Why this matters

In the last chapter, you built your first automated workflow. Now let's set up a proper place to organise all your client info, jobs, and tasks.

You've got your AI assistant working. Your tools are connected. Your skills are producing consistent output. Now you need somewhere to organise all the information your business generates.

Most small businesses track client info in spreadsheets, sticky notes, or their head. That works until it doesn't - until you forget a follow-up, lose a phone number, or can't remember what you quoted someone three months ago.

Notion is a free tool that gives you a proper business brain. Client database. Task tracker. Meeting notes. Project boards. And because it has an official Claude connector (MCP), your AI can read from it and write to it directly.

What we're doing

Setting up a simple Notion workspace that works as your business command centre. Not over-engineered. Not complicated. Just what you actually need.

What is Notion?

Notion is like a digital notebook that's also a spreadsheet that's also a to-do list. Think of it as one app that replaces sticky notes, spreadsheets, and the scraps of paper on your desk. It's flexible enough to be whatever you need.

Free for personal use. Around US$10 per person per month (about A$15) for the Plus plan if you want to share with a team. We start with free.

But I already use Google Sheets

Good question. You might be thinking "I've got spreadsheets for everything, why do I need another tool?"

Here's the honest answer: spreadsheets are great for numbers. Budgets, price lists, tracking payments. Keep using them for that.

But spreadsheets are terrible for organising information that isn't just numbers. Client notes, job details, to-do lists, procedures, contact details with context. That stuff gets messy in a spreadsheet fast.

Notion handles the organising side. It's where you keep all the information that your AI needs to do its job well.

Setting it up

Step 1: Create a Notion account

1. Go to notion.so
2. Sign up (use your business email)
3. You'll land on a blank workspace

Step 2: Create your business workspace

We're going to create three simple tables (Notion calls them "databases" but they're really just organised lists, like a smarter spreadsheet):

1. Clients

A database of everyone you've worked with or quoted.

Field	Type	Purpose
Name	Text	Client's name
Email	Email	Contact email
Phone	Phone	Contact number
Status	Select	Lead / Quoted / Active / Completed
Source	Select	How they found you (Google, referral, etc.)
Notes	Text	Anything important
Last Contact	Date	When you last spoke

2. Jobs / Projects

A database of active and past work.

Field	Type	Purpose
Job Name	Text	Short description
Client	Relation	Links to Clients database
Status	Select	Quoting / Scheduled / In Progress / Done / Invoiced
Value	Number	Job value
Start Date	Date	When it starts
Notes	Text	Job details

3. Tasks

A simple to-do list for your business.

Field	Type	Purpose
Task	Text	What needs doing
Due Date	Date	When it's due
Priority	Select	High / Medium / Low
Status	Checkbox	Done or not

Step 3: Connect Notion to Claude

Notion now has an official connector for Claude, so you don't need to create or paste any token anymore. It's the same one-click flow you used for your email.

1. In Claude, go to Settings > Connectors
2. Find Notion in the list (or add it) and click Connect
3. A Notion window opens asking you to log in and authorise Claude. Click Allow
4. Choose which pages or workspaces Claude can access, then confirm

That's it. No copying long strings of letters. (This connector is on Claude's paid plans.)

Step 4: Test it

Add a new client to my Notion: Tom Henderson, tom@henderson.email, 0412 555 123, came from Google, status is Lead.

What active jobs do I have this week?

Show me all clients I haven't contacted in the last 30 days.

Why Notion instead of a spreadsheet

Spreadsheet	Notion
Rows get messy fast	Clean, searchable databases
One person at a time	Multiple people, real-time
Can't link data	Databases can relate to each other (client > jobs)
No AI integration	Official Claude connector
Gets corrupted	Cloud-backed, version history

You can still export to CSV/Excel any time if you need to.

Updating your workflow skills

Now that Notion is connected, update your skills. For example, your new enquiry workflow skill can now include:

## Additional steps
6. Add the client to my Notion Clients database with status "Lead"
7. Create a task in Notion: "Follow up with [client name]" due in 5 days

Now one sentence from you triggers: email draft + calendar check + CRM entry + follow-up reminder. All in 30 seconds.

What you just learned

• Notion is a free, flexible tool that works as your business database
• Three simple databases (Clients, Jobs, Tasks) cover most small businesses
• The Claude connection means your AI can read from and write to your Notion automatically
• Your workflow skills can now include CRM updates and task creation

Try it yourself

• Create a Notion account and set up the three databases
• Connect Notion to Claude via the connector
• Add your existing clients (even just the top 10 to start)
• Update one of your workflow skills to include a Notion step
• Test it end to end

Mark chapter as complete