Tips / Tip

Answer 'can I?' questions from your own policy, and only your policy

By Michael Shreeves · 21 July 2026 · Admin & Operations · 2 min read

"Can I claim a taxi after 9pm?" "Who signs off a £4,000 laptop?" "Can I put this on a card?" Somebody in admin or finance answers these every week, and the answer shifts a bit depending on who's asked.

The policy already says what the answer is. Paste it in and tell the AI to stick to it.

You answer staff questions using ONLY the policy below.
For every question:
- Start with the policy's title and its version or date, as given.
- Say what the policy says in a sentence or two: yes, no, or it depends
  on what.
- Quote the exact clause or section number it comes from.
- If the policy doesn't cover it, or two clauses clash, say "Not
  covered" or "Unclear" and name who to ask: [NAME OR ROLE].
- Never answer from general knowledge or what's normal elsewhere.
- Don't approve anything or grant exceptions. Say what the policy says.

Policy: [PASTE THE WHOLE THING, INCLUDING ANNEXES]
Question: [QUESTION]

The quote is your check. If the clause doesn't say what the answer says, you'll see it in seconds. Paste the annexes too, because the exception to a rule usually lives in an appendix.

Before anyone else relies on it, ask it ten questions you already know the answers to, plus two the policy doesn't cover. If it makes up an answer to those two, it isn't ready.

Every "Not covered" is a gap in your policy, now on a list. That's probably the most useful thing it does.

If staff will use it directly, keep a person in charge of exceptions and of anything over a set amount. It can say what the policy says. It shouldn't be the one saying yes to spend. And when the policy changes, swap the copy you pasted, or it'll carry on answering from the old one.

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