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What I did with AI today #2 - Fastest Proposal Ever
I run a software agency and when I build something cool with AI I tell you about it here:
One of our clients came to me with a tricky one.
We had previously built an invoicing platform for them and now the German Government has decreed that all invoices are to be sent in PDF as well as XML format.
German Government being German Government, they came up with the most complicated way possible or structuring the XML. Looking at the documentation made me want to cry.
Enter AI.
In a (rare) flash of brilliance I decided to make Claude Cowork do it, simply because I didn't want to waste time doing it myself.
How it worked
- I wrote a prompt along the lines of:
Look in our Google Drive for the last proposal sent to [CLIENT]. Write me one just like it for the following piece of work:
They have asked us to comply with the German Government eRechnungen standard in sending XML files along with the PDF files we already do
Here are three websites that give background:
- https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/FAQ/e-rechnung.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- https://invoice-portal.de/xrechnung/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- https://e-rechnung-bund.de/en/faq/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Price it according to our usual hourly price calculation. Assume [X] hours.
When you're done, download the PDF and open it up for me.
- I went on a coffee break
- I came back to a nearly perfect proposal that just needed a few formatting details sorted out
The toolkit
- Google Drive: which is where we store all our documents, including previous proposals
- Chrome: run on my machine by Claude Cowork to read the websites I had given it
- Claude Code (Opus 4.6): which, from that single prompt read the websites, summarised what features were required in our proposal, and did what I asked for
What surprised me
Proposal writing is not exactly fun, but when it involves government standards it can be, well, quite dull. Not only did this save me a few hours, it helped me avoid some pretty painful work. And all that in the space of a coffee break.
It's almost a joy to watch Claude juggle the acronyms, random legal paragraph references and technical jargon required to speak the language of eRechnungen.
Bigger picture
I couldn't help but wonder (yep, that's a Sex and the City reference)... where this will leave white collar work in a few years' time. Proposal writing was half of what I did in my first job. Now noone really has to do it anymore. A bit of QA is all that's required.
How many junior management consultants will there be in 2030 when proposals are "written" by the Partner in the taxi back from the client meeting?
Get in touch
If you're curious how AI-assisted development can accelerate your work — let's talk. Happy to share what I learned or help you build something similar. DM me or drop a comment below.
