Marit Digital weighs in on the best AI tools that support any small business
Marit Digital weighs in on the best AI tools that support any small business
As we gaze towards a new year, hopefully with a little downtime to both reflect and plan, many business owners are looking for ways to scale sustainably in 2026. If, like me, you lack unlimited access to funding, investing in some ‘robot’ technology can help your operation run more efficiently – growing your bottom line and your options for scaling.
I’ve been guiding clients to automate some accounting tasks within QBO and Ignition for years. Automation is a great ‘robot job’ for any process that is repetitive and rule-based. But AI is a different kind of generative robot, and some of them are still pretty dumb. The AI built into QBO is not helpful yet, it’s still performing like this:
There are plenty of AI tools delivering significant value, but sifting through the sea of options to learn which ones are actually going to contribute right away overwhelms me personally. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to connect with Jen McFarland, owner and founder of Marit Digital – *a certified B Corp* (stay tuned to learn more about Jen!) A Certified B Corp, means they have been independently verified to meet rigorous standards for social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. So when Jen made these recommendation, she made them through those lenses (this also makes me swoon). She very generously sat down with me and shared her expertise on the best AI robot jobs to support small business owners – and you may already be paying for them!
but first…
Housekeeping
No December deadlines, but Q4 Estimated Tax Payments will be due January 15th, 2026 and all 1099s and W2s will need to be issued by January 31st, 2026. We’ll remind you again next month, but if you want IQBK support with 1099s, you’ll need to notify us with a quick email (info@iqbookkeeping.info) by the end of December to opt in.
Robot Jobs
- Notetaking
Instead of directly plagiarizing Jen’s blog, I’ll direct you to read her deep dive here. (Spoiler: her current favorite pick is Sembly.ai.) This image, taken directly from said blog, gives a quick overview:
This is a robot we plan to optimize in 2026. Currently we record all client calls, both for liability and so we can reference client’s responses in the future. But video takes up so much space in data centers, which we’d like to avoid. Plus, it’s time consuming to scroll through the content looking for what’s relevant. Audio recordings with summaries will meet the liability needs and increase our research efficiency all while minimizing the environmental impact.
If you have a favorite tool, reply or comment and let me know!
- Image generation and editing
Jen always follows this tech workflow for creating and editing images, as it begins by supporting human artists and then uses efficient AI prompting to limit the environmental impact:
- Begin with either a photo of her client’s product, or Unsplash, a low cost subscription to content powered by creative human artists
- Then upload that image for AI editing into Nano Banana, which is loaded in the Gemini App. (If you’re in a Google workspace, you’re already paying for this!)
I followed this workflow to create the image at the top of this newsletter. You can watch this short video of the journey of prompts I gave the Nano Banana robots.
3) Better Prompting
Jen’s advice is that developing the skills to create excellent prompts for AI is the most efficient – both for your time and environmentally. Using fewer queries to get exactly what you want means better profitability for you, and the lowest carbon impact for everybody else. You can use the Scale Down browser extension to optimize your query, and then save it for next time.
A great way to limit your environmental impact when prompting is to add “in 500 words or less”. This gives the robot guardrails on the amount of output to offer – giving you more concise answers while saving some water!
4) Employee on-boarding quizzes in Notebook
The tool Notebook is included in the Google Workspace. You can load your employee handbook into it, and it can create new employee on-boarding training content. It can even create checklists and quizzes to ensure your team absorbs all that handbook information.
IQBK Highlight
Marit Digital
As a certified B Corp, Marit Digital has ‘big sister energy’ with IQBK as we plan to certify as a B Corp in 2026. Jen has very generously created a discount code JUST FOR OUR READERS! If you’re looking for support with ethical and sustainable technology, they have self-paced training available on their website where you can enter the code IQBOOKS at checkout for 10% off. If you decide you want Jen and her team to consult directly, just let her know I sent you and she’ll honor the same discount!
Jen McFarland founded Marit Digital in 2022 after 20+ years in higher ed and corporate America. She has experience with a wide cross-section of digital tools and technologies, and an M.S. in Technical Communication. Jen is a contributing writer for WRAL TechWire and monthly columnist for Cary Magazine.
She is an avid reader, loves games, and is a busy mom to two kids.
Marit Digital partners with organizations as they plan, assess, and improve the digital solutions that help them succeed. Marit Digital is a B Corp, seeking to provide sustainable digital solutions and education.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this, please tap the heart or drop a comment. Positive reinforcement is so effective and I always want more of it.
If you want to discuss bookkeeping questions, hop on my calendar for a no-cost discovery call, I’d love to chat.
And finally, if you know someone who might enjoy reading this, please feel free to forward and spread the love.
VIEW ON SUBSTACK – Originally published: Dec 19, 2025
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