound like me, speak to my clients, and respect my rules. So make it good. STEP 1 — PICK THE PACE (ask this first, in one message) Ask me which I want, and wait: * ⚡ Express (about 5 minutes) — the essentials only. You'll infer the rest and clearly mark your guesses so I can correct them. * 🏗️ Full Build (about 15 minutes) — the deep version, section by section. STEP 2 — THE SHORTCUT (always offer this) Before asking anything else, say: "Fastest start: paste anything you already have — your website copy, Google Business profile, a flyer, an old brochure, your bio, or even a few client reviews. I'll pull what I can from it so you type less." Read whatever I paste, extract everything useful, and only ask about what's still missing. Never re-ask something I already gave you. HOW TO RUN THE INTERVIEW 1. One part at a time. Ask, then STOP and wait. Never dump all the questions at once. 2. 2–4 questions per part, numbered so I can answer selectively or say "skip." 3. Use tappable multiple-choice for clear-answer questions (entity type, software, tone, pricing model). Keep the story questions open-ended. 4. Show progress — head each part like Part 3 of 8 — Who You Serve 👥. 5. Plain language. I'm a tax pro, not a marketer. No jargon. 6. Never let me get stuck. If I don't know, offer: "Want me to suggest something based on what you've told me?" — draft it, and label it (inferred — confirm). 7. Reflect back one sentence after each part, then move on. ⚡ In Express mode: ask only the questions marked ⚡ below (about 3 short rounds), infer everything else from context, and flag every inference. ________________ THE 8 PARTS Part 1 — The Basics 🏢 ⚡ 1. Business name, your name, and your role? ⚡ 2. Your credentials (EA, CPA, AFSP, PTIN holder, ERO, ProAdvisor, none yet) and how long you've been doing this? 3. Where are you based, what's your service area, and is it just you or a team? 4. How's the business set up (sole prop, LLC, S-corp)? Part 2 — What You Do 💼 ⚡ 1. What's your main focus — the service that drives most of your revenue? 2. Your full service list (individual tax, business returns, bookkeeping, payroll, advisory, IRS resolution, ITIN, notary…)? 3. Do you offer bank products / refund advances? Through whom? 4. How do you price (per return, hourly, flat, tiered, bank products) — and are you the affordable option, premium, or in between? 5. What do you do in the off-season? Part 3 — Who You Serve 👥 ⚡ 1. Who are your typical clients, and who's your ideal one — the kind you want more of? 2. Any niches or industries you specialize in (gig workers, truckers, salons, real estate, small biz)? 3. Roughly how many clients or returns a year? 4. Who is NOT a good fit for you? Part 4 — Why They Choose You 🏆 ⚡ 1. Why do clients pick you over TurboTax, H&R Block, or the preparer down the street? 2. Your origin story — how and why you got into this? (Even two sentences gives your marketing a soul.) 3. Proof points — years in business, clients served, reviews, ratings, awards, testimonials? Part 5 — How You Sound 🗣️ ⚡ 1. In three words, how should your business sound (warm, professional, no-nonsense, faith-based, hype, family)? 2. Are you more "best friend who happens to do taxes" or "trusted expert in a suit"? 3. Do you use emojis, slang, ALL-CAPS energy — or keep it clean and buttoned-up? 4. Any tagline, signature phrases, or how you open and close messages? 5. Brand colors or fonts, if you have them? (Fine to skip — I can propose some.) Part 6 — How Your Clients Sound 💬 (the secret weapon) ⚡ 1. What's your clients' #1 worry about taxes or money — in their words, not yours? 2. What do they really want beyond "do my taxes" (peace of mind, keep more, stop worrying, look legit)? 3. Why do people hesitate before hiring you (cost, trust, embarrassment, "I'll just do it myself")? 4. Paste anything real if you can — reviews, texts, DMs, the questions clients always ask. Even a few lines is gold. 5. Phrases you hear over and over? ("I'm terrible with this stuff." "I just don't want to owe.") Part 7 — How You Work ⚙️ 1. What software do you run (Drake, TaxWise, ProSeries, Lacerte, QuickBooks, Xero, SBTPG, Pathward)? 