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This page shows how to install the Claude for Small Business plugin in Claude Cowork and connect it to Zapier MCP using the Zapier connector. The plugin’s skills read from a default set of native connectors, such as QuickBooks or HubSpot. Not every app your business runs on has a native connector. Zapier fills that gap: connect it once for access to 9,000+ apps, and Claude treats each one as a natural extension of the same workflow, with no separate connector to add for each app. Connect Zapier before you run your first skill and the first result you get back is based on your own data.

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What’s in the plugin

The plugin bundles skills grouped into five areas:
  • Money and finance: cash forecasts, overdue invoice reminders, margin analysis, tax prep.
  • Sales and marketing: lead scoring, campaign drafts, content strategy.
  • Customers and operations: customer complaint replies, CRM cleanup, contract review.
  • Business intelligence: weekly and monthly business briefs.
  • Hiring and setup: job posts, interview guides, and the onboarding skill that sets up every other skill.
Each skill lists the tools it reads from by default. Check Anthropic’s plugin tutorial for the full skill-by-skill list and what each one does.

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Before you begin

  • A Zapier account. Create one during setup if you do not already have one.
  • A Claude account on Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise. Cowork is not available on the Free plan, though the plugin itself carries no add-on charge.
  • The Claude desktop app (macOS or Windows), where Cowork is generally available. Cowork on web and mobile is in beta: check Use Claude Cowork on web, desktop, and mobile.
  • Team and Enterprise: an Owner must enable Zapier in Organization settings before anyone can connect. Check Anthropic’s connector documentation.
One Zapier connection covers Claude chat, Claude Desktop, and Claude Cowork. If Zapier is already connected anywhere in Claude, install the plugin below and then go straight to Set up your tools.

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Install the plugin

1

Open the plugin browser

  • Open Cowork.
  • Click Customize in the sidebar.
  • Click Plugins.
2

Find the plugin

Click the search icon search icon, then type small business.
3

Add the plugin

  • Click the Small Business card to confirm it is published by Anthropic.
  • Click Add.
A message confirms “Small Business is installed and ready to use.” The Claude for Small Business plugin is now installed.

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Connect Zapier

1

Ask Claude to connect

In the Cowork chat, paste:
Claude searches its connectors and shows a Zapier card.
2

Start the connection

Click Connect on the Zapier card.Zapier’s authorization screen opens.
3

Copy the setup prompt

  • Click the copy icon Copy prompt button. Continue stays disabled until you do.
  • Click Continue.
Keep the copied text. Once your account is connected in the remaining steps, you’ll paste it back into Cowork to run Zapier’s onboarding, covered in step 2 of the quickstart.
4

Grant access

  • Review the access Claude is requesting.
  • If you belong to more than one Zapier account, select the one to connect in the Account field.
  • Click Allow.
5

Return to Cowork

You land back in your Cowork session, with Zapier connected.In Claude Desktop, your browser asks first: click Open Claude.Cowork waits for your next message: paste the prompt you copied.
You’ve now installed the Small Business plugin and connected it to Zapier MCP. In Claude Desktop, if the Zapier tools do not appear, close and reopen the app to force a sync.

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Customize skills (optional)

The plugin’s skills work as they are, so skip this section if the defaults suit your business. Each skill also ships with a default connected app, such as QuickBooks for the finance skills or HubSpot for the sales skills. Now that Zapier is connected, you can tell a skill to read from the app you actually use instead, and it pulls through Zapier.
1

Open the plugin

Open Customize > Plugins, then select Small Business.
2

Edit it

Click the ⋮ menu, then click Edit with Claude. This opens a Cowork chat with a customization prompt already filled in. Chat with Claude about your business and it rewrites every skill’s defaults to match, including which tools each skill reads from.
Check Anthropic’s plugin tutorial for the full customization walkthrough.

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Try a preset skill

Type / in the Cowork chat bar to pick a skill from the list, or describe the job in plain English and Claude picks the skill that fits. For example:
Or call a skill directly by name:
Claude shows you what it plans to do before it does it: a drafted email, a staged record change, a reminder ready to go. Check that against something you already know, then approve it. Nothing sends, posts, or pays without your go-ahead.

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Next steps

Run your first tool call

Run the onboarding skill to turn your apps into tools, then make your first call.

How tools work

Learn how dynamic tool discovery works and what the meta-tools do.
Last modified on September 15, 2026