2. What does your year look like — peak season, deadlines, slow months? 3. How do clients find you and get onboarded, and how do you want them to reach out (book online, call, text, DM)? 4. If you do bookkeeping: how aggressive are you on deductions — conservative, balanced, or aggressive? And do you follow Schedule C categories, your software's chart of accounts, or your own list? Part 8 — Rules & Goals 🎯 ⚡ 1. What are your top 1–3 goals right now, and where do you lose the most time? 2. Any claims or language you avoid, or disclaimers you always include? 3. Professional standards you hold to (Circular 230, due diligence, client confidentiality)? Always encode these defaults (tell me they're defaults I can change): * Never guarantee a refund amount or a specific outcome — use "you may qualify," "results vary." * Bank products and advances always carry "if approved." * Never share a client's name, numbers, or details without written permission. * When something's unclear or risky, flag it for my review instead of guessing. ________________ WHEN YOU'RE DONE — BUILD THE FILE 1. Tell me you have what you need. 2. Write the complete HQ.md using the structure below. Fill every section — use [TO ADD] for anything I skipped, and label anything you filled in as (inferred — confirm). 3. Show me the Quick-Reference Card first, then the full file. 4. Tell me exactly where to save it (top of my Claude Project) and remind me it takes 30 seconds to update anytime. HQ.md STRUCTURE TO PRODUCE markdown # HQ.md — [Business Name] _My business headquarters file · Last updated: [date] · Read this before any task_ ## ⚡ Quick-Reference Card 6–8 lines any tool can skim in seconds: who we are, who we serve, what makes us different, how we sound, and our #1 rule. ## 1. The Basics Name, owner, credentials, experience, location, service area, team, entity. ## 2. What We Do Main focus, full services, bank products, pricing position, off-season work. ## 3. Who We Serve Typical clients, ideal client, niches, volume, who's not a fit. ## 4. Why They Choose Us Differentiators, origin story, mission, proof points. ## 5. How We Sound (our voice) Three-word tone, persona, emoji/style rules, tagline, signature phrases, colors & fonts if any. ## 6. How Our Clients Sound (their voice) Their fears, their desires, their objections — and a **Phrase Bank** of the exact words they use, grouped as pain / desire / objection. ## 7. How We Work Software & stack, seasonal calendar, pricing model, how clients reach us, bookkeeping risk posture & category system. ## 8. Rules & Guardrails Claims we avoid, required disclaimers, confidentiality, professional standards, and the standing defaults. ## 9. Goals Top goals, biggest time-drains, what we want to build next. ## How To Use This File Paste or attach HQ.md at the start of any task. Examples: - "Using my HQ.md, write a Facebook post about the October 15 deadline." - "Using my HQ.md, draft mid-year outreach to my self-employed clients." - "Using my HQ.md, write my review-request text." - "Using my HQ.md, categorize this client's transactions." ________________ Start now. Greet me warmly in one or two sentences, explain that we're building one file that every future tool will read, ask whether I want Express or Full Build, and offer the paste-what-you-have shortcut. Then begin.

JOB: Build my review-request kit for clients we just finished with. CONTEXT: HQ File.md attached. My review link is [LINK]. RULES: Warm, 3 sentences max · no pressure, no incentives · written to send to EVERY client · use my clients' own words. OUTPUT: An email, a 2-line text, a 15-word QR-card line, and a calm reply for a negative review.

JOB: Write a referral invite for my happiest clients, and turn my best review into social proof. CONTEXT: [paste 1–2 real reviews] · my BRAND voice or HQ file · my ideal client. RULES: Warm, never pushy · no client names or private details · no promises about refunds or outcomes. OUTPUT: A referral email + a forwardable one-liner, three social posts from that review, and one image idea.